Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 105

Summary - Essay Example There are different structuring considerations for different types of businesses. Canadian businesses need registration from the concerned provincial and federal governments for getting the tax account numbers. An allocation formula is used to allocate each corporation’s income to the provinces of permanent establishment. Capital Taxes have been mostly waived, whereas interest expenses are financed and deducted according to the set principles. Canada follows the guidelines set by OECD for the arm-length’s principle for transfer pricing. Earnings of a Canadian subsidiary are distributed through dividends, and the cash is repatriated. Canada applies withholding tax upon the non-residents’ services in Canada. Canada treats leasehold improvements as capital expenditures for the purposes of tax. Tax planning opportunities are there for companies having significant real estate amount in Canada. Canadian income tax laws apply on non-resident businessmen in Canada under domestic law, though sales made over the Internet are exempt from the income tax

Global relevance from a diversity of perspectives in International Essay

Global relevance from a diversity of perspectives in International Relations Theory - Essay Example This paper will evaluate the issue of global relevance from a diversity of perspectives in relation to International Relations Theory. The paper will discuss the issues surrounding global relevance and the implications on the how the various international relations theories relate to global relevance. Specifically, the paper will discuss critical theoretical perspectives in International Relations Theory such as Constructivism, Feminism and Marxism in regards to global relevance. The study will investigate the various aspects that can influence the global relevance of a state or a country and how these aspects can be controlled. It is important to note that global relevance is critical; especially in this era of globalization. Therefore, the study will endeavor to establish the critical issues that surround the issue of global relevance and how International Relations Theory affects global relevance. In order to attain the purpose of this paper, the first section will describe the is sue of global prominence in the context of global relations. The normative and theoretical perspectives in International Relations Theory that influence global relevance from a diversity of perspectives will be discussed. ... No country in the globe can prosper in solidarity and international cooperation is essential for every country. It is imperative that countries which dominate the international landscape have put in place policies that make them globally relevant (Hobson, 2009). Despite the diversity that is evident throughout the world, all countries are interlinked for mutual benefit. The aspect of global relevance can be evaluated from a diversity of perspectives that influence international relations. One of the major aspects of global relevance is economic status. The economy of a country is an important indicator of its development rate. It is important to note that economically powerful countries benefit the most in the realm of international trade. The formation of international and regional trade bodies such the World Trade Organizations imply that the exchange of goods and services is an important issue for every country. Suffice to say, trade is implemented through the principle of willing buyer and willing buyer. Therefore, in order to be able to dominate in the international trade, it is necessary for a country to improve its production capabilities (Hobson, 2009). The manufacturing, services and agricultural industries are some of the main areas of international trade. Thus, countries that can export more products and services while keeping their imports at a low level have the capability to stay globally relevant. The challenge for emerging economies that aspire for global dominance is the policies that they have to put in place in order to attain this goal. Countries that are unable to be globally relevant may invariably end up lagging behind economically. The political landscape in a country is an important

The Construction Material Concrete Construction Essay

The Construction Material Concrete Construction Essay The process of curing concrete, handling it in different climatic conditions and the various diseases that can arise in concrete structures are the key points of this paper. The word concrete is derived from a latin word concretuswhich means compact or condensed. Concrete is a thick composite artificial stone like material which is made by mixing cement (generally Portland cement) and various other aggregates, such as sand, pebbles, gravel, shale, etc., with water and allowing the mixture to harden by hydration. Since the ancient times it had been used in constructing structures and today also it is used more than any other man made construction material in the world. COMPOSITION Depending upon the reqirement of the structure,the proportions of the main ingredients discussed below are varied to avail different types of concrete. By doing so the finished product can be tailored to its application with varying strength, density, or chemical and thermal resistance properties. CEMENT Portland cement is a basic ingredient of concrete. It consists of a mixture of oxides of calcium, silicon and aluminium. Portland cement and similar materials are made by heating limestone (a source of calcium) with clay, and grinding this product (called clinker) with a source of sulfate (most commonly gypsum). WATER When water is added in a cementitious material, cement paste is formed through the process of hydration. The cement paste glues the aggregate together, fills voids within it, and allows it to flow more smoothly. Water should be added in the mix very carefully as less water in the cement paste will yield a stronger, more durable concrete; more water will give an free-flowing concrete with a higher slump. Impure water used to make concrete can cause problems when setting or in causing premature failure of the structure. In the process of hydration many different reactions occur at the same time. As the reactions proceed, the products of the cement hydration process gradually bond together the individual sand and gravel particles, and other components of the concrete, to form a solid compact mass. AGGREGATES The presence of aggregate greatly increases the robustness of concrete above that of cement.Following are the different items which could be used as aggregates: Sand, natural gravel and crushed stone Recycled aggregates (from construction, demolition and excavation waste) and manufactured aggregates like air-cooled blast furnace slag and bottom ash Decorative stones such as quartzite, small river stones or crushed glass are sometimes added to the surface of concrete for a decorative exposed aggregate finish. CURING OF CONCRETE The term curing concrete signifies the process of stopping freshly poured concrete from drying out too quickly. Unless the concrete mass is not cured, or if it is left out to dry out on its own, it will not develop the full bond between all of its ingredients. In order to form a water cement paste, water is added in Portland cement after which chemical reactions take place in the mixture turns the paste into a bonding agent. This reaction is known as hydration and it produces a stone-like compact substancethe hardened cement paste. Both the rate and degree of hydration, and the resulting strength of the final concrete, depend on the curing process that follows placing and consolidating the plastic concrete. As long as the mixture contains water and the temperature conditions are favorable, the process of Hydration continues ,though at a decreasing rate . The strength of concrete is dependent on crystal growth within the concrete matrix through the process of hydration If water is not adequate, the crystals cannot grow, due to which the concrete is unable to attain the desired strength. The presence of water through proper curing of the concrete facilitates the crystal growth that encloses the gravel and sand mix, causing interweaving with each other. .The time-span of the process of Curing begins from the time of consolidation and ends at the point where the concrete reaches its design strength. The period can vary from a few days to a month or longer. For most structural use, the curing period for cast-in-place concrete is usually 3 days to 2 weeks. During this period, the concrete mass should be kept moist and as near 73F as practical. Bridge decks and other slabs exposed to weather and chemical attack usually require longer curing periods. The time span of the curing period also depends on the factors such as type of cement used mix proportions required strength size and shape of the concrete mass weather conditions and temperature future exposure conditions SIGNIFICANCE OF CURING A proper and effective curing process helps in improving various properties of concrete such as freeze and thaw resistance strength watertightness wear resistance volume stability. Serviceability and apperance The compressive strength of concrete that has been properly cured is 75 to 95 per cent more than the concrete that has not been cured. Figure 1 illustrates this by comparing the compressive strength of concrete(at 180 days) for which the surface has been either kept moist for the entire duration of 180 days or is kept moist for various periods of time and allowed to dry out or is allowed to dry out from the time it was first made.It is quite clearly depicted that the compressive strength of the concrete is highest when it is fully cured for the entire period of 180 days. Fig 1:Moist curing effect on compressive strength of concrete source:www.tpub.com The permeability and absorptivity of concrete mix depends upon the porosity of the mix ie whether the pores and capillaries are discrete or interconnected. The porosity of the mix is reduced overtime through proper and effective curing of concrete thereby increasing the durability of concrete. Also, proper curing of concrete mix will reduce crazing, dusting and scaling of the slab thereby ensuring better serviceability and appearance. STAGES IN CURING PROCESS After the concrete mix have been placed, it is imperative to keep it moist and maintain specified concrete temperatures.The process of curing starts immediately after the placement of concrete and it goes through two stages : Initial curing stage: time of placement to initial set. This stage would include all the deliberate action taken between placement and final finishing of concrete. Approximate conditions during the initial curing period should be forecast prior to construction. Under this stage,the rate of strength gain of the concrete is minimal. The various aspects to be dealt with construction initial curing period as shown in diagram below are : verifying evaporation conditions: concrete temperatures, wind velocity, air temperature, and relative humidity are required to be taken into account during placement. These elements are used to make nomograph to calculate the evaporation rate and to determine whether critical drying rates exist. Using the concrete placing temperature, the time of initial setting can be estimated. The time of initial setting is the optimal time for application of final curing. Major items requiring attention during construction-initial curing period. Source : www.fhwa.dot.govt Onsite adjustments for Excessive drying: In order to reduce evaporation rates of bleed water the following two adjustments could be made- reducing concrete placing temperatures- Cooling aggregate stockpiles, cooling mixing water, or using ice for mixing water are very effective ways of reducing concrete temperatures. use of evaporation reducers. Evaporation reducers are water emulsions of film-forming compounds. The film-forming compound is the active ingredient that slows down evaporation of water. There is also a benefit from the water fraction of the evaporation reducers, in that it compensates to a small degree for losses of mixing water to evaporation.Evaporation reducers may need to be applied several times, depending on the conditions. Concrete that are liable to quick drying is required to be covered with wet gunny bag or wet hessian cloth properly squeezed, so that the water does not drip and at the same time, does not allow the concrete to dry. This condition should be maintained for 24 hours or at least till the final setting time of cement at which duration the concrete will have assumed the final volume. The Final curing stage: The final curing period is defined as the time interval between application of curing procedures and the end of deliberate curing. Final curing methods fall into four categories: Water curing : Water curing can be done in various ways like immersion,ponding, spraying or fogging and wet covering.This is by far the best method of curing as it satisfies all the requirements of curing, namely, promotion of hydration, elimination of shrinkage and absorption of the heat of hydration. Curing a house slab by flooding. Source: http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/curing-concrete.html The precast concrete items are normally immersed in curing tanks for a certain duration. Pavement slabs, roof slab etc. are covered under water by making small ponds. Vertical retaining wall or plastered surfaces or concrete columns etc. are cured by spraying water. In some cases, wet coverings such as wet gunny bags, hessian cloth, jute matting, straw etc., are wrapped to vertical surface for keeping the concrete wet. For horizontal surfaces saw dust, earth or sand are used as wet covering to keep the concrete in wet condition for a longer time so that the concrete is not unduly dried to prevent hydration. The diagram below summarises the major criteria for using water-added curing methods. Major features of curing with added water. Membrane curing : this curing method is mostly used when there is less availability of water in the region where curing is done. Under this method, concrete could be covered with membrane which will effectively seal off the evaporation of water from concrete. A continuous seal over the concrete surface is maintained by means of a firm impervious film to prevent moisture in concrete from escaping by evaporation. Some of the materials, which can be used for this purpose, are bituminous compounds, polyethylene PLASTIC SHEETING source:www.builderbill-diy-help.com or polyester film, waterproof paper, rubber compounds etc. When waterproofing paper or polyethylene film are used as membrane, care must be taken to see that these are not punctured anywhere and also see whether adequate lapping is given at the junction and this lap is effectively sealed. Application of heat : When concrete is subjected to higher temperature it accelerates the hydration process resulting in faster development of strength. Concrete cannot be subjected to dry heat to accelerate the hydration process as the presence of moisture is also an essential requisite. Therefore, subjecting the concrete to higher temperature and maintaining the required wetness can be achieved by subjecting the concrete to steam curing. The exposure of concrete to higher temperature can be done by Steam curing at ordinary pressure, Steam curing at high pressure ,Curing by Infra-red radiation ,Electrical curing. Traditional steam curing of concrete pipes (www.construction-int.com) Miscellaneous : Calcium chloride is used either as a surface coating or as an admixture. It has been used satisfactorily as a curing medium. Both these methods are based on the fact that calcium chloride being a salt shows affinity for moisture. The salt not only absorbs moisture from atmosphere but also retains it at the surface. This moisture held at the surface prevents the mixing water from evaporation and thereby keeps the concrete wet for a long time to promote hydration. Formwork prevents escaping of moisture from the concrete, particularly, in the case of beams and columns. Keeping the form work intact and sealing the joint with wax or any other sealing compound prevents the evaporation of moisture from the concrete. This procedure of promoting hydration can be considered as one of the miscellaneous methods of curing. At the end of the curing process majority of cement gets hydrated.There is slow rate of compressive strength gain of around 50-100 psi/hours and little exothermic heat generation. In the entire process of curing if one of the curing procedures is used initially, it may be replaced by one of the other procedures after the concrete is 1 day old, provided that the concrete surface is not permitted to become dry at any time. After the termination of the curing process the adequacy of a curing program could be verified.Although strength is the primary variable around which curing specifications are based several other approaches can also be used like Surface Water Absorption: the amount of water a dry concrete specimen absorbs in the first minute or so after contact with liquid water is directly related to the quality of the curing of the near-surface zone of the concrete. This method has direct applicability to verifying curing. The method is reasonably applied to cores, which can be dried to a constant low moisture content before testing. Rebound Hammer: The rebound hammer method basically measures the modulus of elasticity of the nearsurface concrete. This may actually recommend the method for use in evaluating the curing of concrete pavements, where near-surface effects are considered most important. The test method is suitable for in-place measurements. Laboratory work has shown that rebound numbers of uncured concrete exposed to modestly severe drying are reduced by about 50 percent at 7 days relative to well-cured concrete. Strength of Cores: The strength of concrete is strongly affected by inadequate curing, and, in theory, could be detected by measuring strength of cores. the effects of poor curing are only strongly apparent in the properties of the top 50 mm of concrete, and sometimes even less. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity: The ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) method is an indirect measure of the modulus of elasticity of concrete. The modulus of elasticity of concrete tends to increase with increasing hydration (or quality of curing) of the cement paste fraction of the concrete. UPV testing can be set up in a number of configurations, each of which tends to focus on slightly different features of the concrete. A simple pulse velocity taken through a piece of concrete, which is the traditional way of using UPV to investigate concrete properties, gives information on the average quality of the concrete. Abrasion Resistance: The degree of curing has been shown in numerous research publications to be strongly reflected in the abrasion resistance of the cement-paste fraction of concrete. This truth is easily verified qualitatively using an electrically powered wire brush and observing the ease with which the near-surface mortar can be removed from a small spot of concrete. Poorly cured concrete is easily abraded away, while well-cured concrete is quite difficult to abrade away with such equipment. DISEASES OF CONCRETE Deterioration of concrete buildings is becoming a cause of concern now a days. Often the structures located along open water, lakes, rivers and oceans are extremely vulnerable to attack from the harsh environment i.e. salt, moisture, humidity, carbon dioxide, etc. cracks, spalls and rust stains are some of the visual symptoms of the deterioration of concrete. CRACK Crack is the most common diseases of concrete structures and it occurs as a result of material discontinuity. Thermal and shrinkage cracks can be associated with high cement content and high strength concrete. Usually cracks occur in the concrete structures due to various reasons such as excess water in the mix ,rapid drying of the concrete, improper strength concrete poured on the job, lack of control joints, if Concrete is poured on frozen ground, alkali-silica reactionetc. In order to prevent cracks in concrete structures, following preventive measures could be taken: Estimate in advance the quantity of water to be mixed to get the required concrete mix. Adding too much water in the mix is one of the main causes of cracked concrete Do not pour concrete on the frozen ground .A compacted subgrade could be used to pour concrete upon to prevent cracking Cut control joints into the concrete so that the slab will be able to shrink and expand with temperature changes. Control joints should be cut the same depth of the slab and spaced a maximum of three times the thickness of the concrete. The slab must retain enough moisture so that the drying and shrinking happens as slowly as possible in the days and weeks after pouring. Curing helps the concrete to retain moisture in the concrete so that it can continue to gain strength to resist cracking. CRACKS ON CONCRETE SURFACE Source:www.homebuildinginformation.com FROST When the concrete is critically saturated i.e. approximately 91% of its pores are filled with water then deterioration of concrete from freeze thaw actions may occur. When water freezes to ice it occupies 9% more volume than that of water.In case there is no space in concrete for this expanded volume , a kind of distress is caused which will result in loss of concrete surface. A surface active agent should be added to the concrete mixture in order to prevent frost in a concrete structure. This creates a large number of closely spaced, small air bubbles in the hardened concrete which would act as expansion chambers to relieve the pressure build-up. It is to be noted that concrete with high water content and high water to cement ratio is less frost resistant than concrete with lower water content. ABRASION AND CAVITATION Hydraulic Concrete structures are affected by Abrasion-erosion due to the action of debris rolling and grinding against surface. The sources of the debris include construction trash left in a structure, riprap brought back into a basin by eddy currents because of poor hydraulic design or asymmetrical discharge, and riprap or other debris thrown into a basin by the public. Mechanical abrasion is usually characterized by long shallow grooves in the concrete surface and spalling along monolith joints. general abrasion and cavitation erosion results in coarse aggregate exposed concrete surface, concrete uneven surface, resulting in holes. In order to prevent the structure to suffer from abrasion the concrete should include the maximum amount of the hardest coarse aggregate that is available and the lowest practical w/c. In addition to this,high-range water-reducing admixtures (HRWRA) and condensed silica fume have been used to develop high compressive strength concrete 97 MPa (14,000 psi) , at this strength the concrete mix assumes a greater role in resisting abrasion-erosion damage. Also vacuum-treated concrete, polymer concrete, polymer-impregnated concrete, and polymer portland cement concrete could also be used to increase the abrasion resistance. In existing structures, balanced flows should be maintained into basins by using all gates to avoid discharge conditions where eddy action is prevalent. ABRASION source:www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca CARBONATION Carbonation is a chemical reaction between atmospheric carbon dioxide and hydrated cement compounds which causes a reduction in the alkalinity of the concrete. The permeability and moisture content of the concrete directly affects the rate of carbonation . Pop-corn like calcite crystals present in carbonated paste. source:www.concrete-experts.com In the process of carbonation the calcium bearing phases present in the concrete mass are attacked by carbon dioxide of the air and converted to calcium carbonate.In this process the alkalinity of the concrete is lowered from an initial pH of around 13.5 to around 8.5 over some years. One method of testing a structure for carbonation is to drill a fresh hole in the surface and then treat the cut surface with phenolphthalein indicator solution. This solution will turn [pink] when in contact with alkaline concrete, making it possible to see the depth of carbonation. In order to combat the process of carbonation aquron products from Allcrete industries could be used which helps in the following ways seals out moisture to a depth of 100mm or more reduces oxygen permeability by a pore-blocking process brings up the alkalinity of the concrete purging and binding chlorides in the colloidal silicate hydrogel formed in the pores and capillaries of the concrete It is to be noted that when Concrete is treated within 24 hours of casting ,it will be protected for life against carbonation problems and aged concrete, once treated, will become immune to further deterioration. CORROSION Corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete structures is well known to be Concrete Cancer, which happens to be a significant area of concern in the area of infrastructure and building across the world. Corrosive species can enter the concrete mix if the ingredients of the concrete mix such as water, aggregates, additives are contaminated.When such corrosive species reacts with the chemical compounds under the porous nature of concrete,the problem of corrosion occurs. Corrosion damage to the reinforcing steel results in the build-up of voluminous corrosion products, generating internal stresses and subsequent cracking and spalling of the concrete as shown schematically in the diagram below: Figure 2source:www.corrosion-club.com source:www.zoranthepainter.com Corrosion mechanism Concrete Cancer The most frightening thing is that the corrosion can be going on under the surface and will not be noticed until the concrete starts visibly disintegrating. The outcome of such corrosion is that concrete reduces its strength and also the steel re-enforcing within the concrete can rust and the pressure this creates can cause the concrete to crack and crumble. Buildings in coastal areas are especially at risk. The preventive measures to avoid such kind of concrete cancer are listed below: Epoxy coating: The concrete structures that are exposed to deicing salt may benifit from use of epoxy-coated, hot dip galvanised or stainless steel rebar. Epoxy coated rebar can easily be identified by the light green colour of its epoxy coating. Applying Sealants: After the process of curing, penetrating sealants must be applied. Sealants include paint, plastic foams, films and aluminum foil, felts or fabric mats sealed with tar, and layers of bentonite clay, sometimes used to seal roadbeds. corrosion inhibitors: calcium nitrite can also be added to the water mix before pouring concrete. Generally, 12 wt. % of calcium nitrate with respect to cement weight is needed to prevent corrosion of the rebars. Extreme weather conditions such as high ambient and concrete temperature, low relative humidity or a mere 40 F or less average daily air temperature for more than 3 consecutive days, tend to impair the quality of freshly mixed or hardened concrete thereby giving detrimental results. Therefore, it becomes imperative to handle concrete with caution both in extreme hot and cold weather. EFFECTS OF HOT WEATHER AND PROPER HANDLING On the compressive strength: When the temperature of concrete is high cement hydrates at a much faster rate, it sucks up water and grows crystals around the aggregate particles but dont have time to grow strong . Although, the early strength will be higher but 28-day strength suffers. If the concrete is about 18 hotter than normal (for example, 88 instead of 70), the ultimate compressive strength of the mix will be about 10% lower. On the colors of integrally colored concrete: under hot weather conditions , slump decreases rapidly as the cement sets up and and more mixing water is needed. In integrally colored concrete,this can lead to variations in water content which can result in significant differences in concrete color between adjacent pours. Surface drying: high concrete temperature and hot dry wind across the concrete can cause more drying and surface shrinkage. Thermal differentials: sometimes the hot weather condition makes one part of the concrete mass warmer than another part. If this differential is greater than about 20F then concrete gets cracks. Difficulty in maintaining air content can be a problem in warm concrete. Mixing is more likely to drive air out of the concrete making the level difficult to control. Dealing with hot weather concreting Plastic shrinkage is a particular problem in hot weather concreting. As a general rule, each 10o F increase in ambient temperature reduces slump about 1. A switch from ASTM C494 Type A to Type D water reducing and set retarding mix may be part of an effective plan for hot-weather concreting. Aggregates forms a major part in a concrete mix so its temperature has the greatest effect on concrete temperature. Shading of aggregate piles is ideal, although not always possible. Using cool water is another way to get cool concrete. Ready mix producers in hot climates use chilled water or ice to lower the concrete temperature. Retarding admixtures can also contribute towards controlling concrete in warm weather. When the concrete is hot, the setting time is very quick .At that time Retarder can be added at the plant or on the job site . Retarders delays the setting time but they also give the concrete more time to dry out, so curing is critical. Retarders come as straight retarders or as water-reducing and retarding admixtures. Mid-range water reducers can increase the air content of the concrete. For concrete that is to be stamped, consider using step retardationadding retarder to the mix after half of the batch or after one-third and two-thirds have been placed. For textured concrete one of the strongest things to do in hot weather is step retardation. In order to avoid slump loss superplasticizer (high-range water reducer) could be used. These admixtures can increase slump without affecting the concretes final strength or appearance. Before placing the concrete on a subgrade wet down everything, subgrade and forms, with cool water so moisture isnt absorbed from the concrete, which can lead to cracking. In order to prevent the evaporation of surface water use a monomolecular film or evaporation retarder as soon as the concrete is down and bull floated. These materials evaporate after a couple of hours. Monomolecular film will prevent plastic shrinkage cracking and surface crusting. In hot and dry weather curing needs to start as soon as finishing operations are completed. A white pigmented curing compound could be used with plain gray concretein order reflect sunshine. Also the white curing blanket could be used for the same purpose. A white pigmented curing compound on plain gray concrete white curing blankets keep the concrete cooler by reflecting can help reflect some heat from the sun the sun In a hot climate, stain the concrete in the coolest part of the day as staining concrete relies on a chemical reaction that happens faster in hot weather.If concrete is stained in 95 to 100 weather ,it can ruin the entire job. Staining is best done early in the day when the concrete is cooler For an overlay installation it is advisable that the concrete surface temperature should be between 50 and 80.Installing an overlay during the hottest part of the day amidst direct sunlight could adversely affect the quality of the result. EFFECTS OF COLD WEATHER AND PROPER HANDLING During cold weather until the concrete gains compressive strength of 500psi , it is under threat of either getting freezed up which in turn could break up the matrix or the concrete mix sets at a very slow pace. Below 40F the hydration reaction basically stops and the concrete doesnt gain any further strength. when the ground is cold, the concrete in contact with it will be cold and will set more slowly. This can lead to the problem of crusting, with the top part of the concrete set and the bottom still soft. During the process of shifting the concrete mix from the ready mix plant to the job site there will be some heat loss. While placing concrete in cold it is advisable to remove all snow and ice from that area. Also any standing water should also be removed that could get mixed into the concrete. In case of a frozen land, it is advisable to thaw it using hydronic heat pipes and blankets (such as those from Ground Heaters), or electric blankets (check out Power Blanket). It is also suggested to Warm up anything that will come in contact with the concrete, including forms and any embedments, to at least 32F. Covering everything with tarps the day before the pour, will keep it dry and warm enough.also blankets could be used for the same purpose as well. Place triple layers of insulating blankets at corners and edges that could freeze. Wrap any protruding rebars. Make sure the blankets wont blow off during the night. Ground heaters Inc Portland cement association While placing decorative concrete in cold weather it is suggested to use a dial pocket thermometer or an infrared thermometer to test the concrete temperature as it is needed to be kept above 50F for the concrete to keep gaining strength. Also on exterior concrete, customers should be reminded to keep deicing chemicals off the surface during the first winter. Deicers can lead to spalling of newer concrete. During the process of finishing concrete in cold weather, it is advisable to let all the bleed water to evaporate first otherwise water-cement ratio would increase surface of concrete would get weak. Bleed water is basically the concrete particles settling (like mud in a stirred up pond) and squeezing out all the extra water. Vacuums can also be used for this purpose. It should also be noted that sealing concrete in cold weather conditions is very risky. Power blanket Layfield Group In order to keep the slab warm hydronic heating pipes or electric heating blankets could be used. These are laid on top of the slab and insulated. Also, in case it is too cold to even place the concrete, then the only option left is to enclose the work and heat the air. In case of an enclosure,it is required to consider the potential problem of carbonation. With unvented heaters (salamanders), or even with gas-powered equipment, the carbon dioxide levels can increase. This carbon reacts with the concrete, creating a chalky carbonated layer at the surface which is unacceptable. To fix this problem use heaters that exhaust to the outside of an enclosure or building and just blow in warm air. Maintain the concrete temperature above 40 degree

Struggles of African Americans in Langston Hughes’ Poems, Mother to Son

Struggles of African Americans in Langston Hughes’ Poems, Mother to Son and Lenox Avenue: Midnight The experiences, lessons, and conditions of one’s life provide a wellspring of inspiration for one’s creative expressions and ideas. Throughout life people encounter situations and circumstances that consequently help to mold them into individualized spirits. An individual’s personality is a reflection of his or her life. Langston Hughes, a world-renowned African American poet and self-professed defender of African American heritage, boldly defies the stereotypical and accepted form of poetry at his own discretion. Although Langston Hughes is a successful African American poet, he, like many other Harlemites, faces obstacles and opposition along his journey through life; however, Hughes embraces his hardships and infuses his life experiences into poetical works that his fellow African Americans can relate to on some level. In both his poems â€Å"Mother to Son† and â€Å"Lenox Avenue: Midnight† Hughes reveals the constant struggle of a ty pical African American living during the 1920’s. In â€Å"Mother to Son† Hughes expresses the desperation of a mother who is anxious for her son to succeed. In the poem the mother hopes to offer her son encouraging words and impart to him the wisdom and knowledge she gains through persevering. While in the latter poem, â€Å"Lenox Avenue: Midnight,† Hughes reveals the cultural aspects of a city during the Harlem Renaissance and conveys the emotions of a quintessential African American Harlemite based on his own his experiences as an African American poet living in Harlem, NY. Hughes exposes in both poems the true nature, as he perceives it, of life as an African American in 1920’s white America. ... ...g hidden within the words of his poem. Works Cited Harper, Donna. Thomson Gale. 12, March 2003. Hughes, Langston. â€Å"The Harlem Renaissance.† Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 767-769. Hughes, Langston. â€Å"Lenox Avenue: Midnight.† Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman 2003. 760. Hughes, Langston. â€Å"Mother to Son.† Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman 2003. 759. Pinckney, Darryl. â€Å"Black Identity in Langston Hughes.† Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, And Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd Compact ed. New York: Longman 2003. 772-773.

Data Warehouse Case Study Essay

History of the CDR When the project began in 1995–96, the CDR, initially referred to as the â€Å"clinical research database,† was intended to support and enhance clinical research at the University of Virginia by providing clinicians, students, and researchers with direct, rapid access to retrospective clinical and administrative patient data. Re? ecting this intent, the system was funded by the School of Medicine and housed in the Academic Computing Health Sciences group, which is distinct from the medical center’s IT group. With considerable assistance and cooperation from data owners and stewards, legacy data from several different sources were loaded into a single relational database and periodically updated. Authorized users accessed the CDR through a standard Web browser and viewed or downloaded data to their personal computers for further analysis. Initially, emphasis was placed on getting the CDR running as quickly as possible and with a minimum of resources; consequently, extensive transformation of data to an enterprise data model was not performed. The CDR project team consists of 2. 5–3. 0 FTEs (full-time equivalents)— one developer, one developer-database administrator, and portions of analyst, clinician, and administrative FTEs. To date, the costs of developing and operating the CDR have been approximately $200,000 per year, underwritten by the School of Medicine. Over the course of the project, there have been signi? cant enhancements to the user interface, incorporation of additional data sources, and the development of an integrated data model. There has also been increasing interest in using the CDR to serve a broader audience than researchers and to support management and administrative functions—â€Å"to meet the challenge of providing a way for anyone with a need to know—at every level of the organization—access to accurate and timely data necessary to support effective decision making, clinical research, and process improvement. In the area of education, the CDR has become a core teaching resource for the Department of Health Evaluation Science’s master’s program and for the School of Nursing. Students use the CDR to understand and master informatics issues such as data capture, vocabularies, and coding, as well as to perform Case Study: A Data Warehouse for an Academic Medical Center 167 exploratory analyses of healthcare questions. Starting in Spring 2001, the CDR will also be introduced into the university’s undergraduate medical curriculum. System Description Following is a brief overview of the CDR application as it exists at the University of Virginia. System Architecture. The CDR is a relational data warehouse that resides on a Dell PowerEdge 1300 (Dual Intel 400MHz processors, 512MB RAM) running the Linux operating system and Sybase 11. 9. 1 relational database management system. For storage, the system uses a Dell Powervault 201S 236GB RAID Disk Array. As of October 2000, the database contained 23GB of information about 5. 4 million patient visits (16GB visit data, 7GB laboratory results). Data loading into Sybase is achieved using custom Practical Extraction and Report Language (Perl) programs. CDR Contents. The CDR currently draws data from four independent systems (see Table 1). In addition, a number of derived values (for example, number of days to next inpatient visit, number of times a diagnostic code is used in various settings) are computed to provide summary information for selected data elements. Data from each of these source systems are integrated into the CDR’s data model. In addition to the current contents listed in Table 1, users and the CDR project team have identi? ed additional data elements that might be incorporated Table 1. Contents of the CDR Type of Data Inpatient, outpatient visits Source of Data Shared Medical Systems Description Patient registration and demographic data, diagnoses, procedures, unit and census information, billing transactions, including medications, costs, charges, reimbursement, insurance information Physician billing transactions from inpatient and outpatient visits, diagnoses, and procedures Laboratory test results Available Dates Jul 1993–Jun 2000 Professional billing Laboratory results Cardiac surgery IDX billing system HL-7 messages from SunQuest Lab System Cardiac surgery outcomes data (de? ned by Society of Thoracic Surgeons Oct 1992–Jun 2000 Jan 1996–Jun 2000 Clinical details for thoracic surgery cases Jul 1993–Jun 2000 168 Einbinder, Scully, Pates, Schubart, Reynolds into the CDR, including microbiology results, discharge summaries (and other narrative data), outpatient prescribing information, order entry details, and tumor registry information. As of October 2000, we have just ? nished incorporating death registry data from the Virginia Department of Health into the CDR. These data will provide our users with direct access to more comprehensive mortality outcomes data than are contained in local information systems, which generally are restricted to an in-hospital death indicator. User Interface. The user interface runs in a standard Web browser and consists of a data dictionary, a collection of common gateway interface (CGI) programs implemented using the â€Å"C† programming language, and JavaScriptenabled HTML pages. Structured query language (SQL) statements are generated automatically in response to point-and-click actions by the user, enabling submission of ad hoc queries without prior knowledge of SQL. The SQL queries are sent to the CGI programs that query the database and return results in dynamically created HTML pages. The entire process is controlled by the contents of the data dictionary, which is used to format SQL results, set up HTML links for data drill-down, and provide on-line help. Data may be downloaded immediately into Microsoft Excel or another analysis tool on the user’s workstation. Query Formulation. Most CDR users use the Guided Query function to retrieve data. This process involves three steps: 1. De? ne a population of interest by setting conditions, for example, date ranges, diagnostic codes, physician identi? ers, service locations, and lab test codes or values. 2. Submit the query, specifying how much data the CDR should return (all matching data or a speci? ed number of rows). 3. After the CDR returns the population of interest, use the Report Menu to explore various attributes of the population on a case-by-case or group level. Custom reports can also be de? ned, and the results of any report can be downloaded into Microsoft Excel, Access, or other analysis tool. Generally, the query process requires several iterations to modify the population conditions or report options. In addition, â€Å"browsing† the data may help the user generate ideas for additional queries. We believe that it is helpful for end users to go through this query process themselves—to directly engage the data. However, many users, especially those with a pressing need for data for a meeting, report, or grant, prefer to use CDR team members as intermediaries or analysts. To date, we have attempted to meet this preference, but as query volume increases, our ability to provide data in a timely manner may fall off. Security. A steering committee of clinicians guided the initial development of the CDR and established policies for its utilization and access. Only authorized users may log onto the CDR. To protect con? dentiality, all patient and physician identifying information has been partitioned into a â€Å"secure† Case Study: A Data Warehouse for an Academic Medical Center 169 database. Translation from or to disguised identi? ers to or from actual identi? ers is possible but requires a written request and appropriate approval (for example, from a supervisor or the human investigations committee). All data transmitted from the database server to the user’s browser are encrypted using the secure Netscape Web server, and all accesses to the database are logged. In addition, CDR access is restricted to personal computers that are part of the â€Å"Virginia. edu† domain or that are authenticated by the university’s proxy server. Evaluation Understanding user needs is the basis for improving the CDR to enable users to retrieve the data independently and to increase usage of the CDR at our institution. Thus, assessing the value of the CDR—how well we meet our users’ needs and how we might increase our user base—has been an important activity that has helped guide planning for changes and enhancements and for allocation of our limited resources. Efforts to evaluate the CDR have included several approaches: †¢ Monitoring user population and usage patterns †¢ Administering a CDR user survey †¢ Tracking queries submitted to the CDR and performing follow-up telephone interviews Usage Statistics. Voluntary usage of an IS resource is an important measure of its value and of user satisfaction. 5 However, usage of a data warehouse is likely to be quite different than for other types of information resources, such as clinical information systems. A clinical system is likely to be used many times per day; a data warehouse may be used sporadically. Thus, although we monitor system usage as a measure of the CDR’s value, we believe that frequency of usage cannot be viewed in isolation in assessing the success of a data warehouse. Since the CDR went â€Å"live,† more than 300 individuals have requested and obtained logon IDs. As of September 30, 2000, 213 individuals had logged on and submitted at least one query. This number does not include usage by CDR project team members and does not re? ect analyses performed by team members for end users. Figure 1 shows the cumulative number of active users (those who submitted a query) and demonstrates a linear growth pattern.

Population Growth and the Arising Environmental Issues Essay

Population is determined by the relationship of two factors. One being birth rate and the other is death rate. If the number of deaths is less than the number of births then the population is growing larger. In John Laffin’s novel The Hunger to Come data is present showing that the population will continue to grow and not stop; â€Å"About 2050 the population will be 15. 000 million, a century later 82. 000 million and by 2350 a frightening 440. 000 million will be reached†(Engelman, 47). Like all living organisms, humans grow and reproduce; however, compared to the rate of which food is grown and supplied, the birth rate rises at a much faster rate. This compared rate of growth is known as the Malthusian relationship. The Malthusian relationship concludes that human population will eventually grow to be too big, to the point where there will not be enough food supply and other vital resources. When this happens, famine and/or death will occur, unless a plan is put into place regarding how to limit population growth. One main problem which results in the Malthusian relationship would be uncontrolled fertility. Since the death rate is decreasing due to medical advancements it allows more births to happen. Humans without doubt will create a baby faster than the supplies needed to support them. This results in birthrate being dropped down to zero population growth. This can happen in many ways, providing women with contraception (birth control), abortion centers and by creating laws to prevent couples from having more then two children. Education on family planning and birth control is a primary factor in restraining population growth. A common problem that people think is associated with overpopulation is having nowhere to put everyone, but there are also many other environmental issues that it causes. More humans will be using more cars, burning more fuel, eating more food and drinking more water. This causes more air pollution, more lands are ruined and more water and food to disappear. Therefore, population control is necessary on a global level in order to protect our environment. Population growth is ruining the earth’s oceans and water sources. This causes a decrease in earth’s water supply for the future. Due to the fact that water is vital to survive, the water sources being polluted will not do humans well. Besides water pollution, population growth also pollutes the air, which causes the greenhouse effect and reduction of the ozone layer. The greenhouse effect is when gases build up around the earth’s outer atmosphere which literally turns the earth into a greenhouse. What this means is that the heat allowed into the earth’s atmosphere is trapped inside and not aloud back out of the earth’s atmosphere. This results in an increase of the earth’s temperature, therefore it causes natural disasters such as hurricanes and due to the increased heat, crops do not grow properly. With the greenhouse effect comes the disappearing ozone layer. The main purpose of the ozone layer is to regulate the amount of UV light coming down to the earth’s surface from the sun. The chemical chlorofluorocarbon which is found in air conditioning systems, when in the air breaks down the ozone layer. This relates to population growth because of how many families are being produced everyday which results in more communities being built which means more houses. Therefore, this means more air-conditioning units will be in use, which results in the chemical chlorofluorocarbon being let out into the air and breaking down the ozone layer. With the ozone layer being broken down, more UV light enters the earth’s atmosphere and causes humans to gain skin diseases such as skin cancer. Therefore, if population growth is controlled and there is less people, less air conditioning will be used, global warming and the breaking ozone layer could be prevented. Main causes of air pollution are the use of cars and industrial plants, both which let loose harmful fumes into the air. Acid rain is a result of air pollution, it occurs when too many toxins are released into the air. It is made by fossil fuels being burnt then released into the air as a gas which then reacts with sunlight, oxygen and moisture. Acid rain when precipitated pollutes water and damages many materials and resources. Another downfall to cars with population growth is the fact of cars having air conditioning. This is because more chlorofluorocarbon will be let into the air from the car’s air conditioning. With the population increasing, it is creating air pollution which is harmful to all living organism because they need clean air, one of the most important necessities of life, to breathe. Population growth also threatens the earth’s farming resources. For example the desertification of land, this occurs when fertile land is turned into infertile land. This can happen from overgrazing of cattle, or the topsoil being carried away (erosion). If too much water is used, it can cause desertification which is mostly caused by a growing population. The more people need food, the more land is being used in the wrong way to try and make food. Another way population growth affects our outdoors is deforestation. Forests are cut down for the demand of fire wood, agricultural space, paper products and more space to live. However, forests are needed for more than human needs such as to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide let out into the atmosphere. Let it be known that population control will not end all the problems, but it would allow more time for them to be fixed and alienate environment problems. The earth’s environment is not infinite and can come to an end if population control was not started. Actions must be taken now to correct the current situations with the world involving population growth, these actions are the increase of deforestation and desertification, the decrease of farmland, more water pollution, the deteriorating ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. It is evident that there is no way our population can keep growing at the rate it does now without negatively impacting our environment.

DermaCare Essay Example

DermaCare Essay Example DermaCare Essay DermaCare Essay Headquartered in Livermore, California, Deer macabre was a start-up even true that planned to market its There unclear acne-treatment device d directly to consume mere using direct response television Scimitar was Dressmakers CEO, and he h and his co founders, Lu Uzi Dad Silva and George Choir were excited AIBO UT the company NYSE prospects. Early clinical trials show wed that the Thermonuclear acne device made pimp apples disappear twice as quo quickly as those left untreated. With those results in hand, Iconic mar and Chi hoi approached angel investors, including Silicon Valley-based V Band of Angels, to raise a Series A ROR undo. Just beef re Thanksgiving vine, the Band Of Angels sent Scimitar a term sheet that offered the company NY $1. 5 million on, assuming a $4. 5 million n pacification Eng valuation. Shortly thereafter, the CEO unexpectedly received d a competing Eng term sheet from Foundation Capital, a venture capital (PVC) firm where his good friend and form mere businesses school classmate Charles Mold was partner. The Vics term sheet offered the com many $4. 0 million in fun ending, assuming a $7. 65 million fascinating value caution. Mold owe structured d the proposed d deal so that Daydreamer would receive e$l million on up front an ND the remain ender after thee Food and Drug D Administration (FDA A) gave Dermatome clearance to market its acne deep vice. Scimitar was in a quandary. The angel and PVC offers were markedly different, and Scimitar was still deciding which one to t recommend d to Dad Silvia and Chi. On O first glean once, the angel term sheet seemed Moore attractive. It offered thee level of fun ending the com many had asked for with h less who whether the $11. 5 million was w really ad adequate to get the dilution. However, the CEO wondered company past the next hurdle. The clinical trials were taking longer than expected, which would w delay FDA paper oval; and thee manufacturing costs for the device were comic Eng in higher than anticipated. On en thing Scimitar knew for certain: He H was eager to close the financing ROR undo. The corn many was running short on cash an ND had recently increased its monthly burn rate after hiring its first employ eye-?an Eng ginger. Furthermore, Deer macabre was at best several months from launching Eng its There unclear device, and a com imitative prod duct-?the Ozone Zit Zapper-?had already beaten them to market. Scimitar a was also ready to get a paycheck; he h had spent the last year working on 0 the Deer macabre venture without pay. Jasper barked at the front door, clearly anxious to get outside De. As mar thought about the or out they woo old take aura undo the tree-lined neighbor Rhoda, he decided to vary their usual walk to avoid his friend Mallows ho use a block away way. Professor or Richard G. Ham mummers and Research Associate Lauren Barley prepared d this case. HOBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not in intended to serve ass endorsements, so urges of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Get 0 2007, 2010 President and Fellow of Harvard College. To order copies or request perm mission to reproduce materials, call 1 -8800-copyright 7685, write Harvard Busing news School publish hint, Boston, MA 021 63, or go to Hobs. Hard vary. Deed. No part of this publication n may be reproduce cued, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spread dishes, or transmitted in any form or by any mean ins-?electronic, mechanical, photocopy Opining, recording or o otherwise-?with hoot the permission of Harvard Busing news School. This document is authorized for use only by Rachel van Muenster in Entrepreneurial Law and Finance taught by Rafael P. Ribs, at HE OTHER from February 2015 to March 2015. 808-064 Daydreamer: Zapping Zits Directly Daydreamer Expounders Luis Dad Silva Dad Silva, a native of Canada, received a PhD in physics from the University of British Columbia in 1988. Soon thereafter, Dad Silva moved to California for the opportunity to work with the worlds most powerful laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LEN). By 1997, Dad Silva was ready for a new halogen. He and his boss then started the medical technology program at LEN, and Dad Silva explained his role as its associate program director: Our mission was to take technology and patents developed at the lab and transfer them to the medical industry. My first experience was to pitch some technology the lab had for treating strokes. We visited some Vs., and eventually a group of Vs. found a CEO and formed a startup to license and commercialism our technology. I was the science guy responsible for the patents and technology, and my involvement with the company lasted about year until the start-up grew up and took over the opportunity. Dad Silva continued to grow the medical technology program within LEN, earning a Federal Laboratory Consortium award for excellence in technology transfer in 1998. But Dad Silva left the LEN in 2001. As he recalled, Increasing security concerns at the lab arose, which made growth more difficult. Bureaucracy began to slow everything down until I was doing very little real science and very little real business. Dad Silva and two colleagues started a technology incubator in 2001 to form companies around ideas the three tainted. Two of their companies, Tetrahedral Systems (a plastic surgery device company) and Imaging Corporation (a consumer products company), were already operational and had received funding by 2002. George Choc Choc met Dad Silva in late 2001. Choc had graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a BBS in electrical engineering and computer science. After receiving a law degree from the university of California, Los Angels, Choc joined the law firm Wilson, Session, Goodrich Roasts in 1 990 and worked primarily with PVC-backed medical device start-up companies in the Bay Area. In 1995, Choc hopped the fence, becoming a venture capitalist with Indenture Associates, a firm founded in 1986 to fund seed and early- stage investments in medical technology. It was at Indentures that Choc met Dad Silva, who pitched Choc several companies Dad Silva was thinking of incubating and running. Choc described their first meeting: Luis came to me with some deals, which I turned down. But I must have done it in a reasonable manner, because we kept up a relationship, talking at times about various medical technologies. One of the ideas Choc and Dad Silva discussed was using lasers for acne applications. There were many forms of acne, ranging from blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples to severe forms such as cystic or modular acne. Dad Silva, whose scientific background was with lasers, had seen dermatologists use laser technologies in the treatment of mild to moderate inflammatory acne, most commonly referred to as pimples, breakouts, blemishes, or zits. Choc summarized the science behind the laser treatments: Lasers treat acne in two possible ways. At certain wavelengths-?or colors-?lasers go into the skin tissue and generate oxygen radicals, which kill the bacteria and reduce inflammation. At other wavelengths, lasers are basically heat sources that reduce sebum [an oily substance produced by certain skin glands] production by killing and reducing the number of se baceous glands. This decreases the likelihood that excess sebum clogs pores, which can lead to acne. 2 Entrepreneurial Law and Finance taught by Rafael p. Ribs, at HE OTHER from However, a laser was an expensive solution for treating acne. Dad Silva and Choc believed they could replace a laser, which cost between $20,000 and $50,000, with a $5 to $10 heater using a thinning resistor (a thin piece of metal that converts electrical current into heat). As Choc explained, We believed our device could offer similar therapeutic benefits to a laser, but at a much lower cost. Peter Scotch Scimitar Born in Switzerland to a Swiss father and Greek mother, Scimitar earned a bachelors degree from Brown Leistering and an MBA from Harvard University in 1993. By 2002, Scimitar joined Weber Communications (a software company that provided on-demand collaboration applications such as web conferencing), where he was vice president of customer success. A couple of years later, Scimitar left Weber to become vice president of sales and marketing for Lives Inc. Scimitar recalled his experience there: Lives was a virtual call center, and I ran revenue, sales and marketing, product management, and account management. I learned the direct- response television business there. I got to know products like proactive [a three-step skin-care system for clearing and preventing acne], the George Foreman Grill, and Jack Lane Juicer. We tend to think of direct-response businesses-?with their infomercials-?as real schlock businesses. But I watched these companies come up with product ideas, put them on TV, and the phones were ringing off the hook. I learned that when you matched the right products with the right audiences, they were great businesses. A few months into his job at Lives, Scimitar had Choc over to his home. The two had become good friends several years earlier while organizing a school camping trip for their same-aged daughters. Scimitar described the conversation they had in October 2004: George said he wanted to start distributing a printer that could print any JEEP image you wanted on a fingernail-?like a flag or a picture of your kids or dog-?that Luis developed for his Start-up company Imaging. He wanted to know if DRAT would work for it. Old George it was never going to fly. If he looked at the number of people who owned computers, who also watched TV infomercials, and who bought products on TV, there wasnt a big enough market. Plus, the cost of sales was going to be $45 at best, which meant theyd have to sell it for $250 to make any money after marketing and fulfillment costs. A little later into the evening, the two discussed another business opportunity. Scimitar continued: Then George said, What if had a product with a much lower cost of goods-?that was under $10 to manufacture-?that could help clear pimples faster? I replied, Ill write you a check for $100,000 right now if it works. George couldnt understand why I would do that. Coming from his world of PVC-backed medical device start-ups, George assumed the acne device would be sold to dermatologists using a specialized sales force. There are 7,500 dermatologists; the product would sell for $400; each patient would buy a $30 replaceable tip; at the end of the day, it would be a $50 million business. I responded, Why waste your time with 7,500 dermatologists? There are millions of people with acne. And, at a $10 cost of goods, could sell it for $49. 95 on TV, all day long. Sell a million at $50 a pop, and that starts to look more interesting. Then make it two million, then three million. Add some topical acne treatments to the product line and turn a $50 sale into $150. 3 Company Background By November 2004, Dad Silva and Choc were ready to form a company around their Thermonuclear acne-treatment device. Choc sought Scimitars advice as they began their CEO search. Choc recalled, l had largely forgotten the discussion Scotch and had had the previous month. Hough Scotch might know someone he could recommend for the CEO position. I was surprised when he said he wanted the job. As Scimitar took Choc down to Los Angels to meet with gurus in the DRAT industry, Choc warmed to the idea of having Scimitar as the companys CEO. Choc recalled, The head guru didnt throw us out, which I thought was a good sign. In fact, he gave us a allowable offer for the company. I could have been offende d. Instead, thought, Wow, there must be something there. And you know what? Scotch could make a good CEO. Dad Silva quickly agreed, adding, All Scotchs previous employers had glowing comments about him. He also really believed in the product-?he tested the device on himself, and he was ailing to put his own money in down the road and not take a salary until we could raise money. Scimitar remained at Lives over the next five months but began working on a business plan with Choc. In late November, Choc and Dad Silva filed the articles of incorporation, calling their new company Daydreamer. The two contributed $10,000 each for early product development and intellectual property work. They wrote and filed provisional patents on their idea by the end of the year. The Thermonuclear Acne-Treatment Device In January 2005, Dad Silva began early concept work on the first prototype of the acne device. He farmed the project out to a group of Russian nuclear scientists he had met while working at LEN. The Russian scientists chose equity in the company instead of getting paid for their services. Scimitar commented: These guys are gods in the physics world. There are material scientists, electrical engineers-?all under one roof. Luis told them what we wanted, and what it had to do. In two weeks, We had the first concept. Luis burned his face, but that was part of the development cycle. We tested a whole bunch of different capacitance capabilities, and wed sit there and say, Wows that feel? Gaga! By February 2005, the first prototype was ready for testing. The device, which was AC powered, used a very short blast of high heat on the surface of the skin to reduce the inflammation and redness caused by acne pimples. It was a big box with knobs that controlled the four temperature settings, ranging from 60 degrees to 1 20 degrees Celsius. Two wires ran from the box to a thin- film resistor that was applied directly to the skin. Dad Silva called it the Frankincense version of the device. Choc added, l had friends who told me, Dont get near me with that thing. Nonetheless, the three found some ailing family members (including Cohos wife and daughter), friends, and colleagues who tried the device, accumulating anecdotal evidence that their invention worked. Business Model In spring 2005, Scimitar fine-tuned Dressmakers business model. His research indicated that roughly 45 million people suffered from acne in the U. S. Lone and spent approximately $2 billion on over-the-counter (ETC) treatments, many of which were ineffective. ETC treatments could be classified as either preventative or spot. Preventative treatments were designed to clean skin to prevent pore blockages (e. G. , daily cleansers or exfoliates) or deliver medication (e. G. , benzene peroxide or salicylic acid) to the surface Of the skin to help prevent n ew acne breakouts. Topical spot 4 treatments were used to clear pimples faster once they had occurred. Scimitar commented, There was no clear evidence that any of these spot treatments worked. They were basically marketed as hope in a Daydreamer planned to sell the Thereafter product line, which included the acne device (spot) and a line of topical acne treatments (preventative), directly to consumers using infomercials that targeted women and mothers of teens with acne. Scimitar explained the companys rationale behind using DRAT to distribute its products: We believed the potential market was much larger by selling our product line directly to end users rather than using a specialized sales force to call On the 7,500 dermatologists who would then sell it to their patients. We debated using the retail channels for distribution, but a typical brand-management company spends $50 to $1 00 million to launch a consumer product at retail. It gives 40% to 60% of the profit away immediately to the retailer who is selling it. And the company still needs to spend money on building wariness of its product. I thought we could sell Thereafter directly to the consumer using DRAT. Our marketing and fulfillment costs would be high, but they wouldnt equal the amount we would give away to the retailer under the first scenario. According to Scimitar, there were several keys to success in the DRAT environment. He described what these were and why Thermonuclear was well positioned for success: First, there has to be a large population of people who want or need the product, which means it typically has to appeal to one of three core needs: l want to feel better about myself-? or look better; l want there to like me more; or l want to save time and be more efficient. Second, the product has to be demonstrable with compelling testimonials.

Freedom and Authority in the Tempest Essays

Freedom and Authority in the Tempest Essays Freedom and Authority in the Tempest Paper Freedom and Authority in the Tempest Paper It proves the situation the sailors have been left in. You can almost describe the sailors as being confined from the rest of the island by their own sleep. Another element of this imprisonment is the fact that Prospero and Miranda are trapped on the island, they are unable to go anywhere else safely. They were as good as given the death penalty when they were put on a rotten carcass of a butt, not rigged, nor tackle, sail, nor mast. But their arrival on the island cannot be seen as them being given their freedom, as they are restricted to the island, unable to go anywhere, like being given a prison sentence to life on the island. Miranda does not, however see herself as being imprisoned, because that is how she had been brought up and would not have known any difference although in reality she is confined and deprived. The further implications of this confinement to the island are clearly seen later on in Mirandas remarks upon seeing Ferdinand for the first time. It carries a brave form. But tis a spirit A thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble. , this is not because Ferdinand is so incredibly handsome, but because he is the first man, bar her father than Miranda can ever remember seeing, which means that any other human is going to be beautiful to her. Similarly the implications of this entrapment on the island is visible in Prospero by his ever-growing sense of wanting power. Following his banishment from his Dukedom he is reluctant to let go of Miranda to another man an in turn uses Ferdinand as his slave, showing he is unwilling to have another human being on the island without them under his authority. Or this can be seen as the caring father scared for his confused teenage daughter to get hurt, as he probably well knows what it feels like to be betrayed or cheated by someone close to you, in Prosperos case, Antonio.

Crystallization Definition

Crystallization Definition Crystallization is the solidification of atoms or molecules into a highly structured form called a crystal. Usually, this refers to the slow precipitation of crystals from a solution of a substance. However, crystals can form from a pure melt or directly from deposition from the gas phase. Crystallization can also refer to the solid-liquid separation and purification technique in which mass transfer occurs from the liquid solution to a pure solid crystalline phase. Although crystallization may occur during precipitation, the two terms are not interchangeable. Precipitation simply refers to the formation of an insoluble (solid) from a chemical reaction. A precipitate may be amorphous or crystalline. The Process of Crystallization Two events must occur for crystallization to occur. First, atoms or molecules cluster together on the microscopic scale in a process called nucleation. If the clusters become stable and sufficiently large, crystal growth may occur. Atoms and compounds can generally form more than one crystal structure (polymorphism). The arrangement of particles is determined during the nucleation stage of crystallization. This may be influenced by multiple factors, including temperature, the concentration of the particles, pressure, and the purity of the material. In a solution in the crystal growth phase, an equilibrium is established in which solute particles dissolve back into the solution and precipitate as a solid. If the solution is supersaturated, this drives crystallization because the solvent cannot support continued dissolving. Sometimes having a supersaturated solution is insufficient to induce crystallization. It may be necessary to provide a seed crystal or a rough surface to start nucleation and growth. Examples of Crystallization A material may crystallize either naturally or artificially and either quickly or over geological timescales. Examples of natural crystallization include: Snowflake formationCrystallization of honey in a jarStalactite and stalagmite formationGemstone crystal deposition Examples of artificial crystallization include: Growing sugar crystals in a jarProduction of synthetic gemstones Crystallization Methods There are many methods used to crystallize a substance. To a large degree, these depend on whether the starting material is an ionic compound (e.g., salt), covalent compound (e.g., sugar or menthol), or a metal (e.g., silver or steel). Ways of growing crystals include: Cooling a solution or meltEvaporating solventAdding a second solvent to reduce the solubility of the soluteSublimationSolvent layeringAdding another cation or anion The most common process is to dissolve the solute in a solvent in which it is at least partially soluble. Often the temperature of the solution is increased to increase solubility so the maximum amount of solute goes into solution. Next, the warm or hot mixture is filtered to remove undissolved material or impurities. The remaining solution (the filtrate) is allowed to slowly cool to induce crystallization. The crystals may be removed from the solution and allowed to dry or else washed using a solvent in which they are insoluble. If the process is repeated to increase the purity of the sample, it is called recrystallization. The rate of cooling of the solution and the amount of evaporation of the solvent can greatly impact the size and shape of the resulting crystals. Generally, slower is better: slowly cool the solution and minimize evaporation.

APPLE INCORPORATED Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

APPLE INCORPORATED - Research Paper Example As of August 2010, the association began working 300 retail stores in ten countries and an online store where fittings and modifying things available to be purchased. Made on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and combined January 3, 1977, the association was aforetime designated Apple Computer, Inc., for its first 30 years, yet scatterbrained the proclamation "Computer" on January 9, 2007 to reflect the association's endless wander into the client fittings promote in mixture with its customary concentrate on Pcs (Livingstone, 37). Establishment and advancement Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, created Apple Computer in the 1976 out of the silicon valley. From the Apple Ii microcomputer familiar in 1977 with the Macintosh exhibited in 1984, Apple Computer has transformed into one of the heading machine originators on the planet. On the other hand, Apple's pace of the generally business fell as competition from Microsofts' Windows and the comparably efficient Ibm Personal machines wh ich were great machines that moved the business division in 1990s. This was the pivotal turning point for Apple from a beneficially lucrative association to an endeavour with debilitating cash identified incidents. Apple, made a couple of movements turn the business around yet again. On May 2001, Apple pronounced the opening of the Apple retail stores in critical Us client zones. These files were planned to stem the tide of Apple's declining partition of the machine publicize and to nullify a poor record of promoting, Apple things with their-assembling retail outlets. What's more, Apple introduced its first ipod conveyable electronic sound player later that year. It was a completely early item offering of its workstation business. Not long after the showing of ipod, itunes Store was made to offer online music downloads for Us 99 pennies a musical amalgamation for its ipod lines. Notwithstanding music, more than 2200 system shows, circulated full-length films from Disney. This extern al examination of Apple Corporation utilizes a mix of Porter's Five Forces, complementors, and parts of a Pest examination to investigate the danger levels in Apple's inclination. The logical arrangement is an amalgam of the sundry models, certain things are broken out for phenomenal thought underneath. The human resource hiring process Regularly, the meeting process is fluctuated. A few applicants share in 4 meetings with 4-5 individuals at once while others, contingent upon the position, may be subjected to the same amount as 10 meetings. A portion of the more key inquiries touch on why somebody needs to work for Apple with one candidate noting that they're testing for "obsessive brand grip.", The interviews at Apple inc are quite tricky in that they are follow up questions to the questions that are asked in a normal interview. One of the ways that one can get to work for apple more easily is wen they had an internship there. In the process there also includes brain teasers for on e to prove they are well endowed in the mathematics section. Strategies and executions Before all else, in order to get a vigor about that nature's domain, an audit of Apple is publicized. Mac is incorporated in two associations: the Pc market and the regalement as well as the market of the media. Its ways have been to fuse its punctual

English - reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English - reflection - Essay Example An invention that makes its place in the lives of individuals does not get shunned out unless it is proved to have highly dangerous effects. Therefore, David Suzuki condemns the usage of technology without being sure about its safety and possible side effects. He gave the example of the usage of DDT that is used to eradicate mosquitoes from the environment. Its usage has caused such a diverse range of effects that never could have been predicted by the scientists, for example its concentration in different living things when transferred up in the food chain (biomagnifications), the accumulation of it in shell glands of the birds that causes the thinning of the egg shell, affects of oral contraceptives on women etc. He condemned the latest technologies by stating, â€Å"technological innovations have had detrimental side effects that eventually outweighed their benefits† (347). In his article, he proposed a wishful proposition of appointing certain number of people from the soc iety as representatives who can assess the benefits and cost of any technology before its common usage and decide if it is hazardous or not. The cost and benefit analysis should be done in an unbiased manner with the aim of judging its effects on all living things.

Classroom Climate and Learning Environments Research Paper

Classroom Climate and Learning Environments - Research Paper Example The definition of learning has also created a fine line of depicting the importance of improved instruction among the people of the generations before towards the people of the generations at present. This improvement is probed by the need of each human generation to know something new apart from what has already been learnt by the past generation of learners. This is the reason why there came to be the birth of modern research procedures application. It is through this particular approach of investigative learning that the different environments of learning have been given birth. Before, knowledge was based on general understanding, however, through research procedures, the path towards a larger scope of learning has been given way. It could not be denied that the imposed position on the process of developing knowledge through investigative research has been proven effective through the years. The proposition to which the said development has been based on has practically created a new sense of understanding the importance of learning in connection with social development and other matters that are designed to provide the human society with the progress that they so long to have. In this paper, a discussion on how the emergence of research affected human learning and how it has given way to the proper sense of understanding the deepest sense of education shall be introduced. It shall also be identified herein how research proceedings has practically provided a basis of understanding for the students and the instructors as well in connection with the importance of the effectiveness of instruction procedure that is used in classrooms within common learning institutions. Why the Need for Research Improvement; this is the practical reason why research has been given way and was rather supported by the learning institutions worldwide. No matter what field of education the instructional fields are engaged with, it could not be denied that the continuous application of research in the process creates a better understanding and implication as to how the said subjects involved are given proper chances of further improving towards a more strengthened source of knowledge for the new generation of learners who are hungry of being fed with clarified presentations of education with regards the different issues that they are most likely interested in. When it comes to researching though, there are different ways as to how one could actually find the most definite and instantaneous ways to which the researcher himself would be much comfortable in handling a particular issue in concern. In terms of pedagogy, the researchers in this field have constantly introduced the different indications of teacher and student relationship and reaction that identify the process of knowing how the process of passing knowledge from one to another directly affects the personality of one. The basic indication that a particular research on education is successful is the process by which it is likely considered practical for application. How is this indication tested Through practical trial and error period application. Every research has a

Are criminals born or made Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Are criminals born or made - Essay Example 47 - 48). Considering the question â€Å"are criminals born or made?†, I personally take the side that criminals are not born but made. In the process of convincing the readers that criminals are made rather than born, a wide range of research evidences will be presented in this study. In the process of going through the main discussion, this study will discuss and examine the relationship between race and criminal activities throughout the United Kingdom. To strengthen the argument that criminals are made and not born, some gathered past and recent facts and figures which are significantly relevant in suggesting a strong relationship between race and crime will be provided in details. Criminals are made not born. This argument can be noted in response to the socio-economic difficulty that takes place over the past few years. As a result of high unemployment rate, the economic recession that took place recently has led to an increase in the number of violent crime and burglaries throughout the United Kingdom. Criminal activities are referring to any forms of act which are illegal and could either directly or indirectly cause physical, mental, or emotional harm aside from the possibility of incurring financial and property loses towards another person. Among the type of criminal cases that occurs in the United Kingdom includes: violence, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft and handling, fraud and forgery, drug offences, and motoring offences among others (Jones & Singer, 2008, p.94). Many people have the wrong connotation that criminal behaviour is hereditary such that people who belong to either the black population and/or the other minority groups have more courage to actively participate in notorious gangs that are prone to committing different types of criminal activities ranging from simple vandalism of public property and thieves up to a certain degree wherein they commit violent crimes related to murder

Traditional Approaches to Industrial Relations Research Proposal

Traditional Approaches to Industrial Relations - Research Proposal Example If the modern human resource is more equipped, then the fact that today's employees have not remained like their predecessors in following up the traditional managerial authority can also not ignored. Employees are more educated along with the qualities of more likely to question than to accept managerial authority, more focused on their own career development than on the organization's interests, more mobile and are less loyal to their workplaces. Many managers see these characteristics in a negative light and advance them as yet more reasons why performance planning and review won't work. In fact, these characteristics of employees make today's employees 'knowledge' workers and today's human resource 'knowledge management'. The jobs of these 'new' employees present new challenges for managers but, handled effectively, these challenges are a key to better individual and organizational performance. For example, knowledge-based jobs might involve high levels of non-repetitive work, with frequent changes in demand and direction making the prediction and planning much more difficult and uncertain. Other features of knowledge work also have an impact on the management of performance. (Rudman, 2003, p. 17) Amon Among most researchers working in the context of Human Resource paradigm, it is the explanations that matter any link to firm performance is secondary. It is assumed that societies, governments or regions can have HRM practices and policies as well as firms. At the level of the organization, the organization's objectives and the strategy adopted are not necessarily assumed to be 'good' either for the organization or for society. (Millward, 2000, p. 5)

Paul Ehrlich's influence on modern microbiology and immunology Essay

Paul Ehrlich's influence on modern microbiology and immunology - Essay Example The latter had long been a serious disease not only in Europe but also all over the world and had developed into a serious public health problem that needed to be dealt with swiftly. Ehrlich’s contribution to microbiology in this case came from the study of the chemicals that were seen to have a discriminating affinity to certain types of organism or tissues. In addition, because of this research, he and a fellow scientist, SakahiroHata, ended up developing salvarsan, an arsenical that killed spirochaete without having any mortal effects on the patients on whom it was administered. Despite the fact that this arsenical had some toxic effects, it was still a great advancement in the field of applied organic chemistry, and it was for this reason, among others, that Ehrlich was honoured with the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1908. He was a pioneer in the conducting of experiments that involved the use of chemical drugs for the treatment of diseases and this was done through the stud y of the diverse cells and tissues in the human body. These ended up revealing the fundamental principles that lay behind the immune system of the human body and this helped a great deal on the establishment of the use of chemotherapy in medicine. In addition, his development of salvarsan ensured that syphilis would, for the first time in history, be cured and this discovery may be considered to be amongst the greatest discoveries in the modern world because it came to reveal the potential which the systematic research in drugs had for the development of cures for other diseases (Sepkowitz 291). The development of the field now known as haematology came about through the efforts of Ehrlich, who conducted studies of how blood cells reacted when dye was applied to them. This new field came to be concerned with the study of blood and those organs that formed it, and as such came to be and is still recognised as one of the most prominent scientific fields. In fact, many of the terms tha t Ehrlich coined when conducting his various researches have come into common use in medicine and these involve the term chemotherapy (Elliott 53). Ehrlich had many influences in his early life that inspired the development of his interest in science and scientific methods of research and among the most influential individuals in his early life was his cousin Karl Weigert. The latter was a well-known pathologist in his time and it was he who helped Ehrlich develop an interest in the study of cells through his teaching him how to dye cells so that he could have a better view of them under the microscope. From this time onward, Ehrlich became engrossed in his research on dye reactions on cells and this interest continued even after he joined university and it was his research that may for the most part, have led to the development of modern microbiology as well as immunology. Through his doctoral thesis it can be suggested that during such an early period of his suggests that even at this early stage in his vocation, he had already come to the conclusion that his chosen

Traditional Approaches to Industrial Relations Research Proposal

Traditional Approaches to Industrial Relations - Research Proposal Example If the modern human resource is more equipped, then the fact that today's employees have not remained like their predecessors in following up the traditional managerial authority can also not ignored. Employees are more educated along with the qualities of more likely to question than to accept managerial authority, more focused on their own career development than on the organization's interests, more mobile and are less loyal to their workplaces. Many managers see these characteristics in a negative light and advance them as yet more reasons why performance planning and review won't work. In fact, these characteristics of employees make today's employees 'knowledge' workers and today's human resource 'knowledge management'. The jobs of these 'new' employees present new challenges for managers but, handled effectively, these challenges are a key to better individual and organizational performance. For example, knowledge-based jobs might involve high levels of non-repetitive work, with frequent changes in demand and direction making the prediction and planning much more difficult and uncertain. Other features of knowledge work also have an impact on the management of performance. (Rudman, 2003, p. 17) Amon Among most researchers working in the context of Human Resource paradigm, it is the explanations that matter any link to firm performance is secondary. It is assumed that societies, governments or regions can have HRM practices and policies as well as firms. At the level of the organization, the organization's objectives and the strategy adopted are not necessarily assumed to be 'good' either for the organization or for society. (Millward, 2000, p. 5)

Definition of Data Warehousing Essay Example for Free

Definition of Data Warehousing Essay Search any resource (Books, Web Sites, Papers, etc.) to find three definitions for Data Warehousing. Include the detailed information (Title, authors and the source of the definitions. For example: â€Å"Data warehousing is a collection of decision support technologies, aimed at enabling the knowledge worker (executive, manager, analyst) to make better and faster decisions.† An overview of data warehousing and OLAP technology by S Chaudhuri, U Dayal, from ACM Sigmod record, Volume 26 , Issue 1 (March 1997) Pages: 65 – 74. 1. â€Å"A data warehouse is an integrated and time varying collection of data derived from operational data and primarily used in strategic decision making by means of online analytical processing (OLAP) techniques. † from â€Å"Conceptual data warehouse design† by B. Husemann, J. Lichtenberger, and G. Vossen. Page 1. 2. â€Å"A galactic data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of managements decision making process about any and all enterprise business processes and departments, and about the enterprise taken as a whole. A business process-oriented data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of managements decision making process about any and all business processes and their interactions with one another and the external world. A department-oriented data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, non-volatile collection of data in support of managements decision making process about any and all departments, and their interactions with one another and with the external world.† From DKMS Brief No. Six: Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Warehousing: New Definitions and New Conceptions by Joseph M.Firestone. 3. â€Å"Physically, a data warehouse system consists of databases (source databases, materialized views in the data warehouse), data transport agents that ship data from one database to another, and a repository which stores meta data about the system and its evolution.† From Architecture and Quality in Data warehouses: An Extended Repository Approach by M. Jarke, M. A. Jeusfeld, C. Quix, and P. Vassiliadis. Provide a brief summary to compare the three definitions that you’ve found. Tell me which one is your favorite and why? The first definition explains the components of a data warehouse and also its functionality in a general way. The second definition explains the function of a data warehouse and its components specific to each kind of a data warehouse like decision making with respect to a business module. The third definition explains the components of a data warehouse but does not specify the functionality of a data warehouse. I prefer the second definition over the other two definitions.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness The exact cause of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is unknown. It is described as a consequence of mechanical and metabolic stress placed on skeletal muscle fibres. DOMS occurs as a result of microscopic tearing (micro trauma) of the muscle fibres and connective tissues. The extent of the tearing depends on the type of exercise and how vigorously the exercise is performed. Any new movements that a person is not accustomed to, may lead to DOMS. However eccentric muscle contractions seem to cause the most pain. Eccentric muscle movement is any movement that forces the muscle to contract while it lengthens. Contrary to popular belief, DOMS is not related to the buildup of lactic acid in the muscle that occurs after strenuous exercise. Even though lactic acid is a by-product of muscle metabolism, it is removed within the first hour after exercise and does not contribute to the symptoms of DOMS. During a workout, the skeletal muscle swells. The swelling is a result of an influx of white blood cells, prostaglandins, nutrients and fluids that flow into the muscle to repair any damage after a strenuous workout. This damage to the muscle occurs in the myofibrils and the influx of fluids is part of the normal process of repair and growth in the body. Metabolic stress seems to be to most plausible cause of DOMS, but what are these metabolic stresses and are the presence of these molecules necessarily the cause of DOMS? Is it reasonable to believe that the by-products of these cells can be related to the onset of muscle soreness? There is growing evidence that â€Å"free radicals† are a major contributing factor of DOMS. They are an unavoidable by-product of cellular metabolism. These molecules are highly reactive and unstable. The uncertainty of their role comes from the fact that they may not be present in high enough concentrations when DOMS is at its worst. The extreme increase of free radicals seems to occur after the peak decline in muscle function. A study done on the relationship between dehydration and DOMS, (Cleary, 2005), showed that increased body and muscle temperatures during exercise due to lack of fluid intake and dehydration, play a contributing role in micro trauma to the muscle fibres. The high muscle temperatures and resistance exercise result in the denaturing of proteins, and may affect the mechanical properties of the myofibrils, making them more susceptible to damage during eccentric activity. Dehydration and hyperthermia of the muscles may also lead to a disruption of the intercellular calcium regulation and overproduction of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which may also be a contributing factor to the micro-damage during exercise. Characteristics Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) can potentially be perceived as a love / hate relationship by many. A love relationship because DOMS can be viewed as a sign that yesterdays workout was rather effective, but a hate relationship because exercising again within the next day or two wont be comfortable. It can turn a simple walk up a flight of stairs into a painful five minute ordeal. DOMS is a phenomenon experienced by all individuals, no matter their fitness level. If an individual has recently begun exercising, or has just returned to exercising after a long break, they may soon become stiff and sore. This is a normal physiological response to increased exertion on any skeletal muscle. Characterized by an aching, dull pain in the affected muscle, typical symptoms may include:  Muscle tenderness, stiffness and / or soreness (may increase to the level of muscle pain)  Localised swelling (may be considered a cause and contributor to soreness)  Loss of mobility, reduced range of motion and resistance to stretching  Loss of muscle strength  Acute muscle spasms and twitches Symptoms begin to develop 24 48 hours after intense, unfamiliar exercise. The intensity of the symptoms will increase for the first 24 hours, reaching their peak within 72 hours. Thereafter they will begin to subside. Five to seven days after exercise, all symptoms should have disappeared. Muscle pain is not felt when the muscle is at rest, but rather when it is stretched, contracted or put under pressure. Not all symptoms may be present and they are independent of each other. The extent and duration of DOMS may vary from person to person, and the extent of DOMS is often related to the amount of resistance placed on the muscle during the prior exercise. Mechanisms Theodore Hough was the first to describe Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in 1902. He described DOMS as â€Å"fundamentally the result of ruptures within the muscle†. Today this description is still considered broadly valid, but the cellular mechanisms and etiology are still not fully known. New research shows that there are many theories behind the phenomenon of DOMS, none of which have been fully proven or disproved. It has been suggested that the muscle soreness is a result of an acute inflammatory response, but subsequent research failed to substantiate this theory conclusively. The first theories to emerge attributed DOMS to lactic acid accumulation and oedema of the tissues due to increased hydrogen ions. This is now considered highly unlikely as there is evidence to refute this theory. It has been proven that lactic acid cannot be responsible for the development of muscle spasm and soreness. As stated earlier, it is removed from the muscle within an hour after intense exercise, and soreness only tends to develop 24 hours later. Soreness does not involve the rupture of whole muscle fibres. DOMS results from high tension in the contractile / elastic system in muscles from eccentric exercise. This tension causes the muscle fibres (myofibrils) and connective tissue to become structurally damaged or torn. Damage normally occurs from the ultrastructural disruptions of myofilaments at the z-line, a line that marks the boundary of adjacent sarcomeres. This leads to an imbalance of calcium levels and necrosis of damaged cells and surrounding tissue. Tissue damage and necrosis may be most directly related to the soreness that is experienced. Pain is experienced when the muscle is stretched or palpated because of the increased mechanical sensitivity of nociceptors. The onset of soreness is delayed because the mild inflammatory response that does result from nocioceptor sensitization, is a slow process. The relationship between damage, inflammation and soreness is not yet completely understood, and the most accepted clinical correlates associate DOMS with elevated plasma enzymes, myoglobinemia, and abnormal skeletal muscle histology. Although not fully proven, this theory is most often used to explain the relationship between the symptoms of DOMS and the mechanisms behind it.  High tensions in the contractile / elastic system of the muscle result in structural damage.  Cell membrane damage leads to disruption of calcium homeostasis causing necrosis that peaks between 24 48 hours after exercise.  Products of macrophage activity and intracellular contents accumulate in the interstitial fluid These stimulate the free nerve endings of sensory neurons in the muscles leading to the sensation of DOMS. Treatment A significantly effective treatment method has not yet been established to accelerate the recovery from DOMS. A variety of treatment strategies may assist in alleviating the symptoms and severity of DOMS. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, appear to moderately inhibit the inflammatory response and thereby provide pain relief. It has, however, no positive effect on the muscle weakness associated with DOMS. The regular use of NSAIDs could also lead to adverse side effects, primarily upper gastrointestinal ulceration or bleeding due to mucosal damage. Homeopathy is a safe, natural treatment method with very few side effects. Traumeel is an effective homeopathic preparation used as an alternative to NSAIDs for the treatment of inflammatory conditions brought on by exercise-induced micro trauma and other sports injuries. In a double blind clinical trial involving 50 athletes, Jordaan (2005) tested certain inflammation markers such as serum creatine kinase, differential white blood cell levels and serum cortisol. The treatment group showed higher levels of plasma cortisol than the placebo group for up to 96 hours post exercise. Cortisol, a glucocorticoid, will have an anti-inflammatory effect and also slow the migration of phagocytic cells into the area. This effect was illustrated by a significantly lower mean monocyte count in the treatment group in the first 96 hours after exercise, implying reduced macrophage activity. Arnica is another homeopathic remedy that is often used in the treatment of DOMS, but both oral and topical admi nistration of Arnica has so far proven ineffective under clinical trial conditions. Acupuncture and dry needling have also been suggested as an effective treatment for DOMS. Studies show that the best results are achieved when the acupuncture needles are applied directly to the tender points. According to Robertshawe (2009), acupuncture is effective in reducing the perception of pain, but had no significant effect on participants mechanical pain threshold or muscle function after DOMS had been induced. Therapeutic options:  Therapeutic massage stimulates blood circulation to promote healing and repair. Massage has no effect on the improvement of muscle function, except to reduce muscle soreness and oedema.  Cryotherapy (icing) of the injured muscle seems to be the most effective way of reducing muscle pain related to DOMS.  Ultrasound and electrical current modalities has demonstrated little effectiveness in the reduction of symptoms.  Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy, (supersaturating the blood with O2), decreases the healing time of the damaged muscle fibres and connective tissue. Increasing blood oxygen levels leads to improved blood circulation, healing and repair. Exercise:  Light exercise with reduced eccentric movements, have an analgesic effect for the temporary relief of pain.  Gentle stretching has been proven to have little effect on muscle pain, but many athletes have claimed that it simply makes them â€Å"feel better†. Dietary options:  Research has emerged that Vitamin C plays a role in the repair of connective tissue, however this has not yet been proven in any clinical trials.  The use of anti-oxidants prior to exercise, in a fight against the free radical by-products of cellular metabolism, can reduce and possibility prevent DOMS.  Protease supplements have proved to be effective in the prevention and recovery of DOMS. Supplementation may facilitate muscle healing and promote restoration of contractile function. An experimental group demonstrated significantly superior recovery of contractile function and diminished effects of DOMS. Any muscle injury needs rest for the muscle fibres to heal effectively. Most treatment strategies do not promote rapid healing of the damaged tissue, even though they do alleviate the muscle soreness and pain. Exercise-induced muscle damage is a normal response; muscles attempt to protect themselves against repeated exercise sessions, to avoid serious tissue damage. It would appear that even though there are numerous therapies and treatments that are effective in reducing some of the symptoms of DOMS, none of them are able to completely alleviate all of the symptoms or successfully prevent the occurrence of DOMS. Until all the mechanisms of DOMS are better understood, the best cure would be prevention of DOMS by gradual introduction of novel exercise, especially after long periods of inactivity.