The effects of alcohol drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The effects of alcohol drinking - Essay Example This paper will elaborate on the noxious effects of drinking on physical health, mental and psychological well-being and education that later lead to adverse consequences to society as a whole. Effects of Drinking It should be pointed out that alcohol drinking among youths has increased tremendously in last 15 – 20 years primarily due to peer influence, excessive drinking of family members, portrayal of exaggerated images of fortitude / bravery of actors in movies, continuous persuasive and reminder advertising of alcohol beverages. Kremer and Levy (2008) have highlighted that frequent / occasional alcohol drinking is common among students who share similar rooms with other alcohol drinkers. Nevertheless, the academic performance of such drinkers is significantly lower in comparison to non-drinkers. Usually, students end up with poor grades and low CGPAs as an outcome of their drinking habit (addiction to alcohol). Drinkers are found addicted to life-threatening drugs and narc otics. The second most dangerous effect of alcohol drinking on youths is behavioral misconduct and aggravation of thinking and understanding abilities (Snyder et al, 2006). ... As a result, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases take place, which negatively affects health of male and female students. For instance, the situation becomes grave when male students get indulged in sexual harassment, ‘dating violence’ and physical abuse to their female counterparts, which then lead to disciplinary violations and lack of harmony within premises of educational institutions (Miller et al, 2006). Other serious behavioral issues with youth drinkers include carelessness / recklessness / wildness in driving and aggressive moves towards other students; the outcomes of which are nothing but grisly accidents (life-long disabilities and financial losses) and unnecessary (baseless and avoidable) combats between / among rival individuals / groups. The worst outcomes of frequent alcohol drinking (especially the case with addicts) include lack of emotional stability / control and obvious personality weaknesses, which then leads to ‘suicides an d homicides’ as highlighted by Duncan et al (2005). For instance, emotionally unstable (and drunk) youths when become hopeless at a certain point in their life then they commit suicides, thereby considering any unfavorable outcomes and events as an end of the world. Similarly, when drunk youths are unable to satisfy themselves through aggression and physically torture towards their rivals, they select homicide as an appropriate option and assassinate their enemies. Conclusion I would now like to end up this analysis by summarizing the facts that alcohol drinking is not only detrimental for a drinker’s mental and physical health but also may lead to conflicts among people, suicides and murders. Society, as a whole, is affected because emotionally

Strategic Management Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Strategic Management Practice - Essay Example The progress of civilisation has been inextricably linked with the development of housing. The aspect of housing as a business venture has been there since time immemorial. Over the years, housing has evolved from being a necessity to a luxury statement with luxurious condominiums dotting the landscape. Housing industry has evolved from being a necessity to a burgeoning profit making business. The demand for quality housing has been on the rise with the proportionate increase in the disposable income. Access to easy finance in the form of cheap credit has transformed the housing sector into a booming industry with huge potential. Twenty first century housing industry consists of big organisations executing projects worth billions of dollars across the world. The study deals with the strategic issues faced by Wulvern Housing. The recent financial crisis which began with the subprime crisis in US has engulfed the housing and real estate sector across the world. A research conducted by Knight Frank and Delloite shows a severe mismatch in the demand and supply dynamics of the real estate sector. The study shows that the supply of housing has hit rock bottom figures. The dip in supply could be attributed to the mortgage crisis and the subsequent credit crunch and recession that have significantly reduced the demand for new housing space. The financial turmoil has resulted in job losses among individuals which have in turn reduced the availability of finance for purchasing new homes. The scenario is the same for both US as well as the European markets (Delloite, 2010, p.4-5). The financial crisis has impacted almost all the sectors in UK’s economy. This crisis has also led to credit crunch which has severely affected the growth of an organization. Unavailability of credit has also affected the purchasi ng powers of the customers which has led to mismatch in demand and supply aspects. Such conditions have severely eroded the

Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer

Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer Cytochrome P450 The cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are a superfamily of haem-containing mono-oxygenases involved in the oxidative metabolism of a wide range of xenobiotics and endogenous compounds including steroids in the body.(40, 41) These membrane-bound enzymes are found primarily in the liver, sited in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) of hepatocytes.(42) CYPs are also found, to a lower extent, in extra-hepatic tissues such as the small intestine, kidney and lung where they carry out enzymatic biotransformation of foreign chemicals.(43) In human liver, three main CYP families (CYP1, CYP2 and CYP3) are heavily involved in drug metabolism.(44) Phase 1 metabolism reactions such as oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of substrates introduce functional groups into drug molecules. The intermediate metabolites then enter Phase 2 reaction which involves conjugation to produce inactive polar metabolites for elimination from the body.(30) Most P450 metabolisms deactivate substrates to form inactive intermediates for elimination; paradoxically, CYPs can convert substrates into active intermediates which contribute to cellular toxicity or carcinogenicity.(30, 43) + Figure 11: The microsomal monooxygenase P450 system. Cytochrome P450 incorporates one atom of oxygen to the substrate (RH), forming a hydroxylated product (ROH); and incorporates another atom of oxygen to form a water molecule. NADPH serves as a coenzyme in the system. The hydroxylated product can then undergo Phase 2 reactions to produce conjugates which are catalysed by a variety of enzymes such as gluthathione transferases.(43) Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer CYPs are involved in the metabolism of a wide range of substrates including carcinogens and anticancer drugs.(43) CYPs can convert anticancer drugs into inactive metabolites; or activate mitogenic compounds such as the oestradiol metabolite 4-hydroxyestradiol.(45) It was established that metabolism of the carcinogen benzopyrene by CYPs may generate products which can cause specific mutation in the p53 gene and initiate cancer.(46) The microsomal monooxygenase P450 system (MMO) generates ROS which, at high levels, can induce cellular oxidative stress which affects cancer cell proliferation.(47, 48) Expression of individual CYPs were observed in different types of human cancers including breast cancer.(43) However the knowledge on the role of CYPs in cancer cells is limited. This has attracted increasing interest of experimentalists in the investigation of the effect of CYP-mediated metabolism in cancer cells. Over the years, overexpression of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 are the most profound findings in the field of pharmaco-oncology.(44) CYP1A1 catalyses the metabolism of oestradiol to inactive 2-hydroxyestradiol for excretion from the body.(41, 49) In contrast, CYP1B1 mediates conversion of oestradiol to 4-hydroxyestradiol which is capable of producing ROS and contributes to breast carcinogenesis.(41, 49) Previous study has reported that oestradiol can regulate CYP1B1 expression in MCF-7 cells through ER-mediated pathway.(41) Another study treated MCF-7 cells with aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist which induces P450 enzymes to catalyse 4-hydroxylation of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol.(50) Higher CYP1B1 mRNA levels and increased hydroxylation activity of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol were observed in breast tumours. (50) This correlates with another study which had shown that CYP1B1 protein was absent in normal breast tissue.(51) Murray et al. had identified the presence of CYP1A and CYP3A in 40% and 22% of the breast tumours respectively.(52) Another P450 subfamily CYP2C was also reported to be present in both normal and breast tumour tissues at similar levels.(53) These evidences further support the hypothesis that expression of individual CYPs in breast cancer cells might play a role in breast tumourigenesis. If the hypothesis is confirmed to be true, the levels of individual CYPs in breast tumour can become a good marker in providing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in breast cancer treatment. CYP2C8 Figure 12: The structure of CYP2C8, a haemoprotein from the cytochrome P450 superfamily. Figure adapted from reference (54). CYP2C8 is a member of the CYP2C subfamily which accounts for 7% of the total microsomal CYP content.(55) CYP2C8 mediates Phase 1 oxidative metabolism of about 5% of drugs in the liver.(55) Sited mainly in the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, CYP2C8 mRNA was also detected in extra-hepatic sites such as the kidney, brain, uterus and mammary gland.(56) In a study, 10 breast cancer tissue samples were analysed using specific primers for RT- PCR for the expression of CYP2C8.(57) Interestingly, CYP2C8 mRNA was detected in all the samples analysed.(57) Another study has detected CYP2C8 mRNA in breast cancer cells and CYP2C8 knockdown suppressed the growth of breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, T47D and MDA-MB-231.(58) Anti-cancer drug Paclitaxel and carcinogen benzopyrene are the main substrates of CYP2C8 in enzymatic metabolisms.(43) CYP2C8 primarily catalyses 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation of Paclitaxel, a mitotic inhibitor used in malignant tumour, into inactive metabolite for elimination.(59, 60) Results from several studies had shown that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP2C8 gene, especially the CYP2C8*3 variant allele which is more common in Caucasians, results in alteration in CYP2C8 enzymatic activity.(61, 62) Dai et al. had reported that subjects homozygous for CYP2C8*3 had decreased 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation Paclitaxel metabolism compared to subjects with wild-type CYP2C8 gene.(62) As a result, although more likely to achieve therapeutic response from Paclitaxel treatment, breast cancer patients who are CYP2C8*3 carriers have a significant increased risk of neuropathy due to the narrow therapeutic window of Paclitaxel.(60, 61, 63) Besides, it was also reported that CYP2C8*3 variant caused defective metabolism of an endogenous CYP2C8 substrate, arachidonic acid, into epoxyeicosatrienoic acids which promote invasion in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo.(62, 64) In mice, overexpression of CYP epoxygenase in the metabolism of arachidonic acid had resulted in metastasis of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells to the lungs associated with angiogenesis.(65) In another study involving 652 breast cancer patients in Southern Sweden, CYP2C8 polymorphism was studied against early breast cancer-related events to investigate the impact of polymorphism on breast cancer-free survival after diagnosis. (64)The result had shown that CYP2C8*3 variant resulted in shorter disease free survival in 297 ER-positive patients with invasive tumours treated with Tamoxifen, probably due to the role of CYP2C8 in drug metabolism.(64) In addition, researchers also found out that CYP2C8*3 carriers with breast tumour larger than 20mm had more than twofold higher risk of lymph node involvement.(64) Despite studies had detected the expression of CYP2C8 in breast cancer cells, its role in breast cancer is still not widely known. It has been hypothesised that overexpression of CYP2C8 may influence proliferation of breast cancer cells due to its role to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a by-product of the process of breast cancer drugs’ metabolism. Furthermore, CYP2C8 polymorphism might result in inter-individual variation in tumour progression and therapeutic response to anticancer treatments. The expression levels of CYP2C8 in breast tumours might therefore be a good target in designing new anticancer drugs. Quercetin: The CYP2C8 Inhibitor Figure 13: The chemical structure of the CYP2C8 inhibitor Quercetin and its derivatives. Figure adapted from (66). Quercetin is a flavonoid found in a variety of polyphenols such as fruits, vegetables and plants.(67) As a competitive inhibitor of CYP2C8, Quercetin inhibits the 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation of taxol catalysed by CYP2C8.(68) Quercetin was reported to inhibit cell proliferation of several human cancers such as leukaemia, gastric carcinoma and breast carcinoma.(68) Currently Quercetin is under Phase 1 clinical trial for anticancer treatment. (68) Quercetin showed a dose-dependent inhibition on cell growth of ER-positive MCF-7 breast carcinoma which could be reversed by removal of Quercetin from culture medium or by addition of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol to the cells treated with Quercetin.(69) In another recent study, researchers had shown that Quercetin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a time and concentration-dependent manner in cell line MCF-7 (refer Figure 15).(67) The results had suggested that Quercetin might be a promising anticancer drug although its exact mechanism on inhibiting cell proliferation is not fully understood. Quercetin’s effect on CYP2C8 activity and ROS production might explain its role in inhibiting carcinogenesis. Table 1: The effect of Quercetin on the cell cycle and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells shown in a study carried out by Deng et al. Quercetin inhibition on cell growth activity was dose-dependent. The concentration of Quercetin was also found to be positively correlated with apoptosis rate of the cells.(67) Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Reactive oxygen species are the by-products of normal respiration process in the mitochondria.(70, 71) Apart from mitochondria, ROS is also produced from biochemical reactions that use oxygen molecules, such as the P450 monooxygenase system (MMO) in the endoplasmic reticulum.(70) Free radical ROS are highly reactive oxygen molecules which carrying an unpaired electron in their outer shell and seek for another electron in order to become stable.(72) Some examples of ROS include superoxides, peroxides and hydroxyl radicals.(72) A recent study had demonstrated increased intracellular ROS levels in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells following overexpression with CYP2E1.(48) This suggests that an alteration in the levels of the P450 enzymes might play a role in the production of intracellular ROS hence proliferation of cancer cells. Figure 14: The monooxygenase P450 cycle. Binding of substrate (RH) leads to conformational change which favours the reduction of ferric iron (Fe3+) in P450. An addition of single electron from NADPH to P450 via NADPH-P450 reductase converts Fe3+ to ferrous iron (Fe2+). An oxygen molecule binds to the Fe2+RH to form the Fe2+O2.RH complex. Addition of a second electron from either the NADPH-P450 reductase or the cytochrome b5 and a proton form a Fe2+OOH.RH peroxide complex. The complex then accepts a second proton which leads to cleavage of the Fe2+OOH.RH complex into ferric oxene substrate complex, (FeO) 3+.RH and a water molecule. The ferric oxene extracts a hydrogen atom from the substrate to yield a pair of radicals Rà ¢-  and Fe2+OHà ¢- . The last step involves binding of Rà ¢-  with the hydroxyl radical OHà ¢-  to generate the hydroxylated drug (ROH) to be realised from the complex. The P450 is then regenerated in its initial state.(73) Diagram adapted from refere nce (74). At low levels, ROS maintains normal physiological functions such as modulation of signal transduction pathways and cell proliferation.(75) However high levels of ROS can cause cellular toxicity, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, cell proliferation arrest and apoptosis.(76-78). The antioxidant defence systems in cells comprise of a group of antioxidant compounds such as Vitamin E, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase which function to cope with the high intracellular ROS levels. However, an excessive production of ROS or a lack of antioxidants can disrupt the balance and result in oxidative stress. (72) Intracellular oxidative stress can cause DNA damage, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis.(77, 79) Oxidative stress caused by elevated levels of ROS is implicated in cancer as it is associated with alteration in DNA sequence which leads to activation of proto-oncogenes or inactivation of tumour suppression genes.(77) Such mutations may initiate cancer and provide malignant cells with advantageous characteristics as described in Figure 1 ‘Hallmarks of cancer’ to facilitate growth and metastasis.(25, 77, 80) Increased DNA base damage resulted from hydroxyl radical attack has been reported in inflammatory breast cancer.(81) Figure 15: High levels of ROS in cell results in DNA damage, misfolded proteins, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. The antioxidant defence systems counteract with the excessive production of ROS. An imbalance between ROS generation and antioxidant action can result in oxidative stress and threaten cell survival. Diagram adapted from reference(82).        

Energy Bars: Balance Bar Versus Power Bar :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Balance Bar and Power Bar are two energy bars currently on the market. These two bars, despite their largely different carbohydrate, fat and protein contents, performed remarkably similarly in insulin level tests conducted by Steven Hertzler and Yeonsoo Kim of Ohio State University. Post meal studies have found that test subjects who consumed the Balance Bar exhibited a similar pattern of insulin level increase over time as subjects who consumed the Power Bar did. These test results go contrary to expectations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Power Bar and Balance Bar, due to their relatively different purposes, are quite different in nutritional content. Because of the Power Bar’s focus on supplying quick energy to athletes, it contains a large amount of easily absorbable carbohydrates and very little protein or fat, which take much longer to digest. The Balance Bar, on the other hand, attempts to maintain a 40:30:30 ratio of carbohydrates to fats to proteins. This ratio of nutrients is set in order to adhere to the Zone theory of weight loss. Side by side, the differences are clear. Of the 60 grams in a Power Bar, 38.8 grams (about 65 percent) were composed of carbohydrates, a large contrast to the 26.4 grams (about 44 percent) of carbohydrates present in a similar 60 gram Balance Bar. In addition, while the Power bar has only 9.2 grams of protein, the Balance Bar has nearly double that amount, containing a much higher 16.8 grams. Fat content follows this same trend, with the Power Bar’s 2.3 grams almost tripled by the Balance Bar’s 7.3 grams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because of the nutritional findings, scientists expected the post-prandial (after a meal) levels of insulin to appear quite different from each other. Because insulin levels have often been found in correlation to carbohydrate levels, researchers were expecting to find such a difference in their insulin concentration results. In addition, because the body can convert carbohydrates into energy more readily, a subject who consumed a Power Bar would be expected to have an insulin increase and eventual decrease much faster than a subject who consumed a Balance Bar would.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While the two energy bars have very different compositions, laboratory tests appear to show very little difference in their effects on insulin production. In a 120-minute analysis of insulin levels after 15-minute intervals, both bars revealed a common trend. 15 minutes after consumption of the bars, both Power Bar and Balance Bar test subjects had approximately

Neighborhoods and Deliquence Essay

How does one know for sure whether or not their family is being brought up in the right type of environment? An abundance of people raise their children in neighborhoods where the youth may be pressured and lured into situations that can generally lead to only problems and complications. There is not necessarily one right answer to prevent this from happening. It is not as simple as keeping adolescents from getting into bad situations by locking them up a closet their entire lives; however, there can be other ways to approach and deal with these ypes of issues involving Juvenile delinquency. Nowadays, the area in which a person lives and raises their families, may have a significant amount to do with the circumstances in which their kids get involved with gang affiliation, drugs and committing violent acts. To begin, there are numerous places where which gangs or gang affiliation is present, yet there are certain areas in which gangs are more apparent. For example, according to an article from SF gate, â€Å"A 1 5-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the slaying of another teenager near a troubled Oakland apartment omplex, authorities said Tuesday†¦ The slaying happened in a neighborhood where two buildings had recently been condemned because of code violations and fears of imminent gang activity, and police suspect that Erik and his killer were members of rival gangs. â€Å"(SF Gate). Henry Lee who wrote this article gives a perfect example of how many young teens are getting into gangs. This shooting happened in Oakland were a lot of violence goes on, because low income families live in the bad neighborhoods their children grow up with many bad influences around them. Another example is, in reference to this article from SF Gate, â€Å"The action came a week atter police noticed that nearby buildings were covered with gang graffiti a gang members had punched holes through the walls of the complex as an escape route, apparently girding for a possible attack, authorities said. Rival gang members then sprayed over the graffiti, police said. â€Å"(SF Gate). This article is mainly about how a young child gunned down rival gang members, but analyzing this more thoroughly it states how children are getting into gangs at a young age because of the neighborhoods they are growing in. Young children are getting into gangs and committing violent acts because of the neighborhood they are growing up in. Furthermore, drugs are another influence that children of a young age are getting into because of the neighborhoods they are growing up in. For example, from an article of World Youth Report, â€Å"The use of alcohol and illegal drugs by Juveniles is one cause of delinquency, as they are often compelled to commit crimes (usually theft) to obtain the cash needed to support their substance use. Drugs play a huge role in when it comes to Juvenile delinquency because young children get into them. The reason for that is because of the neighborhood the child grows up to. A good comparison is a child growing up in Oakland compared to a child growing up in Marin. In Marin one doesn’t see children drug dealing at the corner compared to Oakland were things like that do happen and children are involved. Another example from the article of World Youth Report, â€Å"Many young people retreat into the confines of their own groups and resort to drug use for psychological or emotional escape. Drugs can also be used as a getaway drug because of problems they might be having ut it wouldn’t be a problem if the children were being raised in the right type of environment. Drugs have a big influence on children when growing up in a bad neighborhood. Finally, there is the issue of violence amongst youth. Violence is also a huge issue around the world, but is more generally seen in conflicted neighborhoods. An example from an article of World Youth Report, â€Å"Quite often, advantage is being taken of illegal opportunities as young people commit various offences, become addicted to drugs, and use violence against their peers. † Violent acts that children do at a young ge because of the neighborhoods they grow up in. Many kids do more violent acts because they are in gangs and required to or because of anger. Children doing violent acts do them because of the life style they grow up in. Back to the article form SF gate where the fifth teen year old teen shot and killed a rival gang member. Being that young and already murdering someone is a problem in our society because kids that age should be in a gang or exposed to all that violence. Many gang members recruit small children so they can get them to commit violent acts and they won’t be trailed as adults. Another example from the article of World Youth Report, â€Å"Some groups and subcultures tend to use violence as a means of solving interpersonal conflicts, and the atmosphere thus created is an important mediating factor contributing to delinquent or criminal behavior. Violence can also be interpret as solving problems with their fists, these ways of solutions are used by many kids and they get it from the neighborhood they are growing up in. Violence is a major influence on children because of the neighborhood they are growing up in. To reiterate, there are many reasons tor why children can be driven to Juvenile elinquencies but the main reason is neighborhoods because of gangs, drugs and violence. Children when growing up in bad neighborhoods are exposed to many things because gangs, drugs and violence are in bad neighborhoods. Many children move into more and more bad neighborhoods and are being exposed to gangs, drugs and violence. There are some solutions that we can approach to stop kids from getting involved in these bad influences. One solution is providing programs like the Big Brother Big Sister program to have a role model to guide them down the right path. Another solution is reducing the gangs in neighborhoods and getting them off he streets. If we were able to develop a program were low income families can be located to good neighborhoods and have an agreement to live their instead of a bad neighborhood that would fix the problem. Though there are many solutions making them come true is a different story but there are many programs out there that provide kids with the help and attention they need.

Organisational structure of big bazaar Essay

The retail sector in India can broadly be classified as organized and unorganized where the share of unorganized sector is more than 93% of the total and includes the kirana stores, mom and pop stores and the ilk. The organized or modern retail sector on the other hand captures a mere 7% of the total market share. Modern retail is defined as a form of retailing whereby consumers can buy goods from a similar purchase environment across more than one physical location and operates under three levels: Specialist stores catering to some particular category of product such as footwear, pharma & beauty, food and grocery etc. – classified under level I. Departmental stores that cater to a few categories of retail put under level II, and malls where we find an agglomeration of many departmental stores, hypermarkets etc – classified under level III retail. ABSTRACT The growing number of modern retail outlets in India on the one hand and frequent sale seasons and talks of underperformance on the other point to a mixed bag and make us wonder whether the sector is on the right growth trajectory. In this report, rather than providing with just the facts, we have tried to understand the modern retail sector from an economist’s point of view and visualize its future-whether it is in its expansion or contraction phase. Motivated by the rising per-capita incomes and increased  spending on consumer goods, modern retail stores are coming up with new strategies and plans to unlock the Pandora box of the untapped and unorganized retail sector. In the course of the report, we try to find out – how the retail sector works, major regulations that affect its functioning and the challenges that await the sector and summarize with our analysis and recommendations. Note: We have used where we’ve analyzed the situation from a micro-economic point of view. INTRODUCTION The retail sector in India can broadly be classified as organized and unorganized where the share of unorganized sector is more than 93% of the total and includes the kirana stores, mom and pop stores and the ilk. The organized or modern retail sector on the other hand captures a mere 7% of the total market share. Modern retail is defined as a form of retailing whereby consumers can buy goods from a similar purchase environment across more than one physical location and operates under three levels: Specialist stores catering to some particular category of product such as footwear, pharma & beauty, food and grocery etc. – classified under level I. Departmental stores that cater to a few categories of retail put under level II, and malls where we find an agglomeration of many departmental stores, hypermarkets etc – classified under level III retail.