High Budget Deficit and the Growth Rate of the Economy Essay

High Budget Deficit and the Growth Rate of the Economy - Essay Example The nation with high private saving will offset the moderate deficit financing in a much better way to provide for investment capital necessary for the growth of economy. Thus, for future economic growth national savings matter highly. National saving is the measure of the accumulation of financial and other real assets overtime. Future national income will largely depend upon this accumulated stock of assets. Unfortunately, deficit financing coupled with nil or negative private saving has made the national saving negative. In this perspective, deficit financing on a sustained basis cannot help US economy. Higher Interest Rates Macguineas (2011) argues that ever increasing deficit financing will exert upward pressure on interest rates thereby increasing the cost of capital. Budgetary deficits are financed through government borrowings. When government borrowings rise to a high level, the government may have to offer increased interest rates so that sufficient buyers are attracted to buy government debt. Obviously, higher interest rates will tend to retard the economic growth rate. Higher Borrowing Leads to Higher Interest Payments Increasing borrowings year after year will necessitate higher spending on debt-interest. Higher interest burden eats away the productive deployment of the capital necessary for the economic growth. As a result, the needy sectors such as education, health starve of the funds that are necessary to provide impetus to the economy. Defense Spending and Budgetary Deficit Korb et al. (2011) of the center for American Progress (CAP) argue that defense spending has created the current fiscal crisis. The experts from the CAP believe that the massive deficit is the result of increasing defense budget during 2004 through 2012. It...This essay offers a comprehensive review of the effects, that the high levels of budget deficit exercise on the economic development of the country, using the example of the US. In 2011, it was the third straight year when the gap between American government's income and spending remained negative to the tune of $1 trillion or above. In percentage terms, the deficit is hovering at around 10 percent of gross domestic product in last two years. This was causing serious concerns at several quarters on soaring national debt. The national saving rate is important for future economic growth and budgetary deficit has a direct bearing on national saving rate. Since last many years private saving is meager in the US and in last couple of years it has gone even negative. With such a low/negative saving, it is difficult to obtain economic growth and US productivity at desired rate. Ever increasing deficit financing will exert upward pressure on interest rates thereby increasing the cost of capital. Budgetary deficits are financed through government borrowings. When government borrowings rise to a high level, the government may have to offer increased interest rates so that sufficient buyers are attracted to buy government debt. Higher interest rates retards the economic growth rate. It can be concluded that when the government incurs debt, it is important to know what government does with that money. If the money are deployed for productive purposes, it can certainly help the economy of the present as well as future generations.

Corrosion testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corrosion testing - Essay Example This implies this solution produces a corrosive atmosphere in the chamber. The accepted standard of testing chambers according to the international standards on salt sprays test (ISSST) is four hundred liters. Alternatively, some other solutions can also be applicable when testing corrosion. The test that applies 5% NaCl is the neutral salt spray whereby other solutions appropriate for this chamber include acetic acid. With the use of this solution, the name of the method of testing is acetic salt spray. The other solution that can apply in this case is acetic acid mixed with of copper chloride, which is one of the known corrosion tester is the Q-FOG cyclic corrosion testers. Designs of these instruments vary according to their capability of chambers. They also vary based on the various environments to which they have to operate. Figure 1: An example of a Q-FOQ cyclic corrosion tester. Results or testing of this machine is similar to those of an outdoor testing, which most of the sal t spray testers have failed to deliver. The purpose and application of the corrosion testing equipment The desire to maintain use and existence of different machines is a concern for numerous engineering industries. They attempt to prefer using their materials not only in an efficient way but also to ensure long-term usage of their products. This field uses various metallic instruments that are either ferrous or non-ferrous. What stands in the use of these metallic instruments is the fact that they are subject to attack by varied weather conditions. These conditions include humidity, basic solutions, gasses, and acids. The main purpose of these elements is to initiate the effect of corrosion on metallic materials. Therefore, producers of these metallic materials find it necessary to choose an ascertained coating material for the different elements. The quality control that applies during production of various metallic instruments is also essential in the present era. This calls for corrosion testing instruments that apply in the global field. This is because they help in identifying the corrosion element that exists for a metal, which is essential in providing users with longevity of their respective metallic materials. Various tests performed by the corrosion testers Many tests can apply in investigating corrosion in different metals. These tests vary depending on the variables involved, for instance, weather conditions and machine’s specifications. The humidity test is one of the common tests in the field of corrosion. In the corrosion testers, this takes place in the humidity cabinets that are airtight and moisture proof (Prateepasen & Jirarungsatian E11). The chamber also has an average temperature of 100 degrees. The purpose of this test is to determine whether the oxidative attack has begun on a given metal. In this case, the person taking the test searches for any appearance of a blister with the intention of knowing whether an attack has already began on a given metal. Another category of corrosion testing is the salt spray tests. In this case, the sizes of chambers may have standards according to given specifications. Chambers in this case have large sizes as compared to those used when taking humidity tests. The other tests include immersion tests, impact tests, outdoor exposure tests besides others. The tests mainly focus on eliminating effects of

Consulting report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consulting report - Assignment Example Using this equation a web portal can be created where the same loyal customers can enter details of their shopping and the same staff can pick it out for them and pack it up to save time. This will not only save time for both and affect inventory and logistics positively, but also increase sales. In a research (Park, 1998) it was concluded that hi-tech baby boomers and older/physically challenged people were more prone to shop online. Another research (Hiser, 1999) confirmed that consumers other than those having dual incomes were a viable market segment. On a general basis buying groceries online was not dependent on the number of people in the house or incomes or gender. On the other hand buying behavior is more likely to be linked to the penetration of Internet and its usability among the shoppers (Ward, 2000). In today’s age where there is an application for every website the company would be making more sales if people in the community are given the option of selecting their groceries on the go. Instead of traditional inventory management system, using the warehouse as the Master Organization and transferring all stocks from there on when stocks are out anywhere, RCE proposes to use a flexible and manageable system. Maintain a fixed stock at all stores for all or some inventories, while keeping all suppliers connected with the Master Organization. This helps put the customer in focus and also helps increase sales as projected to 1%. On an organizational level, if Bradford chooses to bring in revenue through a web portal, a managed inventory at all stores will speed up the process of picking and bagging the orders. For staff to be effective in managing the store of inventory on-site at each business unit(store), effective trainings can be given and management can be done with simple bar-code readers. Staff that has been stocking the locations and managing

Standardized Testing Essay Example for Free

Standardized Testing Essay Are you one of the many students who cram in hours upon hours of studying the night before an exam that has been stressing you out all week? You wake up the next morning nervous and full of anxiety, just to take the same test as everyone else, under the same conditions as everyone else. Sounds fair right? Well I don’t believe it is, and here’s why. Standardized tests were made to test the knowledge of a student over a particular course or subject. The ACT and SAT, for example, are composed of four multiple choice sections usually including math, english, science and reading. Well here’s the funny thing, everyone is different. Some students thrive at written tests where some students fail. Some students are better at presentations where other students are not. Because of the differences in student’s ability to learn and retain information caused by many different teaching methods and criteria covered, standardized testing has become an unreliable way to measure a student’s knowledge and should be replaced by other means such as using e-portfolios or performance based assessment. Some of the main problems with standardized tests such as the ACT or the SAT include trying to accurately measure a students knowledge over a particular set of subjects and a phenomenon involving teachers called â€Å"teaching the test†. In a 2013 speech to the American Educational Research Association, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said â€Å"State assessments in mathematics and English often fail to capture the full spectrum of what students know and can do,† he said. â€Å"Students, parents, and educators know there is much more to a sound education than picking the right answer on a multiple-choice question† (Evans). I completely agree with Arne Duncan on this matter. On a typical standardized test you have about a twenty five percent chance of getting the answer right. Potentially, you could have a student who does not know the material at all, but could guess right on more than half the answers and get credit for it. Being a student who has taken the ACT more than once, I can honestly say I feel like the ACT was a poor representation of my knowledge over the subjects tested on. Now with the phenomenon called â€Å"teaching the test† which is where teachers center their curricula around state tests, students become subject only to material that will be found on the test. This not only causes teachers to lack creativity within the teaching of the course, but also causes students to become limited to learning test taking skills. Even though standardized testing can be harmful to student’s creativity, there are some alternatives to this problem. One alternative to standardized testing, relating to the SAT and ACT, would be the use of electronic portfolios or e-portfolios. Terrel Rhodes, vice president for quality, curriculum, and assessment at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC;U) says that â€Å"E-portfolios provide a means for collecting assigned work, as well as students accomplishments in non-classroom settings, so that faculty, internship supervisors, and others can assess it and aggregate or disaggregate the results, depending on the purposes of the assessment† (1). Basically e-portfolios would be a collection of student’s individual work throughout the year, organized into a folder that the teacher would have access to at all times. This folder would help the teacher view how each and every student learns and give an overview on how much each student took away from the course, what not to teach in the following years and what to cover more heavily. This alternative is more effective and personal than a standardized multiple choice test because it gives the teacher a chance to personally view how each individual student is progressing throughout the year. In terms of college admissions, if your portfolio was shared with the colleges of your choice, it would allow college admissions to see your progress throughout the year. So instead of just seeing an ACT test score that a student could have potentially guessed on for more than half the answers, they would be able to see a portfolio showing how well equipped and prepared for college the student is. It would be a great way of telling if the student would be a good fit for their program or not. Given the knowledge at hand, I believe e-portfolios would be a great alternative to standardized testing. Another alternative to standardized testing is performance based assessment. â€Å"Performance assessments measure skills such as the ability to integrate knowledge across disciplines, contribute to the work of a group, and develop a plan of action when confronted with a new situation† (Brudali). This differs from standardized testing in the fact that teachers focus more on the process of learning, where standardized testing focuses on the product. Instead of using tests that are multiple choice that require a student to choose the one correct answer, performance based assessment often times uses group projects, hands-on projects, essays and verbal presentations to determine a student’s knowledge and skills over a particular set of subjects. Another advantage to performance assessment is that â€Å"Performance assessments provide teachers with more information about the learning needs of their students and enable them to modify their methods to meet these needs† (Wren). Teachers actually try to assess each and every students learning process and direct the class accordingly, letting students take away more from lectures. Having this type of assessment in high school would benefit students tremendously in college. Having experience with verbal presentations and hands on projects will provide the student a head start with skills you need for college. These skills would be used for interviews, group projects in labs and speeches given throughout the years. Performance based assessment would tremendously benefit and prepare students for college and would be a great alternative to standardized testing. Knowing that there are already proven solutions to standardized testing, let me ask you why you are still taking them? Studies have clearly proven that standardized testing is an inaccurate and unreliable way to display the knowledge of students. Not only that, studies have also proven that different methods such as e-portfolios and the performance based assessments are a more accurate and effective way of displaying a students knowledge over various subjects. So why don’t you take initiative? Join a club like student council, a club where you have a say with what goes on with your school and the decisions being made. Start a petition against standardized testing and let students get involved. Not only that, let your community get involved. Tell your family and friends about the disadvantages of standardized testing and its inability to measure students’ knowledge. There are many ways you can get involved in your school and community to have a say in the decisions being made with problems such as standardized testing. All you have to do is take initiative and act upon it. With all the knowledge at hand, I truly believe standardized testing is a terrible way to reflect a student’s knowledge and there are many alternatives that can be provided in place of it.

Effect of Glucosamine on Knee Osteoarthritis

Effect of Glucosamine on Knee Osteoarthritis REVIEW OF LITERATURE A prototypical 12-week, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of glucosamine among subjects with knee osteoarthritis was conducted to present the safety and effectiveness over the Internet. The study comprised 205 subjects aged 45 years or older with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and their eligibility was authenticated through medical record review. Participants were administered randomly to 1.5 g/d of glucosamine (n101) or placebo (n104), of whom 108 completed the intervention (93 in each arm). The primary outcome measure was the pain subscale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (Likert version) while additional outcome measures were physical function and stiffness subscales and overall score of the questionnaire, and analgesic use. It was found that there was no difference between treatment and control groups in terms of change in pain score, stiffness, physical function, overall score, and analgesic use. Although glucosamine was appe ared to be safe, it was no more effective than placebo in treating the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. (McAlindon et al. 2004) A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the eficacy of Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). Fifty men and women with knee OA pain were enrolled in an outpatient medical center. Intervention was MSM 3 g or placebo twice a day for 12 weeks (6 g/day total). Outcomes included the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index visual analogue scale (WOMAC), patient and physician global assessments (disease status, response to therapy), and SF-36 (overall health-related quality of life). It was found that MSM produced significant decreases in WOMAC pain and physical function impairment as compared to placebo. MSM also produced improvement in performing activities of daily living when compared to placebo on the SF-36 evaluation. The effectiveness and safety of MSM in managing OA and long-term use could not confirm from this pilot trial, but its potential clinical application was examined. (Kim et al. 2005) A study was carried to evaluate the efficacy and upper gastrointestinal (UGI) safety of celecoxib, compared with nonspecific nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), among patients with osteoarthritis. A total of 13,274 osteoarthritis patients from 39 countries were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with either celecoxib 100 mg twice daily (BID), celecoxib 200 mg BID, or nonselective NSAID therapy (diclofenac 50 mg BID or naproxen 500 mg BID) for 12 weeks. Standard validated measures were used to assess osteoarthritis efficacy. Serious UGI events were evaluated by 2 blinded, independent, gastrointestinal events committees. It was observed that both dosages of celecoxib were as effective as NSAIDs in treating osteoarthritis. However, ulcer complications occurred within the nonselective NSAID group as compared with the celecoxib group. There were less ulcer complications in the celecoxib group compared with the NSAID group, both in patients taking concomitant aspirin an d those not taking aspirin, but the difference reached statistical significance only in the latter comparison. The cardiovascular thromboembolic events were low and not statistically different among the groups, but the study was not powered to detect such differences. It is concluded that celecoxib is as effective as the nonspecific NSAIDs naproxen and diclofenac, but has significantly fewer serious upper gastrointestinal events in the treatment of osteoarthritis. (Singh et al. 2006) The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of bromelain in treating OA of the knee. The study design was randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial. Subjects (n ¼47) with a confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe knee OA were randomized to 12 weeks of bromelain 800 mg/day or placebo, with a 4-week follow-up. Knee (pain, stiffness and function) and quality-of-life symptoms were reported monthly in the WOMAC and SF36 questionnaires, respectively. Adverse events were also recorded. The primary outcome measure was the change in total WOMAC score from baseline to the end of treatment at week 12. Longitudinal models were used to evaluate outcome. No statistically significant differences were observed between groups for the primary outcome, nor the WOMAC subscales or SF36. Both treatment groups showed clinically relevant improvement in the WOMAC disability subscale only. Adverse events were generally mild in nature. This study suggested that bromelain was not efficacious as an adjunctive treatment of moderate to severe OA, but its limitations support the need for a follow-up study. (Brien et al. 2006) The aim of this study was to evaluate and establish the non-inferiority of an oral enzyme therapy as compared to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac (DC) in patients with hip osteoarthritis. Ninety patients were treated with osteoarthritis pain for 6 weeks in one study centre in a phase III, randomised, double blind, parallel group trial. The subjects were divided into two groups, 45 patients in each group. The efficacy criteria were assessed by applying the test of non-inferiority with regard to mean changes and frequencies, t-test, U test, ANCOVA and descriptive methods. The non-inferiority of oral enzymes as compared to Diclofenac was established with p = 0.0025. The oral enzymes used were bromelain, trypsin and rutosid. It was found that oral enzymes were simultaneously non-inferior as compared to Diclofenac. However, in case of drug tolerability, some tendencies were observed in favour of oral enzymes. Although, there was no real difference found between oral enzymes and Diclofenac but oral enzymes may well be prescribed for the treatment of hip osteoarthritis. (Klein et al. 2006) The aim of the study was to provide a summary of the actions of curcumin on articular chondrocytes from the available literature with the use of a text-mining tool. Both the potential benefits and drawbacks of using this chemopreventive agent for treating osteoarthritis (OA) were highlighted. Recent work had shown that curcumin protects human chondrocytes from the catabolic actions of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1b) including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 up-regulation, inhibition of collagen type II and down-regulation of b1-integrin expression. Curcumin also blocks IL-1b-induced proteoglycan degradation, AP-1/NF-kB signalling, chondrocyte apoptosis and activation of caspase-3. The available data in vitro and in vivo studies suggested that curcumin may be a beneficial complementary treatment for OA in humans and companion animals. (Henrotin et al. 2009) The aim of the study was to assess whether glucosamine (GlcN), an oral supplement commonly taken to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis, modulates the immune and inflammatory responses to joint injury in organs proximal to GlcN absorption; namely, the liver and the gut-draining lymph nodes. Using a papain-injected knee mouse model, standard histological methods were used to validate our model and document the impact of GlcN (100 mg/kg/day) on groups of C57BL/6 mice (n  ¼ 5). Circulating inflammatory cytokines were assessed by Luminex-based immunoassays and the relevance of this cytokine profile on proteoglycan biosynthesis evaluated using a patellar-cartilage assay. Real-time PCR was used to document the role of the liver in cytokine production. It was observed that Papain significantly degraded the proteoglycans in the injected knees by 2 days. Cartilage proteoglycan content was significantly higher in GlcN-treated, papain-injected knees at Day 14. The peak concentration of ser um pro-inflammatory cytokines occurred earlier and decreased sooner in the injected, GlcN-supplemented mice; this trend was in agreement with the expression of these factors by the liver. GlcN did not alter the percentage of MLN populations but accelerated their activation. Hence, it was suggested that Oral GlcN alters the physiology of the liver and MLNs, which in turn, could indirectly alter the biology of the injured joint. (Panicker et al. 2009) A three month study was conducted on curcumin-phosphatidylcholine phytosome complex. The joint pain was decreased and improvement in joint function was observed in patients suffering from osteoarthritis. The patients were evaluated with clinical endpoints score, Karnofsky Performance Scale Index, and treadmill walking performance and ESR. The significant improvements of both the clinical and biochemical endpoints were observed. (Belcaro et al. 2010) The aim of study was to determine the effect of bromelain treatment on canine articular chondrocytes in vitro. This research was done to evaluate viability of cell, apoptosis levels and mitosis, proteoglycan concentrations and the expression of certain genes. Chondrocytes were exposed to 50 ÃŽ ¼g/ml bromelain for 4, 16 and 32 h. It was found that the rate of apoptosis in the treatment groups was significantly lower than in the control groups. The rate of mitosis in treatment groups was significantly higher than in the control groups. The effect of bromelain on gene expression was measured by the real-time PCR technique. It was found that bromelain significantly decreased TIMP-1 and MMP-3 expression. These experimental bromelain treatments had shown positive results, and increased the process of healing and modulation of osteoarthritis. (Siengdee et al. 2010) The aim of this study was to evaluate that actual cartilage AGE levels were directly related to actual cartilage damage in OA patients. The actual cartilage AGE levels were directly related to actual cartilage damage by use of cartilage obtained at joint replacement surgery. During study, Cartilage and urine samples were obtained from 69 patients undergoing total knee replacement. Samples were analyzed for pentosidine as marker of AGE. Cartilage damage was evaluated macroscopically, histologically, and biochemically. It was found that there was an inverse relation between cartilage AGEs and actual cartilage damage in end-stage OA. This was likely due to ongoing (ineffective) increased turnover of cartilage matrix proteins even in end stage disease. (Vos et al. 2011) The study was done to assess the ability of curcuminoid from Curcuma domestica Val in reducing the cycloxygenase-2 secretion by synovial fluid’s monocytes compared to diclofenac sodium in patients with osteoarthritis. The study was prospective randomized open end blinded evaluation (PROBE). The subjects with knee osteoarthritis were divided into two main groups randomly. One group received 30 mg of curcuminoid thrice a day while other group received 25 mg of diclofenac sodium 3 times in a day. The joints aspiration was carried out and cycloxygenase-2 enzyme secretion by synovial fluid’s monocytes was evaluated by scoring method before and after 4 weeks of treatments. In first group the average scores were 1.84 ±0.37 and 1.15 ±0.28 respectively (pet al. 2012) An observational study was conducted containing a formulation of Curcuma longa and Boswellia serrata extracts. The efficacy and safety of these extracts was measured and directly compared with the celecoxib in osteoarthritis patients. The treatment was tolerated well and it did not produce any major side effects. The patients were analysed by the vital signs, hemogram, liver and renal function tests. This formulation was proved to be effective and safe and no toxicity related with dose was found. (Kizhakkedath 2013) A multicenter, observational and prospective study was carried out on a complex of three natural anti-inflammatory agents. These agents include Harpagophytum procumbens,Curcuma longa, and bromelain nutraceuticals. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of commercial complex complex of 3 plant extracts in the treatment of osteoarthritis pain. The patients were divided into two groups i.e. acute and chronic. At baseline, the VAS pain score was 69.1 mm (15.4) and 68.0 mm (18.2) for patients with acute andchronic pain, respectively. At the endpoint, the scores decreased to 42.1 mm (21.1) and 37.8 mm (25.9), respectively. At the endpoint, most of the patients have reached the reduced pain level. No side effects were found due to treatment withdrawals. These 3 plant extracts had excellent tolerance profile and found to be safe alternative of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients suffering from osteoarthritis. (Mathieu P et al. 2014) The purpose of this study was to analyse efficacy of extracted Chondroitin Sulfate (CS) from chicken keel cartilages, its comparison with standard CS from shark origin alone and in combination with Glucosamine Sulfate (GS) in developed and standardized papain induced Osteoarthritis (OA) rat model. One group that was control received sterile normal saline solution while other experimental group received papain intra-articularly. Induction of disease with respect to time was assessed on the basis of histological lesions scores. The treatment effectiveness un-treated and treated group was assessed on the basis of histological lesions scores. Treatment was started from 29th day and was continued till 60th day of post papain injection. It was found that histological lesions score was not reduced in cartilages of OA group that remained un-treated. However, structural changes were reduced and were found to be close to the control groups that were treated. Histological lesions score was obse rved highest in un-treated Osteoarthritis group followed by GS treated, standard CS, extracted CS, extracted CS plus GS and standard CS plus GS. There was maximum reduction in histological lesions score in groups treated with combinations. The score of group treated with standard CS (shark) was almost similar to extracted CS (chicken) alone and extracted CS plus GS. CS (chicken) was proved to be effective and beneficial in reducing progression of disease. (Khan et al. 2014) The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of oral ginger for symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing oral ginger treatment with placebo in OA patients aged greater than 18 years. Outcome measures were reduction in pain and disability. The efficacy was measured using Hedges standardized mean difference (SMD), and safety by risk ratio (RR). Standard random-effects meta-analysis was used, and inconsistency was evaluated by the I-squared index (I2). Following ginger intake, a statistically significant pain reduction with a low degree of inconsistency, and a statistically significant reduction in disability were seen, both in favor of ginger. Patients given ginger were more than twice as likely to discontinue treatment compared to placebo. Ginger was found modestly efficacious and reasonably safe for treatment of osteoarthritis. (Bartels et al. 2014) The study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts in pain reduction and functional improvement. 367 primary knee osteoarthritis patients with a pain score of 5 or higher were randomized to receive ibuprofen 1,200 mg/day or C. domestica extracts 1,500 mg/day for 4 weeks. The main outcomes were Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) total, WOMAC pain, WOMAC stiffness, and WOMAC function scores. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. 185 and 182 patients were randomly assigned into C. domestica extracts and ibuprofen groups, respectively. The baseline characteristics were no different between groups. The mean of all WOMAC scores at weeks 0, 2, and 4 showed significant improvement when compared with the baseline in both groups. After using the noninferiority test, the mean difference (95% confidence interval) of WOMAC total, WOMAC pain, and WOMAC function scores at week 4 adjusted by values at week 0 of C. domesti ca extracts were noninferior to those for the ibuprofen group, except for the WOMAC stiffness subscale. The number of events of abdominal pain/discomfort was significantly higher in the ibuprofen group than that in the C. domestica extracts group. Most subjects were satisfied with the treatment, and two-thirds rated themselves as improved in a global assessment. It was concluded that C. domestica extracts are as effective as ibuprofen for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. The side effect profile was similar but with fewer gastrointestinal adverse events reports in the C. domestica extracts group. (Kuptniratsaikul et al. 2014) The retrospective observational study was conducted to assess the experiences of 820 patients treated with a new Curcuma extract (Flexofytol ®, 4-6 capsules per day), for more than 6 months for various forms of painful osteoarthritis. These experiences were reported by 110 Belgian general practitioners via a questionnaire that included quality-of-life parameters for assessing patient experience. Data were submitted to an independent statistician for analysis. Within the first 6 weeks, Flexofytol ® improved patient pain, articular mobility, and quality of life. Excellent tolerance was reported, and more than half of these patients were able to discontinue analgaesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. Patient satisfaction was confirmed by their decision to maintain Flexofytol ® therapy for more than 6 months. It was found that Flexofytol ® which was based on a new preparation of curcumin, is as a potential neutraceutical for the care of patients complaining of joint problems, with ex cellent tolerance and rapid benefits for articular mobility, pain, and quality of life. (Appelboom et al. 2014)

Hey kids :: essays research papers

Hey Kids!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I know it can be hard but try to remember when we were kids how much we all loved to wake up early on Saturday morning, sneak to the T.V., and watch our favorite cartoons. We loved to do this not only so that we could see our favorite characters go through troublesome dilemmas each episode, but also that we could see what was new on the market and try to convince our parents to spare a few dollars and buy it. This tactic has been used from years upon years and will likely continue occurring for the simple reason that it works. Businessmen in the marketing know that kids will see the latest and greatest thing and insist to their parent that they must have it. And with a little persistence and maybe a temper tantrum or two, they usually get it. Sometime commercials will appeal to not only the child, but also to parents because they can see the new toys that they are able to buy for their kids. Because there is always a constant demand for new toys, there will always be a entrepreneur trying to make money by creating a product, and market it in the way of commercialization. It is a never ending cycle which will always occur as long as there is T.V. because it is how they make their money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It had been years since I had woken up early on a Saturday morning to watch the â€Å"early bird† cartoons so when we were told to pick a show I knew what it would be, HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! is played on NICKELODEON in the morning each day of the week. HEY ARNOLD! is a cartoon about a group of young kids that live in the city and go to school together. A similar theme that many kids can relate to. I used to watch this show as a kid and I knew that they still played it on KICKELODEON so I woke up at the same time that I used to watch it, 7:00 a.m., although it was not on until 8 a.m. it was okay. I sat down from 8 o’clock until 9 and watch two episodes of the show. When I thought about what commercials I would see I had a pretty good idea. Sitting down and watching them proved my ideas correct. Before I sat down to watch the show I made a list of types of commercials I thought would be on just to see if I would be right.

Case †HBS: Fiat †Tata Essay

1 What is Fiat’s current situation in India? Fiat is an Italian automobile manufacturer based in Turin.  Fiat India in Indian car market is facing the dilemma of poor sales. It had a very small market share in India comparing to other existing automobile competitors. There was a good and long relationship with Tata Motors in Indian so Fiat and Tata were going to have a joint venture (JV) to manufacture passenger cars, engines and transmissions for the Indian and overseas markets. These two companies began to seek for collaboration in early 2005. From the Exhibit 2: Production by Manufacturer, we can see Fiat in 2006 ranked 11 in worldwide auto industry while Tata stood in 21, which had merely Indian market. For Fiat this brand, it had a high brand awareness in India which is a good sign for them want to expand market there and Fiat also had the best diesel engine for small cars. 2 What is the business opportunity in India? Do you think that Fiat needs a partner? In an attempt to lower costs, most major automotive makers had set up factories in emerging markets such as China, India and South America. Because lower production costs were one incentive, experts also suggested that car makers could gain access to growing and fertile marketplaces that is the background for auto manufacture in India. The liberalization policies in 1991 opened up India to new import and export possibilities. To encourage investments, the government launched series of new policies in 1990s to help growing their economics. For vehicle industry, there was total population of 1.1 billion people in India which is an obvious potential opportunity for auto makers. I think Fiat really needs a partner. The trend at that time was all manufacturers with production greater than one million vehicles were involved in one or more alliances with other producers. Automobile manufacturers formed alliances for a variety of factors with the primary rationale being an attempt to reduce labor, energy, and raw material costs. So combining same value-chain activities to gain efficiencies, merge talents and share risks is a good choice. Observers lauded the tie-in stating that  Fiat had the potential for more sales in the burgeoning Indian market while Tata stood to gain technology and new export markets. 3 Do you think Fiat and Tata make for good partners? Compare the Fiat-GM relationship with the Fiat-Tata relationship. It looks like they make for good partners. They knew each other well before they wanted to committee themselves into joint venture. In 2006, they were both financially sound due to the good co-operation. At that time sourcing of parts usually involved 30 direct suppliers as well as 70 or more indirect suppliers (who served the direct suppliers). Automobile manufacturers usually established long-term relationships with their suppliers and involved suppliers in the development of new models. Fiat and Tata they examined synergies in overseas to give marketing support. With help of Tata, they can improve Fiat’s dealership network and customer service, help to cut manufacturing costs and compete effectively against competitors. For Tata, this alliance with Fiat helped Tata get technologies and new design in future which is a win-win situation. Compared with the Fiat-GM relationship, Fiat and Tata might have better future. After Fiat and GM cooperation, their market share was decreased and had high debts issues. GM themselves were making losses and dissolve the agreement of Group’s auto business. There was no culture collaboration which made it crucial for long term relationship. 4 How would you assess the negotiation process between Fiat and Tata? It was a long way communication before Fiat team came to Tata’s head office and came into negotiation but still better than longer waiting time for visa. I think they made a good conversation and made a lot of efforts like signing MoU to establish joint venture and equity structure. Made agreement to some manufacturing parts like passenger cars, power trains, engines and transmission for India and overseas. They focused on the spirit of relationship and show the prospects for long-term relationship. Most major components were negotiated. However, It was obvious that some culture difference appeared during their negotiation. There are two layers of culture raised by a Fiat executive: first is Italian and Indian culture and the second is the difference in company culture. Even with another Italian company, Fiat can be very different. And some problem appeared like â€Å"It is  always difficult going to the other company’s offices as they still have other work to attend to. So, we might have a meeting scheduled to start at 10am, which then starts at 11am and might end up being regularly interrupted by other issues.† But some complain cannot be very serious in their negotiation.