Acquiescence free essay sample

The sound of crystal and glass blissfully tinkling against each other filled the clear night. The setting was fit for a joyous occasion, my sister?s wedding. My mind, however, was not completely set on the pleasing occasion. Amongst the chatter, a single word penetrated my ears like an oil drill. â€Å"Co-rre-a, our contentious Ecuadorian President, Co-rre-a†. My hands started to sweat. Such a word only meant one thing: political discussion. If there is something people should know about me, it is that I will never miss out on a political conversation. Anxiety sailed through my body. Nervousness nibbled at my fingernails. But why would I be worried about something I enjoyed so much? Why should I not join that conversation and just unleash my beliefs like I would unleash a mad, hungry dog? â€Å"May I offer you a drink sir?† The waiter?s voice abruptly interrupted my inner dilemma. I was actually glad he did; I needed a break. We will write a custom essay sample on Acquiescence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I asked for water. I spoke as if nothing was going on. It was an Oscar-winning accomplishment, given that I was dying on the inside. A reasonable decision seemed impossible. Failure seemed imminent. The people discussing politics were ten tables away from me. Words were unintelligible for those around me, but when it comes to politics my senses sharpen. I become a bat. The truth was I could not merely go berserk and cross the dance floor to get to the discussion, not after what my parents told me. To put it simply, it was hazardous for me to intervene. I take politics seriously, and resentments are usually created. I attract excessive amounts of attention, or in more serious cases, I break friendships after a humble say in a debate. I personally did not want that day to revolve around me. It was my sister?s wedding, and I was not desperate enough to go and wreck it to satisfy my passion. Correa. Correa. Correa. Could they be talking about his agrarian reforms? Ecuadorian oil policies? Exports? They were probably praising his hideous bureaucracy! Pigs! I could not take it anymore. What had I done to deserve such a burden? I slowly took a sip of my overly iced water. Why is every single thing overdone at weddings? It is exactly how the Ecuadorian government is run. Passing a policy is not enough. Oh no! They have to create a department to commemorate and promote that law, and the Ministry building has to be twenty stories high, and its walls must be painted green. A drop of cold sweat cruised down my forehead. What a disaster! I was on the verge of collapse. â€Å"Time for the family picture!† The photographer?s loud statement obliterated every sound, and fortunately the conversation that had me hypnotized for the last few minutes.. The ceremony went into a decrescendo, and I did not listen to the stimulating words after the picture. The perfect ending to this story would have been finding my antagonists in a cafe. I would buy them a cup of coffee while they listened to my points of view. They would then succumb to my arguments, and I would have my triumph. The truth is I failed. My cunning ambition was overpowered by my situation. However, this was a bittersweet defeat. I avoided spoiling my sister?s night, and there was no resentment in the process. On the other hand, I was forced to bite my tongue and keep my opinion to myself. It was then I realized the famous saying, â€Å"You never talk about politics, religion or money† is not entirely true. You just have to pick the right moments. There will be other battles with future work colleagues, fellow student government members and college classmates. I will have to pick my moments to discuss with them and make each opportunity count. After all, Ecuador deserves a president that makes his words count.

How to showcase your cognitive aptitude in job interviews

How to showcase your cognitive aptitude in job interviews When it comes to hiring, companies are beginning to focus less on resumes and work experience alone to evaluate candidates. Instead, many employers are looking at more data-driven hiring factors, like cognitive aptitude.   Cognitive aptitude is the ability to think, process, and react nimbly to solve problems or learn new information, and it is fast becoming a key metric for many hiring managers. This shift stems from the fact that while resumes can lay out a person’s history in a role or industry, they rarely provide insight into a person’s full potential. Cognitive aptitude delivers this broad perspective, allowing companies to evaluate the long-term potential of an applicant by assessing their ability to learn quickly, adapt, and grow within a role. Some companies achieve this with cognitive aptitude assessments administered before the interview stage. These tests gauge abilities that are relevant to job performance, focusing on the main aspects of cognitive aptitu de, like creative thinking, problem solving, attention to detail and learning ability. But how can you prove that you have these skills if the company didn’t give you an aptitude test? By demonstrating these key components in your interview:Showcasing Your Intellectual CuriosityWhy it Matters: Having the desire to know more about the world around you and how things work creates ever-evolving employees, workers who are always striving to improve both themselves and the business. The intellectually curious will grow with a company and be able to think outside the box to solve any issues that arise in the workplace.How to Show it: Demonstrate a thirst for knowledge in your interview by first researching the company and the role as much as possible. Then, during the interview, ask insightful questions based on your digging.You can also mention a time when you independently learned a new skill. For anyone who doesn’t have a lot of work experience, this can be a great opport unity to bring up hobbies or extracurriculars that aren’t directly related to the job. Maybe you play a musical instrument or enjoy woodworking. Your hobbies provide insight into unique ways that you flex your creativity in everyday life, with the added bonus of making you more memorable to your interviewers.Putting Your Problem-Solving Skills on DisplayWhy it Matters: Being able to think critically and provide unique solutions drives business innovation, which is why problem solving is an invaluable resource for employers. A problem-solver, especially a proactive one, combines creativity, efficiency, and pragmatism to find the best solution for the situation at hand. A great creative thinker can identify the opportunity that lies within the dilemma.How to Show it: Advertise your talent for finding solutions by talking about a previous experience where you overcame an obstacle. Make sure to detail the problem you identified, the way that you worked to improve the situation, a nd how your fix made an impact.   Bonus points if you’re able to quantify your accomplishments in a tangible way.Highlighting Your Attention to DetailWhy it Matters: Identifying the small but vital details that might otherwise be overlooked is a game-changer. It’s a skill that employers look for across all industries because it can make the difference between success and failure of a business. A problem can’t be effectively tackled if you can’t get down to the nitty-gritty; the devil is in the details, but if you hone in on the fine points that others miss, you’ll be highly regarded as a fastidious and dependable coworker.How to Show it: Being detail-oriented coincides with many other traits hiring managers look for: focus, discipline, and work ethic. To demonstrate these traits in an interview, research the company ahead of time and ask detailed questions that show that you took the time and care to familiarize yourself with the company. Call at tention to your meticulous nature by taking care in how you present yourself during the interview. Being neatly dressed, on time, and attentive will go a long way in making a lasting impression. During the interview, make sure you engage in active listening. Make sure you understand your interviewer’s questions and respond with relevant answers.Touting Your Learning AbilityWhy it Matters: Whenever a company brings in a new employee, they invest an incredible amount of money and time in training the new hire and getting them up to speed. Hiring a fast learner means that businesses can hedge their bets when bringing a new employee into the fold, taking comfort in the knowledge that their new hire will swiftly become a productive member of the workforce. Those who learn and apply new information quickly are more able to pick up new skills than others. These are the employees who will be able to grow within a company and adapt to changes and challenges that all businesses invaria bly face.How to Show it: Demonstrating your learning ability is especially important for job seekers who are new to the workforce or entering a new career field, especially if your resume is light. Sometimes you may be interviewing for a job for which you don’t fulfill all of the job requirements. One way to convince your interviewer that you’re up to the challenge is to talk about what you consider to be learning targets for this role if you were to be hired. What skills would you be most interested in acquiring, and how would you go about learning them? Try to think of examples in your past roles or even in your extracurricular activities where you had to learn something new and were able to wield your new skill to reach a certain goal. Highlighting this ability will give your interviewer a vision of how you will fit in and grow within the company landscape, both in the short and long term.Whether you focus on showing off one of these crucial elements of cognitive ab ility or weaving them all together, doing so will demonstrate your full potential as an amazing hire, far beyond the experience listed on your resume. The best way to get your point across, however, is through preparation. Come up with examples and stories ahead of time that reflect these cognitive abilities.   It may take time and effort, but it’s a sure-fire way to impress hiring managers and get you that much closer to landing that sought-after new job.About the author:Josh  Millet is the  Founder CEO of  Criteria Corp., a pre-employment testing company  backed by a Scientific Advisory Board from Harvard and Stanford. He is also the Founder of the recently launched  JobFlare, brain games app  a  brain  games  app that connects entry-level job seekers to jobs via ZipRecruiter based on their cognitive abilities.

Jon krakauer's &ltIn to the Wild&gt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jon krakauer's <In to the Wild> - Essay Example The film is very cinematic, portraying the vast wilderness spaces that Chris inhabited along his way. While the film tries to give a sense of what Chris knew and experienced, it is sometimes difficult to separate how Chris might have felt about nature as compared to how the film-makers felt about their location shots. However, by examining the film very carefully, it is possible to discern that Chris's attitude toward nature was like nature itself - changing. At the beginning of the film, Chris seems very idealistic about nature, considering it to be benevolent and nurturing as compared to the soul-killing forces of the city. At times, he seems to consider it more of a backdrop to feed his thirst for adventure and self-discovery, overcoming the challenges nature presents as the process through which that discovery is made. However, in the end, he seems to come back to his original impression that nature is good, but it is a much more mature understanding of it as simply truth. In the beginning of the film, Chris seems to view nature as a saving space, the only place he can go where he can escape the hypocrisy and disappointments of life. The film tries to establish Chris's attitude toward nature with the beginning quote from Lord Byron in which he loves "not man the less, but Nature more." While Chris eagerly makes his way to the Alaskan wilderness, excited to come face to face with this benevolent nature he's idealized in his mind, the filmmakers show the audience a very harsh and unforgiving landscape covered in snow and sparse scrub grass. An empty wind sounds through the speakers as snow drifts over the mountains and white clouds drift through the empty sky. Chris, however, is happy to be out there, hunting game on his first day and winning himself a small meal of squirrel or rabbit as he warms up from his wet river crossing. As difficult as it is for him to get through nature to a place of shelter, a manmade abandoned bus, Chris clearly sees nature as amaz ing and beautiful. He cries at the beautiful sight of a herd of elk, considers there to be an unspoken rule of nature when he refuses to kill the mother once he sees her calf. Throughout most of the film, Chris revels in the scenery that surrounds him in the various places he goes, further emphasizing that he sees nature as benevolent. This is clear in many places in the film when he stands on top of mountains and opens himself up to the skies, but there is another place where his appreciation of nature's benevolence and nurturing qualities are highlighted. This is when he is staying in South Dakota, learning how to run the combine in the field. Wayne Westerberg (Vince Vaughn) keeps telling him to watch and keep the machine running straight, but Chris, calling himself Alex, keeps getting lost in the beauty of the day. In his conversations with Wayne, he very clearly reveals the degree to which he idolizes nature, romanticizing being out there in the wild, living in the moment and ca using Wayne, and many other characters, to warn him to take caution. At the same time that he sees nature as benevolent and nurturing, and perhaps because this is how he sees it, Chris often also tends to use nature as a backdrop to satisfy his own need for self-discovery. Taming nature or at least overcoming the challenges she places before him is the process through which this

Make a title Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Make a title - Essay Example Britain took measures to retain control over the colonies and to raise income to settle the debt. In 1763, King George III issued a Royal Proclamation which had a provision barring any colonial settlement beyond west of the Appalachian Mountains. In so doing, Britain hoped to avoid expensive Indian wars; and to keep western land speculation under her control (Kindig 1995). Immediate resistance led to its modification. In 1764, Parliament enacted the Sugar Act, in an effort to raise income in the colonies through a tax on molasses. The British parliament also passed the Stamp Act 1765, which obliged colonists to obtain a government-issued stamp for paper goods including all legal documents. There were massive protests to oppose these Acts, which often resulted into violence (Kindig 1995). It seems the British fruits of victory sowed the seeds for future problems with her American colonies. Attempts to increase taxes to service debts for the expensive war; and to limit western expansion by colonists were met with great resistance and resentment from the colonists. These disagreements would eventually encourage colonial rebellion and consequently the full-scale independence war. "French and Indian War/Seven Years War, 1754–63 - 1750–1775 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." State Department - Office of the Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. . "The Expansion of the West - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. Version 4. N.p., 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

A one page summary of a lawsuit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A one page summary of a lawsuit - Essay Example SAP vowed to install the required changes in their current system which to them, was operation was as a result of negligence in the operational insight of TomorrowNow. The defense in this case was that the fault had nothing to do with SAP employees. SAP is quoted as saying they consider illegal downloading as illegal and unacceptable and would never condone such actions. Two years later, a judge ruled that SAP must pay Oracle 1.3 billion in damages. The crime was copyright infringement. SAP went back to court to appeal over the ruling. SAP argued that the amount they were liable to pay was the money lost by Oracle due to the customers that moved to TommorowNow and not the amount suggested by Oracle. Several motions were filed with the judge in a bid to ensure that a fairer and just sum was charged. Over a year later, a judge overruled the judgment terming it as â€Å"grossly excessive†. SAP had previously argued that the damages paid were in excess and they should have paid only 40 million dollars in damages to Oracle to cover lost profits (Niccolai, p.1). The verdict was read in Oakland, California in a U.S District Court. The case, which has taken place over four years, will now open even more court cases as Oracle will definitely fight this overruling. This will, however, take place only if Oracle rejects the 217 million that the judge ruled should have been the original damages received by the company. My opinion is that the original ruling was too much as the damages imposed on Oracle could not have amounted to 1.3 billion. The case would have opened additional cases and set the pace for more court cases of the same nature to be developed, costing a lot of companies a lot of

Photographer: Thomas Hoepker

Photographer: Thomas Hoepker Photographer: Thomas Hoepker Title: September 11, 2001. New York, Brooklyn Year: 2001 This photo is said to have been taken by Thomas Hoepker on the 11th of September 2001. The photo shows a group of New Yorkers relaxing in the sun in a park with clear blue water behind them and in the background the dust and smoke coming from the area in which the world trade center once stood. In 2001 when this photo was take, Hoepker refused to publish it as it didn’t seem an appropriate image when such a serious disaster had occurred. This image was eventually published in 2006 and caused a lot of controversy as some people felt that the photo portrayed Americans in a way that even though a horrible disaster that has killed thousands of people had happened that there was no need for people to change or reform as an united nation. However others felt that the photo captured a historical moment which shows that regardless of what terror attack or war is going on, life doesn’t stop it goes on. This photo 13 years on from the date of the disaster is one of the defining photographs from 9/11. Image source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3VF=MAGO31_10_VFormERID=24KL5351FG Photographer: Eve Arnold Title: Childbirth, a babys first 5 minutes Year: 1959 From The Series: First five minutes of a babys life The subject of the photograph is a baby who has just been brought into the world and captures the first 5 minutes of the baby’s life. The image manipulates our emotions by drawing us to the subject through the use of an extended depth of field. The rule of thirds applies to this photo with the mother in the bottom of the image with the baby in the centre and the doctor who has delivered the baby at the top of the image. There is an intense light behind the doctor, which gives a sense of an angelic / holy person; this makes you think that the baby is a gift from a higher presence. When Eve Arnold decided she wanted to become a photographer, she showed her mother some of her photographs, which happened to be photos that documented the first five minutes of a baby’s life. Her mother never seen the potential of her daughter’s photographs even though her work led to numerous awards, first female member of Magnum and respect from peers and fellow photographers but despite this, she wanted approval from her parents. She did eventually get approval from her mother but it did not come easily. At the time this photograph was taken, the Nikon F camera, Nikon’s first SLR was introduced. This was one of the most advanced cameras that contained all of the concepts that had previously been introduced but combined them all in one camera. AGFA also introduced the first fully automatic camera. Image Source: https://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResultSTID=2S5RYDIET7XL Photographer: W. Eugene Smith Title: Dr. Ernest Guy Ceriani going to visit patients Year: 1948 From the Series: Country Doctor This portrait shows a country doctor, Dr. Ernest Guy Ceriani (aged 32), going to visit his patients in their remote villages. The ‘Country Doctor’ series was W. Eugene Smith’s 1948 feature for LIFE magazine. He spent 23 days in Kremmling, Colorado following GP Ernest Ceriani. His images capture the emotional and physical challenges faced by the doctor and also the reality. This portrait is very dramatic as the image is in black and white and is intensified by the large dark cloud that is above the doctor. The black cloud could suggest the doctor may be on his way to deliver bad news to a patient but captures him in a natural way. The doctor is in the centre of the image with the focus being mainly on him but the fence to the right of the image is a bit distracting. The viewer is instantly drawn to the subject due to his dominance in the frame. Image source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResultALID=2TYRYDDWML5P Photographer: Marilyn Silverstone Title: Mask room at the Pemayangtse Monastery Year: 1967 Marilyn Rita Silverstonewas an accomplished photo-journalist and ordainedBuddhistnun. She spent a lot of time travelling around Europe, Middle East Africa and ended up having a lifetime love of India. This photo makes me feel a bit weary because of the amount of masks hanging, the bizarre appearance of the masks and also the way in which Silverstone has shot the photo. The masks are in the darkness and the two young boys in the lower corner are In the light, this creates a feeling off demons in the shadows. The ferocious masks are a preview of the visions of the after-death state, presented so that the viewer may recognise them in future as reflections of ones own mind† The expressions on the young boys’ faces suggest that the boys aren’t sure of the masks and may be scared of them. Image Source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3VF=MAGO31_10_VFormERID=24KL535FI3 Photographer: Bill Brandt Title: Nude, Hampstead, London Year: 1952 This is a photo of a person’s feet taken whilst facing the soles of the feet. The person would appear to be lying on the floor of an empty room with two doors in the background The picture has been printed with high contrast and the tonal values of the image play an important part. A wide angle has been used, which has caused an unusual perspective in the picture. The feet take up a large part of the frame and appear to almost touch the celling. A dramatic look has been created by using a wide angle lens and the use of light adds a variety of attractive tones on the subject. The empty room gives a sense of being alone. Brandt is considered one of the 20th century ’s greatest British photographers. He originally had a very documentary approach to his work and this changed over time to focusing on the nude form and making images appear more poetic. Image source: http://chloe328.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/bill-brandt-feet.jpg Photographer: Annie Leibovitz Title: A portrait of the Queen Year: 2007 This photo is a beautiful portrait of Queen Elizabeth II seated in an unlit room in Buckingham Palace. The natural light coming through the window creates Rembrandt lighting and Leibovitz has balanced the exposure from the outside with the available light within the room. The light casts a wonderful silvery light on her white dress and fur creating a fairy-tale regality. The placing of the Queen makes the photo more aesthetically pleasing on the eye. The queen has her crown on in this photo which shows power but at the same time the use of space shows a sense of loneliness. Image source: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/05/02/leibovitz460.jpg Photographer: Daido Moriyama Title: Stray dog, Misawa Year: 1971 Moriyama almost always shoots in black and white with very high contrast. He uses a technique he calls are-bure-bokeh which basically means rough, blurry and out of focus. Instead of using a large single reflex camera, Moriyama prefers to use a small compact camera which allows him to be more spontaneous. He was influenced by his friend Yukio Mishima to add existential darkness to his subjects. This picture shows a stray dog which fills the frame. The dog is black against a white background with some white highlights where the light touches the dogs ear, side and back leg. Moriyama has taken this photo from behind the dog and to the left Image Source: http://www.worldphoto.org/_assets/images/DaidoMoriyama_Misawa.jpg Photographer: Olivia Arthur Title: Shopping at a mall in Jeddah Year: 2010 Olivia Arthur is a uk photographer who began working as a photographer in 2003. She has been working on a series about women and the East-West cultural divide. This work has taken her to the border between Europe and Asia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This photograph shows a female dressed in a black abaya facing a male dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt who is handing her some cosmetics. All shop keepers are males in Saudi Arabia. You can see the difference between the sexes in Saudi Arabia, females must wear an abaya if they go out which shows only their hands and eyes unlike men who can wear what they want. The female is the main focus in this image, they tall black figure catches the viewers attention instantly and without her the photo wouldn’t tell a story. Image source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3VF=MAGO31_10_VFormERID=24KL535OLY Photographer: Richard Mosse Title: Come Out (1966) Year: 2011 Richard Mosse is a photographer who is more documentary than photo-journalistic. He has spent time in areas of conflict including the Congo which is the subject of his Infra series. Mosse has used Kodak aerochrome film which is an infrared sensitive film normally used to survey vegetation and camouflage detection. By using this, the vegetation in the photos appear pink adding interesting elements to the photos. This is a photograph of a small grass hut surrounded by a pink hue of palm trees and other foliage. The hut is at the bottom of the photo and centered. Behind the pink trees there is a grey misty sky. Image Source: http://www.richardmosse.com/works/infra/ Photographer: Gueorgui Pinkhassov Title: Cock of the walk Year: 1992 Gueorgui Pinkhassov was originally a set photographer but after meeting Tarkovsky he changed direction and became a photo-journalist as Tarkovsky had advised him that Russia was a a closed society, but that things would change soon and that photojournalists were needed. Pinkhassov used Kodachrome 200 ASA film which produced high contrast photos and reproduces reds very well which helped make the cockerel stand out from the dark shadows. He has said that he never considered the composition of the image as he had a very tight timeframe to capture the cockerel poking its head out. The background is other cockerels and people hidden in the shadows reducing any unwanted details. Image Source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3VF=MAGO31_10_VFormERID=24KL53ZVNE Photographer: Moises Saman Title: Marjas new district chief meets with local elders in Marjas district center. Year: 2010 Moises Saman is a photojournalist who regularly works in some of the most conflicted places in the world. This image shows a group of older men sitting on the floor whilst a man reads a document on a table. The men’s faces appear sad and show uncertainty towards the younger man who would appear to be the new district chief. The photo could have been taken at any point in time if it wasn’t for the photo of the country’s president. Saman has said this photo was to shows that Leaders come and go but it’s the local people who suffer. Image source: http://mediastore4.magnumphotos.com/CoreXDoc/MAG/Media/TR2/c/2/7/4/NYC105993.jpg Photographer: Hugh Hood Series Title: Glasgow 1974 Year: 2013 This is a photograph featured in Hugh Hood’s Glasgow 1974 exhibition at Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow. The exhibition features photographs of the streets of Glasgow from 1974 to 1978, during this time Glasgow’s social and architectural history was changing, half the tenements were being pulled down and the other half were being renovated or built. This photograph shows an old abandoned tenement building which would have been demolished. The side of the building is bare and the windows throughout the tenement are smashed. This image shows Glasgow in a past that older generations will remember and that younger generations can look at and get an understanding of how Glasgow was and how it has moved forward but also how communities and society have changed. Image Source: http://www.streetlevelphotoworks.org/product/hugh-hood-unttitled-3-glasgow-1974 Photographer: Constantine Manos Title: Ku Klux Klan rally Year: 1952 Constantine Manos was a student at the University of South Carolina which was a segregated university. He wrote the first anti-segregated editorial in the university newspaper, this caused the university and Manos to receive threating phone calls. He used to sneak out to the cotton fields at night and see the Ku Klux Klan. This image of the men is quite daunting with the background black this gives a dark feeling to the image and it also makes the man in white stand out. Staring at this image can make one feel uneasy because the figure in white has his face covered. What makes it so terrifying is that the man could be anyone a friend ,family or someone close. The composition of the mans body is relaxed but even though his face is covered you can see within his eyes that it’s a serious and angry look that he has. The Ku Klux Klan member’s robe has a cross within a circle that contains a blood drop in the middle which is believed to represent the blood that was shed by Jesus Christ as a sacrifice. After the American civil war, the Ku Klux Klan was formed, they were a secret society that wanted white supremacy and to do this they terrorized and intimidated people Image Source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3VF=MAGO31_10_VFormERID=24KL53ZOQY Photographer: William Eggleston Title: Untitled Year: 1695-1968 This is a picture of a woman sitting at a green diner booth. The photo is taken from behind and shows the woman’s greying hair that has been wrapped into a perfect beehive with no loose strands. The bobby pins used to hold her beehive hairstyle in place simulate a continuation of her spine. The male sitting opposite her is obstructed completely from the lens with only his arms visible. Eggleston’s consistently controlled gaze focuses on the attention to detail in the way the woman has styled her hair. Eggleston’s personal documentary style is recognized worldwide along with him being the pioneer of colour photography. Since first picking up a camera over fifty years ago, Eggleston’s work is said to find ‘beauty in the everyday’. He captures the ordinary world around him and creates interest by using sharp observation, dynamic composition and great wit. Image source: http://arttattler.com/Images/NorthAmerica/NewYork/Whitney/William Eggleston/02.-eggleston_untitled1965beehive.jpg Photographer: Diane Arbus Title: Patriotic Young Man with a Flag Year: 1967 Diane Arbus was known as a ‘photographer of freaks’ as she preferred to photograph the normal within an abnormal society. She photographed dwarfs, nudists, circus performers and transgender people amongst other subjects. Arbus had a talent for being able to relate to people which can be seen in her photos as her subjects appear to be at ease and comfortable during the experience. Arbus felt that if it wasn’t for her no one would see the true aspects of her unusual subjects. Arbus’s photo shows a young man who is proud to be an American citizen but he doesn’t look like the kind of person a photographer would use to show this. The young man is in formal wear with his badge on his jacket and flag in his hand but has scruffy hair, bad acne on his face and a shirt with an undone collar. The light used in this photo is quite harsh and makes him look as though he has had a hard life. When Arbus first started, she was using a 35 mm Nikon camera which produced grainy rectangular images, she swapped to a twin-lens reflex Rolleiflex camera which produced more detailed square images Image source: http://diane-arbus-photography.com/

Egyptian Life :: essays research papers

Egypt’s pyramids are the oldest stone buildings in the world. They were built nearly five thousand years ago. More than 80 pyramids still stand today. Most have secret passageways, hidden rooms, ramps, bridges, shaft, concealed entrances and concealed doorways. The pyramids weren’t built for exploring, but for a very serious purpose. The Egyptians believed very strongly in after-life. They wanted to preserve their bodies to continue living in the after-world, so they had pyramids built to protect the tombs. Along with the tomb would be all the goods needed to survive in the after-life. The Egpytians also thought that in order to pass into the everlasting paradise, you had to go through an under-world, which consisted of demons and monsters. Well, for safe passage through this, you needed a book of spells; therefore a copy of The Book of the Dead would be placed in each tomb as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tombs weren’t always as nice as the pyramids. The first form of burial was in shallow pits in the desert. There, the hot sand preserved them. Around 3000 bc mastabas, large, flat-topped tombs, were first introduced by the high officials. It wasn’t until 2700 bc that the first pyramid would be built. That is known as the Step Pyramid. This had two purposes: a royal tomb and a temple for worshipping the spirit of the dead king. Around 1600 bc, robbers had raided the tombs of all the valuables. It wasn’t until after this time that kings thought their bodies would be safer in tombs cut from solid rock.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ancient Egpyt seemed like the perfect place for building pyramids. It was a long, narrow, fertile strip of land. It had natural barriers to protect the land from invaders. There were deserts to the east and west, delta marshes to the north and rapids on the Nile to the south. These all allowed workers to work in peace and security. But building them from this position was difficult. A great supply of raw materials were needed. There were plenty of limestone, sandstone and granite but it was all in quarries far away.

Diabetes Type 1: Stem Cell Research

Stem cell therapy involves the direct transplant of islet cells to potential areas in the pancreas that have the ability to store and facilitate the differentiation of beta cells in the body. Such treatment is currently under progressive study in terms of its effectiveness and the possibility of fortifying the islet transplant’s resistance to autoimmune attacks antibodies. We discuss the actual procedures and different alternatives of stem cell therapy for DMT1 patients. The discussion covers the potential problems being confronted by such treatment, such as stem cell scarcity, autoimmune attacks against the islet transplants, etc.Lastly, discussion also covers the potential alternatives of the treatment, specifically (1) human embryonic stem cells, (2) cultured stem cells and (3) potential xenogeneic resources. In the conclusion, we have found several problems currently being faced by stem cell therapy. These problems include the scarcity of available islet grafts or transpla nts and the autoimmune risks that can dramatically hinder to the success of the therapy. However, various studies are currently being explored in order to obtain potential alternatives, such as xenogeneic stem cell resources, embryonic or progenitor alternatives, etc.Furthermore, we discover different methodologies in stem cell culturing and preparation techniques that confront the immunity problems most especially in post-transplant phase. These include the usage of different immuno-suppressing drugs, such as gastrin, etc. 2. Introduction 1. 1 . Type 1 Diabetes DMT1 is essentially the absence or severe insufficiency of insulin due to the autoimmune (e. g. CD4 interleukin attacks, cellular necrosis, macrophagial reactions, etc. ), environmental or viral destruction of beta cells (e. g. iral infections from mumps, etc. ) or insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. Although, autoimmune reasons are the most commonly associated etiology that cause DMT1 condition. Apparently, the body an tibodies, specifically interleukins and minor interferons, recognize the antigenicity present on pancreatic islets as foreign substances, which consequently triggers autoimmune responses. The prevalence of DMT1 in United States is approximately 1 in 2500 for the age group of 5 years old, which 1 in 300 for every 20 years of age group.Although the most considerable nature of DMT1 is its autoimmune nature, prevalence of DMT1 in United States and European nations largely depends on two causations: (1) genetics and (2) lifestyle. According to the EURODIAB collaborative study, a registry involving 44 countries in Europe, states an annually increasing rate of DMT1 with approximately 3 to 4%, with a larger increase in some central and eastern European countries . The prevalence of DMT1 among 191 World Health Organization (WHO) member states and for all age groups worldwide is estimated to be 2. % in 2000 and 4. 4% in 2030 . DMT1’s beta cell destruction does not only consider the neg ative effects towards insulin production. Deficiency in insulin can directly lead to moderate to severe hyperglycemia that can further trigger problems, especially in (1) neural systems, (2) peripheral and central vascular regions, (3) cardiac and (4) kidney areas. Vascular complications among DMT1 are associated to different cellular dysfunctions, such as Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC) that induce metabolic stress and vascular angiogenicity especially when the cells are decreased.The primary principle that explains the metabolic and cardiovascular dangers of this illness is the increased of tonicity in the blood or also known as fluid hypertonicity. Due to the increased surge of blood glucose levels, fluids, such as blood, lymph, interstitial fluid, etc. , become thicker than its normal viscosity. With this fluid condition, the circulation exerts tremendous vascular and hyperosmolar pressure from major vessels to minor arterioles and veinuoles. Eventually, the prolonged pressur e can lead to various complications, such as eye retinopathy, nephronic damage, nerve ending necrosis, etc.The common treatment being prescribed among DMT1 patients is the continuous administration of insulin injectables in order to fill in the body’s insulin requirements. This is done to temporarily replace or fill in the insulin insufficiency of the body. However, insulin therapy and maintenance are lifetime measures that require continuous commitment, which can greatly interfere in the person’s self-esteem and lifestyle progression. To resolve these potential emotional and psychosocial damages of the temporary insulin therapy, permanent treatments, such as stem cell implants, autoimmune suppressors, etc. are currently being studied with hopes of permanently curing the disease. Stem cell studies have carefully focused in determining the potential strategies in order to induce beta cell differentiation and cellular regeneration, especially among those damaged or destr oyed islet cells. Clearly, with cellular differentiation and regeneration s the goal of stem cell treatment, vast numbers of research discussed in the latter part of the studies have intensively focused their explorations in the disease’s autoimmune nature.Modern studies of beta cells have always been associated to the macrophagial and lymphocytic activities of T-cell mediated antibodies, such as CD4+CD25+, CD+ T-cells, etc. Most studies are determined in configuring the possible strategies of resolving, preventing and/or countering the DMT1’s autoimmune response on both original islets and implant islet grafts. In animal trials, most commonly rodents, autoimmune elements of the disease are somehow resisted when significant dosage of immune-inhibiting drugs (e. g. nfliximab, daclizumab and sirolimus, etc. ) are applied on the islet implants prior to the commencement of stem cell implantation.Several studies (e. g. Gastrin applicationetc. ) have found promising strategi es that can immunize the transplant grafts and possibly the original islets themselves from the autoimmune destruction rendered by the disease; although, modern science has not yet considered the safe applicability and effectiveness among human trials due to the conflicts encountered by the studies, such variations of drug responses or autoimmune actions. On the other hand, the signs and symptoms of DMT1 and DMT2 are both related to the two principal components of diabetes: (1) hyperglycemia and (2) hypoinsulinemia.DMT1 commonly presents its condition with the classic manifestations of polydipsia, polyphagia and polyuria . Physiologically, the three principal signs of DMT1 are extremely integrated and fostered by the body’s sympathetic natural response. For example, due to the hyperglycemic state of the body, the satiety centers of the brain triggers polydipsia in order for the body to increase its fluid intake aiming to dilute the tonicity or increased blood glucose levels. In the process, the body increases the fluid contents in the blood increasing as well the kidney workload in processing urinary output; therefore, producing polyuria.Consequently, fluid loss also causes significant electrolyte losses and glucose malabsorption that trigger body weakness. In order to compensate, the body triggers polyphagia that aims to increase food consumption. The three latter manifestations are considered the cardinal or principal manifestations of DMT1 common to all patients. Weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, pruritis and muscle wastage are the secondary symptoms that follow with the continuous manifestations of DMT1 cardinal signs .The secondary complications of DMT1 can further aggravate if the physiological hyperglycemia and other associated signs and symptoms are not resolved. Tertiary complications involve severe manifestations that can be fatal in nature, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and possibly diabetic coma. 1. 2. Causes of DMT1 DMT1 has three poten tial origins that are currently under extensive study, namely (1) chronic autoimmune destruction of beta cells, (2) environmental destruction of beta cells that is commonly viral in nature, and (3) genetic abnormality in beta cells and/or insulin receptors .The autoimmune etiology of DMT1, as discussed earlier, involves the activity of interleukin-1 protein cytokine that principally triggers the immunologic response of CD4+ T cells against beta cells. The autoimmune nature has proven the relationship between beta cell destruction and islets’ inflammation due to interleukin invasion; however, studies have not yet determined the principal source of this cytokine production . The issues surrounding the autoimmune proposition in the DMT1 condition is the communicating element/s induced by the disease that activates antibodies’ response against the islet cells.As of the recent studies, no specific communicating agent has been discovered linking both DMT1 condition and its a utoimmune reaction towards islet cells; although, there are numerous evidences that reveal the exact autoimmune attacks against pancreatic islet cells, most significantly on the beta cells. Meanwhile, viral causations have also been associated to the occurrence of DMT1. Common viruses, such as mumps, rubella and coxsackie, have been associated to the destruction of beta cells, which eventually triggers the chronic drop of insulin production .Cytokine-interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) has been associated with the occurrence of DMT1 with hypothetical viral origin. According to clinical reports, IFN-alpha is brought by environmental viruses (enteroviruses) that trigger immune-mediated beta cell destruction. Significantly, therapeutic agents targeting IFN-a may potentially be beneficial in the prevention of type 1 diabetes and autoimmunity . Lastly, genetic abnormalities min beta cell progenitors and cellular differentiations are also becoming part of the controversial cause of DMT1.The idea of genetic causation of DMT1 involves the reduced activity of embryonic progenitors in pancreatic endothelial, which consequently lessens the cellular differentiation of beta cells. With small beta cell count in the body, insulin production becomes insufficient causing cellular tension for insulin production. Prolonged state of hypoinsulinemia or complete absence of insulin in the blood usually results to DMT1 complications. Islet transplantation or stem cell therapy considers the destroyed islet areas that need replacement.According to Rother and Harlan, if patients with greater body mass indices and/or with insulin resistance were also considered for an islet transplant, the 3,000 transplantable islet preparations presently achievable would likely be sufficient to restore euglycemia to fewer than 1,000 patients per year, or less than 0. 1% of patients with T1DM, or approximately 0. 005% of those with either form of diabetes. Despite of the technological advancements of stem cells and islet transplants, most parts of DMT1 condition and autoimmune functionalities are still left undetermined.The scarcity of islet stem cells is not the only problems being faced by islet transplant therapy but also the impending variations of autoimmune activities of the body. Controlled experiments have been conducted on both rodents and primates; however, the results most of the time vary when applied to human samples. Although, such islet therapy have already been applied to human sample and proven to cause independent insulin production; although, medical issues, such as alternative stem cell or islet graft sources, risk of anaphylactic rejections, etc, are still being studies extensively.Therefore, scarcity and further study of the procedure are necessary to further the application of islet stem cell therapy among DMT1 patients. 1. 3. Therapy for DMT1 Stem cell transplant of islets of langerhans, specifically the ß -cells, is now considered as alternative treatment in tr eating Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 (DMT1); although, not all DMT1 patients are applicable candidates of stem cell therapy. Antigenicity testing and severity of DMT1 manifestations as well as autoimmune response to the treatment are usually evaluated before considering stem cell transplant.Through the process of genetic engineering, the autoimmune response of DMT1 towards the islet cells can now be countered by replacing the cellular necrosis of ß-cells. The study explores the different sections of ß–cells stem cell transplant, particularly on (1) the actual procedure, (2) allogeneic and xenogeneic possibilities, (3) the actual condition of DMT1 and (4) the pathophysiological principles involved in the process of disease progress and stem cell therapy.The case of DMT1 is autoimmune by nature wherein the body acts negatively to the islet cells by recognizing these cells as a form of foreign objects. Theoretically, the body’s macrophages and interleukins are alarmed by the foreign or abnormal structuring of islet antigens, which probably resulted due to the extensive response of the cells thriving within high insulin-needing environment. In response, the body’s immunologic centers trigger macrophagial and anti-body mediators (e. g. GAD65 Ab – Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Antibodies, Iinsulinoma Antigen 2, etc. attacking and destroying the body’s own pancreatic tissues . During these conditions, islet cells chronically declines in number as macrophagial actions subdue and destroy both progenitor cells in the pancreas and those differentiated islet cells, which include the beta cells. With the destruction of progenitor cells, the rate of cellular differentiations for further beta cells and other islet cell types (e. g. alpha cells, etc. ) decline leaving the body deficient of these endocrine hormones.Furthermore, as the existing and pre-existing beta cells die due to autoimmune damages, the capacity of the islet cells to regener ate also decline, which eventually decreases the number of existing beta cells within the islets. Theoretically, According to Xu, Wang and Hou (2008), as the body’s insulin requirement heightens and prolonged, the remaining beta cells experience physiological stress in insulin production, which, if not prevented, can lead to a negative feedback mechanism wherein insulin production complete shuts off its production.DMT1 patients experience decreased and/or absence of insulin production, and usually peaks between early adolescence (10 to 14 years of age) to middle adulthood (30 and above) . Pancreas manifests lymphocytic infiltration and destruction of islets of langerhans, which consequently causes depletion of insulin production. During the past few decades, studies on islet transplantation through mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have shown to improve the metabolic conditions of DMT1 patients. However, the performances and study results using MSC remains to be questionable.Trans -differentiation of MSCs into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) is considered the principal concept of the therapy; however, other reports have negated these results claiming that it is too difficult to assume and determine the timing and extent of improvement by only analyzing the effects through trans-differentiation. Cellular differentiation and self renewal can greatly vary depending on various conditions, such as existing drug therapies, immunologic sensitivity, duration of the illness, other existing disorder including complications dealt by DMT1, etc.Similar to other beta-stimulating treatments, MSC is considered growth factor stimulant of the surrounding beta cells, which aids in the mechanism of self duplication rather than cellular proliferation. According to Xu, Wang and Hou (2008), â€Å"MSCs transplantation into diabetic animals may prevent apoptosis of injured pancreatic beta cells and enhance regeneration of endogenous progenitor cells through paracrine actions† ( e. g. angiogenic, cytoprotective, anti-inflammatory, mitogenic and anti-apoptotic effects, etc. ). MSC studies are still on the process of development along with animal trials.MSC therapy alternative is process for treating principally the occurrence of hyperglycemia in DMT1; however, the process remains an assumption and currently being studied. In the study of Ezquer, Ezquer and Parrau (2008), MSC procedure has been detected to also contribute to tissue regeneration (e. g. bones, cartilage, infracted heart, brain and kidney). In the study, a test subject with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes (C57BL/6 mice) has shown significant cellular neogenesis on pancreatic and renal function as well structure.Somehow, MSC has triggered a potential role of becoming a promising alternative as pancreatic progenitor cells that possess the capacity to initiate cellular differentiations. After the subject received a 0. 5 x 10(6) MSCs via ex vivo expansion, the sample has shown significa nt reduction in blood glucose levels and euglycemic values after a month. With MSC acting as the islet’s alternative progenitor cells, beta cell differentiation can progress to the development of other beta cells, which if continued can trigger cellular regeneration among produced existing beta cells.According to final conclusions of Ezquer, Ezquer and Parrau (2008), â€Å"MSC administration resulted in beta-pancreatic islets regeneration and prevented renal damage in diabetic animals. † This evidence shows the possibility of using MSC in initiating both cellular differentiation and self-duplication. Altthough, Xu, Wang and Hou (2008) still consider this process as an experimental alternative therapy for DMT1 condition. However, the study sample did not consider the potential effects of human autoimmune responses against these MSC grafts.Autoimmune responses can risk the success of graft transplant considering the increased antigenicity present among these islet transp lants, which is a considerable issue that arises in the results of their study. Meanwhile in the study of Feng, De-quan and Yan-hua (2008), they have focused on MSCs derived from human umbilical cord blood (UCB) in order to facilitate cellular transdifferentiation into beta cell alternatives via in vitro. In the study, UCB samples are obtained, while presenting MSCs are isolated for analysis via flow cytometer.In the process, islet-cellular differentiation has been induced for 15 days with or without extracellular matrix gel. This extracellular matrix gel provides an enriched environment that nourishes cellular requirements aiding in their differentiation and consequent self-duplication. With the help of chemiluminescent immunoassay system (CIS) in detecting glucose activity and insulin response, the studied found out that insulin positive cells (25. 2 ±3. 4%; UCB n=42) within ECM gel have produced functional islet proteins after 9 days of pancreatic differentiation.Considering th e feasible environment setup by ECM, the possibility of creating a zone wherein autoimmune reactions are considered nullified has also become one of the propositions that theoretically explained the results of the study. According to the conclusion of their study, MSC can actually differentiate into islet like cells in vitro and ECM gel. Fortunately, with the advent of modern technology and introduction of somatic stem cell transplant, the depletion of ß–cells can now be replaced with new generating ß–cells through stem cell implantation.In 1990, Scharp et al. has brought reports of success in the process of transplanting islet cells to patients with DMT1 through the process of improved islet isolation techniques (developed by Ricordi, Lacy and Finke et al. 1988) . Isolation techniques aim in discovering alternative progenitor sources of progenitor cells that possess the capacity to differentiate into insulin-producing cells that can serve as essential alternativ e for beta cells.Aside from pancreatic progenitor cells, the study has also discovered potential sources in the kidney, liver, bone marrow and other vital organs of the body. Isolation techniques usually require individualized culturing of islet transplants prior to the actual therapy. With the introduction of ß–cells implantation, different forms of islet transplant (e. g. billiary installation of islet cells, xenogeneic sources of islets, etc. ) have been considered throughout the process of stem cell therapy. On the other hand, certain reaction problems produced during the process (e. . anaphylactic response, incompatible cellular transplant, insulin-sensory impairment, etc. ) have also been observed in throughout the process of therapy. Despite of the potential therapeutic permanence of islet transplant therapy against DMT1 condition, most medical specialists (Kabelitz, Geissler and Soria, 2008; Xu, Wang and Hou, 2008) consider this treatment as last resort therapy for severe cases of DMT1. Stem cell therapy is not yet considered as a general treatment applicable for all sorts of DMT1 conditions.According to Kabelitz, Geissler and Soria (2008), the concepts in the cellular treatment of DMT1 are (1) the replacement of islet cells by islet-like cells derived from embryonic or adult stem cells, and (2) promotion and establishment of immunological tolerance of islet cells towards self-antigens through regulatory T cells and/or tolerance-promoting monocyte-derived cells. Studies have explored possible ways in dealing with the confronting problems of the procedures, such as scarcity, autoimmune sensitivity, etc.In the preceding sections of the discussion, the two concepts are further explained considering the possibility of merging the two procedures in order to attain maximum efficiency in the DMT1 cellular therapy. 3. Modern Techniques in Treatments of DMT1 1. 1 Islet Cell Transplant The principal concept of stem cell therapy is the harvesting of pot ential and/or adult health cells that are transferred to failing or degenerating organs. As for DMT1 conditions, islet transplantation, specifically on ß–cells implantation, is the most impressive treatment that shows promising permanent cure for islets’ autoimmune degradation.According to Hussain and Theise, â€Å"stem-cell therapy here implies the replacement of diseased or lost cells from progeny of pluripotent or multipotent cells. † According to Haller, Viener and Wasserfall et al (2008), UCB-derived MSCs are significant autologous progenitor inducers that can initiate cellular self duplication or regeneration. In their study using 12 autologous UCB infusions, preliminary results show significant slowing of endogenous loss of beta cell degradation among DMT1 children subjects.Aside from the slowing of hyperglycemic actions induced by DMT1, Keymeulen (2008) has proposed the possibility of actually blocking or preventing the autoimmune destruction of beta cells in DMT1 conditions. In the study, Keymeulen (2008) proposes the short-term humanized anti-T-cell antibody treatment that aim to inhibit the t-cell activities and preserve the residual beta-cells for at least 18 months in order to induce cellular regeneration and stabilize metabolic control of the body over the rising glucose levels.By applying Anti-Thymocyte-Globulin, tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil to a non-uremic C peptide negative DMT1 patient, marked decrease in autoimmune activities has risen to more than 80%. Another principle of stem cell transplant in islet cell therapy is biologic differentiation wherein a pool of undifferentiated precursors (e. g. Human Islet-derived Precursor Cells or hIPCs, etc. in pancreas appears to be a series of stem cell that further differentiate to islet-endocrine cellular population: (1) Glucagon-producing alpha-cells, (2) insulin-producing beta-cells, (3) somatostatin-producer in Delta cell, (4) pancreatic polypeptide secreting cells . Both of these cellular somas act as the cellular surrogate of ß–cells that shall replace the depleted or damaged cellular source in the pancreas . Cellular differentiation holds the key in inducing growth to the depleted beta cells in the islet of langerhans.According to the study of Abdi, Fiorina and Adra (2008), islet transplantation (ppluripotent stromal cells) provides great potential for diversifying the cellular lineage even with postnatal damaged tissues. The study of of Abdi, Fiorina and Adra (2008) support the idea of cellular renewal and differentiation giving more emphasis on the mesodermal origin. In such case, the study introduces the concept similar to other studies (e. g. immuno suppression of T-cell activity, increasing beta cell antigenitcity resistance, etc. wherein the introduction of MSCs or islet transplant pluripotent cells may induce an immunomodulatory effect, which eventually facilitates cellular regeneration. The study of Seissler and Schott (20 08) also supports the idea of cellular differentiation and self-renewal; however, they have questioned the capacity of supporting the cellular capabilities of stem cells derived from adult pancreas or non-pancreas. During cellular differentiation of endocrine tissue, precursor cells secrete multiple hormones prior to final maturation of differentiated cells that secret single classification of hormone.Most of these hormones are actual growth hormones that enhance cellular differentiations and regeneration. Although these actions are most of the time slow-phased and are very much vulnerable to immunologic attacks, some studies (e. g. Piper, Brickwood and Turnpenny, 2004; Lai, Schneider and Kidszun, 2005) suggest that once islet cells have regained its stable cellular disposition, which can varies depending on the prevailing physiological atmosphere (e. g. decreased immune activity, prolonged hypoinsulinemia, etc. , the cellular proliferation and restorative scheme can pursue more rap idly than its common phasing. In the process of islet transplant, beta cells are produced as part of the general cellular differentiation produced by broad cellular differentiations . According to Rosenburg, Lipsett and Yoon et al (2004), once islet cell quantity have increased to a stable position and the environment requires extensive insulin production, autoimmune response of the body against these cells are seen to decline dramatically.Once islets have differentiated from progenitor populations, the cells migrate towards the surrounding exocrine tissues. With the help of angiogenesis resulted by vascularization of islet’s arteriolar blood flow, specific cells present in the islet progenitors, beta cell progenitor, increase its differentiation phase, which consequently increases the number of beta cells present in the pancreas . As beta cells increase, the body’s glucose-perception also enhances considering the increased quantity of glucose sensing beta cells.The di fferentiated beta cells react against the decreased body insulin levels by producing insulin, which further stimulate beta cell’s massive proliferation in islets of langerhans . Upon stimulation of cellular differentiation under insulin deficient environment, islet transplant may significantly continue with its differentiation and regeneration schemes without the heightened danger of autoimmune attacks. This theoretical physiology can serve as the actual basis for considering the value of restoring stable beta cell count within the body.However, the conflict that needs resolution is the safety of islet grafts upon its initial stage of transplant. Differentiation of beta cells is the primary target of islet stem cell therapy among DMT1 patients. These cells are highly specialized cell type, phylogenetically developed, and regulators of glucose homeostasis in higher forms of organisms. However, some studies suggest (Montanya, 2004; Vinik, Rosenberg and Pittinger, 2004; Hermann, Margreiter and Hengster, 2007) the inverse relationship present between cellular proliferation and differentiation of islet implanted stem cells.The most common problem that arises during post-transplant phase is the decreased differentiation of beta cells, which, in some cases, are not enough to fill in the body’s insulin requirements . However, Dor, Brown and Martinez (2004) assert that Beta cells, during post-stem cell therapy, do not base the production of additional beta cells in the rate of differentiation; rather, beta-cells proliferate through the process of self-duplication .This is considered as an argument in the idea proposed in the latter section wherein it proposes the nullity in achieving cellular stability in both differentiation and regeneration once specific rate of beta cells are reached in the process. Although the proposed theory does not entirely in-distant with the latter, the argument suggests that beta cell proliferation solely derives from the pre-e xisting beta cells obtained via transplant, which further proliferates via the process of cellular regeneration and not entirely differentiation.As for the critique, cellular differentiation is regarded as of little importance due to its low contribution in cellular proliferation. According to Dor, Brown and Martinez (2004), â€Å"Our analysis shows that pre-existing beta-cells, rather than pluripotent stem cells, are the major source of new beta-cells during adult life and after pancreatectomy in mice†¦ These results suggest that terminally differentiated beta-cells retain a significant proliferative capacity in vivo and cast doubt on the idea that adult stem cells have a significant role in beta-cell replenishment. Xunrong, Hua and Soo (2005) support the argument through their study indicating the process of autoimmune blockage (Transforming Growth Factor-TGF-[beta]1) rather than the concept of cellular differentiation brought by stem-cell therapy . In the study, they have m ention the capacity of growth factors, such as TGF, to provide temporary autoimmune suppression that blocks the hazardous effects of this bodily responses.With increased angiogenesis or vascularization, the newly introduced cells (beta cells) can rapidly and freely proliferate as long as adequate oxygenation from rapid blood supply is present, and autoimmune suppression is being facilitated by the growth factors. According to Xunrong, Hua and Soo (2005), â€Å"Syngeneic islet grafts failed by day 17 in all untreated mice, whereas Ad-hTGF- [beta]1 therapy prolonged survival of islet grafts. Our data demonstrate that systemic TGF-[beta]1 gene therapy blocks islet destructive autoimmunity, facilitates islet regeneration, and cures diabetes in diabetic NOD mice†.TGF-[beta]1 possesses the functions of temporarily blocking the autoimmune response against the transplanted islet graft as well as triggering cellular regeneration channeled through self-duplication. Considering the argu ments propose by the two latter studies, this study still concludes the essential contributions of cellular differentiations brought by pre-existing progenitor cells from stem transplant or original sources; since, these component holds the appropriate physiological distribution of islet cell re-categorization and reproduction. 1. 2 Stem Cell TransplantationContrary to the concept of cellular differentiation and proliferation, post-stem cell transplant on islet cell is said to induce aggressive self-renewal due to the presence of significant growth components (e. g. TGF-[beta] 1, hemo-erythropoetin,etc. ) that enhance pre-existing beta cell proliferation and protect the cells from autoimmune attacks. Through the use of a DNA analog-based lineage-tracing technique , the study has found that precursor cells do not actually contribute to further differentiation of adult beta cells, and not even during acute beta cell regeneration.Rather, beta cells are being produced through self-renew al or duplication wherein a programmed cell division occurs through a refractory period preventing excessive or massive beta cell proliferation. Although, as argued by various studies (Lee, Grossman and Chong, 2008; Gershengorn, Anandwardhan and Wei, 2004), theoretically, differentiation rate usually surges during the initial phase of cellular implantation; however, once the cellular count of these differentiated cells stabilize, self-renewal or cellular regeneration of the existing beta or islet differentiated cells follow.Thus, explaining the inverse relationship between beta-cell proliferation and differentiation. Current studies in both allogeneic and xenogeneic stem cell sources are now being studied with marked emphasis on autoimmunity reversal or even autoimmunity tolerance. According to Lee, Grossman and Chong (2008), â€Å"stem cells from hematopoietic sources, such as bone marrow and fetal cord blood, pancreas, intestine, liver, and spleen, promise either new sources of i slets or may function as stimulators of islet regeneration†.Through stem cell introduction of pancreatic cells, specifically islets of langerhans, the adult human beta cells pre-existing in the stem cell transplant exhibit hormonal expression . Contrary to the concept of cellular proliferation, stem cell transplant essentially increases beta-cell resistance to autoimmune destruction of DMT1, which consequently facilitates the proliferation of beta cell in the islets of langerhans.According to various studies (Linning and Madkuhar, 2004; Strobel, Yuval and Stirman, et al. 006), aggressive beta cell self-duplication is the actual cause of beta cell proliferation whether by implantation of TGF-[beta] 1- induced islet cells or the traditional islet replacement. Implanted islet progenitors, when cultured, expresses 1% of endocrine cell proliferation during the first 48 hours up to 6% after five days . According to Rosenberg, Lipset and Yoon (2004), increasing the mass of beta cells after the event of post-immune destruction induces a 175-amino acid pancreatic acinar cell protein called, Islet Neogenesis-Associated Protein (INGAP) peptide, which acts as a stimulator of beta cell mass stimulator.INGAP peptide, similar to TGF-Beta growth factor, triggers cellular neogenesis enabling the rapid rate of cellular regeneration after significant results from cellular differentiation. The production of INGAP protein is commonly cited during post-phase of islet transplant. However, according to Lai, Irina and Eugen et al. (2008), gene modification present in cell transplantation process is problem considering the extensive cellular processes involved in the adaptation and transplant reception.Although, applications of several viral vectors (e. g. adenovirus-associated vectors, etc. have proven to be successful, but hESC is considered a more potent alternative due to its feasibility for genetic manipulation and self-renewal. During the mass replication of beta cells, the small portion of the cells stops in the process of neogenesis, while other beta cells are reserved for continuous replication at a very slow phase. After this scenario, the counter-attack of autoimmunity is usually expected; hence, treatment regimen that suppresses immunologic reaction on islet grafts are usually being instilled to the transplant sample prior to the therapy.This procedure increases the resistance of the graft cells against the autoimmune reactions triggered by the body. With a disorder such as DMT1, the chances of beta cell recovery become lesser due to the persistent autoimmune destruction of beta cells . The decreased capacity cellular replication in the adult beta cell is very much limited to result in a significant regeneration rate following autoimmune damages . Likewise, chronically increased metabolic requirements, such as increased insulin demand, can cause beta cells’ incapacity to fully cope in the given physiologic environment.This gives the appro priate rationale for implanting islet cells in the area of depleting beta cell in order for the progenitors to differentiate and proliferate mass beta cells in the area. According to the study of Urban, Kiss and Kovacs et al. (2008), hematopoetin centers of the body, such as bone marrow, may harbor cells that can actually influence the self-duplication of beta cells. Such concept is greatly associated to the principle of angiogenesis implying the value of appropriate oxygenation in the area of developing cellular clusters.In the study, sex-mismatched bone marrow cells (BMCs) and syngeneic or allogeneic MSCs are administered to a mice sample with streptozotocin induced DMT1, and consequently led to the rapid tissue regeneration after a single injection of a mixture of 10(6) BMCs per 10(5) MSCs. Other agents that can forcefully differentiate beta cells during post-islet transplant are INGAP (Rosenberg, Lipset and Yoon et al. , 2004; Weir, Toschi and Inanda et al. , 2004), GLP-1 and GL P-1 receptor agonist exendin-4 (Li et al. , 2004), betacellulin and activin A (Brubaker and Drucker, 2004), and the combination of EGF and Gastrin (Rooman and Bouwens, 2004) .These agents can actually force the cellular differentiation providing immediate and ensured processing new beta cells with much more lessened risks of being attacked by immunologic elements. Betacellulin, Activin A and Gastrin are the common immuno-suppressants being applied to most controlled studies on islet transplants today due to its availability and decreased result variations; although, some studies still explore the applicability and effectiveness of these agents in the process of triggering cellular differentiation.Meanwhile, Melleoul (2006) suggests that cellular differentiation of beta cell during post-islet transplant is controlled by series of genetic activators and transcription factors . Its absence in mice and humans during embryogenic to postnatal development may actually lead to pancreatic ag enesis. After such condition, cellular differentiation becomes restricted principally to ß cells wherein cellular regulation of genetic expression in ß cell-specific genes occurs.Furthermore, such condition facilitates the mediation of the glucose effect on insulin gene transcription, which shows that any exposure of ß cells to high glucose even with short period of time can actually stimulates insulin gene expression. However, chronic exposure to high glucose levels can actually trigger negative effects, such as alteration in ß-cell functions and gene transcription. PDX-1 transcription breaks down upon exposure to chronic hyperglycemia, while stimulation of beta activity is seen during acute hyperglycemia.Such genetic modifications can actually enhance the survivability of islet transplants within a new host considering the autoimmune function being rendered by continuous DMT1-induced CD4 immunoglobulins. According to Phillips and Tang (2008), using cellular, molecular and gene manipulation strategies, each islet transplant can actually be guarded or attain enhanced resistance even with the hostile environment directing immune rejection, inflammation, hypoxia and apoptosis.Genetic engineering provides cellular modification for constructing gene sequences. Considering the conflict existing in mass beta cell replication and autoimmune destruction, high quantities of beta cell replication during post-islet transplant has been associated to the reduced impact of autoimmune damage. With the help of CTL antagonists in terms of restricting T-cell activity, the regenerative capacity and neogenesis of ß-cells are expected to progress through forced-differentiation therapies.Initial activities between autoaggressive Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) and beta cells are terminal event leading to cellular agenesis of ß-cell, which consequently affects both progenitor beta cells and those potential self-replicating beta cells from the pool of potential ß-c ell replenishment . Progression of CTL is unlikely to be stopped; hence, the only appropriate idea of treating the pathogenesis of DMT1 is the replenishment of beta cells that have been damaged throughout the ongoing autoimmune attacks.According to Dor (2006), progenitor cells present in the pancreas, specifically on pancreatic ducts, acini, islets of Langerhans, and other parts of the body (e. g. bone marrow, spleen, etc. ) are even more potent source of beta differentiation . However, these progenitor cells provide variable cellular differentiation rate that can compromise the process of stem cell therapy especially if the non-ideal progenitor cell source are used in the procedure.To compensate, most studies have explored the possibility of using embryonic-obtained stem cells that contain the most feasible progenitor cells aside from the ideal pancreatic progenitors. Although beta cells are differentiated from progenitor cells during embryonic phase of pancreatic development, the progenitors (marked by expression of neurogenin 3 and the paired box protein Pax-4) are seen to disappear upon birth . Such disappearance actually implicates a significant process that are undergoing with beta cells, which actually trigger fundamental change in their mode of maintenance and expansion.The cellular process begins from the embryonic progenitor-cell-based differentiation and further progress to massive self-regeneration. In the study of Nagaoka, Fukuda and Hashizume (2008), betacellulin (BTC) is analyzed as another potential growth factor that can induce progenitor-cell-based differentiation and cellular self-duplication. BTC possesses ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases that induces differentiation and cellular mitosis, especially among acinar-derived AR42J cells, transforming these cells into insulin-producing or beta functioning cells. As supported by Parnaud, Bosco and Berney et al. 2008), BTC-induced purified beta cells within allogeneic islet transplant graft enhanced by ECM have yielded a population of 91. 4 ±2. 8%. Nagaoka, Fukuda and Hashizume (2008) mention that BTC â€Å"independently and preferentially binds to two type I tyrosine kinase receptors, the EGF receptor (ErbB1) and ErbB4†. Significantly, BTC induced graft transplants are seen to contain mutant protein that promotes the rapid differentiation of pancreatic acinar AR42J cells to insulin-producing cells, which is actually the opposite with AR42J cells that contain wild-type BTC protein.Rapid differentiation is not entirely beneficial in nature as this can cause hyperplasia. According to Min Cho, Lim and Yoo et al. (2008), BTC, together with Nicotinamide sustained PDX1 expressions, actually induced cellular differentiation C-peptide proteins; although, insulin mRNA is found to be very low. 4. New Advances in Stem Cell Research The theory between stem cell differentiations versus beta cell progenitor self-duplication still coincide the need to restore pre-existing beta cell p ool from the ongoing damage made by the autoimmune CTL.Stem cell is still an important consideration in replenishing these depleted resources. However, due to the extensive problem on stem cell donors and sources, stem cell therapy is not yet considered part of an ideal DMT1 treatment. According to Korsgren, Lundgren and Felldin (2008), new alternatives for stem cell therapy are currently being explored with aims of determining other contributing components that induce cellular graft survivability and reduction of immunoresponse against DMT1 mediated antibodies.During the process of transplantation, the isolated islets transplant grafts are induced to embolise the liver after its introduction via the hepatic portal vein, which is a procedure that is unique in the area of stem cell implantation. However, such procedure is only an example of low efficacy procedure. A novel view on the engraftment of intraportally transplanted islets is presented that could explain the low efficacy of the procedure. As supported by Rother and Harlan (2004), and Hardikar (2004), only 750 patients have already been treated using allogeneic islet transplants since 1974 despite of the billions of DMT1 cases worldwide.Various alternatives have been proposed in order to counter such scarcity, specifically: (1) embryogenic blastocyst and post-natal resources, (2) culturing of stem cells, and (3) stem cell grafting using xenogeneic resource (e. g. umbilical cord, etc). The isolation of human embryonic stem (hES) cells has been introduced as a potential prospect for filling in the scarcity of beta cells, specifically through islet transplantation . Embryonic stem cells are harvested from blastocysts, while adult stem cells are from postnatal organisms.The process involves (1) the culturing and plating of embryoid bodies in insulin-transferrin-selenium-fibronectin medium, (2) supplementation and maintenance using N2, B27, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), (3) lowering of glucose c oncentration to reduce the physiological pressure on premature beta cell, (4) bFGF is withdrawn to prevent excessive growth stimulation, and (5) nicotinamide addition . Counteracting transcription-polymerase chain reaction found out an enhanced cellular expression of pancreatic genetic chains within the site of cellular differentiated cells.Using the Immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization analysis, the findings have revealed a significantly increased percentile range of insulin-expressing cells within the cellular clusters. According to the study of Xia, Ayala and Thiede et al. (2008), hESCs, with the help of drug-inducing transgene expression (in vitro and in vivo) forms >95% purity level, which significantly implies the high possibility of regulating genetic expression of hESCs. After the islet transplantation, genetic expression of the cells remained stable and regulated with the help of an orally administered drug.Although, according to Chung and Stainer (2008), cellular o rigins that regulate pancreatic B cell induction and genetic expression is not yet fully understood. Differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells to islet phenotype, identification and utilization of pancreatic precursor/stem cell from adult sources, and the cultivation of new islets from adult stem cells obtained from various tissue types or directly form other terminally differentiated cell types are the common areas being covered by islet transplant or stem cell research for DMT1 immunogenetics research .In such case, cultured embryogenic or adult somatic islet cells are transferred from its original placement to appropriate locations in the body of a DMT1 patient. Human Embryonic Stem Cell (HESCs) or ES possesses the capacity to continuously differentiate to cells that express both endoderm and pancreatic progenitor function, such as Foxa2, Sox17, Pdx1, and some islet endocrine hormones (e. g. beta cells) . According to Kroon, Martinson and Kadoya et al (2008), cellular therapy for DMT1 requires the renewal of human beta cells and not entirely the replacement of the degraded ones.In order to induce regeneration, pancreatic endoderm must be stimulated through the use cellular mediated glucose-responsive endocrine cells present within hESCs. The hESC-derived insulin-producing islet-like clusters (ILCs) comprises of 2 to 8% of human C-peptide-positive cells, glucagon-positive and somatostatin-positive cells. The study has detected a content of 70 ng of insulin/mug of DNA being produced through these hESC-derived ILCs, which is statistically higher than the innate fetal islets.In addition, cellular differentiation of hESCs induces the formation of Embryoid Bodies (EBs) that stimulate the gene expressions of POU5F1, nestin, FOXA2, ONECUT1, NEUROD1, PAX6, and insulin as long as the glucose environment is within 25mM levels . In the essence, implantation of hESCs in autoimmune-damaged islets can mobilize the islet cell differentiation through genetically expresse d progenitors from the islet transplant medium. Furthermore, continuous genetic expression is expected since the body’s glucose levels also influence the cellular differentiation of beta cells.Stem cells derived from hESCs places markers of development for endoderm, pancreatic and ß-cell development, glucose sensing, and production of mature insulin . Meanwhile, most studies have also centered in protein-based cellular communication involved during cellular differentiation phase after stem cell implants have been introduced. According to Kroon, Martinson and Kadoya (2008), therapeutic tests using a mice sample with 3000 transplanted human islet cells indicate that hESC derived pancreatic endoderm can actually aid in antibody resistance.In the study’s conclusion, they have pointed the definitive evidence proving the capacity of hESCs in generating glucose-responsive and insulin secreting implanted cells. Interestingly, in the study of Yu, Vodyanik and Smuga-Otto et a l (200), hESCs are found to be programmed by specific four genes, OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and LIN28, which actually determines the pluripotent capacity of the embryonic stem cells and the characteristic of cellular differentiation. Although, the study concludes that the genetic mapping and processes involved within these newly discovered hESC genes are still in the process of intensive studies.Implanted stem cells actually integrate their needed functions for initiating the mechanism of glucose responsive regulation present as pre-proinsulin mRNA and expression of insulin C-peptide in vitro (Clark, Yochem and Axelman, 2007). Following transplantation into mice, cells become insulin and C-peptide immunoreactive and produce plasma C-peptide in response to glucose. The results of the study suggest that embryonic germ cell derivatives (e. g. ILCs, etc. ) may eventually function as a potent insulin producing cells .The use of islet-derived or stem cell therapy using embryonic cells remain exp erimental due to the challenges of cellular differentiation. Currently, the problems being faced by the treatment is the availability of stem cells that can possess the appropriate capacity to induce cellular differentiation and regeneration. According to the mentioned studies, simple cellular implantation is not entirely enough due to the greater risks imposed by the body’s physiological reaction against islet grafts.Hence, another issue arises in determining the best anti-immunity function or tolerance enhancer of islet graft transplants; although, latter studies have already discovered potential enhancers that can disregard or at least lessen the impact of cellular degradation brought by DMT1 immunity. Lastly, new advances of genetic modification techniques that shall increase cellular differentiation and renewal rates are already in the process of development. 5. Discussion In the research of Froud, Ricordi and Baidal, islet stem cells are cultured under steroid-free immu nosuppression and are transplanted to 16 DMT1 samples.The cultured islet stem cells have undergone a period of in vitro culture-process with heightened necrosis resistance through TNF- a (Tumor Necrosis Factor) blockade that aim to improve islet engraftment and provide alternative to fresh human islet transportation. The results of the study suggest that the implantation of cultured human islet allografts cause a reproducible insulin independence in all subjects under the series immunosuppressant infusions (a. intial Infliximab infusion, b. daclizumab and c. irolimus maintenance), comparable to that of freshly transplanted islets (Edmonton protocol) .In the absence of supplemental infusions (nfliximab, daclizumab and sirolimus), the results of the study have incurred 11/14 (79%) subjects that produced insulin independence at 1 year, while other 6/14 (43%) samples have gained this capacity after 18 months. Surprisingly, the same test subjects have maintained their insulin independenc e until 33  ± 6 month span. Furthermore, the findings have observed that patients are able to maintain their graft function while under the immunosuppressing infusions.According to the results, 8 out of 14 patients have suffered chronic partial graft losses that are likely immunological in nature considering that 5 of these already received supplemental infusions. Currently, 11 out of 14 subjects are in the receiving immunosuppressing infusions, and 8 (73%) of these are already manifesting insulin independence. The study significantly demonstrates the possibility of withholding the immunologic response upon exposure to certain immunosuppressant (e. g. nfliximab, daclizumab and sirolimus, etc. ).Although, the study has not mentioned the possible side effects and complications that such infusion can provide towards the body as a whole. However, since the stem cells are the only ones infused with these immunosuppressants, the chances of systemic immunosuppression are less likely as l ong as the dosage infused with the stem cells remain appropriate and feasible to the body’s normal function. In another culture study brought by Pinzon, Lakey and Brand (2005), they have used the combination of epidermal growth factor (EFG) and gastrin in order to induce beta cell neogenesis specifically on pancreatic exocrine duct cells .These growth factors also carry the risk of triggering extensive cellular neoplasia over-cellular multiplication; although, studies have already found drug induced techniques that can contain the cellular differentiation and regeneration upon introduction within the body system. In the study, human islet cells are placed under four weeks culture study in a serum-free medium with EGF (0. 3  µg/ml) as the control variable and gastrin content of 1. 0  µg/ml.Beta cells have shown significant increase in cultures with the combined medium of EGF and gastrin (+118%), while +81% for cultures with EGF alone. The EGF-gastrin culture has been obser ved again for the next four weeks, but without the said combination. Impressive results have shown beta cells progressive increase in quantity for the culture previously infused with both EGF and gastrin (+232%). Comparing these results from the latter discussed studies, EGF and gastrin have actually trigger cellular differentiation and self-duplication due to their growth factor properties.In the study of Suarez-Pinzon and Rabinovitch (2008), gastrin growth factor combined with epidermal growth factor (EGF) can actually restore pancreatic islet beta-cell mass and even reverse hyperglycemia even in the absence of immunotherapy in mice samples with artificially induced-DMT1. Reversal of hyperglycemia is most likely due to the increase in insulin production that counters the effects of DMS1. With the appropriate amounts of insulin secretion in the blood, the glucose tonicity will consequently be absorbed by the cells granted that the diabetic anomaly does not consider the insulin rece ptor functionalities within cellular surfaces.In the study, EGF dose of 10 microg/kg and gastrin dose of 30 microg/kg via intraperitoneally have been administered to 10 sample DMT1 mice. In terms of glucose levels, the samples have shown a marked decline from blood glucose of 23 +/- 2 mmol/L to 12 mmol/L within 36 days of individual EGF administration, while 19 days in individual gastrin administration. When combined, the decline in the samples’ glucose levels is already present within 11 days.In addition, the cellular islet counts have increased from 13. 0 +/- 0. x 10(5) cells to 29 +/- 2 x 10(5)cells, and considering the marked decrease of surrounding CD45+ leukocytes have also been observed. Therefore, such combination (EGF plus Gastrin) is confirmed to reduce blood glucose levels, prevent autoimmune activity of DMT1 mediated CD4 cells and increase cellular differentiation. Lastly, aside from hESC’s and cultured islet transplants, another potential source of stem ce lls currently being studied is from animals, known as xenogeneic sources . Pig islets are considered the best option available for xenogeneic transplants.According to Rother and Harlan (2004), such potential alternative are now being studied for different considered potentials, such as: Pig islets have been considered as potential source of islet stem cells aside from human source (a) The fact that humans had been treated with pig insulin for more than 60 years (b) Favorable husbandry — in that the species has large litters with offspring that attain adult size rapidly and with relatively robust islet numbers (c) The fact that pig islets respond to glucose in the same physiological glucose range as human islets (d) Existence of suitable societal-cultural relationship between the speciesDespite of the potential capacity of pig islets in acting as alternative stem cell resource, studies (Hering, Wijkstrom and Graham et al. , 2006; Rood, Buhler and Bottino, 2006) have identified its increased immuno-response towards CTL and autoimmune attacks initiated by DMT1 disease. Autoimmune attacks are the principal conflict considered in the process of islet transplantation wherein even if the graft has been successfully implanted, the risk of failure in the procedure is still considered possible considering the effects of autoimmunity triggered by increased antigenicity in the graft transplant.In one study, acute rejection caused the death of two macaque samples through cellular rejection mediated by CD4+ and CD*+ T cells and macrophages . In order to increase the effectiveness of xenografts after post-transplant phase, different culture infusions have been studied to prolong the life of pig islets xenografts. CD4 antibodies are usually being activated upon detecting significant system foreign antigens, which are usually introduced by bacteria, virus or any material that enters the body systems.In this principle, researchers (Kirchhof, Shibata and Wikkstrom et al. 004) have pointed their assumptions in the possible presence of antigens within xenotransplanted islet grafts. In addition, cellular infusions are considered to be at great risk due to the potential intrusion of incompatible antigens that might induce transplant rejection, and eventually autoimmune degradation of transplanted islet cells in the body. This condition is currently under extensive analysis and consideration since even with successful islet transplant, autoimmune response due to heightened cellular antigenicity can still pose the failure of the stem cell therapy.Due to this genetic dilemma, some studies (Kirchhof, Shibata and Wikkstrom et al. 2004; Komoda, S. Miyagawa and T. Omori et al. , 2004) have focused in determining the potential drug enhancers that can improve transplant antigenicity, especially among xenogeneic sources. First, with the infusion of islets from N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-III (GnT-III) transgenic pigs, pig islet’s xenoantigenicity have significantly declined prolonging the survival of islets for the next five days of culture study. In another study, pig islets subjected for xenotransplantation are tested with alginate encapsulation.The transplant to tested in a primate, specifically a monkey-Cynomolgus maccacus . Adult pig islets encapsulated in alginate under optimal conditions (n=7) or not (n=5) are transplanted under the kidney capsule of the non-diabetic primate sample. Meanwhile, additional samples have received empty capsules (n=1) and non-encapsulated pig islets (n=2) as controls . The results of the study show the rapid inviability of non-encapsulated and encapsulated islets with no alginate and not in optimal condition.Implanted pig islets under optimum alginate encapsulation showing significant prolonged islet survival for as long as six months. However, despite of the experimental success, the study still regards the conflicts encountered by the processes (e. g. variations of graft antigenicity, etc). 6 . Conclusion DMT1 is a condition manifested by increased and frequent manifestations of hyperglycemia caused by the insufficient production or depleted insulin levels. The most universally recognized cause of beta cell destruction is the autoimmune etiology caused by CD4 interleukins, and other associate antibodies.The aims of the therapy are the induction of cellular differentiation while facilitating as well the renewal of the existing and pre-existing beta cells in the islet graft transplant or in the remaining original islets. However, the principal conflict of the procedure is the interference caused by the autoimmune reaction of the body towards the transplanted islet grafts; although, recent studies have continuously explored different possibilities of suppressing autoimmune responses and forcing cellular activities.Stem cell therapy is a potential prospect for permanently treating the condition of DMT1 considering the main concept involved in its pathogenesis – destru ction of beta cell or insulin producing cells. The processes, physiology and pathological considerations in the stem cell therapy of islet transplant involve the criticality of autoimmune response towards the islet transplant.The controversy of such treatment is the effectiveness of implanting whether the islet cells containing stem cells based on the concept of cellular differentiation or islet cells with pre-existing beta cells based on the concept of cellular self-renewal. Despite of the argument between the two perspectives involve, another main issue arises, specifically the scarcity of stem cell from allogeneic donors. According to the approximated statistics, only 750 cased of DMT1 have successfully obtained the stem cell transplant of islet cells considering the billions of other DMT1 patients existing.In order to resolve such scarcity, various forms of stem cell resources have been proposed and are currently under extensive studies, specifically (1) human embryonic stem cel ls, (2) cultured islet stem cells, and (3) xenogeneic sources specifically the pig islet stem cells. According to most studies, autoimmune damage progress if cell count of beta cells is introduced insufficiently to the recipient body; although, stem cell therapy is nearing towards its potential of being a significant cure as beta cell replacement and insulin producer.

The Calotype essays

The Calotype essays The calotype, invented by William Fox Henry Talbot, is the basis of todays photographic process. His signature is Henry Talbot, and though he is said to have disliked being called Fox Talbot, that name has stuck. Fox Talbot was not the first to produce photographs; he made a major contribution to the photographic process, as we know it today. Talbot's calotype is a paper negative image from which an unlimited number of positives can be printed. The photographer could make different prints from the same negative because they had total control of the prints density. The earliest surviving paper negative is of the now famous latticed window of the library at Laycock Abbey, Wiltshire, where he lived. It is dated August 1835. The picture is small and poor in quality, compared with the striking images produced by the Daguerreotype process. Unlike Daguerre, Talbot did not receive any government help to develop his process. He used his own time and money to develop the calotype process. Though some of his pictures show a measure of artistic taste, it was his inability to produce pictures, which caused him to experiment with a mechanical method of capturing and retaining an image. Talbot used a camera obscura for his sketches, one of, which was Villa Melsi, sketched in 1832. Later he wrote: In October, 1833, I was amusing myself on the lovely shores of the Lake of Como in Italy, taking sketches with a Camera Lucida, or rather, I should say, attempting to make them; but with the smallest possible amount of success... After various fruitless attempts I laid aside the instrument and came to the conclusion that its use required a previous knowledge of drawing that unfortunately I did not possess. I then thought of trying again a method that I had tried many years before. This method was to take a Camera Obscura and to throw the image of the objects on a piece of paper in its focus - fairy pictures, creations of a mome...

Complete List of AP Courses and Tests

Complete List of AP Courses and Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you ever seen the full list of AP classes? Are you confused about which ones you should take? We’ll help you choose by showing you a list of all AP courses available. We'll also reveal which ones are the most popular and which are the hardest to pass. Read on for advice to help you pick your ideal advanced placement courses! Complete List of AP Exams First things first: here is the full list of AP tests. Before we delve into popularity and difficulty, this basic list can be really helpful. Scope it out and see which topics look interesting to you! There are 38 exams in total: AP Research AP Seminar Art History Biology Calculus AB Calculus BC Chemistry Chinese Language and Culture Computer Science A Computer Science Principles English Language and Composition English Literature and Composition Environmental Science European History French Language and Culture German Language and Culture Government and Politics (Comparative) Government and Politics (US) Human Geography Italian Language and Culture Japanese Language and Culture Latin Macroeconomics Microeconomics Music Theory Physics 1: Algebra-Based Physics 2: Algebra-Based Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Physics C: Mechanics Psychology Spanish Language and Culture Spanish Literature and Culture Statistics Studio Art Drawing Studio Art 2-D Design Studio Art 3-D Design US History World History When reading through this list, think about subjects you already enjoy and want to delve into more. For example, if you’ve always liked math, challenging yourself with the BC Calculus course (and exam) could be a rewarding experience. You can also look ahead to college. AP classes are a great way to explore subjects that aren’t usually part of high school curricula. Many AP classes, such as Computer Science, Psychology, and Economics, can give you a taste of college courses while you’re still in high school. AP classes: perfect if you're dreaming of life on campus. Also, think about the tests that could make you a more competitive applicant to the colleges you're applying to. You want to showcase your strengths, after all! For example, if you're applying as a science major and have done several science-related extracurriculars, it would be a smart idea to take (and ace!) the science AP tests, including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Before you sign up for an AP course or test, think about your prior preparation. In most cases, you shouldn’t jump into an AP class if you have no experience in that subject. For instance, many high schools have students take a regular or honors biology class before they can take AP Biology. Moreover, consider which AP courses are offered at your high school. Most schools don’t offer every single AP subject as a class. It is definitely possible to study on your own for a test, but it’s much easier if you take a class. This is especially true for the tougher subjects like Calculus and Literature. For a full description of each AP class and its exam, check out the AP Student website. Which AP Tests Are the Most Popular? Just knowing which AP classes exist won't help you totally narrow down your choices. To give you a better perspective, check out this list of AP courses, organized by popularity (i.e., the number of students taking them): AP Course/Exam # of Students Taking (2018) English Language 580,043 United States History 501,530 English Literature 404,014 Government Politics (United States) 326,392 Psychology 3,759 Calculus AB 308,538 World History 303,243 Biology 259,663 Statistics 222,501 Human Geography 216,783 Spanish Language 180,435 Physics 1 170,653 Environmental Science 166,433 Chemistry 161,852 Macroeconomics 146,673 Calculus BC 139,376 European History 101,740 Microeconomics 90,032 Computer Science Principles 72,187 Computer Science A 65,133 Physics C Mechanics 57,399 Studio Art 2-D Design 36,249 Seminar 30,964 Spanish Literature 27,451 Physics 2 25,741 Physics C EM 25,074 Art History 24,964 Government Politics (Comparative) 24,675 French Language 22,867 Studio Art Drawing 20,853 Music Theory 19,018 Chinese Language 13,825 Research 9,640 Latin 6,409 Studio Art 3-D Design 5,777 German Language 5,053 Italian Language 2,926 Japanese Language 2,459 Total Number of AP Exams Taken 5,090,324 Total Number of Students Taking AP Exams 2,808,909 Source: The College Board Taking a more popular AP exam has a lot of benefits. For one, the class is more likely to be offered at your high school. Another plus is that there are more study guides and resources you can use for the test- both online and in print. It will also be easier to find other students to study with. On the flip side, you can distinguish yourself by taking and passing a less popular AP test. For example, having AP Japanese or AP Research under your belt can set you apart from other high-achieving students, especially in college applications. AP Test Passing Rates In addition to knowing all your AP exam choices and how popular each test is, it’s helpful to know how many students pass each exam. (AP tests are scored between 1 and 5, with anything 3 and higher considered passing.) Most AP tests have a pass rate of around 65% or higher. The high score of 5 is rarer- usually between 10% and 20% of a test's scores. Check out our table below, organized in order of the passing rate of each exam. Note: There are two different subgroups for language exams: Standard and Total. The score rates for language exams (Standard) only include students who didn't indicate they spoke that language at home or had spent four or more weeks in a country where that language was spoken. On the other hand, the rates for language exams (Total) also include students who speak that language at home and/or have completed study abroad programs. This is why many of the language AP exams (Total) have very high passing rates. AP Test Passing Rates 2019 Exam Name Passing Rate (3+) 5 Rate Studio Art: Drawing 91.1% 20.8% Spanish Language and Culture 89% 24.9% Chinese Language and Culture 88.3% 57.2% Studio Art: 2-D Design 86.4% 21% Calculus BC 81.5% 43.2% Physics C: Electricity Magnetism 81.1% 35.9% Seminar 80.7% 6.8% French Language and Culture 76.7% 15.5% Research 76.2% 10.8% Japanese Language and Culture 75% 38.2% Computer Science Principles 72.7% 13.6% Spanish Literature 71.9% 9.1% Physics C: Mechanics 71.1% 34.6% German Language and Culture 70.5% 18.4% Studio Art: 3-D Design 70.1% 10.1% Computer Science A 69.9% 27% Microeconomics 68.4% 22.2% Gov. and Politics - Comparative 66.2% 22.2% Biology 64.6% 7.1% Italian Language and Culture 64.6% .8% Psychology 64.4% 20.2% Art History 63.9% 12% Physics 2 63.5% 12.6% Music Theory 63.4% 20.9% Latin 63.1% 13.1% Statistics 59.2% 14.5% European History 58.4% .7% Calculus AB 58.3% 18.9% Macroeconomics 57.9% 17.6% World History 56% 8.7% Gov. and Politics - United States 55.2% 12.9% English Language and Composition 55.1% 10.1% Chemistry 54.6% 10.7% United States History 54.3% 12.1% English Literature and Composition 50.1% 6.2% Environmental Science 49.6% 9.5% Human Geography 49.1% 10.7% Physics 1 44.6% 6.2% Source: The College Board You might be wondering why tests like BC Calculus and Chinese- which seem really difficult- have some of the highest passing rates. It's not because they're the easiest AP tests. These tests have high pass rates because students who take AP Calculus BC and AP Chinese are much more likely to have prior experience in those subjects and are willing to take on a tough class. In other words, the students who take the hardest AP exams are a self-selecting group of high achievers. It takes years of math classes to build up to Calculus BC questions like this one. View a whole free-response section here if you’re curious about how hard Calculus BC is. On the flip side, some of the most popular tests, such as US History and US Government, have some of the lowest passing rates. This is likely because a wider pool of test takers means that there are more underprepared and unprepared students. In addition, note that Environmental Science, English Literature, and World History- also very popular tests- have very low 5 rates, under 10%. This could be because, again, a wider test taker pool makes for more unprepared students. However, since so few students can pull it off, it’s still pretty hard to get a 5 on these tests. If you take those courses, be prepared to study hard- especially if you want a 5! What’s Next? Once you’ve chosen an AP class to take, you might be curious about what the test is like. Learn about how long AP tests are and get tips on managing test fatigue. You're probably also wondering about your SAT/ACT score and how to improve it. If you're taking the ACT, get tips on how to avoid the most common ACT mistakes and learn how to get a perfect 36 score. Aiming for the SAT instead? Learn how to boost your score on each section: Reading, Writing, and Math. Thinking about college? Read our guides to developing a target ACT or SAT score to get into your target colleges. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: