December 26

December 26 December 26 December 26 By Maeve Maddox The day after Christmas, December 26 (according to the Western tradition), has its own holiday associations. St. Stephens Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen Saint Stephen is the protomartyr (first martyr) of the Christian church. Tradition says that Saul, later to be known as Saint Paul, held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death in the first century. In the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas, the king (he was a 10th century Duke of Bohemia) looks out of his window on the Feast of Stephen and sees a poor man gathering winter fuel. King Wenceslas and a servant follow the man with gifts of food. Wren Day is observed on December 26 in Ireland, Wales, and on the Isle of Man. Also called Wrens day, Hunt the Wren Day or The Hunting of the Wrens, the observation is believed to have originated with the Druids in pre-Christian times. It has become conflated with the Christian Feast of Stephen. For details, see the Wikipedia article. Boxing Day is a public holiday in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Greece. Like many Americans, when I first saw Boxing Day on a calendar, I assumed that it had something to do with prize fighting. The box in Boxing Day, however, is a container, like a tip box or jar. On the day after Christmas, servants and other service providers received year-end tips and needed a box to put them in. Nowadays Boxing Day is a big shopping day for after-Christmas sales. Details here. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration of African culture that begins on December 26 and ends on New Years Day. Created in 1966 by American Ron Everett Karenga, Kwanzaa is now observed around the world. You can learn more about the festival at the official Kwanzaa site. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" 50 Synonyms for â€Å"Idea†Preposition Mistakes #1: Accused and Excited

Types and Examples of DNA Mutations

Types and Examples of DNA Mutations DNA mutations happen when there are changes in the nucleotide sequence that makes up the strand of DNA. This can be caused by random mistakes in DNA replication or even an environmental influence like UV rays or chemicals. The changes at the nucleotide level then influence the transcription and translation from gene to protein expression. Changing even just one nitrogen base in a sequence can change the amino acid that is expressed by that DNA codon which can lead to a completely different protein being expressed. These mutations range from being non-harmful all the way up to causing death. Point Mutations ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images A point mutation is usually the least harmful of the types of DNA mutations. It is the change of a single nitrogen base in a DNA sequence. Depending on the placement of that nitrogen base in the codon, it can cause no effect to the protein. Codons are a sequence of three nitrogen bases in a row that is read by messenger RNA during transcription and then that messenger RNA codon is translated into an amino acid that goes on to make a protein that will be expressed by the organism. Since there are only 20 amino acids and a total of 64 possible combinations of codons, some amino acids are coded for by more than one codon. Often, if the third nitrogen base in the codon is changed, it will not change the amino acid. This is called the wobble effect. If the point mutation occurs in the third nitrogen base in a codon, then it causes no effect on the amino acid or subsequent protein and the mutation does not change the organism. At most, a point mutation will cause a single amino acid in a protein to change. While this usually is not a deadly mutation, it can cause issues with that proteins folding pattern and the tertiary and quaternary structures of the protein. One example of a point mutation is sickle cell anemia. A point mutation caused a single nitrogen base in a codon for one amino acid in the protein called glutamic acid to instead code for the amino acid valine. This single small change causes a normally round red blood cell to instead be sickle-shaped. Frame Shift Mutations Frameshift mutations are much more serious and deadly than point mutations. Even though only one nitrogen base is affected just like in point mutations, this time the single base is either completely deleted or an extra one is inserted into the middle of a DNA sequence. This change in sequence causes the reading frame to shift, hence the name frameshift mutation. A reading frame shift changes the three letter long codon sequence for messenger RNA to transcribe and translate. Not only is that amino acid changed, all subsequent amino acids are changed. This significantly changes the protein and can cause severe problems and even possibly death. Insertions One type of frameshift mutation is called an insertion. Just as the name implies, an insertion occurs when a single nitrogen base is accidentally added in the middle of the sequence. This throws off the reading frame of the DNA and the wrong amino acid is translated. It also pushes the entire sequence down by one letter, changing all codons that come after the insertion and therefore completely altering the protein. Even though inserting a nitrogen base makes the overall sequence longer, that does not necessarily mean the amino acid chain length will increase. In fact, it could seriously shorten the amino acid chain. If the insertion causes a shift in the codons to create a stop signal, a protein may never be made. Otherwise, an incorrect protein will be made. If the protein that has been changed was essential for life, then most likely the organism will die. Deletions The other type of frameshift mutation is called a deletion. This happens when a nitrogen base is taken out of the sequence. Again, this causes the entire reading frame to change. It changes the codon and will also affect all amino acids that are coded for after the deletion. Nonsense and stop codons may also appear in the wrong places, much like an insertion. DNA Mutation Analogy Much like reading text, the DNA sequence is read by messenger RNA to produce a story or an amino acid chain that will be used to make a protein. Since each codon is 3 letters long, lets see what happens when a mutation occurs in a sentence that uses only three letter words. THE RED CAT ATE THE RAT. If there was a point mutation, the sentence would change to: THC RED CAT ATE THE RAT. The e in the word the mutated into the letter c. While the first word in the sentence is no longer the same, the rest of the words still make sense and are what they are supposed to be. If an insertion were to mutate the above sentence, then it might read: THE CRE DCA TAT ETH ERA T. The insertion of the letter c after the word the completely changes the rest of the sentence. Not only is the second word no longer readable, neither are any words after it. The entire sentence has changed into nonsense. A deletion would do something similar to the sentence: THE EDC ATA TET HER AT. In the example above, the r that should have come after the word the has been deleted. Again, it changes the entire sentence. Even though in this example, some of the subsequent words are readable, the meaning of the sentence has completely changed. This shows that even if codons are changed into something that isnt nonsense, it still completely changes the protein into something that is no longer functional.

Migration and the Children of Haiti Dissertation

Migration and the Children of Haiti - Dissertation Example In the current setting, migration has been occurring due to a variety of reasons, some of these being personal life choices, and other reasons based on economic necessity. Regardless of reasons however, its impact on the migrants has always been considered significant, bringing forth both negative and the positive impacts on these migrants. Among children, such impact has even been more significant because of their vulnerabilities and adjustment requirements. This paper shall discuss the impact of migration on the children of Haiti, including the social, economic, psychological, and educational burdens and benefits which migration has brought to these children. Body Throughout the years, millions of Haitians have migrated to other countries, mostly in North America, including the Dominican Republic, United States, Cuba, Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas, France, Turkey, Jamaica, Venezuela, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. There are about 1.2 million Haitians in the US, about 200,000 in Canada, and one million in the Dominican Republic (Wassem, 2003, p. 1). Some of these Haitians have left their children in Haiti while they have left their home country to seek better fortunes. Their reasons for migrating have mostly revolved around political oppression, economic difficulties, limited opportunities, and similar socio-economic issues. Last year’s January 7.0 magnitude earthquake which devastated the country sent even more Haitians out of their homeland. In the US, the Department of Homeland Security was prompted to extend the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians arriving in the US prior to the earthquake (Zissis, 2010). After this declaration, the DHS also declared humanitarian parole to Haitian orphans, allowing them to enter the US under emergency conditions for the administration of medical care (Zissis, 2010). About 500 of these orphans were granted refuge in the US because of this parole; those with appropriate papers issued by the Haitian government were all owed to be put up for adoption. The disaster in Haiti has caused the widespread migration of many Haitians including their children. Such migration has impacted in various ways on these children. The impact of migration on children is seen in a variety of ways. It is seen in Haitian children migrating to another country or region, and it is also seen in children left behind. This paper shall consider both types of children. Among Haitian children migrating to other countries, most of the effects of migration is seen in terms of psychosocial issues, including education, health, birth registration, and risk for child labor and child trafficking (Bakker, Elings-Pels and Reis, 2009, p. 10). In relation to psychosocial issues, there is a risk for migrant Haitian children to feel alienated from other children, including adult children due to their migrant status. Moreover, the risk of insecurity and depression is also significant among these children. Social workers in Haiti express how t he children migrants often feel psychological distress due to their status as migrants in other countries (Bakker, et.al., 2009, p. 10). Their comparative conditions in relation to their deplorable economic conditions impact negatively on their overall wellbeing as children. Haitian children represent â€Å"a significant vulnerable group, in fact 8% of Haitian immigrants are under the age of 14 and 21% between 15 and 24† (Bakker, et.al., 2009, p. 10). In effect, they are in the age where they have not fully developed adequate means of independent living; as such, they are prompted to endure even more deplorable economic conditions. In relation to education, migrant children in Haiti are often made to face hardships due to language barriers, stigmatization, and ridicule among other native children, leading to

Critique of an Article - Postwar Japanese Economy Term Paper

Critique of an Article - Postwar Japanese Economy - Term Paper Example One of these events is the first globalization wave of 1870s that was attributed to the international gold standards as well as international treaties related to tariffs. Furthermore, the downturn associated with second globalization wave of 1914 caused by the occurrence of World War I, and downfall of international gold standard contributed to adverse conditions in the Japanese postwar economy1. Based on the globalization perspective, the exceptional performance of the Japanese economy that occurred earlier than 1970s is attributable to an institutional evolution of economic system in Japan that begun in the early 1930s to address the downturn associated with the second globalization wave. In the postwar period, the evolutionary process modified the Japanese economy system to address various challenges related to the novel international environment. The underlying principles of the Japanese economic system devised by this institutional evolution were stability and coordination. As a result, it stirred aggressive corporate investments, upheld a high level of employment based on an approach of total employment, and stimulated bank lending by establishing excessive competition. However, the strong coordination of Japanese economic system resulted to weak control as well as monitoring. In addition, high stability of the system caused low capacity to upgrade Japan’s economic structure2. In addition to the chronological account of Japan’s economy, Tsutsui provides a specific focus in various attributes of Japan’s economy, including postwar recovery, stagnation, reversal, high growth, as well as reform versus recovery. In the context of postwar recovery, democratic reforms in Japan and shortages of materials along with the resulting hyperinflation caused significant effects on Japanese economy. These occurrences resulted to changes in the structure of the Japanese economy. The underproduction resulting from overuse and destruction of production e quipment during the war was a significant challenge encountered by Japanese postwar economy. In addition, postwar repatriation of civilian and military Japanese from overseas caused a rapid increase of domestic demand for services as well as goods, though the production of Japan had significantly decreased, especially due to loss of colonies that provided materials and labor. As a result, Japanese postwar economy faced an inevitable hyperinflation. To cope with this problem, Japanese government adopted the priority production program that encouraged production using limited resources in the iron, coal, fertilizer, and fertilizer industries3. The philosophies and strategies constituted in this program led to substantial development in Japanese postwar economy with the prioritization of production and minimization of consumption, and supersession of class-consciousness to promote national unity. National economic independence was upheld at the expense of attracting foreign investments , and economic growth became highly regarded than sustainability. According to Tsutsui (2009), Japan underwent a high economy growth era between 1955 and 1973, which was characterized by major structural adjustment, and an exceptional record of 4.1 percent, average annual growth. The high growth was attributed to Japanese industrial policy because of its significant influence

Physical Activity and Body Weight vs Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseas

Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most common and well known afflictions in modern society. It kills and hospitalizes many people every year. CVD is actually a rather broad category of affliction. It encompasses any disease or condition that affects the heart. These conditions have effects that range from mild to surgical repair and even to death in extreme cases. The causes of CVD are fairly well known. It is directly linked to both physical activity (and the obesity that it prevents) and body mass index (BMI) in the research that we have studied. The BMI is a measure of the proportion of the body that is made up of fat. The higher a person's BMI number is, the more body fat they have. The combination of these two conditions creates a persons risk for CVD. The problem lies in the fact that the exact reasons that these factors create risk of CVD and how much risk they create is not fully understood. It is well known that obesity and physical activity play large roles in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Obesity has become even more significant since obesity is on the rise in the United States. Obesity is strongly associated with physical activity, meaning that people who exercise will also lose weight as well as increase their physical fitness. However there are many people who remain obese even with strong levels of physical activity. This sets up the question of what roles weight and physical activity have on lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease independently. Recent studies have shown that increasing physical fitness reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of body weight, and that increasing physical activity reduces the risk more that losing weight alone. T... ... way, the benefits of being fit were found not to totally alleviate the risk of being fat or that being slender totally alleviated the health risks of being unfit. From this it is clear that the best way to avoid both all-cause and cardiovascular disease death is to be both fit and have a normal body weight. Works Cited: Stevens, June, et al. "Fitness and Fatness as Predictors of Mortality from All Causes and from Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Women in the Lipid Research Clinics Study." American Journal of Epidemiology 19 June 2002: 832-41. Oxford Journals. 7 Nov. 2006 . Weinstein, Amy R., and Howard D. Sesso. "Joint Effects of Physical Activity and Body Weight on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease." Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews Vol.34 2006: 10-15. American College of Sports Medicine.

Is Television Addictive? Essay

Television viewing is comparable to drug and alcohol addiction as illustrated by Marie Winn in her essay entitled â€Å"TV Addiction†.   In some cases â€Å"addiction† is good-humoredly referred to as a propensity to overindulgence of oneself on something pleasurable like cookie or mystery book addiction but watching television programs results to negative effects in people that somehow consume their lives and leave them feeling a void that can never be fulfilled.   Although it offers momentary reprieve from reality which people sometimes need, it can also become a destructive compulsion. (Winn)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  The author has quite significantly suggested the perils of excessive television watching.   Instead of offering us a way to relax from our busy daily routine, it may just be contradictorily a contributing factor that intensifies the stress we encounter every day.   In the paper, Winn cited some testimonials of a college instructor, a pre-school teacher, a filmmaker and a lawyer who have directly experienced being â€Å"hooked† on watching television shows as well as mothers who has observed this dilemma on their own young children to the point that the hours they could have spent on more meaningful things are wasted on watching the shows that they do not even like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author likened these testimonials to those shared in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Based on the testimonials from parents, its effects became even more alarming when they witnessed their children’s restlessness when unable to watch television just like a withdrawal symptom of an addict.   At some point in a person’s life, overindulgence in watching television happens. For some, it happens during bouts of depression, boredom, procrastination, hibernation or whatever period it is called but when it becomes habitually a part of our daily lives, it may become destructive mentally, psychologically and even physically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author presented a different perspective to television viewing.   It gives people a glimpse of how life can become when faced with such a predicament.   For most people, reading these pages is a wake up call since an individual is usually unaware when he or she is in the midst of an addiction such as this. Some people may have gradually increased the number of hours spent in front of their television sets unconsciously and this reading could really open their eyes and give everyone a nudge to change it. Television is a very significant instrument of worldwide communication and information that aids everyone in the awareness of what is happening around us.   It is a tool of improving our knowledge in a lot of things and it has its own purpose. Similarly, legal drugs or medicines and alcohol exists because it also has its uses and is actually beneficial at times but unfortunately,   just like most things in this world, it can be addictive and hazardous to people’s lives when dealt with excessively. It is undeniable that television is a part of our lives but moderation of time spent in watching television should be practiced and parents should also impose this strict rule to their children.   Parents may introduce other ways of recreation to them to reduce their viewing time but before this can be implemented in a household or a community, parents should as well apply this to themselves. Addiction can really be avoided if proper time management and self-restraint is given more focus. A firm decision in employing moderation to the things that people do can truly prevent this to happen.   It may seem impossible for addicts but it can always be done if a person is determined never to be controlled by such weaknesses.   Eradicating addictions can change people’s lives and can enormously generate a more productive, healthy and fulfilled world. Works Cited Winn, Marie. â€Å"T.V. Addiction.† Connelly, Mark. The Sundance Reader, Fourth Edition. Boston, Massachussetts: Thomas Wadsworth, 2006. 193-198.   

Ebooks Are Not As Expensive - 1209 Words

Imagine a student who is packing his books for Spring break vacation. He had some reports for science and history that needed to be done after the break. Therefore, he needs to bring five books, two for his science report and three for his history report. However, they are too heavy to carry with him. What should he do in that case? A suggestion is that he can search and buy those books on Kindle instead of using print books. The fact is that with the advance of technology and networks, it is really easy to access a thousand books online. As the result, for many benefits eBooks has brought to human’s life, people should use them instead of print books. One important reason why people should use eBooks is that eBooks are not as expensive as paper books. One example is the McGraw-Hill Reader, one of course materials for English Composition II, which is sold $90.50 for printed book in campus bookstore but just $37.00 for eBook edition. As eBooks are cheaper than printed ones, the Amsterdam’s library could be able to buy more â€Å"electronic titles† than those are printed, reported by Mrs. Ong, a professor of Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI) in Amsterdam (Renner 3). Moreover, according to the Federal Communications Commission, schools can â€Å"save $250 each year per students† when they use e-textbooks instead of traditional textbooks (FCC Chairman 1). Additionally, some eBooks are free. For example, â€Å"With the Admiral of the Ocean Sea† is free on Google Books while itShow MoreRelatedSelection for Libraries Essay1365 Words   |  6 Pageslibraries still have patrons with demands for i tems to be held in print or physical format as well as electronically and online. Books or monographs have become available electronically and online to libraries and their users via, eBook websites and subscriptions to eBook databases. One of the first free public domain websites for e-books was Project Gutenberg, which was developed by Michael Hart in 1971. Around 2004 Google created an up roar by announcing its partnership with five major American UniversityRead MoreTechnological Advancements: Switching to e-Books1182 Words   |  5 Pages1-2). Schools want to buy the less expensive but also the most reliable and informative book. When purchasing an e-book teenagers have to make sure they have the correct device to download e-books on. Even though an electronic device can be expensive, online books are still the economical option (McNeil 1). Most students in college want to save as much money as possible. College students can save money by purchasing e-books. Online textbooks are often less expensive than print textbooks. E-books areRead MoreEssay On E-Book P ublishing Software1212 Words   |  5 PagesThe 5 Best E-book Publishing Software Many people nowadays prefer eBooks to printed books thanks to the expansion and growth of the publishing industry and since the inception of Kindle by Amazon. There are a number of e-reader devices that can open eBooks. The e-books may comprise video, audio as well as other media content. One of the primary benefits of eBooks is that they are not expensive because there are no printing costs. E-book publishing software have been designed to make and format e-comicsRead MoreWhy Ebooks Are Better Than Books1595 Words   |  7 Pagesjudgment, and many other beneficial reasons. Having literature evolve into the paperless world, it has major benefits that used fewer natural resources. EBooks are books in an electronic format that have a table of contents, page numbers, and images exactly like a printed book. According to Michael Angier’s article Top Ten Reasons Why EBooks Are Better Than Printed Books,† he states, â€Å"We save trees and help reduce pollution from pulp mills.† These mills convert wood chips into a thick board, whichRead MoreThe Big Reason For Choosing Print Over Digital952 Words   |  4 Pagesdigital ebook can reap the same benefits. Even though a study by the Pew Research Center has said only 27% out of one-thousand people read ebooks, there are benefits to reading an ebook (Schaub â€Å"Fewer Americans Are†). As noted in Merchants of Culture by John B. Thompson, ebooks have nine benefits: ease of access, updatability, scale, searchability, portability, flexibility, affordability, intertextuality, and multimedi a (Thompson 339-340). Plus, there is still an audience for reading ebooks. Out ofRead MoreMaking An E Book Or Dvd And Blu Ray Product1496 Words   |  6 Pages The most typical, and usually probably the most successful info products are e-books, sound cd or tapes as well as increasingly, Digital video disks. We ll check out each of those categories within more fine detail below: Writing an effective ebook You actually have two options right here. You may develop this content of the actual e-book your self, or you will get someone to complete it for you personally. There s additional ways you are able to go regarding creating a good e-book, for exampleRead MoreEffects of the Study Habits1056 Words   |  5 Pages2012-2013 REGARDING THE USAGE OF EBOOK A Thesis Presented to the English Department of Palawan Hope Christian School In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements in Grammar and Composition III By: Adrian Angelo A. Fernandez March 2012 Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Our study is about â€Å"The Perception of the High School Students of Palawan Hope Christian School SY 2012-2013 regarding the usage of ebook†. An electronic book (variously, e-book, ebook, digital book) is a book-lengthRead MorePersonal and Mobile Computing Essay1454 Words   |  6 Pagesis difficult to see smaller screens, and it strains the eyes a lot. Likewise, laptop computers can sometime cost more a desktop, and replacing the keys on the keyboards, along with the mouse touchpads can cause a lot of confusing or even become expensive for an individual (Barnatt). Next, around the beginning of 2000’s cell phones began to become major factors of technology inventions (Pew). To be clear and concise cell phones are a lot different from smart phones, and usually are not made for theRead MoreE-Books vs. Paperback Books1583 Words   |  7 Pagesnear-sighted he can make a big font of the text. E-books have many font options. E-books can be stored in many ways. For example, e-books can be stockpiled, such as USB, computer, e-reader, I-pad, I-phone, or I-pod (Carnoy, â€Å"Kindle, Nooke lending site, ebook, fling goes away,† n.d.). Multiple storage options provide many conveniences for readers to enjoy reading almost anywhere at any time. But paperback books are limited by the space and time in most cases. Paperback books are concrete and unchangeableRead MoreTaking a Look at the Price of E-Books545 Words   |  2 Pagesdigital readers are more convenient to carry around, they also give more privacy since others can’t see what is being read, and the books are much less expensive. Price is a major factor that consumers look at when deciding to purchase anything, including an e-reader. The fact that e-readers are becoming lower in price and eBooks are much less expensive than traditional books is a dominant factor of their increase in popularity. The Price of an E-Reader When e-readers were first released with a high