Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot

Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing:  A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Author: Lin Jin Background From 1980 to 2014, the prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 18 years and older has approximately doubled from 4.7% to 8.5%, and globally, the number of patients has almost quadrupled during this time period to an estimated 422 million people (1). Diabetic complications can arise if diabetes is improperly treated or left untreated. An example of a complication is diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), which is one of the most significant causes of amputation (2). Approximately 6% of all diabetic patients develop DFU annually (3), and they have a high risk of being infected, requiring hospital attention (4). Additionally, survival prognosis is low amongst patients with DFU, with 3-year cumulative mortality rate of 28% (3); Moreover, this rate almost doubles amongst diabetic patients with amputation (5). There is also a high economic cost associated with the treatment of DFUs owning to the long duration of the condition (6, 7), which often requires long-term hospitalization and results in loss of labour productivity (6). Therefore, DFU is rapidly becoming a growing public health challenge. DFUs are the consequence from diabetes-related vascular disease and neuropathy (8). Hyperglycemia induces several cellular mechanisms and abnormalities metabolic, leading to the endothelial dysfunction and the consequent ischemia and increased risk of ulceration (9). Neuropathy causes the reduction in feeling in the foot (8). Therefore, diabetic patients often do not notice foot injury, which can lead to ulceration. Metabolic abnormalities from Diabetes can result in ischemia of the endoneurial microvascular circulation, which further deteriorates nerves (10). Metabolic control, wound care, pressure relieving casts (11), debridement (12), pressure relief (13), and antibiotics are the rudimentary therapeutic interventions for the control of DFU. Growth factors, regarded as a relatively new therapy, function by activating growth and multiplication of cells while inducing protein production (14). These growth factors are regarded as ground-breaking  technologies in the science and art of wound healing (15). Epidermal growth factor was first isolated by Stanley Cohen from submaxillary glands of adult mice (16). It is a polypeptide that displaces strong mitogenic activity (17). Since its discovery, EGF has been isolated in human glands such as submandibular and parotid (18). It acts as an important regulator of cell growth, influencing both cell multiplication and differentiation, which can ultimately improve wound healing (19). Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated the efficacy of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) -related treatment versus control treatment in patients with DFUs. To our knowledge, however, only one systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) has been published summarizing specifically the efficacy of rhEGF for DFU healing (20). This review indicates that rhEGF has a high efficacy in treating DFUs by accelerating wound healing (20). However, it is not comprehensive as non-English publications were excluded (20). It did not inc lude certain eligible RCTs that also meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria (21, 22). In addition, it is prone to the error lack of rigorous assessment of bias risks. Objective In light of the absence of rigorous assessment and conclusive analysis about the efficacy of rhEGF for DFUs healing, we plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs evaluating the efficacy of rhEGF for DFUs healing. The proposed systematic review with a broad scope will aim to address the previously noted limitations, and provide up-to-date best available evidence through rigorous synthesis methods, including assessment of the quality of the evidence using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Methods Sources and searches: The previous review of RCTs failed to include all eligible studies. Therefore, we plan to use the terms diabetic foot ulcer, epidermal growth factor and any relevant terms to perform search in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process Other Non-Indexed Citations), EBSCO CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, to select eligible studies. We will further manually search the reference lists of the included studies in key journals in the field. Study Selection: Randomized clinical studies, reported in any languages and published in any dates, recruiting adults ( >18 years old) with type 1 or type 2 Diabetes diagnosed with foot ulcer. Generally, DFU is classified using Wagner-Meggit (table 1) or University of Texas classification (table 2); and the proposed review includes DFU patients with any ulcer grade based on the two classifications. Trials are eligible for inclusion if the intervention is either topical application and/or intralesional infiltration of rhEGF-based formulation with or without standard treatment, and if the intervention is compared with placebo, or standard treatment. Urogastrone, Heberpro-p, Citoprot-P and Herbermin are the brand names ofrhEGF-based formulation. Standard treatment includes metabolic control, antibiotic therapy, debridement, wound dressing, and pressure relief. We will select main outcomes (patient-important for decision-making) from the Summary of finding table which lists all relevant outcomes. After r eviewing literature from primary studies, other relevant reviews, and clinical practice guidelines, we consider that any eligible studies should report at least one of the following primary outcomes, selected from the main outcomes: low limb amputation (at least one toe) rate, positive granulation response rate and time, complete wound healing rate and time, infection rate and/or ulcer recurrence rate. Main outcomes that are not selected will be taken as secondary outcomes. Exclusion criteria will apply to non-randomized control studies, e.g., case-control, cohort, case series, and other observational studies. Studies evaluating the efficacy of other types of growth factors for DFUs will be excluded.

Asian Popular Culture In Globalization Contexts

Asian Popular Culture In Globalization Contexts Globalization is a process of cultural, economic, politics and religious integration all over the world. Globalization has brought about great changes on the ideologies, communication, and transportation. The Asian popular culture has also undergone great changes under the background of globalization. During the globalization process, the Asian popular culture has played an important and critical role. The Asian popular culture has exerted great influence on the world culture. The Chinese Kung Fu and the Japanese animation are the typical examples which have brought about great impact on the world popular culture. The case of the Chinese Kung Fu in the film industry and the Japanese animation images will be further studied in the following passages. Case 1 Chinese Kung Fu in the film industry In recent years, the Chinese Kung Fu films have been popular all over the world. Many Hollywood films contain the Chinese Kung Fu elements. The philosophy in the Kung Fu such as go with the nature has been wide spread (Royo, 2009). Learning Chinese Kung Fu has become a fashion among many foreigners. The images created by the Chinese Kung Fu actor Bruce Lee, Jacky Chan and Jet Lee have influenced people of several generations. The director Ang Lees film Chinese Kung Fu film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has won the 2000 Academy Award including the Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Original Score, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. The 2008 animation Kung Fu Panda of DreamWorks has again fired a Chinese Kung Fu fashion. In the film, besides the martial arts and the Panda which are of strong Chinese characteristics, other Chinese elements have also been included, such as the chopsticks, Chinese costumes and Shifu(master). In this film, the Chinese philoso phies have also been involved. As a matter of fact, the Hollywood films which take Chinese historical stories as the main theme, or which involves Chinese elements are in a great number. The Chinese Kung Fu has already been rooted in the film audiences minds. Most western film goers believes that if the protagonist in the film has been equipped with Chinese Kung Fu, he is sure to beat his opponent no matter what impediment or unfavorable condition the protagonist is in (Belton, 1996). Due to the influence of the film industry, the Chinese Kung Fu has been widely spread all over the world and become popular. Many foreigners including the westerners as well as those in the Asian countries as well come to china to study Chinese martial arts or Kung Fu. The Shaolin Monastery becomes an ideal destination for the fans who love the martial arts of Bruce Lee or Jacky Chan. The Shaolin Monastery in the Henan Province in china is on the Songshan Mountain which is one of the four renowned moun tains in china. The Shaolin Monastery has a long tradition of martial arts and the monks in this monastery are all master hand in martial arts. The name of Shaolin Monastery has been spread by many films. Every year, the Shaolin Monastery receives thousands of foreign tourists who interested in the martial arts and the Kung Fu lovers who want to study martial arts. The monks of the Shaolin Monastery will put performance every year all over the world and their performance is enthusiastically welcomed by the foreign audience no matter they love Kung Fu or not. The Chinese Kung Fu gradually becomes a part of popular culture with the help of the film and the film itself has been popular enough. The Kung Fu has also becomes popular among the Chinese. Many elements in Chinese Kung Fu have been incorporated in peoples daily exercises to keep fit. Case analysis Chinese popular culture as the bridge between the eastern and western culture under the background of globalization From this case, the Chinese popular culture has played a role of bridging the western and eastern culture. Under the background of globalization, culture diversification is an inevitable trend under the background of globalization. The integration and infiltration of the alien culture and the local culture is an inevitable process for the development of the culture. No culture can develop and evolve through isolation and insulation with the outside world. Therefore, the Chinese popular has played the role of bridging the western and eastern culture through the popularization of the martial arts, a major part of the Chinese popular culture. This bridging process promotes the culture diversification as well as the development of various cultures. In the past, the western people have little knowledge about china and the Chinese has distorted knowledge about the western countries as well as some Asian countries. During the communication and exchanging with the foreign cultures, more fore igners become interested in knowing more about the unique culture of china which they had little knowledge. Due to more direct communication with the outside world, the Chinese know more about the foreign cultures. In the case of the Shaolin Monastery, on one hand, the foreigners come to china to seek the martial arts in their minds, on the other hand, the Shaolin Monastery organize monks to put performance in foreign countries to display the essence of the martial arts in their minds. The Shaolin martial arts therefore become an industry which will bring about profits to the Shaolin Monastery and can provide martial arts teaching service for the public particularly to the foreigners. There are many other labels in Asian popular cultures such as the Japanese animation and Judo, like the Chinese martial arts, they have all played the role of the bridging the different cultures. Case 2 Hello Kitty and Japan Hello Kitty is a world famous cartoon image which came out in 1974 in Japan. Hello Kitty can be regarded as the prime representation of the Japanese popular culture as well as the world popular culture. This simple cat image with bowknot on the head and with no mouth has become popular for almost 30 years all over the world. The image of Kitty can be seen on cup, notebook, cell-phone, toy, watch, computer and etc. Almost on most of the daily utensils, the image of Kitty can be seen. There are 22,000 products are labeled on the image of Kitty and sold to over 40 countries all over the world (Craig, 2000). In the year 2004, McDonald pushed a mini decorative pendent of Kitty. This pendent has become so popular that in Taiwan the lovers took this pendant as the symbol of their love. In Singapore, a commotion happened when people were queuing to buy the happy meal with the theme of Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty has brought about 50 million dollars profits to its copyright owners every year (Cr aig, 2000). Not only kids love Kitty, the adults even the old people loves Kitty. For a child, Kitty is a lovely toy; for an office lady, Kitty brings her back to her innocent childhood; for a father, Kitty gives him a chance to show his love and care for his children who loves Kitty very much. People of different age, taste, style, gender and wish are attracted by this lovely little cat. Unlike Garfield or Mickey Mouse which are backed by fascinating films and books, there are no stories, movies, TV series, books about Kitty but Kitty has become a cultural symbol for it successfully satisfied peoples desire for innocence. Not only Kitty is welcomed by the general public, Kitty and her family members, friends, boy friend are all welcomed by the people all over the world. Many people have a desire to collect a whole series of Kitty products. The scene that people wait in long queue just to buy the newly come out Kitty product can usually be seen. Kitty is not just a successful produc t; it becomes a lifestyle of some people. It reflects peoples inner motives, desires and emotion. It is a cultural product which arouses fierce discussion among scholars and politicians who are blamed to manipulating the image to realize the political purpose (Zoonen, 2004) . Case analysis Hello Kitty, urban syndromes and animation diplomacy The popular of Hello Kitty has two reasons. The first one is that with the acceleration of the industrialization and urbanization, people feel more alienated and lonely. The interpersonally relationship becomes more impersonal and cold. Under the urban culture of strong pressure, depression and competition, people tend to ease their pressure and gain care and love from lovely objects. Hello Kitty is a product which just fulfills the need of the vulnerable urban people with various urban syndromes. Hello Kitty can be regarded as the representation of the lovely culture which exists to ease peoples pressure and satisfy their longing for love under the background of globalization which makes the urban syndromes more severe. The second reason for the popular of Hello Kitty is that the Japanese government has made efforts to promote the Japan image and the soft power of Japan by promoting Hello Kitty and other renowned cartoon images. Thus the further and enduring popularity of Hello Kitt y has close relation to the governments efforts. The promotion of the Hello Kitty of the Japanese government is with the intention to promote Japanese culture and Japanese image all over the world. Some western media believe that Japans overseas image has close relation to the image of Hello Kitty. The fact attests to this saying for in May 2008, Hello Kitty becomes the tourism promotion ambassador of Japan (Desai, 2004). On March 19th, 2008, the Japanese Foreign Ministry held a special ambassador inauguration (Desai, 2004). The animation image Doraemon, a blue machine cat was appointed as the foreign ambassador of Japan which was an unprecedented event. Hello Kitty and Doraemon have both bore the responsibility of improving the image of Japan. This culture diplomacy taken by the Japanese government is regarded as animation diplomacy (Desai, 2004). The Japanese popular culture has been successfully used by the government to improve the countrys soft power under the background of glo balization. Japan has taken advantage of its popular culture to improve its influence on the world. The influence of the Asian popular culture on the flow of people The flow of people and the Asian popular culture is an interaction process. On one hand the Asian popular culture influences the flow of people and on the other hand the flow of people makes the Asian popular culture more diversified and spread in a wider range. As to the influence of the Asian popular culture on the flow of people, before discussing this issue, first of all, the categories of flow of people will be discussed. The flow of people can be divided into the flow within the country and the flow among different countries. The flow of people can be permanent or temporary. The Asian popular culture has exerted influence on both the four kinds of flow of people. Most people migrant with the hope that they will reach a better destination to live or settle down and the image of better destination to some extent is build on the popular culture. For the popular culture is the easiest access to understand the culture of another nation. The Asian popular culture has great impact on the temporary flow of people. The major part of the temporary flow of people is tourists. For example, with the popular of the Chinese Kung Fu film all over the world, people from various countries come to china to find out whether the Kung Fu in the film is real. Thus they go to the Shaolin Monastery to see the monks so as to satisfy their curiosity. Some frantic Kung Fu lovers even stay in Shaolin Monastery to study the martial arts. From large number of tourists from all over the world received by the Shaolin Monastery, it is easy to infer that the popular culture has exerted great impact on the temporary flow of people. In Japan, the situation is quite similar. Large numbers of tourists come to Japan just want to visit the Hello Kitty Museum or to buy the Doraemon products which can only be purchased in Japan. Moreover, within the same country, flow of people can still be caused by the popular culture. Most young people are willing to live in the part of the country where the po pular culture is thriving (McDonnell, 2000). Those young people may try to find a job or travel in those parts in the country, thus the flow of people becomes more frequently within the country. The influence of the Asian popular culture on the ideas The Asian popular culture has great influence on the ideas of people all over the world. A countrys image has close relation to the countrys popular culture. Take the Chinese popular culture as an example, the Kung Fu in the films seem incredible and mysterious to the foreigners particularly the westerner. Thus image of china in the westerners minds are usually mysterious. Besides, with the spread of the Chinese popular culture, the traditional Chinese philosophy is also spread to all over the world. The unique traditional Chinese culture which put emphasis on the harmony between human and nature has greatly influenced the westerners ideas. More westerners begin to learn the profoundness of the Asian culture and begin to have further study on the eastern culture by the help of the popular culture. The Asian popular culture plays the role of the media in spread the ideology of the Asian (Huat, 2004). Another example is Japan. Japan has made great efforts to establish sound national im age through promoting it popular culture. The cute Hello Kitty and other animation images make the image of Japan milder and friendly. The Japanese animation exerts great impact on the ideas of the teenagers all over the world particularly the teenagers in Asian countries. The teenagers will wear like the characters in the animation or wear the ornaments the characters in the animation wear (McDonnell, 2000). The success of the Japanese film Spirited Away has popularize the eastern philosophy all over the world. Its great impact on the ideas of people can be demonstrated by the recognition of this film from the international society. This film has won many prizes including Best Animated Feature in the 2001 Academy Award. The animator Hayao Miyazaki who directs this film is world-renowned and his other works are also welcomed by the people all over the world. Through his works, the Japanese and Asian culture and philosophy has been wide spread which makes the outside world knows more about Asian and Japan (Iwabuchi, 2002). Hayao Miyazakis work is the integration of the Asian ideology and ideologies from other parts of the world. This is a forceful demonstration that Asian popular culture has great impact on the ideas of people from all over the world. The influence of Asian popular culture on the trends In most Chinese Kung Fu films, the masters in the films usually wear the traditional Chinese garment (Tang suit) and the female characters usually wear cheongsam. With the spread of those Kung Fu film, the traditional Chinese garment and cheongsam become popular all over the world. The Chinese costume elements such as red embroidered peony can usually be seen in the Fashion Week in Milan. The fashion industry all over the world has integrated the traditional Chinese costume elements in the trends. The most wanted gifts of the foreign tourists in china are the traditional Chinese garment and cheongsam. The above example demonstrates that the popular culture has exerted even changed the trends and fashion. Moreover, the popularity of the Chinese Kung Fu films also promoted the trends of Chinese study. For a time, learning Chinese becomes a trend and fashion among the westerners. Another example is Japan animation. Not to mention the Hello Kitty that is a trend itself. The large sale an d peoples frantic purchasing of the Kitty products demonstrate the charm of Kitty. Kitty has changed the fashion industry which usually means slim models, glorious ornaments, luxurious brands and dazzling shows. Kitty ignites a new concept that loveliness and simplicity can also be a trend. The trend is as a matter of fact, the reflection of the mind set and metal state of the people (Tay, 2009). The Asian popular culture to some extent changes the mindset and metal state of the people. Moreover, the Korean TV series has also fired a trend in Asian countries, especially in china. The Chinese youngsters, teenagers and even housewives and office ladies become interested in the Korean culture such as costume and food (Chua Iwabuchi, 2008). Their ideas about the country Korean are mostly based on the TV series (Dator Seo, 2004). In conclusion, the popular culture has changes and influenced peoples ideas to a large extent. The influence of Asian popular culture on the cultural products Before discussing the influence of Asian popular culture on the cultural products, the concept and scope of the cultural products should be identified. The cultural products are the products which come out from the culture or are closely related to the culture. The typical cultural products are books, softwares, magazines, computer games, films, TV shows. Asian popular cultures influence on the films is obvious. The Judo, Kung Fu elements in the Hollywood films are welcomed by the foreigners. The computer games based on Kung Fu Panda and Japanese animation figures have been sold all over the world and welcomed by the teenager and computer game lovers. The Asian popular has brought about great profits to the cultural industry. The success of Kitty is another example which demonstrates the influence of the popular culture on the culture products. The Asian Kung Fu film and the Japanese animation are all examples that the popular culture has exerted great influence on the cultural produ cts (Malik, 2009). The western media and newspapers cover large amount reports on Asian culture and tradition and the one of their motivations is to satisfy the westerners curiosity about the eastern culture elements in the popular cultural products such as films and animation. The cultural products are no longer monopolized by the American MTV, MacDonalds and hip-hop. The cultural products have integrated more Asian elements due to the spread of the Asian popular culture which are welcomed under the diversified and internationalized world (Pieterse, 2009). Conclusion This essay has discussed the role of Asian popular culture under the background of globalization. The world under the background of globalization becomes more diversified. The Asian popular culture has adapted itself to the more diversified world and acts as the bridge between the western and eastern culture. In this essay, the cases of Chinese Kung Fu and Japanese Hello Kitty are discussed in detail. The above two can both be regarded as the typical representation of the Asian popular culture. During the process of globalization, the above two cultural labels have interacted with the world culture. They changes the world culture and at the same time be changed by the world culture. They are the promoter of the Asian popular culture and the world popular culture is no longer dominated by the Americans strong popular culture such as Starbuck and MTV. The migration of people, the change of peoples ideas, the various trends, and the cultural products are all greatly influenced by the po pular culture. The popular culture is a major part of a nations culture whose impact can never be ignored.

Comparing Setting and Narrative Style in the Works of Edgar Allen Poe :: Biography Biographies Essays

Setting and Narrative Style in Pit and the Pendulum, House of Usher, Black Cat, and Cask of Amontillado    The focus of this essay is the setting and narrative style used in the works of Edgar Allen Poe.   Although many critics have different views on Poe's writing style, perhaps Harold Bloom summed it up best when he said, "Poe has an uncanny talent for exposing our common nightmares and hysteria lurking beneath our carefully structured lives. " ( 7)   In many of Poe's works, setting is used to paint a dark and gloomy picture in our minds.   I think that this was done deliberatly by Poe so that the reader can make a connection between darkness and death.   For example, in the "Pit and the Pendulum", the setting is originally pitch black.   As the story unfolds, we see how the setting begins to play an important role in how the narrator discovers the many ways he may die.   Although he must rely on his senses alone to feel his surroundings, he knows that somewhere in this dark, gloomy room, that death awaits him.   Richard Wilbur tells us how fitting the chamber in "The Pit and the Pendulum" actually was.   "Though he lives on the brink of the pit, on the very verge of the plunge into unconciousness, he is still unable to disengage himself from the physical and temperal world.   The physical oppreses him in the shape of lurid graveyard visions; the temporal oppreses him in the shape of an enormous and deadly pendulum.à ‚   It is altogether appropriate, then, that this chamber should be constricting and cruelly angular" (63).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Setting is also an important characteristic is Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher".   The images he gives us such as how both the Usher family and the Usher mansion are crumbling from inside waiting to collapse, help us to connect the background with the story.   Vincent Buranelli says that   "Poe is able to sysatin an atomosphere which is dark and dull.   This is one of the tricks which he laregely derived from the tradition of the Gothic tale" (79).   The whole setting in the story provides us with a feeling of melancholy.   The Usher mansion appears vacant and barren.   The same is true for the narrator.   As we picture in our minds the extreme decay and decomposistion, we can feelas though the life around it is also crumbling.

Free Essays - No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye Probably the greatest irony of the novel is the fact that, despite his love of "childhood innocence," Holden is and acts far from innocent himself. In fact, he is its antithesis. He acts that way for many reasons. First of all, he has so many responsibilities. Second, he never fits in with the crowd, and finally, he never gets any real help for the problems that he deals with. Holden does have a love for "childhood innocence" as seen across the book. For example, on page two hundred and one "Somebody'd written ' Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-cockeyed naturally- what it meant, and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it... But I rubbed it [The 'fuck you' written on the wall] out anyway." Another example is on page two hundred and eight, "'So shut up.' It was the first time she [Phoebe] ever told me to shut up. It sounded terrible. God, it sounded terrible. It sounded worse than swearing." There is one more outstanding quotation from the novel which is found on page two hundred and thirteen. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe was going around and around [the carousel]." All these examples clearly show that Holden appreciated "childhood innocence" to a great extent. Yet Holden acts the opposite. The irony in this novel is Holden's behavior, which is far from being innocent. He smokes, drinks, always depressed, thinks about suicide, thinks about going embarking to a far place, and has people tell and act in many weird ways. There are three main reasons why he acts this way. Firstly, Holden being only sixteen years of age already has so much responsibility. He has to get money for food and travel. When he travels he has to make sure he doesn't get lost, and actually gets there. He has to make sure that he doesn't flunk school.

Essay --

III. Long-term Prospects The boundaries that limit the world from becoming unified are cultural more than physical .With the growth of the economies in many emerging markets. Firms are heading to other countries to expand and exploit other markets and opportunities and that cannot be achieved without cross-cultural training and proper linguistic translation. IV. How the Industry Analysis Affects and Is Affected by Other Sections of the Plan The industry analysis is the base and first step we take into making the business plan. It is used as a reference to see where the industry stands, trends, and possible gaps where we can enter. It also gives a realistic view on the possibility of achievement in the industry chosen. Marketing plan: Market segmentation: Our Company is targeting the small to medium sizes businesses of 500000 Turkish Liras to 4million Turkish Liras, that are trying to move abroad and go global, or are dealing with businesses overseas and need translation services, interpreters, intercultural training, and localization services. We want to start by targeting Istanbul, before expending to other states or countries, where a lot of businesses are dealing with foreign markets in South America, Caribbean Islands, Asia (China) and sometimes Canada. It is the perfect state to start for us because of its geostrategic location. The firm should be located in Miami or Orlando first where many South American firms decide to start; both these cities will give us many businesses to start with. The population of Florida consists of a great amount of people that are Hispanic and speak other languages. As stated by â€Å"the United States Census Bureau†, Florida’s population as of 2011consisted of 22.9% of people of Hispa... ...of us using this method is reaching the customer and informing them about their need of our services we push them to think that our services will increase the quality of their business and interaction with foreign businesses therefore increasing their revenues. For example, I was informed by a Saudi Aramco engineer that their branch in Texas was obviously having to constantly contact the main Aramco branch in Saudi, but were always lacking the understanding of how Arabs business etiquette, language and culture work. He suggested contacting them to stress their need for our services, by calling them or emailing them we anticipate convincing them to look into the stated aspects of their business and seek our services. By researching and contacting similar businesses we look forward to raise the awareness of our services importance and expend our brand image awareness.

Youth obesity

Game consoles, MacDonald's, KFC, all companies that provide entertainment and fried foods for kids are the main causers of the growing number of children becoming obese. These companies are so prevalent on today's youth's lives that they make a profound impact on their health. With the rate that these companies are expanding worldwide, the rate at which children are becoming obese is bound to become even worse. Every corner you go around especially in America you will find a fast food restaurant. This is the main reason why America has the highest youth obesity rate. During the past 30 years the percentage of obese children between the ages of 6 and 11 has tripled. It is amazing is it not all we have to do to change this is adjust our food intake and watch our daily activities so I ask of you to join me and change for the better of our own lives. There are three causes of youth obesity that stood out from the rest for me. These are poor nutrition, low self esteem and a less – active – youth. Eating healthy means taking a lot more time to prepare a meal and it costs more than a readymade, extremely fast, unwatched while being cooked and full of oil fast food meal. A lot of parents are not educated with what is right for their children to be eating. So they leave their children to enjoy what they like instead of having a balanced diet. Children's self esteems lower when they are obese because of society's influences on being thin. As they get more obese their social interactions with other youths decrease because of this influence. Now the low self esteem that develops leads to children no longer being around others thus making them become less active which helps to make children even more obese. A study performed by Research Triangle Institute International for the Centres of Disease Control in Washington, DC surveyed 986 parents on childhood obesity and prevention. The results were as follows 49.5% did not feel schools had the right to record children's weights. 72.9% felt that schools needed to provide weight loss and exercise programs. 39.1% thought an increase on the tax of fast food was constructive. 42.31% favoured the standardization of food portions in restaurants. You must be thinking that to stop obesity means we just have to remove fat from our diets. But you would be wrong stopping obesity does not just mean removing fat from your diets. Usually when people remove fat from their diet they will increase their intake of sugar, high density carbohydrates, and starches. This means you are having a low protein and fat meal which often leave people feeling hungry which leads to them filling their stomachs as soon as possible with whatever they can find to eat. That is wrong. You need to have and stick to a balanced diet. Most of us eat 3 large meals, breakfast, lunch and supper. That too is wrong. You need to eat six small meals and your last meal should be eaten at least two hours before going to sleep to allow for you to burn all fat and energy from the meal. This information was given to me by an actual dietician from CFB. Coming back to the topic of game consoles and I would like to add into that topic television. The question is, is television a friend or foe of youth obesity is what I shall answer for you. Every hour a child sits and plays a video game or watches TV they may double their risk of becoming obese. Glenda Nichols, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tarrant County College she stated in an interview that on average a child watches or plays a video games for 7.1 hours a day. That equals to 25,000 hours of being in front of a television by the time that they would be seniors in high school. That is extremely dangerous because children are guaranteeing their chances of becoming obese. Some long term effects of childhood obesity are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the development of diseases such as type 2 diabetes. These are all very dangerous for the human body. But these are just a few of the many associated problems. More problems associated with obesity are: 1. Diabetes 2. Hyperlipidemia 3. Blood circulation diseases like arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, and palsy 4. Skin disease 5. Joint problems, back, knee, and ankle pain 6. Liver disease 7. Cholelithiasis 8. Menstrual abnormalities 9. Female infertility 10. Breast cancer 11. Endometrium cancer 12. Decline in libido 13. Mental stress We all live in a society that sends out very strong messages about beauty and body weight. Girls are encouraged to constantly diet and exercise until they attain a fit, thin body. Boys are told to constantly work out and do whatever is necessary to attain a buff, muscular figure. Am I wrong? So come on let's follow the messages society sends to all of us together. I ask all of you to not do it for me but to do it for yourself. You will not forget it especially in the long run. So come on let's get healthy.

Second Foundation 11. Stowaway

It was a little over a month before the summer could be said to have started. Started, that is, to the extent that Homir Munn had written his final financial report of the fiscal year, seen to it that the substitute librarian supplied by the Government was sufficiently aware of the subtleties of the post – last year's man had been quite unsatisfactory – and arranged to have his little cruiser the Unimara – named after a tender and mysterious episode of twenty years past – taken out of its winter cobwebbery. He left Terminus in a sullen distemper. No one was at the port to see him off. That would not have been natural since no one ever had in the past. He knew very well that it was important to have this trip in no way different from any he had made in the past, yet he felt drenched in a vague resentment. He, Homir Munn, was risking his neck in derring-doery of the most outrageous sort, and yet he left alone. At least, so he thought. And it was because he thought wrongly, that the following day was one of confusion, both on the Unimara and in Dr. Darell's suburban home. It hit Dr. Darell's home first, in point of time, through the medium of Poli, the maid, whose month's vacation was now quite a thing of the past. She flew down the stairs in a flurry and stutter. The good doctor met her and she tried vainly to put emotion into words but ended by thrusting a sheet of paper and a cubical object at him. He took them unwillingly and said: â€Å"What's wrong, Poli?† â€Å"She's gone, doctor.† â€Å"Who's gone?† â€Å"Arcadia!† â€Å"What do you mean, gone? Gone where? What are you talking about?† And she stamped her foot: ‘I don't know. She's gone, and there's a suitcase and some clothes gone with her and there's that letter. Why don't you read it, instead of just standing there? Oh, you men!† Dr. Darell shrugged and opened the envelope. The letter was not long, and except for the angular signature, â€Å"Arkady,† was in the ornate and flowing handwriting of Arcadia's transcriber. Dear Father: It would have been simply too heartbreaking to say good-by to you in person. I might have cried like a little girl and you would have been ashamed of me. So I'm writing a letter instead to tell you how much I'II miss you, even while I'm having this perfectly wonderful summer vacation with Uncle Homir. I'II take good care of myself and it won't be long before I'm home again. Meanwhile, I'm leaving you something that's all my own. You can have it now. Your loving daughter, Arkady. He read it through several times with an expression that grew blanker each time. He said stiffly, â€Å"Have you read this, Poli?† Poli was instantly on the defensive. â€Å"I certainly can't be blamed for that, doctor. The envelope has ‘Poli' written on the outside, and I had no way of telling there was a letter for you on the inside. I'm no snoop, doctor, and in the years I've been with-â€Å" Darell held up a placating hand, â€Å"Very well, Poli. It's not important. I just wanted to make sure you understood what had happened.† He was considering rapidly. It was no use telling her to forget the matter. With regard to the enemy, â€Å"forget† was a meaningless word; and the advice, insofar as it made the matter more important, would have had an opposite effect. He said instead, â€Å"She's a queer little girl, you know. Very romantic. Ever since we arranged to have her go off on a space trip this summer, she's been quite excited.† â€Å"And just why has no one told me about this space trip?† â€Å"It was arranged while you were away, and we forgot It's nothing more complicated than that.† Poli's original emotions now concentrated themselves into a single, overwhelming indignation, â€Å"Simple, is it? The poor chick has gone off with one suitcase, without a decent stitch of clothes to her, and alone at that. How long will she be away?† â€Å"Now I won't have you worrying about it, Poli. There will be plenty of clothes for her on the ship. It's been all arranged. Will you tell Mr. Anthor, that I want to see him? Oh, and first – is this the object that Arcadia has left for me?† He turned it over in his hand. Poli tossed her head. â€Å"I'm sure I don't know. The letter was on top of it and that's every bit I can tell you. Forget to tell me, indeed. If her mother were alive-â€Å" Darell, waved her away. â€Å"Please call Mr. Anthor.† *** Anthor's viewpoint on the matter differed radically from that of Arcadia's father. He punctuated his initial remarks with clenched fists and tom hair, and from there, passed on to bitterness. â€Å"Great Space, what are you waiting for? What are we both waiting for? Get the spaceport on the viewer and have them contact the Unimara.† â€Å"Softly, Pelleas, she's my daughter.† â€Å"But it's not your Galaxy.† â€Å"Now, wait. She's an intelligent girl, Pelleas, and she's thought this thing out carefully. We had better follow her thoughts while this thing is fresh. Do you know what this thing is?† â€Å"No. Why should it matter what it is?' â€Å"Because it's a sound-receiver.† â€Å"That thing?† â€Å"It's homemade, but it will work. I've tested it. Don't you see? It's her way of telling us that she's been a party to our conversations of policy. She knows where Homir Munn is going and why. She's decided it would be exciting to go along.† â€Å"Oh, Great Space,† groaned the younger man. â€Å"Another mind for the Second Foundation to pick.† â€Å"Except that there's no reason why the Second Foundation should, a priori, suspect a fourteen-year-old girl of being a danger – unless we do anything to attract attention to her, such as calling back a ship out of space for no reason other than to take her off. Do you forget with whom we're dealing? How narrow the margin is that separates us from discovery? How helpless we are thereafter?† â€Å"But we can't have everything depend on an insane child.† She's not insane, and we have no choice. She need not have written the letter, but she did it to keep us from going to the police after a lost child. Her letter suggests that we convert the entire matter into a friendly offer on the part of Munn to take an old friend's daughter off for a short vacation. And why not? He's been my friend for nearly twenty years. He's known her since she was three, when I brought her back from Trantor. It's a perfectIy natural thing, and, in fact, ought to decrease suspicion. A spy does not carry a fourteen-year-old niece about with him.† â€Å"So. And what will Munn do when he finds her?† Dr. Darell heaved his eyebrows once. â€Å"I can't say – but I presume she'll handle him.† But the house was somehow very lonely at night and Dr. Darell found that the fate of the Galaxy made remarkably little difference while his daughter's mad little life was in danger. The excitement on the Unimara, if involving fewer people, was considerably more intense. *** In the luggage compartment, Arcadia found herself, in the first place, aided by experience, and in the second, hampered by the reverse. Thus, she met the initial acceleration with equanimity and the more subtle nausea that accompanied the inside-outness of the first jump through hyperspace with stoicism. Both had been experienced on space hops before, and she was tensed for them. She knew also that luggage compartments were included in the ship's ventilation-system and that they could even be bathed in wall-light. This last, however, she excluded as being too unconscionably unromantic. She remained in the dark, as a conspirator should, breathing very softly, and listening to the little miscellany of noises that surrounded Homir Munn. They were undistinguished noises, the kind made by a man alone. The shuffling of shoes, the rustle of fabric against metal, the soughing of an upholstered chair seat retreating under weight, the sharp click of a control unit, or the soft slap of a palm over a photoelectric cell. Yet, eventually, it was the lack of experience that caught up with Arcadia. In the book films and on the videos, the stowaway seemed to have such an infinite capacity for obscurity. Of course, there was always the danger of dislodging something which would fall with a crash, or of sneezing – in videos you were almost sure to sneeze; it was an accepted matter. She knew all this, and was careful. There was also the realization that thirst and hunger might be encountered. For this, she was prepared with ration cans out of the pantry. But yet things remained that the films never mentioned, and it dawned upon Arcadia with a shock that, despite the best intentions in the world, she could stay hidden in the closet for only a limited time. And on a one-man sports-cruiser, such as the Unimara, living space consisted, essentially, of a single room, so that there wasn't even the risky possibility of sneaking out of the compartment while Munn was engaged elsewhere. She waited frantically for the sounds of sleep to arise. If only she knew whether he snored. At least she knew where the bunk was and she could recognize the rolling protest of one when she heard it. There was a long breath and then a yawn. She waited through a gathering silence, punctuated by the bunk's soft protest against a changed position or a shifted leg. The door of the luggage compartment opened easily at the pressure of her finger, and her craning neck- There was a definite human sound that broke off sharply. Arcadia solidified. Silence! Still silence! She tried to poke her eyes outside the door without moving her head and failed. The head followed the eyes. Homir Munn was awake, of course – reading in bed, bathed in the soft, unspreading bed light, staring into the darkness with wide eyes, and groping one hand stealthily under the pillow. Arcadia's head moved sharply back of itself. Then, the light went out entirely and Munn's voice said with shaky sharpness, â€Å"I've got a blaster, and I'm shooting, by the Galaxy-â€Å" And Arcadia wailed, â€Å"It's only me. Don't shoot.† Remarkable what a fragile flower romance is. A gun with a nervous operator behind it can spoil the whole thing. The light was back on – all over the ship – and Munn was sitting up in bed. The somewhat grizzled hair on his thin chest and the sparse one-day growth on his chin lent him an entirely fallacious appearance of disreputability. Arcadia stepped out, yanking at her metallene jacket which was supposed to be guaranteed wrinkleproof. After a wild moment in which he almost jumped out of bed, but remembered, and instead yanked the sheet up to his shoulders, Munn gargled, â€Å"W†¦ wha†¦ what-â€Å" He was completely incomprehensible. Arcadia said meekly, â€Å"Would you excuse me for a minute? I've got to wash my hands.† She knew the geography of the vessel, and slipped away quickly. When she returned, with her courage oozing back, Homir Munn was standing before her with a faded bathrobe on the outside and a brilliant fury on the inside. â€Å"What the black holes of Space are you d†¦ doing aboard this ship? H†¦ how did you get on here? What do you th†¦ think I'm supposed to do with you? What's going on here?† He might have asked questions indefinitely, but Arcadia interrupted sweetly, â€Å"I just wanted to come along, Uncle Homir.† â€Å"Why? I'm not going anywhere?† â€Å"You're going to Kalgan for information about the Second Foundation.† And Munn let out a wild howl and collapsed completely. For one horrified moment, Arcadia thought he would have hysterics or beat his head against the wall. He was still holding the blaster and her stomach grew ice-cold as she watched it. â€Å"Watch out – Take it easy -† was all she could think of to say. But he struggled back to relative normality and threw the blaster on to the bunk with a force that should have set it off and blown a hole through the ship's hull. â€Å"How did you get on?† he asked slowly, as though gripping each word with his teeth very carefully to prevent it from trembling before letting it out. â€Å"It was easy. I just came into the hangar with my suitcase, and said, ‘Mr. Munn's baggage!' and the man in charge just waved his thumb without even looking up.† â€Å"I'll have to take you back, you know,† said Homir, and there was a sudden wild glee within him at the thought. By Space, this wasn't his fault. â€Å"You can't,† said Arcadia, calmly, â€Å"it would attract attention.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"You know. The whole purpose of your going to Kalgan was because it was natural for you to go and ask for permission to look into the Mule's records. And you've got to be so natural that you're to attract no attention at all. If you go back with a girl stowaway, it might even get into the tele-news reports.† â€Å"Where did you g†¦ get those notions about Kalgan? These†¦ uh†¦ childish-† He was far too flippant for conviction, of course, even to one who knew less than did Arcadia. â€Å"I heard,† she couldn't avoid pride completely, â€Å"with a sound-recorder. I know all about it – so you've got to let me come along.† â€Å"What about your father?† He played a quick trump. â€Å"For all he knows, you're kidnapped†¦ dead.† â€Å"I left a note,† she said, overtrumping, â€Å"and he probably knows he mustn't make a fuss, or anything. You'll probably get a space-gram from him.† To Munn the only explanation was sorcery, because the receiving signal sounded wildly two seconds after she finished. She said: â€Å"That's my father, I bet,† and it was. The message wasn't long and it was addressed to Arcadia. It said: â€Å"Thank you for your lovely present, which I'm sure you put to good use. Have a good time.† â€Å"You see,† she said, â€Å"that's instructions.† Homir grew used to her. After a while, he was glad she was there. Eventually, he wondered how he would have made it without her. She prattIed! She was excited! Most of all, she was completely unconcerned. She knew the Second Foundation was the enemy, yet it didn't bother her. She knew that on Kalgan, he was to deal with a hostile officialdom, but she could hardly wait. Maybe it came of being fourteen. At any rate, the week-long trip now meant conversation rather than introspection. To be sure, it wasn't a very enlightening conversation, since it concerned, almost entirely, the girl's notions on the subject of how best to treat the Lord of Kalgan. Amusing and nonsensical, and yet delivered with weighty deliberation. Homir found himself actually capable of smiling as he listened and wondered out of just which gem of historical fiction she got her twisted notion of the great universe. It was the evening before the last jump. Kalgan was a bright star in the scarcely-twinkling emptiness of the outer reaches of the Galaxy. The ship's telescope made it a sparkling blob of barely-perceptible diameter. Arcadia sat cross-legged in the good chair. She was wearing a pair of slacks and a none-too-roomy shirt that belonged to Homir. Her own more feminine wardrobe had been washed and ironed for the landing. She said, â€Å"I'm going to write historical novels, you know.† She was quite happy about the trip. Uncle Homir didn't the least mind listening to her and it made conversation so much more pleasant when you could talk to a really intelligent person who was serious about what you said. She continued: â€Å"I've read books and books about all the great men of Foundation history. You know, like Seldon, Hardin, Mallow, Devers and all the rest. I've even read most of what you've written about the Mule, except that it isn't much fun to read those parts where the Foundation loses. Wouldn't you rather read a history where they skipped the silly, tragic parts?† â€Å"Yes, I would,† Munn assured her, gravely. â€Å"But it wouldn't be a fair history, would it, Arkady? You'd never get academic respect, unless you give the whole story.† â€Å"Oh, poof. Who cares about academic respect?† She found him delightful. He hadn't missed calling her Arkady for days. â€Å"My novels are going to be interesting and are going to sell and be famous. What's the use of writing books unless you sell them and become well-known? I don't want just some old professors to know me. It's got to be everybody.† Her eyes darkened with pleasure at the thought and she wriggled into a more comfortable position. â€Å"In fact, as soon as I can get father to let me, I'm going to visit Trantor, so's I can get background material on the First Empire, you know. I was born on Trantor; did you know that?† He did, but he said, â€Å"You were?† and put just the right amount of amazement into his voice. He was rewarded with something between a beam and a simper. â€Å"Uh-huh. My grandmother†¦ you know, Bayta Darell, you've heard of her†¦ was on Trantor once with my grandfather. In fact, that's where they stopped the Mule, when all the Galaxy was at his feet; and my father and mother went there also when they were first married. I was born there. I even lived there till mother died, only I was just three then, and I don't remember much about it. Were you ever on Trantor, Uncle Homir?† â€Å"No, can't say I was.† He leaned back against the cold bulkhead and listened idly. Kalgan was very close, and he felt his uneasiness flooding back. â€Å"Isn't it just the most romantic world? My father says that under Stannel V, it had more people than any ten worlds nowadays. He says it was just one big world of metals – one big city – that was the capital of all the Galaxy. He's shown me pictures that he took on Trantor. It's all in ruins now, but it's still stupendous. I'd just love to see it again. In fact†¦ Homir!† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Why don't we go there, when we're finished with Kalgan?† Some of the fright hurtled back into his face. â€Å"What? Now don't start on that. This is business, not pleasure. Remember that.† â€Å"But it is business† she squeaked. â€Å"There might be incredible amounts of information on Trantor, don't you think so?† â€Å"No, I don't.†*** He scrambled to his feet â€Å"Now untangle yourself from the computer. We've got to make the last jump, and then you turn in.† One good thing about landing, anyway; he was about fed up with trying to sleep on an overcoat on the metal floor. The calculations were not difficult. The â€Å"Space Route Handbook† was quite explicit on the Foundation-Kalgan route. There was the momentary twitch of the timeless passage through hyperspace and the final light-year dropped away. The sun of Kalgan was a sun now – large, bright, and yellow-white; invisible behind the portholes that had automatically closed on the sun-lit side. Kalgan was only a night's sleep away.