P-type ATPases Essay - 2118 Words

Describe the mechanism of P-type ATPases; select one P-type ATPase and examine how its physiological role has been investigated. The P-type ATPases are a large family of membrane enzymes, with 476 different subtypes categorised in the Swiss-Prot protein information database. The P-type or E1-E2 ATPases were first discovered and categorised by Jens Christian Skou, a Danish physician-turned-physiologist in 1957. Skou discovered the Na+/K+ ATPase, and later shared half of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Chemistry in reward for his work (Skou 1997). As mentioned above, the P-type ATPases have a broad range of interventions, for example, the use of the Digitalis toxin in the treatment of heart failure (Rang et al. 2007). There are 5 broad†¦show more content†¦2 K+ ions then bind to their high-affinity binding sites, and the enzyme is dephosphorylated. This reduces the ATPases K+ affinity, causing the release of K+ into the cell (Lehninger et al. 2000). It is the above process that is responsible for approximately 25% of the bodies daily ATP breakdown and consequent energy usage (Lehninger et al. 2000). The sodium and potassium ions, and the large concentration gradients that exist, consist a vital physiological feature of the cell, and one that is implicated in myriad cellular processes. The main cellular process, as mentioned above, for which the Na/K-ATPase is responsible, is the maintenance of a membrane potential via the movements of its bonding ions. It is the maintenance, and the presence of this potential that allow the existence of the cell. The presence of a pre-existing potential allows transport of glucose and other molecules, such as Cl- ions via the mechanism of secondary active transport, harnessing the Na+ gradient into the cell caused by ATP breakdown (Skou 2004). The P-type ATPase is also important in the process of muscle contraction. The sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) constitutes 80% of the protein content of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The process of muscle contraction isShow MoreRelatedAttenuation Effect Of Single And Combined Treatment With Caffeine And Nifedipine1479 Words   |  6 Pagescombined treatments of nifedipine and caffeine in the same regimen. Animals were decapitated after 5, 15 and 25 days of the experiment. Results: The results indicated a very highly significant decrease (PË‚0.001) in total soluble lens protein and Na+-K+ATPase activity, a very highly significant increase (PË‚0.001) in calcium lens content in selenite cataract group. Also significant changes in the molecular weight and area under peaks estimated in profile of electrophoretic mobility of lens proteins wereRead MoreHM Complexation At The Cell Wall Plasma Membrane Interface Case Study1158 Words   |  5 Pagesincreased their activity and brings about an increase in cell wall thickness of roots of Aeluropus plants in response to abiotic stress.Plasma membrane is also involved in sequestration and transport of HM ions by secondary messenger dependent Proton-ATPase (Liu et al., 2015). Plasma membrane is also involved in exclusion of critical mineral nutrient (K+) from Agrostis capillaries roots (Wainwright and Woolhouse, 1977) 5.4 Complexation of HMs and the role of heavy metal transporter proteins in compartmentalizationRead MoreProtein Inside The Human Body1640 Words   |  7 PagesProteins are the main manufacturing blocks and apparatuses for all living organisms. There are many types of proteins, which differ from cell to cell, in the human body. They build up the cellular and mediate biological/ metabolic processes. Proteins are key constituents of the human body, each cell of the body contains a number of proteins that play various biological processes such as structural, enzymatic and material transportation, those that are vital to life and through which the human bodyRead MoreAlveolar Macrophages : Mycobacterium Tubercurooks?991 Words   |  4 Pagesrecognise Mtb via the mannosylated surface proteins, resulting in the formation of a phagosome unable to strongly fuse with the lysosome. CRs lead to the activation of Rho and Cdc42 GTPases, which prevent upregulation of bactericidal mechanisms. Bo th types of receptors allow the access of the pathogen under convivial conditions. Recruitment of surfactant proteins(SP)-AD is essential for maintaining homeostatic conditions against the bacilli. SP-A showed to increase pathogen recognition receptors(PRR)Read MoreCalcium Metabolism and Calcium Homeostasis Essays1416 Words   |  6 Pagesmuscle contractions, muscle pain and spasms are symptoms of calcium deficiency (Culligan Ohlendieck 2002). Calcium signalling The versatility and universality of calcium provides for numerous cellular processes and responses as different cell types employ components selected from a Ca2+ signalling toolkit. This toolkit comprises an array of signalling, homeostatic and sensory mechanisms. (Bootman et al 2001). The calcium signalling network can be divided into 4 groups: 1. A stimulus triggersRead MoreTitle: Diuretics, Adverse Effects, Contraindications And1071 Words   |  5 Pagesinhibiting or blocking the reabsorption of sodium at different segments of the renal tubular system. Sometimes a combination of two diuretics is given because this can be significantly more effective than either compound alone. There are different types of diuretics Loop diuretics: Polythiazide, Bumetanide,furosemide, Torsemide. The main side effects of loop diuretic include hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, hypomagnesmia, hyperuricemia, dehydratacion, and hypovolemia, tinnitus, vertigo, ototoxicityRead MoreCadmium And Its Effects On The Environment Essay1345 Words   |  6 Pagesfrom environment. Microorganisms used biotransformation and adsorption mechanisms for regulation of translocation of heavy metals. In present time many research have been done on the toxicity of cadmium in microorganisms. Microorganisms release many types of organic and inorganic substances by which they can detoxify the cadmium. Such character of microorganisms is regulated by genes organized at operons and heavy metal resistance genes mostly present on plasmids. Out of several mechanisms active exportRead MoreBlood Of Plasma And Formed Elements1223 Words   |  5 Pageswhich provides for gas exchange, is served by the right atrium and right ventricle of the heart. The systematic circuit, which supplies blood to all body tissues, is served by the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart. For each heartbeat, the P wave indicates the atrial depolarization, the QRS complex reflects the ventricular depolarization, and the T wave reflects the ventricular repolarization. Blood pressure is measured as the systolic pressure, the maximum pressure in the arteries, andRead MoreWilsons Disease Essay748 Words   |  3 Pagesundated). It is an autosomal recessive condition in which the ATP7B gene on chromosome 13 (EASL, 2012) is defective. There are around 500 known mutations that can cause this defectivity (Tidy, 2014). The ATP7B gene codes for a copper-transporting P-type ATPase usually found in hepatocytes (Huster, 2010) (Roberts Schilsky, 2008) that excretes excess copper into bile (EASL, 2012) (Roberts Schilsky, 2008). When this gene is defective, it causes copper to build up in the liver which can be transportedRead MoreEssay On Malaria1174 Word s   |  5 Pagesspecies have drug resistant making treatment approach highly dependable on the species that caused it. Multi-drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria had been treated with many different, both single and combinations of drugs. The most common type that is known to be effective is the artemisinin-based combination therapy also known as ACT; a combination of artermisinin and its derivatives and longer-acting antimalarial drugs. Studies conducted by Pousibet-Puerto et al. shows the effectiveness

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome And Its Effects - 1712 Words

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and its Effects On a Child’s Cognitive Development Dane D. Hrencher Kansas State University Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and its Effects On a Child’s Cognitive Development Alcohol is known as one the most dangerous teratogens. Every time a pregnant woman drinks, she allows alcohol to enter her blood stream and make its way into the placenta. Unlike the mother, the fetus is unable to break down alcohol that makes the blood alcohol level of the fetus the same or higher than the mother (Burk, 2013). Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are considered some of the most serious consequences of maternal drinking during pregnancy. Children can exhibit physical abnormalities such as a flat mid-face, a thin upper lip, a smooth groove between the nose and upper lip, along with growth retardation, and cognitive difficulties. The affected children also have cognitive difficulties which include intelligence, language, memory, and learning (Wacha Obrzut, 2007). The term IQ is a derived score that is determined from one of many standardized tests designed to assess intelligence (Lezak, 2004). Neur opsychological studies have indicated that children with prenatal alcohol exposure have deficits in general intellectual functions (i.e., their IQ scores are lower than those of typically developing demographically matched controls) (Mattson, 1998). Research has been conducted to determine if there is a correlation for IQ deficitsShow MoreRelatedEffects Of The On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome1206 Words   |  5 Pagesresulted in an increase in alcohol intake. During this period, fetal and infant death rates were at it highest [1]. The medical society did not believe consumption of alcohol was the cause of the high rise in birth defects at the time. With the repeal of the prohibition on alcohol in 1933, doctors believed it had beneficial effects to the point of intravenous treatments with alcohol were used to delay preterm labor. In the 1950s to 1960s, there was another rise in fetal birth defects called the â€Å"thalidomideRead More Effects of Alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay1688 Words   |  7 PagesEffects of Alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Works Cited Missing Alcohol plays a major role in society today. It is constantly being in our minds through advertisements, whether its commercials or billboards, holidays, or even just at the popular social scene. Alcohol is consumed for many purposes, such as celebrations, to increase romance, out of boredom, or a way to relax. Alcohol is a drug that is depended upon by the majority of our society. Nonetheless, alcohol has very damaging effectsRead MoreEffects Of Alcohol Exposure On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome1303 Words   |  6 Pagesharmful substances like alcohol interrupt these processes, the contaminated environment surrounding and infiltrating the embryo’s developing body makes it difficult for development to continue as planned. As a result, abnormalities are often a characteristic of such conditions. The following paper will discuss the effect of maternally consumed alcohol on an embryo, as well as the resulting disorder from alcohol exposure: fetal alcohol syndrome. Prenatal alcohol effects Alcohol is classified as a teratogenRead MoreFetal Alcohol Syndrome : Causes And Effects1078 Words   |  5 Pages Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Alcohol plays a major role in society today. We consume alcohol for many purposes such as gatherings, holidays, or self fulfillment. One of the most frowned upon things that come with drinking in our society is drinking during pregnancy. Nonetheless, consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can result in pathologies for the mothers fetus leading to growth, mental, and physical birth defects, also known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The severity of the effects from thisRead MoreThe Effects Of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome On Infants3388 Words   |  14 Pages30 April 2015 The Effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome on Infants Abstract Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused when women during their pregnancy drink alcohol and cause developmental problems that can affect the fetus and infant for the rest of his or her life. Fetal alcohol syndrome can cause facial abnormalities, mental retardation, and a significant decrease in overall growth of the fetus.1 There are numerous studies about prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome, and its effects on physical, neurologicalRead MoreThe Effects Of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome On The Children850 Words   |  4 Pagesto further educate individuals in regards to what fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is, how to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, the side effects of fetal alcohol syndrome during infancy, and the long term effects of fetal alcohol syndrome on the child emotionally, physically, and mentally. Definition Fetal alcohol syndrome is a diverse pattern of congenital malformations when ethyl alcohol is consumed chronically in high doses during pregnancy. Alcohol ingestion can influence development of body organsRead MoreCause And Effect Of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome2649 Words   |  11 Pagesunreasonable people. Alcohol, a psychoactive drug, found within many adult beverages causes countless problems for people suffering from addiction but even more devastating are the mothers who drink when pregnant. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a disorder that refers to mental and physical effects of an individual whose mother consumed large quantities of alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol can destroy neurons in a growing fetus along with causing problems with growth and weight. In the past, alcohol has been shownRead MoreFetal Alcohol Syndrome Is A Collection Of Multiple Effects Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesFetal alcohol syndrome is a collection of multiple effects that happen because of exposure to al cohol in utero and can be a very serious problem that is prevalent. Fetal alcohol syndrome was first talked about and described in 1973 (Caley, Dunlap, Shipkey, Rivera, Winkelman, 2006). Over the years a lot has become known about the dangers of exposing a fetus to alcohol and how common it really is (Caley et al, 2006). According to Krulewitch (2005), 1 in 10 women will consume alcohol after knowingRead MoreFetal Alcohol Syndrome The Effects of Alcohol on a Fetus During Pregnancy1727 Words   |  7 Pages Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is caused by fetal exposure to alcohol during pregnancy and is characterized by specific patters of fetal deformities. Researchers are unsure at what stage in the pregnancy these malformations occur or the amount of alcohol consumed to cause these deformities. FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation that is preventable. There are usually three factors pertaining to a diagnosis of FAS: â€Å"the presence of prenatal/postnatal growth retard ation, craniofacial anomaliesRead MoreThe Effects Of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Students1117 Words   |  5 Pagesin. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome students struggle with their memory and struggle to remember the things they are being taught. Teachers should implement a daily planner for the students in order to help them keep up with their assignments and help them remember what they are to do each day and night for school. According to Catterick, teachers should â€Å"ensure that learning is multisensory where possible to give the child the best chance of taking in the information† (p. 113) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome students

Thorn Queen Chapter One Free Essays

string(31) " the boundaries of this world\." Sad fact: lots of kids know how to use knives and guns. I’d been one of them, but instead of pursuing a life of crime, I’d trained to be a shamanic mercenary. This meant that while my friends were at dances and football games, I’d been out banishing spirits and wrestling down monsters with my stepfather. We will write a custom essay sample on Thorn Queen Chapter One or any similar topic only for you Order Now On the upside, I grew up never fearing muggers or any other assailants. On the downside, an adolescence like that really screws with your social development. It meant I’d never really been like other kids. I’d had some friends, but compared to theirs, my world had been terribly stark and terribly deadly. Their dramas and concerns had seemed so petty next to mine, and I could never fully relate. As an adult now, I still couldn’t really connect to kids because I had no shared experiences to draw on. Which made my job today that much more difficult. â€Å"Go ahead, Polly,† crooned the girl’s mother, smiling with over-plump lips. Too much collagen, I suspected. â€Å"Tell her about the ghost.† Polly Hall was 13 but wore enough make-up to rival a 40-year old whore. She sat slouched against the back of a couch in her family’s perfectly decorated house, chewing gum loudly, looking everywhere but at us. The more I studied her, the more I decided she probably did have problems. I suspected they had less to do with supernatural influences and more with having a mother who had named her Polly and let her wear thongs. It was an unfortunate side effect of Polly’s low-cut jeans that I could see the aforementioned thong. After a minute of silence, Mrs. Hall sighed loudly. â€Å"Polly, dear, we’ve been over this. If you aren’t going to help us, we can’t help you.† Smiling, I knelt down in front of the couch so I could look the girl in the eyes. â€Å"It’s all right,† I told her, hoping I sounded sincere and not like an after school special. â€Å"I’ll believe whatever you tell me. We’ll get it taken care of.† Polly sighed just as loudly as her mother had a moment ago and still refused to look at me. She reminded me of my unstable teenage half-sister who was currently MIA and wanted to conquer the world. â€Å"Mom,† she said, â€Å"can I go to my room now?† â€Å"Not until you’ve talked to this nice lady.† Glancing back to me, Mrs. Hall explained, â€Å"We hear strange noises all night: bangs, cracks, bumps. Things fall over for no reason. I’ve even†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She hesitated. â€Å"I’ve even seen things fly around the room. But it’s always when Polly’s around. Whatever this ghost is, it seems to like her†¦or be obsessed with her.† I turned my attention back to Polly, again taking in the sullen mood and thinly veiled frustration. â€Å"You got a lot on your mind, Polly?† I asked gently. â€Å"Problems at school or something? Problems around here?† Her blue eyes flicked to me ever so briefly. â€Å"What about any electrical issues?† This I directed to her mother. â€Å"Things shorting out? Stereos or appliances not working right?† Mrs. Hall blinked. â€Å"How’d you know that?† I stood up and stretched the kinks out of my body. I’d fought a wraith last night, and he hadn’t been gentle. â€Å"You don’t have a ghost. You have a poltergeist.† Both of them stared at me. â€Å"Isn’t that a ghost?† asked Mrs. Hall. â€Å"Not really. It’s a manifestation of telekinetic powers, often brought on by rage and other strong emotions during teenage years.† I’d evaded after school special mode, only to slip into infomercial mode. â€Å"I†¦wait. Are you saying Polly’s causing this?† â€Å"Not consciously, but yeah. In cases like this, the subject – Polly – lashes out without realizing it, venting her emotions in physical ways. She probably won’t stay telekinetic; it’ll fade as she gets older and settles down a bit.† Her mother still looked skeptical. â€Å"It sure seems like a ghost.† I shrugged. â€Å"Trust me. I’ve seen this lots of times.† â€Å"So†¦isn’t there anything you can do? Anything we can do?† â€Å"Therapy,† I suggested. â€Å"Maybe get a psychic to come out.† I gave Mrs. Hall the contact information for a psychic I trusted. Waiving my banishing fee, I simply charged her for the house call. Once I’d double-checked the cash she gave me – I never took checks – I stashed it away and made moves toward the living room door. â€Å"Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.† â€Å"No, I mean, I guess this helps. It’s just so strange.† She eyed her daughter with perplexity. â€Å"Are you sure it’s not a ghost?† â€Å"Positive. These are classic symp–â€Å" An invisible force slammed into me, pushing me into the wall. I yelped, threw out a hand to keep my balance, and shot daggers at that little bitch Polly. Eyes wide, she looked just as astonished as I felt. â€Å"Polly!† exclaimed Mrs. Hall. â€Å"You are grounded, young lady. No phone, no IM, no†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her mouth dropped open as she stared at something across the room. â€Å"What’s that?† I followed her gaze to the large, pale blue shape materializing before us. â€Å"Um, well,† I said, â€Å"that’s a ghost.† It swooped toward me, mouth open in a terrible screech. I yelled for the others to get down and jerked a silver-bladed athame out of my belt. A knife might seem useless against spirits, but they needed to take on a substantial form to inflict any real damage. Once solid, they were susceptible to silver. This spirit bore a female shape – a very young female shape, actually. Long pale hair trailed in her wake like a cloak, and her eyes were large and empty. Whether it was a lack of experience or simply some inherent trait of hers, her attack proved floundering and uncoordinated. Even as she screamed at the first bites of the athame, I had my crystal studded wand out in my other hand. Now that I’d regained my bearings, I could do a banishing like this in my sleep. Speaking the usual words, I drew from my internal strength and sent my own spirit beyond the boundaries of this world. You read "Thorn Queen Chapter One" in category "Essay examples" Touching the gates of the Underworld, I ensnared the female spirit and sent her over. Monsters and gentry I tended to send back to the Otherworld, the limbo they lived in. A ghost like this needed to move on to the land of death. She disappeared. Mrs. Hall and Polly stared at me. Suddenly, in her first show of emotion, the girl leapt up and glared at me. â€Å"You just killed my best friend!† I opened my mouth to respond and decided nothing I had to say would be adequate. â€Å"Good heavens, what are you talking about?† exclaimed her mother. Polly’s face twisted with anger, her eyes bright with tears. â€Å"Trixie. She was my best friend. We told each other everything.† â€Å"Trixie?† Mrs. Hall and I asked in unison. â€Å"I can’t believe you did that. She was so cool.† Polly’s voice turned a little wistful. â€Å"I just wish we could have gone shopping together, but she couldn’t leave the house. So I just had to bring her Vogue and Glamour.† I turned to Mrs. Hall. â€Å"My original advice still stands. Therapy. Lots of it.† I headed home after that, wondering for the hundredth time why I’d chosen this mercenary shaman profession. Surely there were other jobs that were a lot less trouble than interacting with evil supernatural beings. Accounting. Advertising. Law. Well, maybe not that last one. About an hour later, I arrived back home and was immediately assaulted by two medium-sized dogs when I cleared the door. They were mutts, one solid black and one solid white. Their names were Yin and Yang, but I could never remember who was who. â€Å"Back off,† I warned as they sniffed me, tails wagging frantically. The white one tried to lick my hand. Pushing past them, I entered my kitchen and nearly tripped over a tabby cat sprawled on the floor in a patch of sun. Grumbling, I tossed my bag onto the kitchen table. â€Å"Tim? Are you here?† My housemate, Tim Warkoski, stuck his head in. He wore a tee shirt with silhouettes of Native Americans that said Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism since 1492. I appreciated the cleverness, but it lost something since Tim wasn’t actually an American Indian. He merely played one on TV, or rather, he played one in local bars and tourist circles, using his tanned skin and black hair to elude his Polish heritage. It had gotten him into trouble with a lot of the local tribes. With a garbage bag in one hand and a cat scoop in the other, he gave me a dark look. â€Å"Do you know how many boxes of litter I’ve had to change today?† I poured a glass of milk and sat down at the table. â€Å"Kiyo says we need one box for every cat and then an extra one.† â€Å"Yeah, I can count, Eugenie. That’s six boxes. Six boxes in a house with 1500 square feet. You think your deadbeat boyfriend’s ever going to show back up and help out with this?† I shifted uncomfortably. It was a good question. After three months of dating between Tucson and Phoenix, my boyfriend Kiyo had decided to take a job here to save the hour and a half commute. We’d had a long discussion and decided we were ready to have him simply move in with me. Unfortunately, with Kiyo came his menagerie: five cats and two dogs. It was one of the woes of dating a veterinarian. He couldn’t help but adopt every animal he found. I couldn’t remember the cats’ names any better than the dogs’. Four of them were named after the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and all I could really recall was that Famine ironically weighed about 30 pounds. Another problem was that Kiyo was a fox – both literally and figuratively. His mother was a kitsune, a sort of Japanese fox spirit. He’d inherited all of her traits, including amazing strength and speed, as well as the ability to transform into an actual fox. As a result, he frequently got ‘the call of the wild,’ making him yearn to run around in his animal form. Since he had downtime between jobs now, he’d left me to take a sort of wild vacation. I accepted this, but after a week of not seeing him, I was starting to get restless. â€Å"He’ll be back soon,† I said vaguely, not meeting Tim’s eyes. â€Å"Besides, you can get out of chores if you want to start paying rent.† That was our deal. Free lodging in exchange for food and housework. He wasn’t deterred. â€Å"Your choice in men is questionable. You know that, right?† I didn’t really want to ponder that too much. I abandoned him for my room, seeking the comfort of a jigsaw puzzle depicting a photograph of Zurich. It sat on my desk, as did one of the cats. I think he was Mr. Whiskers, the non-Apocalyptic one. I shooed him off the puzzle. Doing so took about half the puzzle pieces with him. â€Å"Goddamned cat,† I muttered. Love, I decided, was a hard thing. Well aware of my grumpy mood, I knew part of my anxiety over Kiyo stemmed from the fact that he was also passing part of his sabbatical in the Otherworld, spending time with his ex-girlfriend who just happened to be a devastatingly beautiful fairy queen. Fairies, sidhe, shining ones†¦whatever you wanted to call them, they were the tall, long-lived rulers of the Otherworld. I and most shamans referred to them as gentry, an antique term. Maiwenn, Kiyo’s ex, was almost nine months pregnant, and although they’d broken up, he was still a part of her life. I sighed. Tim might have been right about my questionable taste in men. Night wore on. I finished the puzzle while blasting Def Leppard, making me feel better. I was just shutting off the music when I heard Tim yell: â€Å"Yo, Eug. Kujo’s here.† Breathless, I ran to my bedroom door and flung it open. A red fox the size of a wolf trotted down the hall toward me. Relief burned through me, and I felt my heart soar as I let him in and watched him pace around in restless circles. â€Å"About time,† I said. He had a sleek orange-red coat and a fluffy tail tipped in white. His eyes were golden and sometimes bore a very human glint. I saw nothing like that tonight. A purely animal wariness peered out at me, and I realized it’d be a while before he changed back. He had the ability to transform to a wide range of foxes, everything from a small, normal-sized red fox to the powerful shape before me. When he spent a lot of time in this bigger form, turning human took more effort and time. Still, hoping he’d transform soon, I dumped another puzzle on my desk and worked it as I waited. Two hours later, nothing had changed. He curled up in a corner, wrapping his body in a tight ball. His eyes continued to watch me. Exhausted, I gave up on him and put on a red nightgown. Turning off the lights, I finally slipped into my bed, falling asleep instantly for a change. As I slept, I dreamed about the Otherworld, particularly a piece of it that bore a striking resemblance to Tucson and the Sonora Desert surrounding us. Only, the Otherworldly version was better. An almost heavenly Tucson, warmed by bright sunshine and ablaze with flowering cacti. This was a common dream for me, one that often left me yearning for that land in the morning. I always tried my best to ignore the impulse. A couple hours later, I woke up. A warm, muscled body had slid into bed with me, pressing against my back. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Kiyo’s scent, dark and musky, washed over me. A liquid feeling burned inside of me at his touch. Roughly, he turned me toward him. His lips consumed me in a crushing kiss, blazing with intensity and need. â€Å"Eugenie,† he growled, once he’d paused long enough to remove his lips – just barely – from mine. â€Å"I’ve missed you. Oh God, I’ve missed you. I’ve needed you.† He kissed me again, conveying that need as his hands moved over me. My own fingers slid along the smooth perfection of his bare skin, reveling in its feel. There was no gentleness between us tonight, only a feral passion fueled as much by animal instinct as love. He had not, I realized, completely regained his human senses, no matter his shape. When I woke up in the morning, my bed was empty. Across the room, Kiyo pulled on jeans, meeting my eyes as though he had some sixth sense that I was awake. I rolled over on my side, the sheets gliding against my naked skin. Watching him with a lazy, satisfied languor, I admired his body and the sexy features gifted to him by Japanese and Hispanic heritage. His tanned body and black hair stood in stark contrast to the light skin and reddish hair my European ancestors had given me. â€Å"Are you leaving?† I asked. My heart, having leapt at his presence last night, suddenly sank. â€Å"I have to go back,† he said, straightening out a dark green tee shirt. He ran an absentminded hand through his chin-length hair. â€Å"You know I do.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, my voice sharper than I’d intended. â€Å"Of course you do.† His eyes narrowed. â€Å"Please don’t start that,† he said quietly. â€Å"I have to do this.† â€Å"Sorry. Somehow I just can’t get all that excited about another woman having your baby.† There it was. The issue that always hung over us. He sat down beside me on the bed, dark eyes serious and level. â€Å"Well, I’m excited. I’d like to think you could support me in that and be happy for me.† Troubled, I looked away. â€Å"I am happy for you. I want you to be happy†¦it’s just, you know, it’s hard.† â€Å"I know.† He leaned over me, sliding his hand up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair. â€Å"You’ve spent more time with her in the last week than with me.† â€Å"It’s a necessity. It’s almost time.† â€Å"I know,† I repeated. I knew my jealousy was unwarranted. Petty, even. I wanted to share his happiness at having a child, but something in me prevented it. â€Å"Eugenie, I love you. It’s that simple. That’s all there is to it.† â€Å"You love her too.† â€Å"Yes, but not in the way I love you.† He kissed me with a gentleness very different from the roughness of last night. I melted against him. The kiss grew stronger, filling with ardor. With great reluctance, he finally pulled away. I could see the longing in his eyes. He wanted to have sex again. That said something for my charms, I guessed. His responsible inclinations winning out, he straightened and stood up. I stayed where I was. â€Å"Will I see you there?† he asked, voice even and neutral. I sighed. â€Å"Yeah. I’ll be there.† He smiled. â€Å"Thank you. That means a lot to me.† I nodded. He went to the door and looked back at me. â€Å"I love you.† The heat in his voice told me he truly meant it. I smiled back. â€Å"I love you too.† He left, and I pulled the sheets more tightly against me and made no motions to get up. I couldn’t stay in bed all day, unfortunately. Other things – like my promise to Kiyo – demanded my attention today. There was a trip to the Otherworld ahead of me, one that would take me to a kingdom I’d reluctantly inherited. You see, Maiwenn wasn’t the only Otherworldly queen in Kiyo’s life. Yet, astonishingly, that wasn’t the problem for me today. That was easy compared to what else lay in store for me. I had to go to a gentry baby shower. How to cite Thorn Queen Chapter One, Essay examples

Reversible Logic free essay sample

It has been shown that the modi? ed designs outperform the existing ones in terms of number of gates, number of garbage outputs, delay, and quantum cost. In order to show the ef? ciency of the proposed designs, lower bounds of the reversible BCD adders in terms of gates and garbage outputs are proposed as well. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The advancement in higher-level integration and fabrication process has emerged in better logic circuits and energy loss has also been dramatically reduced over the last decades. This trend of reduction of heat in computation also has its physical limit. According to Landauer [1,2], in logic computation every bit of information loss generates kTln2 joules of heat energy where k is Boltzmann’s constant of 1. 38 A 10A23 J/K and T is the absolute temperature of the environment. At room temperature, the dissipating heat is around 2. 9 A 10A21 J. Energy loss due to Landauer limit is also important as it is likely that the growth of heat generation causing information loss will be noticeable in future. We will write a custom essay sample on Reversible Logic or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Reversible circuits are fundamentally different from traditional irreversible ones. In reversible logic, no information is lost, i. e. he circuit that does not lose information is reversible. Bennett [3] showed that zero energy dissipation would be possible if the network consists of reversible gates only. Thus, reversibility will be an essential property for the future circuit design. Quantum computation is also gaining popularity as some exponentially hard problems can be solved in polynomial time [4]. We know that quantum computation is reversible. Thus, research in reversible logic is helpful for the development of future technologies; it has the potential to methods of quantum circuit construction resulting in more powerful computers. Quantum technology is not the only one where reversibility is used. A Corresponding author. Tel. : +880 1711 351055; fax: +880 2 8615583. E-mail address: ha? [emailprotected] com (H. M. Hasan Babu). 0026-2692/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. mejo. 2008. 04. 003 Reversible logic has also found its applications in several other disciplines such as nanotechnology [5], DNA technology [6] and optical computing [7]. In computers, numbers are stored in straight binary format. Due to inherent characteristics of ? oating-point numbers and limitations on storing formats, not all ? ating-point numbers can be represented with desired precision. So, computing in decimal format is gaining popularity as loss due to precision can be avoided in this format. However, hardware support for binary arithmetic allows it to be performed faster than decimal arithmetic. Faster hardware for decimal ? oating-point arithmetic is also imminent as it has its importance in ? nancial and Internet based applications. So, faster circuits for Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) numbers have great impact, as it is likely to be incorporated in more complex circuits like future mathematical processors. Reversible logic implementations for BCD adder as well as Carry Skip BCD adder are presented in Refs. [9,10]. A reversible BCD adder using 4-bit parallel adder is presented in Ref. [9], whereas in Ref. [10], reversible logic implementations for both BCD adder and Carry Skip BCD adder are presented. In this paper, an improved reversible logic implementation for BCD adder is presented. We have compared proposed design with the existing ones and found that modi? ed design is better than the existing ones in terms of number of gates, garbage output (output that is needed to maintain reversibility), delay, and quantum cost. Secondly, an improved design technique for Carry Skip BCD adder is also presented. It has been found that this design is also better in comparison with the existing one in terms of the aforementioned metrics. ARTICLE IN PRESS 1694 A. K. Biswas et al. / Microelectronics Journal 39 (2008) 1693–1703 Rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the necessary background on reversible logic along with the examples of popular reversible gates. Important terms needed for reversible logic are also de? ned. Quantum cost calculation for different gates is thoroughly discussed in Section 3. Section 4 provides the basics for reversible logic synthesis and overview of the existing designs. Section 5 provides ef? cient techniques for implementation of BCD adder as well as Carry Skip BCD adder, which overcome the limitations of the existing methods. Algorithms needed for the designs and comparative studies with the existing designs along with the lower bounds for the proposed designs in terms of number of gates and garbage outputs are also provided in that section.