Movie Review: The Abnormal in Normal

Normal is a spectacular movie which encompassed both a war and unity of emotions, standards, and ideologies. It showcased the play of sexuality, understanding, anger, transformation, ostracism, and most especially, love, depicted in the lives of the characters that compose the film. How all of them owned a different perception of Roy’s transsexualism and how these perceptions seemed to be intertwined dramatically revealed the key element that make up Normal’s core. Personally, I found the movie very moving and inspiring. It is not everyday that films like these are produced in the industry for the obvious fact that transsexualism, not to mention heterosexuality and bisexuality, is still on the process of holding a secure, firm, and properly recognized position in society. Normal was successful in its attempt to disband stereotypes regarding deviant behavior and twisted genders. It portrayed how acceptance and love serve as the main dissolving agent in breaking norms in response to the changes that occur in time. Roy, one of the main characters, was extremely daring and determined to have mustered strength to face such an immense transformation and survived the critical judgment of his family, peers, and community fellows. Containing his desire to be a woman solely to himself for that length of time is something not regular people could ever put up with. The weight was even graver, however, on her wife Irma. In my opinion, she was the one who suffered most with what had happened. After 25 years of marriage, two teenage offspring, and a healthy relationship which was supposedly homosexual-to-homosexual, her husband tells her that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body and that he wanted to live like a lady for good through gender reassignment. Discovering that the man she fell in love with was replaced by someone with a heart of a woman would have been the key struggle in Ruth and Irma’s marriage. Eventually, nonetheless, Irma learned to embrace Roy for who he is—the man he loved yet now with earrings, perfume, make-up, and even breasts. This was a strong proof that true love does conquer all and breaks differences. The occurrence tested if Irma was really willing to stay with Roy and to love him with all her heart, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, with death as the sole wall that could separate them. The relationship of the couple evidently changed, but the love was still the same. This served as their starting point to both reliving an old chapter of their life and opening a new one together. Patty Ann and Wayne, the couple’s children, were also affected by Roy’s revelation. Albeit their reactions were of opposite sides of the spectrum, these showed that they significantly cared about what happened to their father. Dealing with his kids, however, remained as another struggle for Roy. Patty Ann took his father’s transformation in a positive light since she, too, was having a puberty and femininity crisis of her own. On the other hand, Wayne was infuriated. Being older, being the son, and being a hardcore rock music enthusiast, it was not peculiar that Wayne’s mind seemed to be very narrow when it came to gender issues. The main character’s father also played a weighty part in Roy’s family struggle. Like Wayne, Roy Sr. strongly disagreed with what occurred to his son. During Roy’s early years, his father had already begun beating Roy to stop his feminine tendencies. His paternal influenced continued until Roy’s adulthood but failed to maintain his son’s manliness. Together with his wife Irma, Roy struggled to face another conflict with an influential and important body outside their marriage: society. His revelation to the parish counselor initiated the ostracism that Roy encountered from the religious sector. This banishment was in line with the Vatican’s dissent for gender changes. Though external to the scope of the movie, the Papal government most likely inspired the story’s plot. According to Asher (2003), gender reassignment shall not in any way change the gender of an individual in the vision of the church. Moreover, Catholics who underwent this kind of transformation shall not be â€Å"eligible to wed, be ordained to the priesthood or enter religious life† (par. 2). Gender reassignment merely changes the surface quality of the person and not his/her inner attributes and personality. These were the strong bases of Roy and Irma’s gradual but unyielding exclusion from the religious sector. Roy also had problems in his work. He served almost his whole life as an employee in a farm machinery factory. Going to work one day all â€Å"womanized† expectedly brought in mockery from his coworkers. Roy’s boss, Clancy Brown, was compassionate enough to transfer him to a safer and more considerable work section. However, he developed affection for Irma, which pushed Roy’s work struggle to a higher notch. Fortunately, Roy’s wife realized that he was in love with no man other than his beloved husband. This dedication, loyalty and commitment of Irma to Roy were what captivated me to the movie the most. These same attributes of Roy’s wife are the reasons why she is my favorite character. Like what I have mentioned before, Irma exemplified the power of true and powerful love. More than that, however, is Irma’s commendable courage to continue to walk with his husband, no matter how things have changed. Remarkable courage was also exhibited by Roy. Personally accepting that he was a woman in a man’s body is already a valiant feat. Adding his revelation to his family and community during the period of his life when all was settled for him as a man can be considered a lifetime accomplishment. Not everyone who is gay, lesbian, or both can muster the willpower and inner strength that Roy depicted. Not all irregularly gendered can face life with the truth that they know deep within them. There is this strong feeling inside of me that the movie Normal will forever hold a special place in my life. It taught me so many things about accepting changes and living with what and who matters in your life. Just be strong and all things will follow. References Asher, J. (2003, January 16). Vatican Will Not Endorse Gender Changes. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/article.html?2003/01/16/3         

Stephen J. Dubner’s novel Turbulent Souls Analysis

According to Soren Kierkergaard, a prominent existentialist, in Stephen J. Dubner's novel, Turbulent Souls, the protagonists, Stephen, Veronica, and Paul Dubner, are the quintessential â€Å"Knights of Faith†. A † Knight of Faith† is the existentially perfect man or woman who could grasp his own freedom and create his own destiny. Despite the disconnectedness of the world, the â€Å"Knight of Faith† finds the courage to unify his or her world through an act of determination. Through much searching, the â€Å"Knight of Faith† discovers that man is entrapped in absolute isolation. Prior to becoming a † Knight of Faith† he or she must take a † leap of faith† into something higher and beyond the self such as into belief in G-d. The only way authentically to take a † leap of faith† and to escape the anxiety and despair that is the quintessence of the universal human condition is to choose despair, and to sink so deep into despair that one loses all commitment of family, friends, and community. When these are all lost, with absolutely nothing left, in a complete crisis, and at the edge of the abyss, he or she will be prepared for faith in G-d, he or she will chose G-d, and make the â€Å"leap of faith† to G-d. Therefore, he or she has created a unique connection with G-d and has conquered his or her fears, and the hypocrisies and tribulations in the world. Propelled by psychological despair and existential emptiness, each of the three principal characters embarks upon a quest for spiritual enlightenment and/or emotional healing. The novel begins by discussing the childhood of Stephen's parents, Sol and Florence, and after their conversion, Paul and Veronica. Florence's basis of her conversion and her quest for spiritual bliss began even as a little girl in her parent's, Esther and Harry, small apartment in Brooklyn, New York, above Harry's candy store. Every night, when Florence's mother would come up the stairs from the candy store she would say to Florence, â€Å"Your father, he works so hard he must be made from iron. And Florence in her singsong voice, always gave the same retort: Well then, he better not go out in the rain or he'll get all rusty†(3). Florence had a special connection with her father, and it was only her mother who she ridiculed. Both Florence and her father did not appreciate how â€Å"Esther would prattle on about her brother the big fabric man, who just bought a new house, and how his wife always has new hats and how their children were smarter and healthier that their own children, how little Irving could eat a whole head of lettuce and drink a whole quart of milk at one meal†(4). In addition, † Every year Florence asked her mother to teach her the Four Questions so she could ask them at the Seder. What's the use, her mother would say. Your cousin Irving's the boy, and he's the smarter one anyway, so Irving gets to ask the questions†(7). This had a tremendous impact on her because her mother instilled in her the notion that she is not worthy, which could possibly be a reason for her conversion to Catholicism, which she felt to be more accepting. Florence and her sister Della did not get along very well, so â€Å"Florence's favorite playmate was her grandmother Sarah-Ruhkel†¦ they would giggle and cuddle like friends†¦. At night she sat on the edge of Florence's bed and told stories of Queen Esther. She taught Florence how to thank G-d for the good day and ask him for a good husband when the time came†(6). Unfortunately, â€Å"When her grandmother wasn't around she was lonely†(7). One afternoon, Florence was playing outside with another friend, they both needed to go to the bathroom but her friend lost her house key, so they waited by the stoop. Her friend said a prayer and a few minutes later a man came home and let them in. Florence thought about what happen and she â€Å"knew it wasn't magic, quite; it was certainly a different way of looking at things. She didn't mention it to anyone. Who would listen? â€Å"(8). In this moment, she sees her friend's prayer answered and concludes that it was more then luck that caused it. It was the will of G-d. One spring when Florence was sick in bed and she heard her friends playing outside, she experienced her first existential thoughts in her life. She thought, â€Å"Boy oh boy, life goes on all by itself whether I'm there or not†(8). The one thing she feared the most was death, and when her grandfather died, She wonder[ed] what had become of him. Not his corpse-that she understood-but the rest of him. Was there more of him. She wasn't sure. She could not forget the realization she'd had lying in bed that day, hearing her friends playing with out her. If things didn't change when she wasn't here, what did it matter if she was here or not? But she was here. What for then? To think of herself as merely a random collection of muscle and teeth and curls was unspeakably sad. And yet the other possibility-that there was some sort of purpose to life that she must fathom and follow-made her dizzy (20). The first time Florence introduced anti-Semitism was when † a girl named Ann Ross, with blond hair and very blue eyes, had stood up and declared: My father says that Hitler has the right idea about the Jews†(21). Again, she encountered anti-Semitism when an older boy from her neighborhood said, â€Å"What do you want little Jew? He said, and spat in her face†(22). She did not mention either incident to her parents because her father did not have the time for it and her mother already had to many worries. A few years later Florence went to ballet classes with a friend who invited her. The teacher's name was Asta Souvorina, but every one called her Madame Souvorina, and Florence felt that â€Å"there was an intensity spilling from her, and it attracted Florence like a magnet†(22). Florence became Madame Souvorina's best student and went to class everyday, and sometimes when Madame was sick she taught the class instead. Florence imitated everything that Madame did, and just like Madame was a vegetarian, she became a vegetarian. Florence also knew that Madame was Catholic, but all she ever knew about Catholicism seemed unbelievable, such as the virgin birth or the Resurrection. Madame was not interested in arguing with Florence about the eternal verities of Christendom, so she told Florence, â€Å"If you are so curious, †¦ you should read about it yourself†(25). Florence went ahead and read the Epistles, which were the letter from St. Paul, and she Was astounded to discover that a living, breathing person-a Jew, no less-had left behind such testimony. Everything she ever heard about Jesus seemed so far away, like a fairy tale. But Paul had been there. No, he hadn't actually met Jesus, but his letters, she felt had the ring of truth. After all, Paul was an educated Jew who had traveled widely. Why would he write of being struck down blind on the road to Damascus, hearing Jesus calling to him from the clouds, had it not happened that way (25). Florence never had done much thinking about God, and wondered what he looked like. She thought maybe he looked like, old Moishe, [her grandfather who past away], with a long, dusty beard; perhaps he had the face of a cloud. Or, Florence thought, perhaps the face of God was the face of Jesus, the young, loving, tortured face she had seen on the wall of Madame's bedroom†(25). By now Florence was approaching stardom, and was going dance at Radio City Music Hall, but Florence's mind still constantly swirled with distressing questions: â€Å"Why had she been born and where would she go afterward? And might Jesus have anything to do with it? (26). Her one fear, death, according to Catholicism was not something to be afraid of, but was something to look forward to, which brought her a lot of comfort. She remembers, â€Å"† as a young girl she always was bemused when her Catholic friends talked about Heaven, as if they were sure of it. But St. Paul, in his Epistles, was sure of it to: † Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air†Ã¢â‚¬ (26). Madame directed her to the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, where she spoke with a Catholic priest, Father Conroy, who taught her a little prayer that he promised would help. The prayer was, â€Å"Give me the grace to know Your truth and the strength to follow it†(27). Over time, her curiosity became a need, and when Madame told her she â€Å"did not need to be Catholic to taste the Sacraments of the Church, and so she did†(28). She began attending mass and even went to confession. One morning at mass she listened absorbedly to the priest's sermon, and â€Å"he cited the Gospel of John: God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased; hear him†(29). Florence took this to heart and realized the â€Å"instructions could not have been simpler, or more welcome. Florence, having exposed her heart, was now rewarded with the kiss of God upon her ear. The shadows of her soul were flooded with sunlight; a sublime peace settled over her. She understood that she had received the gift of faith, and she would be eternally grateful†(29). Finally, through much searching she found spiritual enlightenment and has become a true â€Å"Knight of Faith†. Solly Dubner grew up in an orthodox family in Brownsville, New York. His parents' names are Shepsel and Gittel. Unlike Florence, he loved his mother more then anything in the world. Also, he loved to whistle all the time. Unfortunately, â€Å"whistling was forbidden in his father's house. You might as well invite the Angel of Death. That, at least, is what his father believed†(9). Although his father kept a strict house, Solly obeyed his father because Any disobedience, however slight, made his father angry. And when is father was angry for whatever reason, he took it out on Solly's mother, Gittel, rarely shouting but unfailing choosing the half dozen words that would conjure up the bitterest tears. Solly, who loved his mother dearly, would have rather taken the strap any day. But Shepsel would never strike his children, for it is written. And if one were to ask him, Where is it written? It is written, it is written, he would say impatiently. The where is not important (10). Solly was never satisfied with his father's answers. Nat, Solly's older brother, always came home on Shabbat because he felt bad the others had to suffer Shepsel alone. Nat was particularly worried about Solly because â€Å"Shepsel seemed to have a particularly hard heart for him. Solly, was different; he wanted more out of life, and Nat knew that more was the one thing that could not be found in their father's house. As he walked home from school one Friday afternoon, † from the second floor window, a man in his undershirt shouted down to him: Hey, Solly, what the hell are you whistling for-don't you know your mother's dead†(12). His father always said whistling was forbidden and you might as well invite the angel of death; therefore, after his mother's death, Solly felt partially responsible because he always whistled. This guilt lead to the beginning of his bottomless depression. According to Jewish law, one should bury the deceased as soon as possible, but since out of town relatives would not be able to attend to the funeral, they were forced to wait until they arrived. Shepsel gathered all of his children to watch their mother's body until it was time to burial. The ice that was packed in her casket was melting; therefore, â€Å"a metal bucket was placed beneath the leaking casket. The dripping, the rising stench, the stab of his mother's death-it was all to much for Solly, and he stood up to get some fresh air, but his father pressed him back into his seat†(17). Solly had a lot of questions regarding Jewry, but sadly, † concerning their religion, there was no question Solly could ask his father for which he received an answer that was remotely satisfying†(17). He kept falling deeper and deeper into depression and â€Å"everyone who knew Solly Dubner in the late 1930's could see that a blanket of despair had befallen him. Though he was only in his early twenties, the courage of his youth had melted away and his optimism had withered†(31). In 1942, â€Å"the war at last came to America, Solly immediately enlisted in the Army. Finally he could escape his father's house†(33). It seems as if he is looking forward to the war coming to America, but since war is unpleasant, violent, and awful. After, the reader realized the reason he is jubilant is because the war is his savior from his father. After, serving in the Army for quite a while he came home for six weeks, and when he arrived home he went to the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. He met Father Conroy and asked him, â€Å"Have you ever heard of a creature like me, Father, a Jew who wants to be Catholic? As a matter of fact, Father Conroy answered, I have. He told Sol about the group of young Catholic Activists he met with every Monday night. Two of the women, he explained were Jewish converts†(42), who were Florence and her friend, who was also a ballerina. At the end of his first meeting he told his story: He felt as if he'd been walking around in the dark, and†¦ While he was station overseas, someone finally turned on the light, and that light was Jesus. She saw that there was a natural kindness about this soldier, and earnestness. He mentioned his father, a traditional Jew named Shepsel, who sounded an awful lot like Florence's grandfather Moishe. He hated what his decision would do to his father, the soldier was saying now, but there seemed no way around it-didn't Jesus say that he had come to set a man against his father? (43). He told them that he had already had been baptized as a Christian, but he was not sure which denomination of Christianity to settle on. He wanted to become a Catholic, but did not understand the role of Virgin Mary in Catholicism. He asked the group, â€Å"Since she isn't a member of the Holy Trinity, why would you worship her? Why would you pray to the Virgin Mary when you can pray directly to G-d? Florence answered, â€Å"You don't worship the Blessed Mother, you ask her to intercede†¦ This is part of the beauty of Catholicism that you have all these wonderful saints you can pray to. Who better to Petition G-d than His mother, the Queen of Heaven? â€Å"(43). This was the first answer in his life that he was satisfied with. When he went to visit Nat and his wife, Dottie, † They could see there was something different about him; it seemed as if the spark of his youth had returned, as if once again he had something at stake†(44). He was once again sent out to war. Florence soon received a letter from Sol, which he wrote, † I have been baptized and received my first communion. Needless to say, it was a most wonderful experience and I hope to strengthen my faith in Christ each single day†(47). At last, Sol has climbed out of his emotional despair, and not only has he gone through an almost complete emotional healing, but he has become spiritually enlightened through Catholicism. Stephen grew up in upstate New York on Gallupville Road, where his family was a safe distance from the true world, which is based on a materialistic and inauthentic way of life. He is the youngest of Paul and Veronica's eight children. His had no complaints about his isolated Catholic upbringing until his father died when he was ten. He only remembered a few things about his father. Such as every night at dinner he said, â€Å"You get a little food in your belly and you get rambunctious†(107), and once his father took him to a baseball game without any other siblings. After his father's death he put his yearn for spiritual enlightenment to the side for a little while. When he went to College, he and a few of the other students created a band called â€Å"The Right Profile†. When he had a little time off from school he caught a ride down to Florida with a friend, who was going down for his grandfather's birthday, to visit his mom, who moved there about the same time he began college. On the way down to Florida he met an elderly Jewish woman at the birthday party and was attracted to her. He thought to himself, â€Å"I had never felt so instantly attracted to another person. But the feeling went beyond attraction. It was as if I were a piece of her somehow, or as if within her dwelled a piece of me that I had been searching for†(161). He was attracted to her Neshama, her Jewish soul, and as a result of this attraction he began to question his ways of life and search for the truth. One day while fixing up a song that he was going to record the next day, â€Å"[his] hand without any instruction [he] was aware of, printed on the page: What do I want? â€Å"(166). He knew he did not want to continue this life of being a rock star, and on the other hand he said to himself, † The band is all I [have]; the band is all I [am]†(167). His life contained no depth to it, and he needed to find his meaning of life. He did not know at the time, that he was the same age as his mother when she quit ballet. AS he later learned, they both had removed themselves from one pursuit they cared about; they both felt, momentarily at least, that their lives were over. They had both asked themselves an unanswerable question and, hearing nothing but a still, small voice from within, a feathery voice of encouragement, had taken the leap. She leaped into the arms of Jesus, and he wound up leaping into the arms of Abigail Seymour. He could hardly have known that Abigail would lead him into a reckoning with his Jewish blood. Abigail studied to become an actress with a Jewish man named Ivan Kronenfeld, who she introduced to Stephen. He was an inspiration to Stephen life Madame Souvorina had been to his mother. He gave a lot of things for Stephen to ponder like when he told him, â€Å"you'd have been plenty Jewish for Hitler. You've got the map of Poland written all over your face. You could have worn a crucifix down to your knees, and they still would have thrown you in the ovens†(174). Also he informed Stephen that according to Jewish law he was still Jewish because his mother was Jewish. He attended Synagogue one Saturday with Ivan and when he saw all of the Jews kiss the Torah as if it contained everything that they would ever need and everything that could ever be known. And on that day hope rested on his soul. He did not know anything about his father and mother, or why they had converted, and what it meant to him. This unawareness Was beginning to gnaw at [him]. Spending time with Ivan had awakened in [him] the idea of a father. It wasn't that [he] wanted him as a father. [He] had his own;[he] just didn't know him yet. But Ivan had awakened something else in [him]† an appetite for the Jewish wisdom he dispensed. It was kaleidoscopic, baffling, thrilling; it spoke to [him] as nothing ever had. Did it speak to [him], though, on its own merit? Or because [his] long-lost father had been nourished on the same wisdom? Or perhaps it was because curling around somewhere inside [him] was a Jewish neshama, a Jewish soul? †¦ The time had come to find [his] own [family] (183). So he followed the noise inside his soul, he searched for his parent's roots. He became consumed with the desire to know how his mother and father decided to become Catholic. He wanted to know why they stopped being Jews. He met a few of his long lost relatives from his father's side, and began to reveal his father as a Jew. He broke up with Abigail because her Jewish quest was over, and also he was more focused on writing anyway. He went to Poland to the shtetl his family lived in to understand more about his family but he still was not satisfied. While his search for his parent's past continues he continues studying Judaism fervently. Stephen's leap of faith and spiritual enlightenment is not as immediate as his parents, but through much pain and toiling he has discover himself and has untangled his family's roots. According to Rabbi Eric Bram, Turbulent Souls is not only the story of a son's individuation and journey; it is also the story of American Jewishness in the twentieth century. The connection between the country of American and its Jews has transformed significantly in the past century, Turbulent Souls is a proof of that transformation, as observed through the generations of Stephen Dubner's family. Jewishness has been both a basis of triumphant pride and of bottomless shame, and something to flee from as well as to embrace. Along side Stephen Dubner, Jews today walk the tightrope of the American- Jewish.

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Health Care Framework - Essay Example As a result, the healthcare system needs to deal with issues such as developing an advance care plan and coming up with ways to manage the comorbid conditions associated with chronic illnesses. At present, most inpatients with complications of chronic illness still lack access to proper care that emphasizes effective management of their condition. This leads to poor disease control and complicates matters for patients compared to an environment where there is emphasis on appropriate care or effective management. In the United States, most patients suffering from complications of chronic illness tend to receive treatment from primary care clinicians (Wensing et al., 2014). In an effort to improve the care of patients with complications of chronic illness, health care providers need to consider the fact that most patients seek treatment from primary care providers, this trend is also likely to continue in the foreseeable future. Most patients tend to place value on a physician or a group of health care providers who have knowledge of the patient’s condition. However, since such care involves an integrative function, most patients report diminishing satisfaction or value over time. In addition, patients who require comprehensive treatment can benefit from a specialized care rather than primary care (Trehearne, Fishman, & Lin, 2014). Other than seeking specialized care for complex conditions, general training and experience among the primary caregivers is also crucial in managing the complications of chronic illness. The caregivers also need to understand behavioural change and self-management support to realize success in the care of patients with complications of chronic illness. Conversely, while seeking specialty care is seen to be more adaptable to new development with regard to the effective management of chronic illness, a shift from primary care elicits concerns

Role of the Public Relations Professional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role of the Public Relations Professional - Essay Example public relations department help increase the customer base of a company and it helps build a better corporate image which indirectly helps the marketing department. This paper discusses public relations and its impact in the corporate world. Public relations activities can either be perform in-house or by an external public relations agency. There are many successful businesses out there in the global economy. These companies may be good at their expertise, but most of them do not have the functional business knowledge to perform an adequate job with specific business functions such as public relations. Due to this business reality public relation agency such as 5W Public Relations exist. 5W is one of the 25 largest public relations agencies in the United States whose goal is to successful deliver their client’s messages to the target audiences (5wpr, 2009). Some of the corporate clients that enjoy the services of 5W are rapper Ice Cube, Barnes & Noble, Harrahs, Nice, Phillips Van Hausen Corporation, and McDonalds. Many of these corporate clients choose to outsource their public relations activities to public relations a public relation agency such as 5W because it more cost effective to contract them than to perform these types of activities themselves. For example in order to be successful with media relation you have good contacts with news and media channels to get media players to participate in your media initiatives. It is much easier for public relation agency to deal with the networking, than for a sole corporation or specific client to do it themselves. Public relations can have a high level of importance for corporation when they get into trouble due to bad corporate action that hurt the brand image of a firm. An example of a company that needed major help from its public relations activities after mishandling its international activities was Nike Corporation. In the late 1990’s Nike got involved in manufacturing activities in developing nation

United States Policy On China Essay Example for Free

United States Policy On China Essay The United States policy on China has a long history. In the Shanghai Communique, signed between the US and China in 1972, the United States of America acknowledged the People’s Republic of China assertion that, all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait believe there is only one China, and that Taiwan is part of the mainland. Other Communiques have also been adopted by subsequent administrations to determine various policies for the United States, on the basis of the original one, signed in 1972 by President Richard Nixon. The US later shifted its diplomatic base from Taipei to Beijing in recognition of the Mainland. In Taiwan the United States has maintained vibrant unofficial contacts in commercial and cultural aspects. America’s ‘’unofficial’’ friendship with Taiwan has being a source of discomfort for mainland China over the years. It is sad to note that in 2005 Mainland China passed an anti-secession law stating; The People’s Republic of China will turn to non-peaceful avenues to tame Taiwan, if it declares self independence. The US has had to trade cautiously when it approaches China’s internal affairs. This diplomacy has often bore fruits and avoided facing head-on the root problems. The US taking hard stances on China and Taiwan affairs can certainly be counter-productive. Hence, the justification of its present position on the said matters as matters stands. Today, the main threat to the Security of the United States is from Terrorism. Other Global challenges, are to be found in Climate change and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. To suitably address these issues the United States must engage China, to jointly tackle these problems. Taiwan has historically been allied to the US. The Taiwan Relations Act in the US domestic law allows for ‘’unofficial’’ contacts to thrive between the two countries. This status quo has to be maintained, so as to protect the traditional interests of the United States of America, while observing the protocols of the various Communiques binding China and the US. The United States stands as the only superpower with an economy that has great influence globally. China on the other hand has the number with a population of over 1 billion people been the most populated nation. Its economy has also been steadily rising as many US firm outsource their operations to China, though many do so with the prime aim of maximizing profits and cutting down their operational costs. The Chinese economic growth has certainly been â€Å"food for thought† for the policy makers. And the US residents concerned about the â€Å"job loses† East Asia is a strategic trading partner for US Companies and products. A China policy has to defend the interests of these trading companies operating in this region, from Japan to Indonesia. East Asia’s security is threatened by North Korea developing nuclear weapons. This threat can be effectively contained with the co-operation of China. The US should advocate for a policy which will eventually unite the two Koreas. In exchange of the ultimate unification of China and Taiwan, the US may opt to root for One Korea which is free and democratic. The emerging liberal Korea will open up new markets for the existing US companies found in these regions. As the grave concerns of North Korea acquiring nuclear weapons been a major US concern. The US has often seen China in a better position to pile pressure on North Korea to abandon its quest for nuclear weapons, as the US seeks for a peaceful solution to avert the nuclear proliferation: currently threatening to tear the region apart. The end of the cold war ushered in new global rivalry between the US and China solely based on historical and economic mistrusts. Rapid industrialization of China has had a ripple effect on the economies in East Asia, which now look up to China as a partner and protector, a role which was previously a prerogative of the US. Repressive politics has managed to put a check on dissenting voices within China thus enabling the leadership to look beyond the borders and assert China’s regional hegemony. Japan, though an economic power house, embraces a culture of anti-militarism and has not been at par to counter the monstrous growth of neighboring China, despite their historical rivalry. As China increases its regional influence, her other aim is to unite with Taiwan. Their modern approach to achieve this pursuit is through Soft Power. In Political Science, Military and economic power is considered as Hard Power while other means of coercion to achieve political gains such as; Cultural norms, political ethics, Uniting Ideas and accommodating Foreign Policies are classified as Soft Power. China, through its Soft Power has managed to win the trust of many countries across the Globe. Recent research indicates that, China has surpassed the US as the most trusted country in the world. China’s domestic development and stability has made it a world power and is now bent on edging out the US from East Asian affairs. After the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, it dawned on Chinese bureaucrats the need to consolidate power in the State. Previously an authoritative powerful State was considered a deterrent to economic growth. In China, power was centralized in the CCP. Later, the open door and reform policy led to a revolutionary change in the social-economic well-being of its citizens. The transformation of lifestyles has imbibed a sense of pride and confidence in the Chinese, breeding nationalism in the country. It is this renewed Nationalism which is a threat to the crisis in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese nationalists feel China should be forcibly united to Taiwan. Across Taiwan, political liberalization and economic empowerment has created a new Taiwanese identity. Political parties which advocate Taiwanese interests and consciousness fair better in National polls whereas parties which lean towards the Mainland are shunned. Majority in Taiwan favor the political situation to remain as it is. The rise of Nationalism in the Mainland has coincided with emergence of a Taiwanese identity. These two aspects are bound to repel any forces which aim to unite them and might even isolate the US bid to act as an intermediary. The US, recently concentrated its military might in fighting the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The recent world economic crunch has also dented the military war chest of the US. In the Far East, North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons has polarized the entire region. It is obvious The Japanese who looked upon the US as protector are starting to feel vulnerable. As China vows not to recognize the independence of Taiwan, it would be only appropriate to front for the remilitarization of Japan. This will eventually ease the burden on the US military in the Far East and contribute to peace and stability in the region. China and the United States can without doubt be argued to be the world’s two indomitable â€Å"super powers†. An idea has been mooted to establish CHIMERICA a G2 alliance to mediate on contentious world affairs. The two countries have however initiated the US-China strategic and Dialogue forum to tackle issues on global warming, humanitarian crisis and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Chinese authorities have adopted policies set to improve co-operation on both sides of the straits. China hopes to maintain a Status Quo in her favor; which simply means Taiwan will never be independent from the Mainland, especially taking into account its economic benefits. In 2010 the US proposed an arms sale to Taiwan which was vehemently opposed by mainland China. The US administration was to further antagonize Beijing when President Obama decided to host the Dalai Lama. The US today has its hands full in fighting terrorism at home and abroad. In the Far East, China’s increased economic might and international clout has tilted the power balance in her favor. A China Policy in tandem with the previous communiques will ease the existing security tensions in the Far East Region. The US has over time pursued a policy of close co-operation with a reformed and modernized China. This is to augur well with the over 48 Billion dollars worth of investments by US companies operating in China. The United States of America faces a formidable challenge as it tries to maintain hegemony in a region which has been transformed radically by an emerging economic power, China. Many US firms have often been accused of setting up tax heaven in China. These firms are viewed by those opposed to the whole idea of US firms outsourcing to China, as using US market to make huge profits and evading the responsibility of paying their fair share of national tax. This has forced the US lawmakers to devise ways and means to curb these loopholes, though its success rate is questionable. The Shanghai communique and others thereafter have managed to harmonize the relationship between the US and the People’s Republic of China. Each new US administration comes up with conflicting policies but which are based on the original communique, which advocates for one China. The signed documents are not binding and US interests, particularly in trade, are known to override these communiques. The above concerns raised have led policy makers on both sides of the equation to carefully assess their short and long-term policies towards each other. Some of the approaches that have been laid on the table for debate and implementation are:- Approach 1: Envision a crumbling China Most debates in America as concerns China policy tend to dwell on the emerging might of China, a big and threatening East Asian economic and military giant. Many others see a prosperous and cooperative Mainland China, which can is also be a ‘’Strategic partner’’ to the US. Rapid modernization may as well overwhelm the existing political structures in China to destabilize the country. At the moment, various provinces in the Mainland are agitating for self rule. An unstable Chinese State would reduce the government’s capabilities to contain serious vices in this vast country Industrialization in China has had its drawbacks as witnessed by the high pollution in urban areas. Stern laws are a deterrent to industries which pollute the environment. A weak, broken China will barely be able to enforce or control the resulting polluting culprits. A disintegrating China is a more serious threat to the US interests while a United China is a Strategic advantage. An American policy on China ought to advocate for a stable domestic China. As the worlds largest producers and consumers, China and the US should be in the forefront stemming global warming. To monitor levels of environmental degradation in a splintered China would be a nightmare. With a thriving and united mainland, the US can also count on Chinese support to disarm North Korea of its nuclear arsenal though peaceful negotiations. The prospects of a failing China are a disadvantage to the US trade interests in Eastern Asia, where numerous US multinationals have invested heavily. A China policy should support a strong Cohesive State; for floundering domestic China will deal a destabilizing blow externally. All the neighboring countries economies are dependant on China, a spill over effect of instability can be disastrous for the entire region. As China economy comes to par with the western world, improved lifestyles and access to information is bound to ferment discord as Citizens seek an outlet to flaunt their new wealth worldwide. A China policy should encourage cross cultural exchange between Citizens of the two States. An informed public will discard the deep rooted mistrusts of East verses West rivalries which are mostly myths. The success story of the Chinese economy would also boost the US tourism sectors as wealthy Chinese splash their wealth on US tours. Approach 2: Pursue ‘’One China’’ Dialogue In China the Taiwan issue is a matter close to the hearts of many. It is an emotional subject which can erupt negatively if not checked. The US has always been sympathetic towards Taiwan because of her liberalism and democratic ideals. This does not go down well with the Chinese who insist Taiwan is the 23rd province of the Mainland. To ease the tensions along the Taiwan Strait, China policy ought to lean on One Nation, which encompasses the Mainland and Taiwan. As mentioned before, the US can also bargain for a united China in exchange for ‘’One Korea’’ in the North. This will strategically secure North East Asia for the US as Japan is located in the neighborhood. The US should thereafter lobby for her trading concessions to be maintained. A sound and trusting relationship with China will eventually ensure world peace. Though some may feel that the US policy at times are viewed by many around the globe to be a bit forcefully, China’ s policy especially on foreign issues has been a bit laid back. Whereas, the US may favor sanction of countries that it considered a threat to its national security. China has not been in favor of those sanctions and may only favor them as a last result. When it comes to China’s internal affair especially on human rights issues, media freedom and democracy the Chinese have not taken lightly the US offshore comments on its internal affairs. It may seem that the standards of human rights issues are as far as the east is from the west when comparing china and the US. Across to the North East Japan’s economic muscle may eventually arouse Nationalism fronting for the re-armament of their country. After the testing of Nuclear weapons by North Korea, Japan must be feeling threatened. The emergence of new political players in Japan who profess aggressive military ideals can not be entirely ruled out. Historically a highly militarized Japan has been proved to be a global tyrant. It is whispered that ‘’ The Japanese have never learnt from their past military crimes’’, so they might as well be contained. Plus, given that Iran is also pursuing nuclear weapons and more nations are joining the nuclear club. Japan which has been traditionally enjoying military and economic superiority may be forced to rethink its policy. Though, China cannot be said to be a threat to Japan’s national security. The US has been advocating for nuclear non-proliferation and whether it will be able to convince the Chinese to reduce its nuclear stock pile is another hard rock to crack. The process of pursuing ‘’One China’’ Policy will maintain the Status Quo, China is known to prefer things to remain as they are, while plotting ways of controlling Taiwan. The US is a major supplier of arms to Taiwan and as things stand, the Status Quo serves well the profits of US multinationals. The rise of Taiwanese Identity has altered the mindsets in the Island, where majority now are against reunification with the Mainland and prefer the Status Quo remain. The split in the two China’s was fueled by Nationalists and Communists, as found in Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China respectively. It is highly probable that integrating the two will strengthen the renewed Nationalism in the Mainland. Political optimists believe China will eventually transform itself into a Democracy, though the process might take a while. With fast changing technology especially the fast growth of the internet China may find it hard to maintain its control of information freely flowing within its borders and would be forced to embrace democracy as viewed by the Americans. Some may argue that the US is playing double standards when it advocates for democracy whereas its own records are questionable. Especially, when Issues related to fighting terrorism are concerned. With some of the view in China and many other nations within the region feeling that the US policies should be toned down and they should bring more dialogue on the table. Approach 3: Engage Top-level Bureaucrats The US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue initiative is an example of Top-level bureaucratic engagement. The US Secretary of State heads the team in this initiative while the Chinese delegation is led by the Deputy Premier. High level consultations between the two countries have in the past opened the way for China to join the World Trade Organization. Bi-lateral Summits by the Presidents of the two powers have in the past yielded reforming solutions to global issues. With almost two digit growth rate been recorded by China, one may project and see that China may soon overtake the US economy which is growing at a much lower rate than China. Comparing the two countries one may see that the national cake is more evenly distributed in America than China. Even though the wide gap between the poor and rich may at times benefits the US in the sense that they can outsource labor intensive projects at a relatively lower cost. Meetings between the Top leadership increase the level of Trust and diminish any hostile perceptions held. Apart from China, the US should play the role mediator in issues affecting the East Asia region. America’s policy in the region will determine the relations with China. US national interests in diplomacy, military and economics will only be well protected when top government executives engage directly with the leadership of this region. US standing among the Nations of East Asia will affect China’s views on issues. The US diplomats should push to strengthen existing alliances, while assessing the composition and capacity of stationed troops to fulfill their missions effectively. China should also be engaged so as to participate in regional issues such as counter terrorism, Disaster management and peacekeeping. To check on North Korea, Trilateral consultations with the Republic of Korea and Japan should be intensified. Further consultations with Beijing and Moscow needed to pressurize Pyongyang to cede developing nuclear weapons. Within the East Asia region, the US should support sound structural economic reforms in particular countries. This will provide the foundation for a sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Aid ought to be granted to establish regional institutions which are comfortable with America’s involvement in East Asia affairs. Approach 4: Arms Trade On January of 2010, the US was closing a deal worth $6. 4 billion selling arms to Taiwan. Mainland China immediately threatened to impose restrictions on the US firms selling the arms. PRC later suspended consultations on certain regional and international issues. The US gesture (arms sale), was seen as a snub to the spirit of ‘’One China’’. However the US-Japan alliance is favorable to the interests of China. Japan, due to her bloody military past is viewed with suspicion in the region. The US has effectively put on check any Japanese military ambitions. China has in the past borne the brunt of Japan’s military might and is comfortable with US limiting her capabilities. Japan is a nation with great capability when it comes to acquisition of military superiority. It has not lately been in the arms race seen within the region, which has played very well with the Chinese. This can partially be attributed to the US check and balances on Japan. Though the whether the status quo remains is a thorny issue that would need to be addressed in future. Across Japan, North Korea is flexing her nuclear muscle from a tightly closed and controlled society. This scenario best presents the US with an opportunity to re-arm Japan on terms strictly dictated by the US. Thereafter this process will eventually offer US firms a lucrative avenue to invest in Japan’s, National Security industry. The level of militarization will however be in tandem with China and Russia’s aspirations, who can also act as mediators in the balancing of power along the Sea of Japan.

Queen Elizabeth I Essay Example for Free

Queen Elizabeth I Essay The play A Midsummer Nights Dream was written by William Shakespeare in 1594. From the theme and context of the play, I can conclude that it was probably written for a wedding. It would be similar to the epithalamion written at weddings at this time, but a more elaborate version. Many of the lines rhyme and it all has the feel of poetry: some beautiful and some seeming supernatural and spell-like. It canvasses all aspects of marriage through plot, characters and symbolism, touching on both light and dark areas. The tragic side is shown more through references that actually spelling it out; Pyramus and Thisby is one example of a union which ended in catastrophe. However, despite this, the main idea of marriage is perceived as harmonious; all is shown in a comic frame, with a humorous touch and a happy ending. This would be an appropriate feel for a wedding play because it gives the concept of marriage an idyllic feel, telling the newlyweds what they want to hear: that marriage is a good idea. If you search the play in depth, you will find that not only is it about the union of people in a marriage, but also about the unity of opposing forces in nature and bringing harmony from chaos. It is also, in an even broader sense, about the Elizabethan ideals about God and the universe. To clarify exactly what these ideals were and how A Midsummer Nights Dream defines them, I must start at the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve. Elizabethans believed in everything fitting into its natural place. After studying the sky, they thought the universe was made up of spheres, one containing the stars, one containing planets and so on. They thought the Earth was at the centre of the universe; the spheres they believed in were a way of dealing with the fact that different bodies in the sky moved in different ways. It was thought that these spheres made the world harmonious, but humans couldnt see the true beauty of it because of Adam and Eve. The legend goes that Eve was tempted by the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This, apparently, caused the whole human race to fall from Gods grace. Now, the relevance of this to A Midsummer Nights Dream and the theme of marriage is that when this happened, it meant man kind could not the music of the spheres; they were only told by God that everything had its place. Even the evil in the world has a reason for being there. Humans cannot see quite how everything fits in because of their sin. They do not fully understand why some things happened because they cant see the big picture. This was illustrated by the Great Chain of Being. God came at the top of this chain, with angels under Him. Then came nature (represented by Oberon and Titania), people (shown in all the human characters), and below them animals, plants and rocks. Humans came between animals and Angels, a relationship personified by Bottom. He is a typical human, not very bright or beautiful, but just a normal working class person. He then has a link with both the animal and angel world; he is turned into an ass and he has a relationship with Titania. This establishes the link between animals, angles and humans, and also tells you about the human nature. They are always trying to find something greater that themselves (for example fairies or angels) but to the greater beings, they must look as animals do to us far beneath them and having little or no brains. Also exhibiting the same way of thinking was the fact that men came above women in the category of humans. If you were to sum up the play with one idea, this is the single idea addressed most eloquently. Many events in A Midsummer Nights Dream suggest the superiority of men, through the media of imagery, plot and characters, which will be tackled later. The Elizabethan idea of the cosmos is also addressed by the union of opposites connected with marriage. Their idea of the universe is that everything joins together perfectly and everything has its place. Things which may not seem to have a purpose will have been created by God for a reason; we just dont know what that is. The prime example is the joining of a man and a woman in marriage. It may seem to make more sense to join two women or two men, as these will have more in common, but this play is trying to say a little of both the male and female persona is needed to make the match united. They are like opposite forces, but marriage brings them together. It is as is they have only half of the qualities needed to bring harmony and they must be brought together in marriage to make a whole. The same is also being expressed through the union of other opposite forces. There are many contrasting pairs which link hand in hand in this play: night and day; sleeping and waking; supernatural and mortal; discord and harmony; passion and reason; and ultimately female and male. These pairs are all the exact opposite of each other; and yet Shakespeare is presenting the notion that we need each half of the pair to make the world harmonious.

Concepts of Political Deviance and Crime

Concepts of Political Deviance and Crime Political deviance is a across the board perception which is the greater part of the circumstances identified with the political deviance. The majority of the circumstances, it is rehearsed by the people who are in expert. Political deviance is executed in the position of administration or people attempting to have changes in social changes. It concentrates on implies that will ascribe to fear based oppression and furthermore defiance with the guide of social equality. There are the presumptions of obligation by people to accomplish their represents diverse reasons and purposes. The presumptions of obligations are qualities with the dubious origination which is as the results of the ground of legislative issues (Lauderdale, 2010). Public attitude or the political opinion is the qualities of the people which are amassed with the overall public of the favored country. Additionally, it can be said to be the unpredictability of how assessments are seen by various gatherings of individuals and the general presumptions they will have towards the political deviance. The factors which are related with the states of mind of general society about the political deviance incorporate; the political aberrance is impacted essentially by the media and the adequacy of police in a given nation. The power of the media creates fear and punitive attributes of the public. Also, inclusive variables which are associated with the attitudes of the public in the relation of the political deviance includes gender, education levels, race, income, age and in the same time status of individuals on matters of marital. All these are the attributes are variables which are associated with political deviance. Normalization is the process of restructuring of available data so that they can be in a position to meet the desired essential tasks. Also, it can be said to be the strategy of showing tables in to such an extent that the results of utilizing databases can be as proposed by the clients. It can include the reason for replicating or copying information in the premises of the databases with a specific end goal to make extra tables. In this manner, it distinguishes the information which should show up in the database and in a similar time recognizable proof of the connections between the tables and the favored segments (Blekesaune Quadagno, 2003). Political deviance has been normalized in the United States of America in the recent times of the history of the country. The normalization of deviance in the United States has produced a ton of qualities of the sound administration of the nation over the previous years. The standardization of deviance has been said to be have come about because of the expansive organization of violations and in a similar time the disappointments of corporates in the United States of America. It is an ever-display peril and prompted to the intricacy of establishments which oversees or represents the whole world. The normalization of deviance has ruled United States current states of affairs and has gradually been argued to be an acknowledged situation from the passageways of authority or supremacy. At that point it has been perceived by the corporate media and in the long run by the general population because of absence of energy to block such deviance of political angles. Since deviance has been socially being standardized, there is no longer checking of activities which can profoundly be insufficient in the law of America. The international laws which would be advanced in political systems in the demonstration of times to have been supplanted with the ambassadors laws which have no power in leading such statements (Rhoades Browning, 2007). The United States of America has projected the abolishment of the United Nations charter for the country to remain aggressive than any other country in the globe. Also, the state is conducting harmful operations in other nations such as Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia and at the same time Libya. Besides, Special Forces of the United States conducts secret operations in other countries illegally. Threats conducted to Iran by the United States even though there was the signing of a diplomatic which was to ensure that both countries remained peacefully in settling their differences. Recently, the statement of Donald trump was backing the United States threatening other countries, and it is well known that every threat spearheaded war in the world. The justifications of the United States of America was the idea of self-defense but rather increased deviance between America and other countries. Thus the Americans are conducting what can be said to be a cold war to other countries (Piven Cloward, 2002). On social aspects, deviance has employed, and there have been the violating of the accepted norms in the enacted rules governing America. Norms are expectations which individuals in a country should be guided by. The legalization of marriages of the same gender and sexes have left the world in worry for what the United States of America have legalized. In conclusion, the United States of America have normalized the political deviance. References Lauderdale, P. (2010). A political analysis of deviance (pp. 72-91). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Blekesaune, M., Quadagno, J. (2003). Public attitudes toward welfare state policies a comparative analysis of 24 nations. European Sociological Review, 19(5), 415-427. Rhoades, C., Browning, P. (2007). Normalization at what price? Mental Retardation, 15(2), 24. Piven, F. F., Cloward, R. A. (2002). Normalizing collective protest. Frontiers in social movement theory, 301.

The Rape of the Lock Essay example -- The Rape of the Lock Alexander P

The Rape of the Lock Pope's portrayal of Belinda and her society in 'The Rape of the Lock' This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! In 'The Rape of the Lock' Alexander Pope (1688-1744) employs a mock-epic style to satirise the 'beau-monde' (fashionable world, society of the elite) of eighteenth century England. The richness of the poem, however, reveals more than a straightforward satirical attack. Alongside the criticism we can detect Pope's fascination with, and perhaps admiration for, Belinda and the society in which she moves. Pope himself was not part of the 'beau-monde'. He knew the families on which the poem is based but his own parents, though probably comfortably off, were not so rich or of the class one would have to be in to move in Belinda's circle. He associated with learned men and poets, and there can have been little common ground between the company he kept at Will's Coffee House and those who frequented Hampton Court. The incident at the centre of the poem is the Baron's theft of a lock of hair and the ensuing estrangement of two families. The opening lines of the poem introduce the reader to the satirical stance he is taking towards the society portrayed in the poem. What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things, [I.1-2] Pope suggests that they are taking a trivial incident too seriously, displaying an exaggerated sense of their own importance. Throughout the poem Pope continues to make this point through his use of the mock-epic style, which itself takes a trivial incident too seriously, and uses disproportionately grand language to describe an unworthy subject. Belinda is belittled earl... ...y men of the age. An affinity between them is revealed by Pope's empathy, fine judgements, and carefully aimed criticisms, and Pope must have been at least a little fascinated by the 'beau-monde' to apply his talents to this poem which, in an ironic way, celebrates Belinda and her world and, as Pope himself suggests in the final couplet of the poem, has preserved them for posterity. This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! [V.149-50] References Butt, John (Ed). The Poems of Alexander Pope. A one-volume edition of the Twickenham text with selected annotations. London. Methuen & Co Ltd. 1963. First published in University Paperbacks 1965, Reprinted with corrections 1968. Reprinted 1977 Bibliography Cunningham. The Rape of the Lock. Oxford University Press. 1971 Gordon. A Preface to Pope. Longman. 1976

Role of Smallpox Vaccine in the Prevention and Treatment of Variola maj

Role of Smallpox Vaccine in the Prevention and Treatment of Variola major and Variola minor Smallpox has claimed the lives of many ever since the Middle Ages. However, it has now been eradicated due in part to a very effective vaccine. The vaccine has saved the lives of thousands and has eradicated the disease in the history of man kind. This miracle vaccine can greatly diminish the effects variola and even stop the disease from becoming fatal. The vaccine is also the only known way to fight the smallpox, and until an antiviral agent is found, it will be humanity’s only defense against this deadly and devastating disease. The pathogenic virus Variola causes the well-known and often deadly virus smallpox. Smallpox has been eradicated for about 25 years, mostly on the part of a successful vaccine. As mentioned earlier, Variola is a virus. There are three forms of the virus that are most prominent: variola, variola hemorrhagica, and varioloid. (2) All these viruses are classified as the cause of smallpox though simulate different symptoms. Any individual with any of these viruses can either have variola major or variola minor. Variola major is the more severe form of smallpox. (2) Unvaccinated patients diagnosed with variola major have a 30-50% fatality rate, while if the same patients had variola minor, they would have a 1-2% chance of death. (3) In vaccinated patients, only 3% of people diagnosed with variola major die. With a few exceptions, no vaccinated patients with the minor form of the disease have died. Smallpox is characterized by a series of symptoms. These symptoms will first occur within 7-17 days after exposure to the virus. (3) The symptoms may include fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting or severe muscles ac... ... may have been one of the most influential vaccines ever developed. Its role in the prevention of smallpox has been great. Role of Smallpox Vaccine†¦5 References 1. Center for Disease Control. (2004, December). Smallpox Disease Overview. Center for Disease Control. Date retrieved: July 12, 2005: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp 2. Thomas, R. (1907). Variola. The Eclectic Practice of Medicine. Date retrieved: July 21, 2005: http://www.ibilio.org/herbmed/eclectic/thomas/smallpox.html 3. Utah Department of Health: Bureau of Epidemiology. (2002). Smallpox (Variola). Smallpox (Variola). Date retrieved: July 21, 2005: file:///X|/Epidemiology/ELS_old/epidemiology/epifacts/smallpox.html 4. World health Organization. Smallpox. World Health Org. Date retrieved: July 21, 2005: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheet/smallpox/en/print.html

Bibliography of Martin Luther King, Jr Essay

Martin Luther King, Jr. is s renowned civil right activities in the history of the United States.   He was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia[1].   Martin was born son to the famous Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and his mother was Alberta Williams King.   Initially he was named Michael King, Jr. but when the family visited Europe in 1934 which took them to Germany, his father decided to change their names to Martin in order to honor Martin Luther who was a German Protestant. King had an older sister Willie christen born in 1927 and also a younger brother Alfred Daniel born in 1930. His family was a Christian family and therefore in his early life, King was very active in the church affair.  Ã‚   He sang in the church choir at the 1939 premiere which was produced with the movie Gone with the wind. He joined Morehouse College by the time he was fifteen years but he skipped the ninth and the twelfth high school grades which means he left the school without formal graduation.   However he had a vision in education and he continued in the same school where he graduated from the Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1948. He then enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary where he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1951. He immediately began his doctoral studies specializing in Systematic theology in Boston University where he received a Doctor of Philosophy in 1955. Although a 1980s inquiry into his work found out that some of portions of his work were plagiarized, King’s dissertation is still considered as a one of the most important work in his academic scholarship. It still makes an intelligent contribution to the scholarly world.   In 1953 he married Coretta Scott on her mother’s house lawn and was blessed with four children including Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine. At the age of 25 he became a pastor in 1954 in Montgomery, Alabama. He became the youngest pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist church. Before he died, martin Luther king is credited with having made a historical mark in the life of American people. He helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conferences in 1957 and the Montgomery Bus boycott of 1955. He is also famed to this â€Å"I have a Dream† speech which was delivered on     the match on Washington. He has been established as one of the greatest orator in the history of the US. He was assassinated on 1968 when he had visited Memphis in Tennessee where he had gone to show solidarity with the Black sanitary public works employees who were on strike.   After delivering as speech on â€Å"I have been to the mountaintop†, he was shot in his room on April 4 1968 while standing on a balcony[2]. He was honored with a noble prize posthumously in 2004. Analysis of historical contribution of Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther made a history contribution in his life.   As a Baptist he became involved in civil right movements during his early days in his pastoral career. He became the youngest person to receive the Noble Peace Prize owing to his work on segregation and racial discrimination by articulating for civil disobedience and the use of other non-violent means.   He took a religious stance in his approach to many issues affecting the American people. At the time of his death he had vowed to focus his efforts on eliminating poverty and opposition to the Vietnam War where he took a religious approach to the issues. King was influenced to civil rights activism by many people including Thurman who was a civil rights leader and a theologian, Gandhi and Rustin who advocated for civil rights through non-violent means, and many others. One of his greatest achievements was the Montgomery Bus Boycott which took place in 1955-56. This was a boycott that was aimed at eliminating racial segregation after a black woman Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to comply with Jim Crow Law which required her to give her seat to a white man. King led the boycott which lasted for about 385 days and which saw the end of racial segregation on the Montgomery public bus. King was also very instrumental in founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957[3]. This group was created in order to harness the moral authority of the church which led to organizing of the power of black churches and conducted non-violent protests calling for civil rights reforms. King was the leader of the organization till he died.   King was an adherent of civil disobedience through the use of non-violent means. He organized several protests that called for equal rights among the blacks and ht white. His efforts convinced the whole America that civil right movement was the right vehicle that could bring  Ã‚   equity among all races in the great nation. Not even the efforts of the FBI to thwart his effort on  Ã‚   accusation of being used by communists deterred his work.   The marches organized by King eventually led to the recognition of the right of blacks with the passage of the Civil Right Act of 1964 and the Voting Right Acts of 1965. He is credited with having organized a successful march on Washington in 1963 which was aimed at expressing the job and freedom conditions of the black in the South.   It is during this match that he delivered his famous speech â€Å"I have a Dream† which gave hope to the black community of a good future life.   Throughout his life, King made great contribution to the cause of humanity. Bibliography Kirk, J. (2005). Martin Luther King Jr. London; Pearson Longman Nick, K. (2005). Judgment days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr and the laws that changed America.   Houghton Mifflin Book William, P. (2003). An act of state: The execution of Martin Luther King. Mercer University Press [1] Kirk, J. (2005). Martin Luther King Jr. London; Pearson Longman [2] William, P. (2003). An act of state: The execution of Martin Luther King. Mercer University Press [3] Nick, K. (2005). Judgment days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr and the laws that changed America.   Houghton Mifflin Book

Regulation of Hate Speech Essay

The idea that the government might cut off hateful or propaganda filled-speech is counter to the idea that America cherishes, that all people are created equal with unalienable rights, one of which is the right to voice unpopular ideas. Racist speech on campus or in the public square is uninviting, but acceptable, under certain circumstances. In Charles R. Lawrence III’s essay, â€Å"On Racist Speech,† Lawrence argues against the regulation of speech that he deems inflammatory, however he does seem to play both sides of the fence. He argues against regulation of racist speech by the government that does not contribute to the overall health of the minority community discourages censorship that could lead to a duct taping over certain mouths in America, in effect he would be happy if the majority populations simply let the minorities have a little more of the crumbs. The more unpopular an ideas is the less likely people will view the idea is a net benefit to humanity. Fostering free speech in the America, in the Court room and on college campuses would bring about a new paradigm in relations between minority and majority groups because they may start to understand each other in a more humane way. Lawrence suggests that a community of fair-minded people will self-regulate speech. The question of self regulation becomes an easily misunderstood idea, if it is not rectified with sanctions. Ku Klux Klan members (for instance) have no moral concern over the groups that they belittle and harass. Instead of demonizing the racist groups, Lawrence calls for counter rallies at University to bring the atmosphere of free speech to every citizen. Counter demonstrations are a healthy and necessary activity; however, the community, as a whole, needs to send a message that they strive for is positive, while the racist groups represent negativity. According to Lawrence, a distinction is drawn on campus â€Å"between ideas [that] are presented at times and places and manners that provide an opportunity for reasoned rebuttal or escape from immediate injury,† and ideas that are used as â€Å"assault weapons† (64). If counter demonstrations alone were sufficient to combat racism, then laws or university regulations would not be needed. Kermit Roosevelt III in his article â€Å"States as Speakers† offers another opinion somewhat piggy backing on the matter of restricted free speech, he suggests that â€Å"the concept that government may restrict speech of some elements of our society in order to enhance the relative voice of others is wholly foreign to the First Amendment† (62) If one were to intentionally violate the university’s regulations, then one voluntarily gives away his or her privilege to free speech; however, by forbidding the expression of racist speech on campus, or in workplaces, responsible authorities do not violate the First Amendment. Institutionalized racism as exemplified by the landmark Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education, and it is a lesson to all Americans. The Supreme Court struck down the concept of â€Å"separate but equal,† which states that segregation is socially just as long as whites and nonwhites receive equal resources (Lawrence 62). Not surprisingly, this is not how segregation works. Some members of the dominant class (the white majority) did not like the idea of integrated schools, but they were unable to prevent societal change because the winds of change were blowing against them. Maud Blair illustrates in her article â€Å"Whiteness as institutionalized racism as conspiracy: understanding the paradigm† suggests that â€Å"Whiteness is an ideology or social creation, a signifier of power and privilege in both global and local terms. Whiteness is not †¦ to be mistaken for White people although the two are of course closely linked. This civil rights movement continued despite the segregationist and supporters of separate but equal and the so called â€Å"whiteness stereotype†. Lawrence combats this idea with a remedy of his own, while arguing to protect minorities we must start â€Å"eliminating the system of signs and symbols that signal the inferiority of blacks† (62). Interestingly, Lawrence seems to play both sides of the fence he wants to appease the writes community while toying with minorities in a deceitful way. He proposes that it may even be elitist or judgmental to protect minorities; he wonders how the unpersecuted can know the effects of persecution (62). The real issue is keeping protective measures from going so far that those who enact such measures end up doing exactly what racists are guilty of; that is, assuming that minorities are inferior and incapable of defending themselves. While the idea of reducing hate speech is an ideal one, some minorities understand that allowing Neo Nazis who demonstrate in the public square, while unpleasant and hurtful, is a necessary evil. Racists hate mongers, and bigots of all kinds are intent on destroying the sense of safety that the minority community should be able to enjoy. It is never acceptable for a racist group to intimidate other minority groups without penalty. The penalty should not be the elimination of all speech because a few fanatics want to have their way. While many minority groups do not support the censorship of free speech, some Americans acknowledge the result of emotional and physical pain that might be inflicted upon the intended targets of a racist demonstration. Racist demonstrations are a means of intimidation and oppression. Lawrence argues how the regulation of hateful speech â€Å"cannot be anticipated or avoided,† but states that announcing the time and location of racist demonstrations â€Å"would give minority-group members and their allies the chance to avoid the speech altogether† (63). The protection of ritualized racism, demonstrations, rallies, and marches, is therefore, acceptable to Lawrence. Sustaining Lawrence’s assertions, Jeffery Liew author of the article â€Å"Hate Speech: Asian American Students’ Justice Judgments and Psychological Responses† suggests that â€Å"Hate crime legislation is controversial for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it can often conflict with a core value of American democracy enshrined in the First Amendment: the freedom of speech† (364). Liew’s argument is a based on the American democracy could be devalued if censorship is taken serious and implemented. The Supreme Court weighs heavily on the minds of free speech participating members. If Lawrence and Liew’s arguments are to be taken seriously, they needs to reexamine the possible that violence can occur because the reaction when conflict mixed with emotion is sometimes a recipe for an explosion of violence. Any form of violence is not a guaranteed free speech right. Lawrence also implies that government regulation breeds Libertarian martyrs because Libertarians naturally dislike government regulation. If the government regulates all forms of speech, then Libertarian Americans will, in turn, argue for a necessary remedy to the regulation. When some Libertarians are displeasing justify deregulation. The government regulates everything from air and tobacco to arsenic in the water the Libertarians would gladly point out. When it comes to the First Amendment activist and free speech advocate Annabel Patterson has a simpler view in her article â€Å"More Speech on Free Speech† she asserts â€Å"As Justice Holmes said long ago (in Gitlow v. New York). Every idea is an incitement to somebody . . . every sentence is potentially, in some situation[s] . . . fighting word[s]† (Fish, qtd in Patterson 60). As an alternative to additional laws governing expression, Lawrence makes a case for the inclusion of lawyers in the process of protection of free speech: â€Å"[g]ood lawyers can create exceptions and narrow interpretations that limit the harm of hate speech without opening the floodgates of censorship† (64). The question of separation of powers starts to rear its ugly head. With every day that passes the United States seems to lose another piece of freedom, or so the Libertarians would have you believe. Lawrence’s assertions makes one believe that he wants the judicial branch involved in First Amendment issues. There are fallacies in his argument; first, his premise that lawyers would abide by the limits of their power is somewhat preposterous. Secondly, the Supreme Court has made some awful decisions in its history. The Dred Scott case is a prime example of the government regulating from the bench. Lawrence is correct in his assertion that one’s free speech rights cannot be regulated by the government; however, they can be self-regulated by universities and community colleges across the country, via the idea of time, place, and manner, as well as self-regulation by open-minded communities. We see this today as many college campuses allow speech that they deem ok, while disregarding the rights of the conservative community to have the same rights. There may be a day when all men and women are created equal in the sight of the college administrator. While the United States’ government regulates hate speech when it is intended to incite bodily harm amongst its victims, it generally does not get involved in matters of derogatory speech because it is covered in the 1st Amendment. The intent of the framers of the Constitution made it crystal clear that the only way to restrict Free Speech rights was to change the constitution. There are, and always will be, moments when the rights of some seem unfair to others, however freedom comes with its prices, and those prices seem sometimes unbearable to one’s sole. However, the price of free speech is borne by the people sworn to protect this country, the soldiers that lay down their lives in conjunction with the idea that every person has a value and the values of America supersede those of any other country. It does not matter if one personally agrees with another person’s First Amendment rights, because if you are an American you are guaranteed full protection under the law. Government regulation of speech goes against the very nature of America and should be struck down at every possible moment. Members of the ACLU and ACLJ ironically agree in this concept. America need not go down the road to perdition or it may not come back with its dignity intact.

Literature-based discovery of diabetes

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known mediators of cellular damage in multiple diseases including diabetic complications. Despite its importance, no comprehensive database is currently available for the genes associated with ROS. Methods We present ROS- and diabetes-related targets (genes/proteins) collected from the biomedical literature through a text mining technology. A web-based literature mining tool, SciMiner, was applied to 54 biomedical papers indexed with diabetes and ROS by PubMed to identify relevant targets.Over-represented targets in the ROS-diabetes literature were obtained through comparisons against randomly selected literature. The expression levels of nine genes, selected from the top ranked ROS-diabetes set, were measured in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of diabetic and non-diabetic DBA/2J mice in order to evaluate the biological relevance of literature- derived targets in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. Results SciMiner identified 1,026 ROS- and diabet es-related targets from the 54 biomedical papers (http://Jdrf. eurology. med. umich. edu/ROSDiabetes/ webcite). Fifty-three targets were significantly over-represented in the ROS-diabetes literature ompared to randomly selected literature. These over-represented targets included well-known members of the oxidative stress response including catalase, the NADPH oxidase family, and the superoxide dismutase family of proteins. Eight of the nine selected genes exhibited significant differential expression between diabetic and non-diabetic mice.For six genes, the direction of expression change in diabetes paralleled enhanced oxidative stress in the DRG. Conclusions Literature mining compiled ROS-diabetes related targets from the biomedical literature and led us to evaluate the biological relevance of selected targets in the athogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body does not produce or properly respond to insulin, a hormone required to convert ca rbohydrates into energy for daily life. According to the American Diabetes Association, 23. million children and adults, approximately 7. 8% of the population in the United States, have diabetes [1]. The cost of diabetes in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion [1]. The micro- and macro-vascular complications of diabetes are the most common causes of renal tailure, blindness and amputations leading to significant morta y, morbidity poor quality of life; however, incomplete understanding of the causes of diabetic complications hinders the development of mechanism-based therapies.In vivo and in vitro experiments implicate a number of enzymatic and non-enzymatic metabolic pathways in the initiation and progression of diabetic complications [2] including: (1) increased polyol pathway activity leading to sorbitol and fructose accumulation, NAD(P)-redox imbalances and changes in signal transduction; (2) non- enzymatic glycation of proteins yielding â€Å"advanced glycation end-productsâ €  (AGES); (3) ctivation of protein kinase C (PKC), initiating a cascade of intracellular stress responses; and (4) increased hexosamine pathway flux [2,3].Only recently has a link among these pathways been established that provides a unified mechanism of tissue damage. Each of these pathways directly and indirectly leads to overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [23]. ROS are highly reactive ions or small molecules including oxygen ions, free radicals and peroxides, formed as natural byproducts of cellular energy metabolism. ROS are implicated in multiple cellular pathways such as mitogen-activated protein kinase MAPK) signaling, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase ONK), cell proliferation and apoptosis [4-6].Due to the highly reactive properties of ROS, excessive ROS may cause significant damage to proteins, DNA, RNA and lipids. All cells express enzymes capable of neutralizing ROS. In addition to the maintenance of antioxidant systems such as glutathione and thioredoxins, pri mary sensory neurons express two main detoxifying enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD) [7] and catalase [8]. SOD converts superoxide (02-) to H202, which is reduced to H20 by glutathione and catalase [8].SODI is the main form of SOD in the cytoplasm; SOD2 is located within the itochondria. In neurons, SODI activity represents approximately 90% of total SOD activity and SOD2 approximately 10% [9]. Under diabetic conditions, this protective mechanism is overwhelmed due to the substantial increase in ROS, leading to cellular damage and dysfunction [10]. The idea that increased ROS and oxidative stress contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications has led scientists to investigate different oxidative stress pathways [7,11].Inhibition of ROS or maintenance of euglycemia restores metabolic and vascular imbalances and blocks both the initiation and progression of omplications [1 2,13]. Despite the significant implications and extensive research into the role of ROS in diabetes, n o comprehensive database regarding ROS-related genes or proteins is currently available. In the present study, a comprehensive list of ROS- and diabetes-related targets (genes/proteins) was compiled from the biomedical literature through text mining technology.SciMiner, a web-based literature mining tool [14], was used to retrieve and process documents and identify targets from the text. SciMiner provides a convenient web-based platform for target-identification within the biomedical iterature, similar to other tools including EBIMed [1 5], ALI BABA [16], and Polysearch [1 7]; however, SciMiner is unique in that it searches tull text documents, suppo free-text PubMed query style, and allows the comparison of target lists from multiple queries.The ROS-diabetes targets collected by SciMiner were further tested against randomly selected non-ROS-diabetes literature to identify targets that are significantly over- represented in the ROS-diabetes literature. Functional enrichment analyses were performed on these targets to identify significantly over-represented biological unctions in terms of Gene Ontology (GO) terms and pathways. In order to confirm the biological relevance of the over-represented ROS-diabetes targets, the gene expression levels of nine selected targets were measured in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from mice with and without diabetes.DRG contain primary sensory neurons that relay information from the periphery to the central nervous system (CNS) Unlike the CNS, DRG are not protected by a blood-nerve barrier, and are consequently vulnerable to metabolic and toxic injury [19]. We hypothesize that differential expression of identified targets in DRG would confirm heir involvement in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. Defining ROS-diabetes literature To retrieve the list of biomedical literature associated with ROS and diabetes, PubMed was queried using (â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species†[MeSH] AND â€Å"Diabetes Mellitus†[MeSH]).This que ry yielded 54 articles as of April 27, 2009. SciMiner, a web-based literature mining tool [14], was used to retrieve and process the abstracts and available full text documents to identify targets (full text documents were available for approximately 40% of the 1 , 1 54 articles). SciMiner-identified targets, eported in the form of HGNC [HUGO (Human Genome Organization) Gene Nomenclature Committee] genes, were confirmed by manual review of the text. Comparison with human curated data (NCBI Gene2PubMed) The NCBI Gene database provides links between Gene and PubMed.The links are the result of (1) manual curation within the NCBI via literature analysis as part of generating a Gene record, (2) integration of information from other public databases, and (3) GeneRlF (Gene Reference Into Function) in which human experts provide a brief summary of gene functions and make the connections between citation PubMed) and Gene databases. For the 54 ROS-diabetes articles, gene-paper associations we re retrieved from the NCBI Gene database. Non-human genes were mapped to homologous human genes through the NCBI HomoloGene database.The retrieved genes were compared against the SciMiner derived targets. Any genes missed by SciMiner were added to the ROS-diabetes target set. Protein-protein interactions among ROS-diabetes targets To indirectly examine the association of literature derived targets (by SciMiner and NCBI Gene2PubMed) with ROS and diabetes, protein-protein interactions (PPIs) mong the targets were surveyed This was based on an assumption that targets are more likely to have PPIs with each other if they are truly associated within the same biological functions/pathways.A PPI network of the ROS-diabetes targets was generated using the Michigan Molecular Interactions (MIMI, http://mimi. ncibi. org/ webcite) database [20] and compared against 100 PPI networks of randomly drawn sets (the same number of the ROS-diabetes target set) from HUGO. A standard Z-test and one sample T-test were used to calculate the statistical significance of the ROS- diabetes PPI network with respect to the random PPI networks.Functional enrichment analysis Literature derived ROS-diabetes targets (by SciMiner and NCBI Gene2PubMed) were subject to functional enrichment analyses to identify significantly over-represented biological functions in terms of Gene Ontology [21], pathways (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG, http://www. genome. ]p/kegg/ webcite) [22] and Reactome http://www. reactome. org/ webcite[23]). Fisher's exact test [24] was used to calculate the statistical significance of these biological functions with BenJamini-Hochberg (BH) adjusted p-value ; 0. 5 [25] as the cut-off. Over-represented ROS-diabetes targets Defining background corpora To identify a subset of targets that are highly over-represented within the ROS- diabetes targets, the frequency of each target (defined as the number of documents in which the target was identified divided by the n umber of total documents in the query) was compared against the frequencies in randomly selected background corpora.Depending on how the background set is defined, over-represented targets may vary widely; therefore, to maintain the background corpora close to the ROS and diabetes context, documents were selected from the same Journal, volume, and issue f the 54 ROS-diabetes documents, but were NOT indexed with â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species†[MeSH] nor â€Å"Diabetes Mellitus†[MeSH]. For example, one of the ROS-diabetes articles (PMID: 18227068), was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 283, Issue 16. This issue contained 85 papers, 78 of which were not indexed with either â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species†[MeSH] or â€Å"Diabetes Mellitus†[MeSH] indexed.One of these 78 papers was randomly selected as a background document. Three sets of 54 documents were selected using this approach and processed using SciMiner. Identified targets were con firmed by manual review for accuracy. Identifying significantly over-represented targets ROS-diabetes targets were tested for over-representation against targets identified from the three background sets. Fisher's exact test was used to determine if the frequency of each target in the ROS-diabetes target set was significantly different from that of the background sets. Any targets with a BH adjusted p-value < 0. 5 in at least two of the three comparisons were deemed to be an over-represented ROS- diabetes target. Functional enrichment analyses were performed on these over- represented ROS-diabetes targets as described above. Selecting targets tor real-time R A subset of targets were selected for RT-PCR from the top 10 over-represented ROS- diabetes targets excluding insulin and NADPH oxidase 5 (NOX5), which does not have a mouse ortholog. Nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOSI), the main generator of nitric oxide, ranked at the 1 5th position and was additionally selected for inclusion in th e test set.Differential gene expression by real-time RT-PCR Mice DBA/2J mice were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). Mice were housed in a pathogen-free environment and cared for following the University of Michigan Committee on the Care and Use of Animals guidelines. Mice were fed AIN76A chow (Research Diets, New Brunswick, NJ). Male mice were used for this study. Induction of diabetes Two treatment groups were defined: control (n = 4) and diabetic (n = 4). Diabetes was induced at 13 weeks of age by low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injections, 50 mg/kg/day for five consecutive days.All diabetic mice received LinBit sustained release insulin implants (LinShin, Toronto, Canada) at 8 weeks post-STZ treatment. Insulin implants were replaced every 4 weeks, at 12 and 16 weeks post-STZ treatment. At 20 weeks post-STZ treatment, mice were euthanized by sodium pentobarbital overdose and DRG were harvested as previously described [26]. Real-time RT-PCR The gene expression o f the selected nine literature-derived ROS-diabetes targets in DRG was measured using real-time RT-PCR in duplicate.The amount of mRNA isolated from each DRG was normalized to an endogenous reference [Tbp: TATA box binding protein; A cycle threshold (CT)]. Identification of ROS-diabetes targets A total of 1,021 unique targets were identified by SciMiner from the 1,154 ROS- diabetes papers defined by the query of (â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species†[MeSH] AND â€Å"Diabetes Mellitus†[MeSH]) and confirmed by manual review. Table 1 contains the op 10 most frequently mentioned targets in the ROS-diabetes papers. Insulin was the most frequently mentioned target, followed by superoxide dismutase 1 and catalase. Table 1 .Top 10 most frequent ROS-diabetes targets The NCBI Gene2PubMed database, containing expert-curated associations between the NCBI Gene and PubMed databases, revealed 90 unique genes associated with the 54 ROS-diabetes papers (Additional File 1). SciMiner identified 85 out of these 90 targets, indicating a 94% recall rate. Five targets missed by SciMiner were added to the initial ROS-diabetes target set to result in 1,026 unique targets (Additional File 2). Additional tile 1. The list ot 90 genes trom the NCBI Gene2PubMed database tor the ROS-Diabetes literature (1 , 1 54 papers).Format: XLS Size: 35KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 2. The list of 1,026 ROS-Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 229KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data PPI network of the ROS-diabetes targets The PPI network among the ROS-diabetes targets was evaluated using MIMI interaction data. This was based on the assumption that targets commonly related to certain topic are more likely to have frequent interactions with each other.One hundred PPI networks were generated for comparison using the same number of genes (1,026) randomly selected from the complete HUGO gene set (2 5,254). The PPI network of the ROS-diabetes targets was significantly different from the randomly generated networks indicating their strong association with the topic â€Å"ROS and Diabetes†. Table 2 demonstrates that the mean number of targets with any PPI interaction in the randomly generated target sets was 528. 9 (approximately 52% of 1,026 targets), while the number of targets with any PPI interaction in the ROS- iabetes target was 983 (96%).The number of targets interacting with each other was also significantly different between the random networks (mean = 155. 4) and the ROS-diabetes network (mean = 879). Figure 1 illustrates the distributions of these measurements from the 100 random networks with the ROS-diabetes set depicted as a red vertical line. It is obvious that the PPI network of the ROS-diabetes targets is significantly different from the random networks. Table 2. Summary of 100 randomly generated PPI networks thumbnailFigure 1 . Histograms of randomly gene rated PPI networks.The histograms llustrate the distributions of 100 randomly generated networks, while the red line indicates the ROS-diabetes targets. The network of the ROS-diabetes targets is significantly different from the 100 randomly generated networks, indicating the overlap of ROS-diabetes targets with respect to the topic â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species and Diabetes†. Functional enrichment analyses of the ROS-diabetes targets Functional enrichment analyses of the 1,026 ROS-diabetes targets were performed to identify over-represented biological functions of the ROS-diabetes targets.After BenJamini-Hochberg correction, a total of 189 molecular functions, 450 biological rocesses, 73 cellular components and 341 pathways were significantly enriched in the ROS-diabetes targets when compared against all the HUGO genes (see Additional Files 3, 4, 5 and 6 for the full lists). Table 3 lists the top 3 most over-represented GO terms and pathways ranked by p-values of Fisher's ex act test: e. g. , apoptosis, oxidoreductase activity and insulin signaling pathway. Additional file 3. The enriched Molecular Functions Gene Ontology Terms in the 1,026 ROS-Diabetes targets.Format: XLS Size: 91 KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 4. The nriched Biological Processes Gene Ontology Terms in the 1,026 ROS-Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 95KB Download file This tile can be viewed wit Microsott Excel Vieweropen Data Additional tile enriched Cellular Components Gene Ontology Terms in the 1,026 ROS-Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 61 KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 6. The enriched pathways in the 1,026 ROS-Diabetes targets.Format: XLS Size: 104KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Table 3. Enriched functions of 1,026 ROS-diabetes targets Identification of over-represented ROS-diabetes targets To identify th e ROS-diabetes targets highly over-represented in ROS-diabetes literature, three sets of background corpora of the same size (n = 1 , 1 54 documents) were generated using the same Journal, volume and issue approach. The overlap among the three background sets in terms of documents and identified targets are illustrated in Figure 2.Approximately 90% of the selected background documents were unique to the individual set, while 50% of the identified targets were identified in at least one of the three background document sets. The frequencies of the identified targets were compared among the background sets for significant differences. None of the targets had a BH adjusted p-value ; 0. 05, indicating no significant difference among the targets from the three different background sets (See Additional File 7). thumbnailFigure 2. Venn diagrams of document compositions and identified targets of the randomly generated background sets.Approximately 90% of the selected background documents we re unique to individual set (A), while 50% of the identified targets were identified in at least one of the three background document sets (B). Additional file 7. Comparisons of target frequencies among three background sets. Format: XLS Size: 22KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Comparisons of the ROS-diabetes targets against these background sets revealed 53 highly over- represented ROS-diabetes targets as listed in Table 4.These 53 targets were significant (p-value ; 0. 05) against all three background sets and significant following BenJamini-Hochberg multiple testing correction (BH adjusted p-value ; 0. 05) against at least two of the three background sets. SODI was the most over-represented in he ROS-diabetes targets. Table 4. 53 targets over-represented in ROS-diabetes literature Functional enrichment analyses of the over-represented ROS-diabetes targets Functional enrichment analyses of the 53 ROS-diabetes targets were performed to identify over- represented biological functions.Following BenJamini-Hochberg correction, a total of 65 molecular functions, 209 biological processes, 26 cellular components and 108 pathways were significantly over-represented when compared against all the HUGO genes (see Additional Files 8, 9, 10 and 11 for the full lists). Table 5 shows the top 3 ost significantly over-represented GO terms and pathways ranked by p-values of Fisher's exact test. GO terms related to oxidative stress such as â€Å"superoxide metabolic process†, â€Å"superoxide release†, â€Å"electron carrier activity† and â€Å"mitochondrion† were highly over-represented 53 ROS-diabetes targets Additional file 8.The enriched Molecular Functions Gene Ontology Terms in the Over- represented 53 ROS-Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 46KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 9. The enriched Biological Processes Gene Ontology Terms in the Over-represented 53 ROS- Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 95KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 10. The enriched Cellular Components Gene Ontology Terms in the Over-represented 53 ROS-Diabetes targets.Format: XLS Size: 66KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Additional file 1 1 . The enriched pathways in the Over-represented 53 ROS-Diabetes targets. Format: XLS Size: 75KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data Table 5. Enriched functions of the 53 over-represented targets in diabetes Gene expression change in iabetes Two groups of DBA/2J mice exhibited significantly different levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (%GHb). The mean ? ± SEM were 6. 2 ? ± 0. for the non-diabetic control group and for 14. 0 ? ± 0. 8 for the diabetic group (p-value < 0. 001), indicative of prolonged hyperglycemia in the diabetic group [26]. DRG were harvested from these animals for gene expression assays. Nine genes were selected from the top ranked ROS-diabetes targets: superoxide dismutase 1 (Sodl), catalase (Cat), xanthine dehydrogenase (Xdh), protein kinase C alpha (Prkca), neutrophil cytosolic factor 1 Ncfl), nitric oxide synthase 3 (Nos3), superoxide dismutase 2 (Sod2), cytochrome b-245 alpha (Cyba), and nitric oxide synthase 1 (Nosl).Eight genes exhibited differential expression between diabetic and non-diabetic mice (p-value < 0. 05) as shown in Figure 3. Cat, Sodl, Sod2, Prkca, and NOSI expression levels were decreased, while Ncfl , Xdh, and Cyba expression levels were increased in diabetes. thumbnailFigure 3. Gene expression levels of selected ROS-diabetes targets in DRG examined by real-time RT-PCR. Expression levels are relative to Tbp, an internal control (error bar = SEM) (*, p < 0. 05; **, p < 0. 01; ***, p < 0. 01). Eight (Cat, Sodl, Ncfl , Xdh, Sod2, Cyba, Prkca, and Nosl) out of the nine selected ROS-diabetes genes were sign ificantly regulated by diabetes. Discussion Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are products of normal energy metabolism and play important roles in many other biological processes such as the immune response and signaling cascades [4-6]. As mediators of cellular damage, ROS are implicated in pathogenesis of multiple diseases including diabetic complications [27-30].With the aid of literature mining technology, we collected 1 ,026 possible ROS-related targets from a set of biomedical literature indexed with both ROS and diabetes. Fifty-three targets were significantly over-represented in the ROS-diabetes papers when compared against three background sets. Depending on how the background set is defined, the over-represented targets may vary widely. An ideal background set would be the entire PubMed set; however, this is not possible due to limited access to tull texts and intense data processing.An alternative method wou d be to use only abstracts in PubMed, but this may not fully represen t the literature. Using only the abstracts, our target identification method resulted in 21 (39%) of the 53 key ROS- iabetes targets (Additional File 12), suggesting the benefit of rich information in full text documents. In the present study, background documents were randomly selected from the same Journal, volume, and issue of the 54 ROS-diabetes documents, which were not indexed with â€Å"Reactive Oxygen Species†[MeSH] nor â€Å"Diabetes Mellitus†[MeSH].This approach maintained the background corpora not far from the ROS and diabetes context. Additional file 12. The Key 53 ROS-Diabetes Targets Identifiable Using Only the Abstracts. Format: XLS Size: 23KB Download file This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Vieweropen Data The gene expression evels of nine targets selected from the 53 over-represented ROS-diabetes targets were measured in diabetic and non-diabetic DRG. Our laboratory is particularly interested in deciphering the underlying mechanisms of diab etic neuropathy, a major complication of diabetes.Data published by our laboratory both in vitro and in vivo confirm the negative impact of oxidative stress in complication-prone neuron tissues like DRG In an effort to obtain diabetic neuropathy specific targets, SciMiner was employed to further analyze a subset of the ROS-diabetes papers (data not shown). Nerve growth factor (NGF) was identified as the most over- epresented target in this subset when compared to the full ROS-diabetes set; however, NGF did not have statistical significance (BH adjusted p-value = 0. 06). The relatively small numbers of papers and associated targets may have contributed to this non-significance.Therefore, the candidate targets for gene expression validation were selected from among the 53 over-represented ROS-diabetes targets derived from the full ROS-diabetes corpus. Among the tested genes, the expression levels of Cat, Sodl , Sod2, Prkca, and NOSI were decreased, while the expression levels of Ncfl , Xdh, and Cyba were increased nder diabetic conditions. Cat, Sodl , and Sod2 are responsible for protecting cells from oxidative stress by destroying superoxides and hydrogen peroxides [8-11]. Decreased expression of these genes may result in oxidative stress [32].Increased expression of Cyba and Ncfl , subunits of superoxide-generating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex [30], also supports enhanced oxidative stress. Xdh and its inter-convertible form, Xanthine oxidase (Xod), showed increased activity in various rat tissues under oxidative stress conditions ith diabetes [33], and also showed increased expression in diabetic DRG in the current study. Unlike the above concordant genes, protein kinase C and nitric oxide synthases did not exhibit predicted expression changes in diabetes.Protein kinase C activates NADPH oxidase, further promoting oxidative stress in the cell [34,35]. Decreased expression of Prkca in our diabetic DRG is not parallel with expression levels of other enzymes expected to increase oxidative stress. Between the two nitric oxide synthases tested in the present study, NOSI (neuronal) expression was significantly decreased (p-value < 0. 01) in diabetes, while Nos3 (endothelial) expression was not significant (p-value = 0. 06). The neuronal NOSI is expected to play a major role in producing nitric oxide, another type of highly reactive free radical.Thus, with some exceptions, the majority of the differentially expressed genes in DRG show parallel results to the known activities of these targets in diabetes, suggesting enhanced oxidative stress in the diabetic DRG. Assessment of antioxidant enzyme expression in diabetes has yielded a variety of results [36-40] depending upon the duration of diabetes, the tissue studied and other factors. In diabetic mice and rats, it is commonly reported that superoxide dismutases are down-regulated [37-40], where data regarding catalase are variable [36,40].PKC is activated i n diabetes, but most papers that examined mRNA demonstrated that its expression is largely unchanged [41]. Among the 53 over-represented ROS-diabetes targets, SODI was the most over- represented and was differentially expressed under diabetic and non-diabetic conditions. To the best of our knowledge, no published study has investigated the role of SODI in the onset and/or progression of diabetic neuropathy. Mutations of SODI have long been associated with the inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [42] and the theory of oxidative stress-based aging [43].Early reports indicate that knockout of the SODI gene does not affect nervous system development [44], although recovery following injury is slow and incomplete [45,46]. With respect to diabetes, SODI KO accelerates the development of diabetic nephropathy [47] and cataract formation [48]. Thus, examining the SODI KO mouse as a model of diabetic neuropathy would be a reasonable follow-up study. One limitation of the cur rent approach using literature mining technology is incorrect r missed identification of the mentioned targets within the literature.Based on a performance evaluation using a standard text set BioCreAtlvE (Critical Assessment of Information Extraction systems in Biology) version 2 [49], SciMiner achieved 87. 1% recall (percentage identification of targets in the given text), 71. 3% precision (percentage accuracy of identified target) and 75. 8% F-measure (harmonious average of recall and precision = (2 x recall x precision)/(recall + precision)) before manual revision [14]. In order to improve the accuracy of SciMiner's results, each target was anually reviewed and corrected by checking the sentences in which each target was identified.Approximately, 120 targets (†10% of the initially identified targets from the ROS-diabetes papers) were removed during the manual review process. The overall accuracy is expected to improve through the review process; however, the review process did not address targets missed by SciMiner, since we did not thoroughly review individual papers. Instead, 5 missed targets, whose associations with ROS-diabetes literature were available in the NCBI Gene2PubMed database, were added to the final ROS-diabetes target list (Additional File 2).