Eye diseases

Eye diseases 1. Introduction 1.1 Glaucoma Eye disease such as glaucoma, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are some of the common causes of reduced vision and blindness (Short, 2008). Glaucoma is a progressive eye disease where the damage of optic nerves resulted in visual field loss. In the year of 2010, it is estimated that 60.5 million people will be diagnosed with glaucoma, and by 2020, the number would be increased to 79.6 million (Quigley and Broman, 2005). According to International Glaucoma Association, some of the risk factors that contribute to the development of glaucoma are advanced age, race, long or short sighted, and genetic predisposition. Damage of the optic nerves in glaucoma is often due to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) which occurs when there is an imbalance of aqueous humor production and drainage in the eye. This clear fluid produced by the ciliary body flows into the posterior chamber and exit through trabecular meshwork at the open angle where the cornea and iri s meet (1). Blocked drainage channel restricts the flow of aqueous humor out of the anterior chamber. This causes the pressure in eye to be increased to an abnormal level, thus damaging the optic nerves. Optic nerve plays an important role in transmitting impulses from the light sensitive tissue layer, the retina to the brain, where the visual information is interpreted. Therefore, early detection and treatment could prevent permanent and irreversible blindness from glaucoma. There are several classifications of glaucoma, the most common types are primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). The difference between these two types is the present of physical obstruction in the drainage channel in one and its absence in the other. As for the former type, an increase in IOP is caused by blockage of the drainage channel where the aqueous humor drains out (1) (Coleman,1999). This process occurs very gradually and often patient does not notice any early signs of sight loss such as blind spots, or patches of vision loss until severe damaged has been done to the optic nerves, thus causing blindness. Different ethnic group was shown to have different glaucoma prevalence. The African population was shown to be more prevalent to suffer from POAG in the study demonstrated by Ntim-Amponsah et al. (2004). The standardised age-specific glaucoma prevalence for that ethic group was 7.7% while the Caucasians have an overall lower prevalence than that. It was suggested by Herndon et al. (2004) that the blacks have an overall thinner central corneal compared to the Caucasians and this might contribute to the progression of POAG. As explained by Coleman (1999), in primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), the angle between the iris and lens is very narrow. When the iris dilates, the iris-lens contact prevents the flow of aqueous humor into the anterior chamber. The continuous secretion of aqueous humor creates a pressure which pushes the iris forward onto the trabecular meshwork, closing the angle (1). This rapid onset causes sudden build-up of intraocular pressure leading to short-term loss of vision. Severe eye pain, blurred vision, headache, nausea, vomiting and halos around lights are among the symptoms observed in this eye disease. Asian was shown to have a higher prevalence of PACG compared to the Western population. Some of the studies concluded that Chinese are at a higher risk of suffering from PACG. This is related to the geometry of the anterior chamber where Chinese has a smaller corneal or a shallower anterior chamber, thus implying that there is a higher risk of developing angle closure and therefo re PACG (Wang et al., 2002). 1.2 Pharmacological therapy of glaucoma The goal in treating glaucoma is to delay the progression by giving immediate therapy for early stage glaucoma patient to prevent further loss of vision. Treatment aims to reduce IOP by either increasing the aqueous humor drainage or reducing the aqueous humor secretion rate. Several classes of drugs are used in the treatment of glaucoma, namely beta-adrenergic antagonists (beta-blockers), selective alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and prostaglandin analogues. The choice of treatment depends on the effectiveness and side-effects of the drug, co-mobility and cost of treatment. Beta-blockers are one for the first line drug used in treatment of glaucoma but newer medications are increasingly being used as first choice of glaucoma therapy. The exact mechanism of beta-blocker in reducing IOP is not known, but it was suggested that beta-blocker reduces the aqueous humor production by blocking the beta2-receptor on the non-ciliary body epithelium. On average, no n-selective beta-blockers such as timolol, levobunolol, carteolol and metipranolol lower the IOP by 20-35% while beta1-receptor antagonist, betaxolol lowers it by 15-25%. However, when the pharmacological therapy is unsuccessful, laser or surgery are required to treat this eye disease (Soltau and Zimmerman, 2002). The most widely used ocular hypotensive agent is the non-selective beta-blocker, timolol. Timolol is often used as an adjunct therapy to other difference classes of IOP-lowering agents such as brimonidine, travoprost and acetazolamide. In one of the studies, combination therapy of latanoprost and timolol was proved to be more effective in lowering IOP compared to using lataoprost alone in glaucoma treatment (Olander K, 2004). The maleate salt of timolol is soluble in water and alcohol, and has a pKa of approximately 9 in water at 25Â °C. The current commercially available opthalmic therapies of timolol are timolol maleate topical opthalmic solution and gel-forming ophthalmic solution. Some of the local side effects of topical application of timolol include ocular irritation, burning, pain, itching, erythema and dry eyes. Beta-blocker is contra-indicated in patients who have bronchial asthma, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sinus bradycardia, heart block, or uncontr olled heart failure. In some cases, exacerbation of reactive airways disease and cardiovascular disease due to the systemic absorption of the non-selective beta-blocker has been reported occasionally in patients receiving topical timolol therapy (McEvoy G K, 2002). After long-term usage of timolol, tolerance might develop in some patients. This has been suggested that there is an up-regulation of beta-receptors in target cells in response to constant exposure of antagonist at the beta-receptors (Fechtner, 2008). 1.3 Drug delivery in treatment of glaucoma There are several approaches in delivering intraocular drugs, among them are topical application, systemic administration, intraocular implants and intravitreal injections. Each of these routes has its own advantages and challenges (Short, 2008). Topical administration is the most widely used route for drug delivery in treating eye diseases. The major challenge of this application to the posterior ocular tissues is poor drug bioavailability resulted from the ocular physiological and anatomical constraints, which include tear fluid turnover rate, nasolacrimal drainage and high efficiency of blood-ocular barrier. It was shown that only 1-5% of the topically applied drugs is absorbed across the cornea and reaches the target intraocular tissues. Furthermore, nasolacrimal drainage contributes to extensive precorneal losses that lead to poor bioavailability. In addition, systemic exposure through nasolacrimal drainage will also cause significant systemic toxicity. Blood-ocular barrier whic h is located at the retinal pigmented epithelium and the endothelium of the retinal vessels is also a major challenge in delivering topical drugs to the target tissues. This barrier limits the penetration of intraocular drugs to the back of the eyes. Unfortunately, systemically administered drugs are also having the same problem in penetrating the barrier. Hence, alternative drug delivery strategies such as intravitreal injections have been investigated and developed to overcome this problem (Tombrain-Tink and Barnstable, 2006). Intravitreal injection is the administration of intraocular drugs to the vitreous cavity of the eye and this route is becoming increasingly popular in treating glaucoma patients. Due to short half-life of drugs in the vitreous, frequent and repeated injections to the eye are needed to maintain the drug concentration at therapeutic level in the vitreous and the retina. Consequently, this procedure leads to complication such as infection, vitreous hemorrhage, and lens or retinal injury. Sustained release formulation has been developed and possible benefits of particulate drug delivery has been investigated and studied to overcome such complications. The particulate drug delivery systems include microparticles and nanoparticles such as liposome, microcapsule, nanocapsules, microspheres and nanospheres. Liposomes, microcapsules and nanocapsules allow encapsulation of the drug molecules while in microspheres and nanospheres, drugs are dispersed in a spherical polymer matrix. These particu lates act as a reservoir to control the release rate during periods of days and sometime even months (Short, 2008; Tombrain-Tink and Barnstable, 2006). 1.4 Microspheres Microspheres of biodegradable polymers such as poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) are a combination of drug and polymer. PLGA-based microspheres have several advantages over other controlled released drug delivery system. The administration of these microspheres to the body only requires syringes and needles, thus avoiding surgical implants of controlled-release formulations. Besides that, these PLGA are biodegradable and are biocompatible to the tissues, including the brain tissues (Fournier, 2003). Three microencapsulation techniques are being employed in producing PLGA microspheres these days. Solvent evaporation and solvent extraction process is one of the method which includes single emulsion process and double emulsion process. The former process involves oil-in-water emulsification and latter is the most commonly used water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) method used to encapsulate water-soluble drugs such as timolol maleate into microspheres. Final emulsions from both processes wi ll undergo solvent removal by extraction or evaporation. The solid microspheres that are produced from these processes will then be filtered or sieved, and finally dried. This technique is widely used because it is easy and does not involve complicated steps. Other methods such as phase separation and spray drying are also being used to encapsulate microspheres. The disadvantage of phase separation is that it needs a careful optimisation of some parameters, such as solvent and polymer type, salt type and concentration in order to obtain any microspheres at all. On the other hand, the limitation of spray drying is that small batches of drug are produced due to loss of product during spray-drying (Jain, 2000). PLGA, a copolymer of lactic acids and glycolic acids is commonly used in the production of controlled-release biomedical devices such as microparticles and nanoparticles. Incorporation of the active substance in polymer matrix allows drug to be released at a slower rate over a prolonged period, thus reducing the frequency of drug administration and hence improving patients compliance. The main target of controlled-release drug delivery is to produce a zero-order release pattern, but this was not achieved very often. Some of the small molecules are associated with undesirable initial burst phase during where drugs on the microsphere surface are being released through rapid diffusion, followed by a slow release or no release. During the initial burst phase, excessive release of potent drugs from the polymer for a prolonged time causes severe side effects. However, during the second phase, only a small fraction of drug will be released from the matrix due to decreased driving force in d rug depletion (Berkland et al., 2002). In the study conducted by Mao et al. (2007), the effect of different preparation of water-in-oil-in water emulsion on the burst release of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled dextran from the PLGA microspheres was being investigated. It was found that an increase in drug loading, polyvinyl alcohol concentration and homogenisation speed resulted in a decrease in initial burst. This is due the changes in morphology of the by using different preparation techniques. The main mechanism of drug release from microsphere can be divided to two processes, which are drug diffusion from the polymer network and drug release through polymer degradation. Once PLGA is administered to the eyes, water fills into the network of pore by a negative water gradient and the active compound subsequently diffuses out of the co-polymer. However, this gradient will disappear gradually within a period time and thus the drug molecules are released at a slower rate at a later stage. This process is often coupled with the breakage of ester bonds of the polymer by hydrolysis and it can also be autocatalysed by the accumulation of acidic degradation products and hence leading degradation of PLGA-based microsphere. During this process, oligomers at the surface of microsphere escape from the matrix, leaving behind those who are entrapped inside the matrix core. Size of microsphere plays a very important role in manipulating the rate of degradation. In one of the study, it was shown that larger particle size will degrade more rapidly. This is due to the inner core of the polymer is more acidic compared to its external environment (Grizzi et al. ,1995) Effect of several factors such as polymer composition and preparation condition on the drug release patterns were being investigated by several studies. It has been demonstrated by Janoria and Mitra (2007) that different lactide/glycolide ratio resulted in different release rate of a lipophilic prodrug (GCV-monobutyrate) from PLGA-based microsphere. PLGA with higher lactide content (65:35) was found to have higher glass transition temperature than lower lactide content (50:50) of PLGA polymer. This was suggested that the former ratio had slower drug diffusion through the polymer matrix, hence longer releasing time. On the other hand, an addition of surfactants, polyvinyl alcohol or Triton X-100 to the primary emulsion obtained from the double emulsion solvent evaporation technique resulted in the production of larger particle size, thus slower releasing rate was observed (Bouissou et al., 2006). Besides that, inclusion of additives in the formulation will also affect the release prof ile of microspheres. Kang F R and Singh J (2001) found out that the addition of PEG 1000 and tricaprin increased the porosity of the PLGA, thus changing its surface characteristics. This has lead to a higher initial releasing rate of bovine serum albumin due to rapid diffusion of the protein through the large pores on the surface of microspheres. Different preparation methods effect the morphology and drug distribution of microspheres. A change in the process condition will yield different size distribution and porosity of the microsphere. Some of the critical parameters of determining the microparticles morphology are volume ratio of oil to internal water, homogenisation speed and type of solvents used. Surface morphology of microspheres is shown to be influenced by the volume ratio of oil to internal water in a research conducted by Yang et al. (2000). An increase in size and initial burst of the microspheres was observed by decreasing the volume ratio from 40:1 to 12:1. More porous microparticles were also observed in lower volume ratio. Homogenisation speed was also proved to be important in determining the morphology of microparticles by Sansdrap and Moes (1993). When homogenisation speed was increased, the microparticulate was found to be smaller. Similarly, different organic phase solvent was proved to produce differen t size distribution of particles. Song et al. (2006) showed that partially water-soluble solvents such as ethyl acetate and propylene carbonate produced smaller mean particle size compared to the fully water-soluble solvents, acetone and dichloromethane. Since there are limited studies based on the effect of method parameters on the morphology and drug release profile of timolol maleate encapsulated microsphere, this study aimed to further investigate the effect of volume ratio of oil to internal water, homogenisation speed and type of solvents used. Timolol maleate is encapsulated in PLGA by double-emulsion solvent evaporation method. The surface morphology and particle sizes of the microspheres were being studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). On the other hand, the effect on the drug release profile was determined by analysing the released drug sample from the microspheres using ultraviolet spectrophotometer.

A Vietnam Country Review History Essay

A Vietnam Country Review History Essay Vietnam as we know is approximately 331,688 km ² in area but it does not include the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands, it is larger than Italy and almost the same size as Germany. Vietnam is located in South East Asia, bordered to the north near China, to the west near Laos and Cambodia and to the east, by the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi, it is located in the north and is the second largest city in Vietnam, as the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years now, and Hanoi is considered to be one of the cultural centres of Vietnam, where most of the Vietnamese dynasties had left behind their imprint. After that I will summarize some culture of Vietnam. First of all, the Culture of Vietnam, or in particular the culture of the Kinh ethnic origin in the northern Vietnam, is one of the oldest cultures in the Pacific region. Although so, the major influence is China, Vietnams culture had created a lot of features, quite similar to the other people of East Asia and other countries in the Pacific Ocean (such as Cambodia , Laos and Thailand) that have suffered a major cultural influence by India. Nowadays, the culture of Vietnam has changed from time to time, it is a special blend of the many ancient cultures with the indigenous culture of the Vietnamese. Other than the influence of China, the cultures of the Vietnamese people are also influenced by the Western culture. Some examples of the Vietnamese culture are: food, apparel, religion, and the cultural territory. Body Climate First of all I will talk about the climate in the south of Vietnam, it is located in the tropical monsoon equatorial so it has a very high temperature throughout the year and it only has two seasons, which are rainy and dry. The rainy season begins from the month of May to November and dry season will begin from the month of December to April the following year. Because the south rainy season is longer than the dry season, so this has some sort of influence in the change of culture I ways of food to the culture in the south, the central, and the north of Vietnam. As we know the cuisine of Vietnam is very famous around the world, Ho Chi Minh Citys cuisine is also partly reflected by the cultural life and natural minerals, its cuisine is influenced by the French cuisine, Cambodian cuisine and the Thai cuisine. Today, the specialties are easily found at Ho Chi Minh, it is a combination of the food from the North, Middle, South and international cuisines, for example: sour soup is a combination of the sour salty of the north, spicy peppers of the central, and sweet fresh of the south. Another example is the beef steaks which are thinner and more mature and it is also spicier vegetables served with it compared to France. By contract, the nature of the part middle of Vietnam is it has a very hard climate, it is influenced by the sea breezes as well as the mountain winds. The people living here are austere and rich energetic. The Central Food has food that are very spicy, very spicy-hot, as positive (for the cold when it comes to soaking in water and odor resistant nature of the seafood capital nature-sound welding) and it is very salty. The food materials are often simple, but if you ever have the opportunity to really enjoy, it will be an experience that will never be forgotten. Besides that, for the north of Vietnam which Hanoi is the capital, the season of Hanoi has four seasons: summer, spring, winter, autumn. So the culture of Hanoi people is more confidential and always upholds their cultural pride with elegance. Hanois cuisine is not spicy, their flavors are mainly using fish sauces. The cuisine of Hanoi is still considered of elegance, sophistication and harmony from color to flavor. The richness and diversity of the cuisines of Hanoi is the consequence of the weather. So that is why I think the change of climate can help my country to improve our cuisine. Topography The topography of Vietnam mostly consists of hills, mountains, forests and the sea. Moreover, the country has two major river deltas, the Red River Delta in the north and the Mekong Delta in the south. Based on abundance of topography I will analyze the influence they have toward our culture. First of all, the North is covered by mountains, and that is why the culture of the North has a close relationship with China and Laos and there are ethnic people living near the mountains. So that can help them to practice commerce and trade with each other through the day market at the borders. It is very good as it can help the people of Vietnam to exchange cultures with the other country. Secondly, the middle of Vietnam are mostly adjoins with the East Sea in the east and Truong Son Mountain on the west, and it also is very good to exchange seafood with other countries. Finally in the South, theres the Mekong River Delta, which is approximately 40,000 km2. The region has very good climate conditions for agriculture and as a result, the Delta is the largest rice growing region in Vietnam. The South peoples culture is mainly based on working. Every day they are obliged to wake up early for work. Based on topography of the life, the South people live better than Middle. Nature resources All natural resources of Vietnam are mainly oil and gas, mineral resources (anthracite) and other resources (marine resources, tropical forest, and agricultural potential). The country has 4 world heritages accepted by UNESCO, it also has beautiful beaches, national ecological forests, countryside, high-land and historic places. Based on the abundance of natural resource, I will explain some natural resources that will influence Vietnams culture. As I mention before, Vietnam has a lot of rivers and the sea. With people live near the river or the sea, they have cultures that are religious, which means that before they go fishing on the sea or rivers, they always pray which is believed that they will be assured. Actually, it also creates a superstition in here that is spiritual culture of the coastal fishermen festival. It is a part of the traditional culture and its customs are passed down from one generation to the next. However it does not affect the economy. In the past, Vietnam was so poor due to the war. But after that people lived in Vietnam were diversified from natural resources so that they can change from nomadic culture to civilized culture. So anywhere that has good natural resources, it always have a good population. Its a stimulant factor of the Vietnamese culture. However, the downside of it is that the forests could be excessively exploited and this definitely is causing a great impact on the societys life of the area. Conclusion After I analysis three of geographical factors that can influence culture in Vietnam are: Topography, Climate and Natural Resources. The cultures of Vietnam has a lots of differences changes follow each of part of Vietnam (South, North, and Middle), from the past to future time. Nowadays, the culture of Vietnam has changed, from time to time, it is a special blend of the many ancient cultures with the indigenous culture of the Vietnamese. Based on some change of geographical that why government have some change for policy, innovation, and integration. It can help spirit for promote the social to progress. So I can believe renew culture in the quest to promote social progress in Vietnam today.

If We Are What We Eat, What Does This Count As? Essay -- Food Health S

References can possibly be made between the modern world of high school and the brutal wilderness of Africa. Walk into any high school, and even a college or two, cafeteria and the similarities are blatantly obvious. Here is where the watering hole can be seen: the very place where members of the tribe or pack congregate everyday to talk, eat, and determine the food chain. There are the lions, the seniors of the school, lounging lazily in the sun and reveling in their greatest accomplishment yet: gaining acceptance into college. Next the elephants make themselves known, juniors loud and looking to prove their worth to the rest of the jungle, showing they are capable of operating the complex system known as high school once the seniors are gone. Sophomores present themselves in the form of the chimpanzees, hanging out in the trees, watching another year and all the commotion around them floating leisurely by. Finally, we see the gazelles, frightened freshmen quivering in anticipat ion and excitement of the next four years of their lives, looking for a safe place to graze the savannas. While these four components of the jungle happen smoothly and seem to take little effort, little thought is given to the primary purpose of the animal’s gathering: the food itself. Food, as a vital and necessary part of any being’s existence, is served to the masses within cafeterias across the nation. For many of these schools and some colleges, the food served is neither of the highest quality, nor the most satisfying available. Across the country, millions of schools every year are serving below average meals which do not meet health standards necessary for growing students, meals which are also dissatisfying to the student in both taste and qua... ... distribution of frozen entrees. Better lunches begin with fresh produce, whole grains, and fruits. By way of these five recommended solutions, surely there can be one valid enough to make precedence for the future and allow a better, healthier America. Works Cited http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/reports/report2008_intro.cfm http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cat-school-food.html http://news.health.com/2009/03/04/school-lunches-fatty-sugary-critics-say/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=32491 http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/07/01/health.lunch.reut/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36023553/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6430258/ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_1952.cfm

Stanley Kramer’s Inherit the Wind :: Stanley Kramer Inherit the Wind

Stanley Kramer’s Inherit the Wind    History is consistently used in films as a technique to teach the values and morals of events that occurred. But what’s the point in teaching history through films when they are terribly fictional? In films, the director finds the best scheme to intrigue their audience only by changing the actual event to satisfy their interest. This is true for Stanley Kramer when he made the history of John Scopes and his â€Å"monkey trial† into a film called Inherit the Wind. Kramer knew the exact stereotypical â€Å"Hollywood history† his audience enjoyed. The trial itself had a series of conflicts, the main one being evolution vs. religion. Yet there was also a series of tensions throughout the movie, including the argument between individual vs. society. The same themes from Inherit the Wind can also be seen from the actual â€Å"monkey trial† event in Dayton, Tennessee. It is sometimes said that truth is stranger than fiction and according to this film, truth is al so stronger than fiction. Inherit the Wind ignored the true dramatic moment, which is essential to the actual trial that happened in Dayton, Tennessee. Kramer even portrayed his own opinion of this trial in this film. The truth was so distorted in the film so now the argument is not individual vs. society or evolution vs. religion but history vs. fiction. Inherit the Wind is set in the little town of Hillsboro when Bertram Cates (played by), a biology teacher, was thrown into prison for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. Two famous lawyers were behind this case, Henry Drummond (played by) as the defender and Mathew Harrison Brady (played by), as the prosecutor. Mathew Harrison Brady who was â€Å"voted 3 times for a presidential candidate† was sent to Hillsboro is carry out the job as a prosecutor for this trial. As for Cates, a journalist from Baltimore Herald by the name of E.K. Horrbeck willingly provided a lawyer named Henry Drummond for him. Horrbeck was inter ested in the Cates, expecting to make big bucks from this big â€Å"media† case. The two opposing lawyers, Drummond and Brady, were Kramer’s two main characters, both with different opinions on how humans arrived on earth. Drummond supported the evolution theory, while Brady, the creation theory. In this film, Kramer distorted the facts of the actual trial to make this film more of a drama than a history documentary.

Media Portrayal of Female and Male Body Image :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

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Definition Essay on Happiness

No one knows what is in him till he tries, and many would never try if they were not forced to. â€Å"- Basil W. Maturing To achieve personal fulfillment and/or enlightenment can be a very daunting and some Individuals may never achieve It before they die. The feel of peace Inside of oneself will allow an Individual to love with no restraints but not be blinded towards Ill- doings. An individual may be secure enough with themselves, it allows them help there see their true worth and beauty; it is quite easy for them to see the beauty in the majority of aspects.This is the most complex of situations and usually is the base out of the three aspects and usually can control the professional and romantic relationships. â€Å"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved† – Victor Hugo It is said that when a person is in love that the brain produces chemical processes that determine how one feels or the mood of a person. There are a few Doctors that live that being in love has tremendous effect on a person's health, for the better.With the body releasing hormones (such as dopamine and extinction) that actually send signals throughout the body of feelings of trust, pleasure, safety, and the list are not. If there were more people in this world that was happy within their romantic relationships, there would be less domestic violence; in many cases, escalates into murder of not only the significant other but to the children as well. When a couple is happy and confident in their relationship, it can be empowering.Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. â€Å"- Mahatma Gandhi. It is greatly disconcerting that there are so many people that are hurting, for some reason or another, and the only way they feel as if they can express themselves, is to inflict pain onto others. Another great quote is â€Å"misery loves company'- John Ray I am sure that the majorities of people have experienced this in s ome way, shape, or form in a period of their lives.People have been wondering what the secret to life is; there will be a variety of answers given if asked. If I were asked my answer would sound so easy but very difficult to achieve, it is as simple as true happiness' and this can only come from within, not from another individual or object. Unfortunately people do not know this so they continue to search for it and in the process; they miss some really great moments in life. To die never living up to the expectations that one sets for them, would seem like an agonizing way to leave this world.

Unemployment in Columbia

Its infamy impacts tourism and trade, despite Colombia being the second largest producer of coffee in the world. The unemployment, especially among the youth, acts like fuel to the fire with regards to Colombians economic uncertainty. The country Itself does have the potential to have a stable economy and at least the minimum acceptable level of public welfare. It will be Interest to analyze why the country Is embroiled In warfare Instead of welfare, which Is why I have chosen It to be the topic of my research. 2. Relationships between selected economic concern and country?Economy/other variables (40 points): According to the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) World Fact Book, Colombia had a total work force of about 21. 27 million (2010 estimates). For a country whose population stood at 44,725,543 (2011 CIA estimates this figure is abysmal. The unemployment rate is at 11. 8% (2010 estimates). It is also important to note that nearly half of the country population (45. 5% â€⠀œ 2010 estimates) lives below the poverty line. According to a SEPAL (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) 1 7% of these are homeless.It Is obvious that when a errors remains unemployed for a long time, he or she cannot provide the bare necessities of life for their families. However, the high level of poverty In Colombia Is not just attributed to unemployment alone but to the quality of work that those who are employed have. Nearly 32% of those who state themselves to be employed do not have a formal work contract or access to a healthcare system while 48% hold informal jobs such as street vendors and garbage recyclers (SEPAL). So not only is the population of Colombia plagued with unemployment but those who are employed ark in very low paying jobs.When a person is unable to support his or her family by legal means, they find themselves to be helpless and turn towards illegal trades to earn a living. This applies especially to the youth, who find themselves without an education, without a job and without a bright future prospect. They tend to get Involved in the local drug mafia In one way or the other. Those who are considered Incapable of violence or physical brutality, find work on cocaine farms while the others get Involved In more dangerous aspects of the trade.This draining of possible working populace towards an Illegal sector Tanat Is causing more nary than good to ten overall progress AT ten nature takes its toll on the economy. High unemployment has also led to an increase in the economic class divide among the population. The upper class, which accounts for 20% of the population, accounts for about 75% to 80% of the Gross National Product (GNP). The rest of the 20% GNP is shared between the remaining 80% of the population. Being far richer than the masses, the elite class has access to education, healthcare and security.