History of each instrument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of each instrument - Essay Example The standard flute had six holes and one key divided into three sections. This changed when Theobald Boehm changed the flute in the 1830’s. He developed a cylindrical flute with 15 tone holes, 23 keys, and levers. Keys were also arranged where almost all holes opened naturally. The Boehm Flute has remained unchanged and is used to this day. The oboe is also in the woodwind family. The first reed instrument was made by Egyptians. Initially barley straws pressed flat and then placed into a small pipe were the first oboes. Romans had instruments of similar make. By the 12th century, a short double-reed instrument made its appearance. The 14th century saw the instrument change. Finally in the 17th century the instrument was made into the modern oboe. The Hotteterre family made the first oboe with three sections and six keys and hole. This oboe was improved on with more key mechanisms, with the used of nine keys. Another woodwind is the clarinet. One of the first instruments resembling a clarinet was found in Greece, Persia, and India. It was a round pipe with one reed. The Celts made a clarinet out of animal bones with seven holes. These instruments evolved into the 16th century to instruments with eight finger holes/two keys called a chalumeau. John Christopher Denner changed upon the instrument in the late 17th century by adding a special key. More keys were added through the Boehm system of keys in the 19th century. This version is still used today. The Bassoon is in the woodwind family. The forerunner of the bassoon was created by B.C. Egyptians. Barley straws were pressed flat, and then placed in a small pipe. Later holes were added. The Romans had a similar instrument called a tibiae. The shawm was formed in 12th century Europe. This was a short double reed with a conical bore and a wide bell. This came from the East to Europe. The 16th century was when Alfranio Canon of Ferrara

TMJ syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TMJ syndrome - Essay Example The arterial blood supply of the temporomandibular joint is mainly from the superficial temporal and the maxillary arteries. The venous supply is by the corresponding arteries. The nerve supply of the joint is derived from the auriculotemporal nerve and the masseteric nerve. The movements of the normal joint include forward movement of the mandible, side to side movements which occur while eating food, lowering of the jaw for opening the oral cavity and then subsequently elevation of the joint for closing the mouth. There are around 35 million cases of this condition in the United States. The condition is known to have a greater predisposition towards women with the females being more affected than males with this condition. TMJ syndrome has been associated with many diseases which include inflammation of the joints of the body as well as hormonal problems and the pathology also has a hereditary component and hence genetic factors also tend to play a role. It is also associated with trauma which may result due to accidental injury or as a result of punch to the mandible. Accidental injury may be due to not wearing helmets or putting on the seat belt while driving. The symptoms associated with the injury include severe pain in the jaw which may also present with pain in the face and the neck. The movements of the joints become limited and it becomes increasingly difficult for the person to talk as well as move the jaw.

I will upload the directions for this paper Research

I will upload the directions for this - Research Paper Example Melba, a teenage girl, is among the few black students selected to commence the integration of schools in adherence to the court order. The process of integration is challenging since most white people are opposed to the process. The resistance ends with the intervention of the National Guard, which enforces the Supreme Court order. Critical review of the book Initial events The initial event, which triggers the subsequent events, is a Supreme Court ruling. In Brown vs. Board of education, the court ruled that it was unlawful to for to segregate students on a racial basis. Accordingly, the state ought to begin an integration program, which will ensure that the school contain students of both races1. Initially, the book discloses the miraculous recovery of Melba who was at the verge of death owing to the negligence of a white nurse. Melba was born in a segregated society. However, she manages to overcome all hurdles that the discriminatory society puts in her ways beginning from her b irth during a Pearl Harbour day to her early adult hood. Melba struggles against her aggressors reveals a non-violent opposition towards segregation in the American society. The white majority segregated the black community was a fact that Melba came to learn later in life. A white man repeatedly harassed Melba’s mother since his father could not protect him. ... Segregation denied young black students a chance a proper education2. Resistance at the Little Rock school Violence erupted in this town as the white persecuted the minority community. This culminated in a dilemma among the black people. Owing to the loss of lives and jobs among the black people, many wondered if it was worthwhile to champion for the integration of schools. A considerable proportion of the black people opposed resistance against the status quo in the education sector. Despite the majority of the Caucasian people opposing the integration, a few helped the black students who took part in the integration process. This reveals that there were people in both communities who wanted a peaceful resolution to the above problem. Blacks opposed to the resistance to the status quo in the education were regarded as traitors. Conversely, white people who sympathised with the treatment of black people were also traitors in their community. White children attended schools that had g ood facilities while their counterparts attended schools with dilapidated facilities. Melba’s personal tribulations Melba’s actions to fights segregation had various implications on her life. He was against her decision to attend a white school since they would receive threats or risk attacks by their oppressors. Melba’s stand resulted in numerous conflicts in her family as they were exposed to attacks and constant threats. Despite her father’s opposition to her decision, her grandmother and mother seem to fully back her well aware of the dangers they will encounter. In one of the incidences, Melba and her mother receive assistance from white people who help

International comparisons of stock market volatility Essay

International comparisons of stock market volatility - Essay Example Even researchers and practitioners have made modeling of stock volatility a subject of empirical and theoretical study. Historically, stock market volatility is approximately 20% per annum and 5.8% per month even though periods of high and low volatilities are experienced. During the financial crisis, there was a 50 percent drop in stock prices. The effects of the crisis are still being felt due to increased public and private debt, levels of unemployment and global capitalism. The governments are doing their best to prevent and contain the situation buy formulating new policies and reforming major sectors. Volatility measures the degree of variability between stock prices. In other words, it determines the degree of deviation between the current price of an asset and the average past price. To understand volatility, it is important to take a look at the nature and trends of global markets and the correlation of the stock market returns. For many investors, volatility is a risk, thus , it is to be taken into consideration in analyzing their portfolios. Some of the factors that lead to volatility include changes in technology, new financial instruments such as derivatives and the increased integration of global markets. Volatility is measurable, and the commonly used measure is Chicago Board Options Exchange Index (CBOE) of implied (VIX) volatility. In this paper, we will use a sample of 19 emerging markets economies (EMEs) and developed market in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Asia as a basis of comparison on the stock market’s volatility. Most of the previous research papers focused on regional and local stock markets but due to the national integration that is linking markets globally, we use will compare countries from different continents (Beirne et al 2008). Nature of stock markets in emerging and developed markets Global markets consist of emerging and developed stock markets. A few studies have been done to examine the characteristics of em erging markets. According to these studies, emerging markets are characterized by higher average returns, low correlations with developed markets, higher volatility and more predictability of returns (Chukwuogor 2008). Their main argument was that volatility in emerging markets is high and difficult especially in the segmented markets. Segmented markets are influenced by local factors. Their returns tend to be skewed and highly non-normally distributed. Volatility in emerging markets has been declining following capital market capitalization. The correlation in emerging markets is quite higher than in the developed markets due to lack of diversification and trading depths (Chukwuogor 2008). The volatility in these markets is highly influenced by social, political, economic factors. Data and methodology The studies also focused only on the emerging markets and not developed markets. We will use daily returns and volatilities of such returns for the 19 countries using data from 2001 t o 2009. We use the GARCH model to determine the means and variances of stock returns in these countries. The Standard and Poor (S & P) index is used to rank the countries. Below is a table showing the emerging and developed markets. TABLE 1 Country Index USA S&P 500 UK FTSE 100 France CAC 40 Germany DAX 30 Xetra Australia All Ordinaries China/Hong kong Hang Seng Singapore Strait Times Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Thailand stock exchange of Thailand China Shanghai

Douglas Coupland's Microserfs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Douglas Coupland's Microserfs - Essay Example The exploration of one’s identity is a theme that is discussed by the author and other characters in the novel. In this paper, we will analyze how the characters examine their identities and what is the influence of their profession on their identities? The influence of their professions on their identities is so far-reaching that they start to think about themselves in technical terms. The environment in their workplace has affected the characters in the novels to such an extent that they are not able to think about their lives beyond this setting. The character of Karla, a coder and colleague of the Daniel, is most expressive about her feelings regarding identity. Her thoughts about identity can be gauged from the following paragraph, â€Å"Its all about identity," [Karla] said. She said, "We look at flock†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦What makes any one person different from any other? Where does your individuality end and your species-hood begin? As always, its a big question on my mind.† (Coupland, pg.236). While working, the identity of all the characters is connected with their work. The individuality of person is lost in the settings that are dominated by the machinery. Karla also feels that her identity is being overwhelmed, by the environment of her workplace. While talking with Daniel, her conversation reflects her thoughts about identity. â€Å"She said that we, as humans, bear the burden of having to be every animal in the world rolled into one. She said that we really have no identity of our own.† (Coupland, pg.17). The thoughts of Karla represent the identity crisis that people are experiencing in the wake of a demanding professional life. People are so consumed with their aims and ambitions that they have lost the perception of their true identity. Karla also points towards this attitude of human beings. â€Å"She said, "What is human behavior, except trying to prove that were not animals? She said, "I think we have strayed so far away from our animal origins

Ethanol Fuel Essay Example for Free

Ethanol Fuel Essay Ethanol is regarded as an attractive alternative to gasoline and other fossil fuel-based automotive energy sources because they can assist in ending dependence on foreign-based oil imports, a dependence which reaches 140 billion gallons a year in the United States alone.Gal Luft, a director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, asserts that oil dependence is problematic not just for economic reasons, but for political ones as well, maintaining that the relationship between the United States and the oil-producing Muslim nation states is strained at best (as well as noting that this political tension is probably of greater concern than any purported political instability are said to plague these oil-producing nations. )   As such, oil dependency constitutes a political liability. Furthermore, geologists have argued that oil prices are not going to get any better, what with the increasing costs of drilling current oil reserves, and ethanol is therefore an economically sound alternative. However, ethanol is not without its critics. Critics charge that the ethanol boom in the United States, which relies primarily on corn for feedstock has resulted in dramatic increases in food prices (and it is worth noting that many non-corn based food commodities utilize corn syrup). Farmers have begun to see the ethanol boom as lucrative incentive for corn production, which in its most positive sense has raised their incomes and â€Å"given new hope to flagging rural economies.† This translates to a diversion of grain-based agriculture towards fuel production, imposing dramatic impacts upon the costs of maintaining food supply for both the world’s hungry and the world’s well fed. Grunwald maintains that â€Å"the grain it takes to fill an SUV tank could feed a person for a year.†   Furthermore, research presents that the rapid expansion of corn agriculture to feed the ethanol boom holds environmental consequences. Environmental journalist Richard Manning charges that industrialized agriculture is detrimental to soil fertility.Mindy Lubber concurs, maintaining that massive land conversion of lands towards the production of corn could recreate the conditions of The Great Dust Bowl, a period in the American heartland which saw hundreds of thousands of would-be wheat farmers plow the soil to death to profit from golden grain. However, ethanol proponents are careful to remind us that it is also a renewable fuel source. Because it is derived from grain and other starch crops, and may also be obtained from cellulosic biomass such as crop residue, sugar cane bagasse and old newspapers, it is essentially a sustainable resource insofar production is concerned. Additionally, its energy potential, while being significantly less than that of gasoline, is endowed with a high octane level that gives it the power that is crucial to the operation of high compression engines such as those found in high performance automobiles. Furthermore, Khosla argues that the trajectory of ethanol development will result in continuously increasing potential for energy density and engine efficiency that would rival that of gasoline. While opponents of corn-based ethanol have charged that the energy yield barely exceeds the amount of energy used in its production, developments in cellulose-based ethanol have been promising, which may lead to a future in which the biomass and waste of any municipality could be used for ethanol production. Beyond the direct effects on corn prices, the corn-based ethanol boom also affects the price of various food commodities. Grunwald notes that the soybean market is affect to such an extent as to jack up the price of soybeans. Also, increased production of sugarcane-based ethanol, combined with sugar quotas in the U.S. ensure that domestic prices of sugar continue to inflate. As such, producers of high fructose corn syrup such as the agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland benefits in a situation where the price demand for high fructose corn syrup remains inelastic, simply because they are able to charge more for without fearing that sweetener-dependent companies will retaliate by switching to sugar.Even the price of a Starbucks latte is not immune to the effects of the corn-based ethanol boom, as diversion of crop grown to fuel production takes it away from the mouths of dairy cattle. Furthermore, the demand for ethanol has effects that reach as far as the Amazon rainforest, where the resulting expansion is leading to its deforestation. This is an overwhelmingly negative development as the rainforest is a highly biodiverse region. Grunwald reports that scientists believe that this could essentially reduce the Amazon to a savanna, or worse, a desert. Ethanol is not just an alternative fuel, but a complex distillation of political, economic and environmental issues. As such, it is difficult to reduce it to a simple either/or issue, let alone endorse it wholeheartedly as the silver bullet that will solve problems of climate change and fossil fuel dependency.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) Inflammation is a protective reaction associated with vascular tissues in response to different stimuli such as irritants and pathogens. In addition, other causes of inflammation may include physical injuries and immune reactions on body cells and tissues. Therefore, inflammatory reactions serve to eliminate the stimuli and start the process of healing on damaged cells, tissues, and organs (Ferrero-Miliani et al., 2007, p. 227). Conversely, these inflammatory reactions can be chronic or acute. This essay presents the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, prognosis, and the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Scenario: 45 years old woman started with severe pain in her hands and feet. She noticed that she could not shake her wrists whilst she was doing PE with her students in the gym. About 2 month later, when she was working in her yard, the pain became even more pronounced. She was digging the yard for make a path way. The garden working was difficult to do because every day her feet hurt and the strength in her hands was so reduced that even lifting a large boiling pot in the staff kitchen was difficult. At night times she put her hands under her pillow to try to reduce the pain so that she could sleep. Chronic immune inflammatory reactions can occur on synovial tissues in response to the synovitis, synovial cells, and the accumulated synovial fluid in the joints. This type of autoimmunity causes Rheumatoid arthritis (Majithia Geraci, 2007). The symptoms of RA are not only limited to the articular regions but they can also spread to other parts of the body. Therefore, RA affects the joints, skin, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, heart, and other systemic tissues. In addition, the disorder leads to destruction of the ankylosis and cartilage lining the joints. It also causes nodular lesions on the skin and diverse inflammatory reactions on different systemic tissues (Majithia Geraci, 2007, p. 937). The clinical diagnosis of RA involves physical examination of symptoms, blood tests, x-ray radiographic imaging, and other differential diagnoses, which are aimed at distinguishing the symptoms of RA from other disorders. Moreover, the pathogenesis of RA entails proliferation and fibrosis of cells; the destruction of cartilage and bones; and pannus formation. These changes are caused by the activities of proteolytic enzymes, cytokines, and prostanoids in the synovial region (Majithia Geraci, 2007, p. 937). Here, inflammation is mediated by Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha and Interleukin-1 (IL-1), which are the most notable pro-inflammatory cytokines in the disease process of RA. The two cytokines enhance the production of other inflammatory elements such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). However, IL-1 has shown prominence in the pathogenesis of RA. Initial IL-1 release stimulates osteoblasts, synoviocytes, and chondrocytes. The cells take part in the inflammatory reactions, bone destruction, and pannus formation. Furthermore, the inflammatory reactions elevate the secretion of IL-1 relative to the progress of the disease. In addition, IL-1 stimulates the movement of neutrophils into the synovial region; the production and differentiation of lymphocytes; and finally the activation of macrophages. Additional IL-1 production leads to severe erosion of bone and cartilage, produces pain, and impairs tissue repair (Majithia Geraci, 2007). Lastly, Rheumatoid arthritis can be treated using medications such as analgesics, steroids, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). In addition, non-pharmacological therapies such as physical therapy and nutritional therapy can halt the development of the disease. Conversely, the prognosis of RA shows varied symptoms in different patients such as disabilities, poor prognostic factors, and sometimes death (Majithia Geraci, 2007, p. 939). Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) Scenario: A 33 years old man have a burning, sensitive, irritated sensation under his skin that spread throughout his arms and upper body over few months in the beginning of 2010. He noticed his sense of balance was lost. Then over a several weeks more symptoms presented themselves. His hands began to shake and tremor, his ears began buzzing, tickly in his left foot and the muscle spasms appeared, and muscle strength getting weak and pain grew in his thighs. His speech became jumbled and his left pupil dilated. Acute infections of the peripheral nervous system can cause an autoimmune reaction in response to the pathogens and the host tissues. These immune responses are targeted at pathogens such as bacteria and the influenza virus but instead they attack the gangliosides of the nerve tissues (Hughes et al., 1999). This is the basis of GBS, which leads to inflammatory demyelination of the nerves and multiple neuropathies. Consequently, GBS is characterized by impaired sense of position, paralysis, absence of fever, areflexia, and symmetrical weaknesses that begin with the legs and spread to the upper limbs and finally to the face. Conversely, analyses of the cerebrospinal fluid and electrodiagnostics provide important insights into the diagnosis of GBS. In addition, observable paralysis and areflexia can be used as the immediate indicators of GBS. However, additional differential diagnoses are important to distinguish the symptoms of GBS with other disorders such as the Motor Neuron Disease (Hughes et al., 1999, p. 74). The pathogenesis of GBS is associated with immune responses targeted at an acute infection. However, the pathogens involved in the infection contain epitopes resembling some components of the peripheral nervous system. Therefore, the immune reaction attacks the nerve components causing acute inflammation on the myelin sheath or the axon (Hughes et al., 1999). Furthermore, the inflammatory reactions cause severe demyelination in the nodes of Ranvier and nerve roots. These inflammatory reactions are mediated by both the cellular and humoral immune components such as activated T-lymphocytes, which invade the demyelinated regions and attract macrophages that destroy the nerve membranes. Additional demyelination is thus, mediated by the macrophages and components of the complement system. Lastly, the treatment of GBS entails providing supportive care for patients with paralyzed diaphragms and intravenous injections of immunoglobulin for stable patients. In addition, administration of plasmapheresis is recommended. Conversely, except for isolated cases of persistent areflexia, the prognosis of GBS shows that most patients begin recovering at the forth week after the onset and they can be completely healed after a few months or one year. Conclusion The essay presents a detailed discussion on two inflammatory conditions, which are caused by immune responses that target cells, tissues, and organs in the body. Therefore, the essay examines the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, pathogenesis, treatment, and the prognosis of Rheumatoid arthritis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). From the discussions above, it can be deduced that inflammation is a serious complication, which occurs in the whole body or within a specific tissue and causes acute or chronic symptoms. However, most inflammatory conditions are treatable and preventable.