Free Essays on Leadership And Traits

Leadership and Traits What is leadership? What is the history of the study of traits regarding leadership? What attributes and traits do successful leaders possess? What traits and skills do business leaders need today? Can anyone learn to be a good leader, or are you born as such? Can traits be used as an overall guide to identify good leaders? These and other questions have been examined and re-examined by scores of people and organizations throughout the years in the pursuit of finding an effective combination of traits that is prevalent in all successful leaders. I will answer these questions and explore the wide spectrum of information that has evolved today’s leaders into the multi-dimensional and versatile visionaries that they are. As a process, the textbook defines leadership as the use of noncoercive influence to shape the group’s or organization’s goals, motivate behavior toward the achievement of those goals, and help define group or organizational culture. Another source simply states that leadership is the ability to guide, direct, and influence people. There are many definitions to leadership, depending on whom you ask. My definition of leadership is the progressive directing of an individual or a group to collectively attain a specific outcome. Prior to the wide array of modern studies dedicated to leadership theory, it was thought that great leaders were born that way. In the early 1500’s, using the noble class as his model, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book and a play that outlined his perception of what good leadership traits are. These were identified as fraudulent, hypocritical, harsh, deceitful, and ruthlessness. The underlying logic is that as long as a desirable outcome is attained, the method used in arriving there is irrelevant. This kind of leadership style sounds barbaric at best. In the 1900’s, these primitive theories made way for more sophisticated studies. Throughout the next... Free Essays on Leadership And Traits Free Essays on Leadership And Traits Leadership and Traits What is leadership? What is the history of the study of traits regarding leadership? What attributes and traits do successful leaders possess? What traits and skills do business leaders need today? Can anyone learn to be a good leader, or are you born as such? Can traits be used as an overall guide to identify good leaders? These and other questions have been examined and re-examined by scores of people and organizations throughout the years in the pursuit of finding an effective combination of traits that is prevalent in all successful leaders. I will answer these questions and explore the wide spectrum of information that has evolved today’s leaders into the multi-dimensional and versatile visionaries that they are. As a process, the textbook defines leadership as the use of noncoercive influence to shape the group’s or organization’s goals, motivate behavior toward the achievement of those goals, and help define group or organizational culture. Another source simply states that leadership is the ability to guide, direct, and influence people. There are many definitions to leadership, depending on whom you ask. My definition of leadership is the progressive directing of an individual or a group to collectively attain a specific outcome. Prior to the wide array of modern studies dedicated to leadership theory, it was thought that great leaders were born that way. In the early 1500’s, using the noble class as his model, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book and a play that outlined his perception of what good leadership traits are. These were identified as fraudulent, hypocritical, harsh, deceitful, and ruthlessness. The underlying logic is that as long as a desirable outcome is attained, the method used in arriving there is irrelevant. This kind of leadership style sounds barbaric at best. In the 1900’s, these primitive theories made way for more sophisticated studies. Throughout the next...

Bluebuck - Facts and Figures

Bluebuck - Facts and Figures Name: Bluebuck; also known as Hippotragus leucophaeus Habitat: Plains of South Africa Historical Epoch: Late Pleistocene-Modern (500,000-200 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 10 feet long and 300-400 pounds Diet: Grass Distinguishing Characteristics: Long ears; thick neck; bluish fur; large horns on males About the Bluebuck European settlers have been blamed for countless species extinctions the world over, but in the case of the Bluebuck, the impact of western settlers may be oversold: the fact is that this large, muscular, donkey-eared antelope was well on its way to oblivion well before the first westerners arrived in South Africa in the 17th century. By then, it seems, climate change had already restricted the Bluebuck to a limited swatch of territory; up until about 10,000 years ago, shortly after the last Ice Age, this megafauna mammal was widely dispersed across the expanse of South Africa, but it gradually became restricted to about 1,000 square miles of grassland. The last confirmed Bluebuck sighting (and killing) occurred in Cape Province in 1800, and this majestic game animal hasnt been seen since. (See a slideshow of 10 Recently Extinct Game Animals) What set the Bluebuck on its slow, inexorable course toward extinction? According to the fossil evidence, this antelope prospered for the first few thousand years after the last Ice Age, then suffered a sudden decline in its population starting about 3,000 years ago (which was probably caused by the disappearance of its accustomed tasty grasses by less-edible forests and bushlands, as the climate warmed). The next deleterious event was the domestication of livestock by the original human settlers of South Africa, around 400 B.C., when overgrazing by sheep caused many Bluebuck individuals to starve. The Bluebuck may also have been targeted for its meat and pelt by these same indigenous humans, some of whom (ironically) worshiped these mammals as near-deities. The relative scarcity of the Bluebuck may help explain the confused impressions of the first European colonizers, many of whom were passing on hearsay or folk tales rather than witnessing this ungulate for themselves. To begin with, the fur of the Bluebuck wasnt technically blue; most likely, observers were fooled by its dark hide covered by thinning black hair, or it may have been its intermingled black and yellow fur that gave the Bluebuck its characteristic tint (not that these settlers really cared much about the Bluebucks color, since they were busy hunting herds relentlessly to clear land for pasture). Oddly enough, considering their meticulous treatment of other soon-to-be-extinct species, these settlers managed to preserve only four complete Bluebuck specimens, which are now on display in various museums in Europe. But enough about its extinction; what was the Bluebuck actually like? As with many antelopes, the males were bigger than the females, weighing upwards of 350 pounds and equipped with impressive, backward-curving horns that were used to compete for favor during mating season. In its overall appearance and behavior, the Blueback (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was very similar to two extant antelopes that still roam the coast of southern Africa, the Roan Antelope (H. equinus) and the Sable Antelope (H. niger). In fact, the Bluebuck was once considered a subspecies of the Roan, and was only later accorded full species status.

Identifying a Researchable Problem Research Paper - 2

Identifying a Researchable Problem - Research Paper Example Cultural differences my influence eating behavior and undermine universal effectiveness of an intervention approach. Understanding benefits of Evidence Based Practice and Evidence Based Research and leading change among nurses towards these can therefore improve efficiency of care and is my area of interest. Incidence and prevalence of a health problem suggest inefficiency of applied intervention strategies and the case of hypertension among adults in the United States illustrates this. High incidence and prevalence rates of hypertension in the nation is therefore the problem and an understanding of factors such as causes, gaps in current practices, and possible effective practices is necessary for prevention and management. High incidence and prevalence rate of hypertension in the United States, which suggest ineffectiveness of prevention and management measures, establish significance of the problem. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), about 29 percent of American adults suffer from hypertension and the high blood pressures are only controlled in less that 50 percent of the affected population. In addition, about 33 percent of the remaining American population have pre-hypertension and are therefore at high risk of developing hypertension. With the current annual expenditure of $ 46 billion due to incidence of hypertension, the rate of pre-hypertension implies greater future expenditure, and prevention and management are necessary. High mortality rate, about 1000 deaths per day, which can be attributed to hypertension, also identifies significance because of the emotional pain on the bereaved and economic loss due to reduced labor force. The economic loss also exists whe n a hypertension patient is unable to report to work or work efficiently. High blood pressure also increases an

What is the role of graduate education in preparing nurses to meet the Personal Statement

What is the role of graduate education in preparing nurses to meet the health needs of our society - Personal Statement Example A lot of diligence and ethical discipline is expected of them. A nurse therefore must have knowledge and skills that are geared towards to performing of duties diligently. Graduate education instills skills that enable a nurse to give care to the patient based on theoretical and practical knowledge. In addition, a nurse is a decision maker and skills attained from a graduate education enables the nurse to think critically in assessing patients and helps in the evaluation of the patient’s problem. In enabling the nurse to discern what is best for the patient, it helps in determining the best course of action. Communication between the nurse and the patient is crucial and barriers in communication can delay the healing process. Graduate education trains the nurse on ways to communicate effectively with the patient and the family members. These techniques can help in improving the healthcare environment. Moreover, graduate education teaches a nurse on how to play the role of teacher in educating the patient more about their health, illness, and medication (Grigg, 2007). As a teacher, the nurse teaches the patient on how to deal with the challenges that come with the illness and may need to instruct the family members on ways to care for the patient after being discharged from the hospital. Motivation of patients is a major focus that graduates education emphasis on. It trains nurses to stimulate, motivate, and to work as a team with fellow colleagues and with the patients. To devote time to listen to patients with a positive attitude and encouraging them assists with the healing process of the patient Furthermore, nursing is a sensitive field of profession; it requires the maintenance of good conduct and observance of the standard code of ethics as the core part of training in graduate education. It trains the nurse to prioritize the patients’ health first and to carry out the process of care giving diligently. It trains

Customer service assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Customer service assignment - Case Study Example t an ambience to its customers, which not only helps the customer in enjoying the drinks and meals but also helps in the restaurant in gaining goodwill. In order that the restaurant is able to satisfy the customer and re-invite them in future, it is very important that restaurant is able to market itself in an effective manner. Traditionally, four Ps are considered of prime importance for an enterprise to market itself. The marketing mix is thus known to comprise of1 Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Though Ahmed might be offering the best products at reasonable prices, but in this case, what seems to be lacking is the promotion. Promotion doesn’t necessarily mean coming out with advertisement in newspapers or commercials in television or radio. But, a satisfied customer can often prove to be an effective ambassador of the product or service. A well behaved customer care executive or salesperson can also help in assisting the good word about the business entity. The restaur ant must not only be looking at tangible benefits, but intangible benefits also prove to be of immense importance towards the success of the venture. For example, intangible benefits like goodwill and brand equity can only be strengthened with a pro-active attitude from the employees and customers. It needs to be emphasized here that engaging the customer and informing him or her about the products or services on offer is extremely important for them to make a choice. There might be regular customers fully aware about the products, but even those customers love to get pleasant surprises in the form of new dishes or new schemes. Being unfriendly is certainly an unpardonable act towards the customers. Therefore, in order that the observed shortcomings can be done away with and employees behave in a professional manner and prove to be friendly for the customers, they need to be trained. The rule of thumb in customer service is that whosoever comes in contact with the customer, is supposed to

Poverty and Reproductive Health Essay Example for Free

Poverty and Reproductive Health Essay Poverty can be defined in many different ways. A condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. † When people are unable to eat, go to school, or have any access to health care, then they can be considered to be in poverty, regardless of their income. At the 2005 World Summit, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to cut in half the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 and achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of time-bound and quantified targets to attack povertys root causes in a multi-dimensional way. The scale of the challenges, and the benefits of success to individuals, communities and the family of nation, are enormous: Global population is expected to increase from about 7billion today to 9. billion by 2050, and the population of the 48 Least Developed Countries will more than double to reach 1. 7 billion. Almost all of the net increase in population is occurring in the urban areas developing countries, and in many of them, the number of people living in poverty is rising. Moreover, the supportive development environment that prevailed in the early years of this decade is now threatened as the world faces a global economic slowdown and a food security crisis. At the same time, the effects of climate change are becoming more apparent. Substantial evidence suggests that slower population growth and investments in reproductive health and HIV prevention (particularly among adolescents), education, womens empowerment and gender equality reduce poverty. Carrying out the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo and reaching its goal of universal access to reproductive health information and services by 2015 is an essential condition for achieving the MDGs. A central premise of the ICPD is that the size, growth, age structure and rural-urban distribution of a countrys population have a critical impact on its development prospects and on the living standards of the poor. Poverty is multidimensional: impoverished people are deprived of services, resources and opportunities, as well as income. The ICPD realized that investing in people and empowering individual women and men with education, equal opportunities and the means to determine the number, timing and spacing of their children could create the conditions to allow the poor to break out of the poverty trap. The countries in which poverty levels are the highest are generally those that have the most rapid increases in population and the highest fertility levels. Countries that have reduced fertility and mortality by investing in universal health care, including reproductive health, as well as education and gender equality, have made economic gains. A 2001 study of 45 countries, for example, found that if they had reduced fertility by five births per 1,000 people in the 1980s, the average national incidence of poverty of 18. per cent in the mid-1980s would have been reduced to 12. 6 per cent between 1990 and 1995. How do investments in reproductive health, education and gender equality reduce poverty? †¢Enabling people to have fewer children contributes to upward mobility and helps to stimulate development. †¢When women can negotiate their reproductive health decisions with men, this exercise of their rights leads to an increased decision-making role within families and communities that benefits all. Because smaller families share income among fewer people, average per-capita income increases. †¢Fewer pregnancies lead to lower maternal mortality and morbidity and often to more education and economic opportunities for women. These, in turn, can lead to higher family income. †¢As women become more educated, they tend to have fewer children, and participate more fully in the labour market. †¢Families with lower fertility are better able to invest in the health and education of each child.  Spaced births and fewer pregnancies overall improve child survival. †¢Sexual and reproductive health services are key to curbing HIV. The pandemic is killing large numbers of people in their most productive years, increasing the ratio of dependents to the working-age population. †¢Preventing AIDS-related disabilities and premature deaths translates into a healthier, more productive labour force that can improve a countrys economic prospects Many developing countries have large youth populations. Reproductive health programmes that address the greater vulnerability of adolescents to unprotected sex, sexual coercion, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, unintended early pregnancies and unsafe abortions, and enable young women to delay pregnancy and marriage are important factors in breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. †¢Investments in reproductive health, particularly in family planning, that result in lowered fertility can open a one-time only demographic window of economic opportunity.

The History Of Molecular Modeling Biology Essay

The History Of Molecular Modeling Biology Essay Molecular modeling is a collection of science and art that study molecular structure and function by using computational technique to generate a realistic model of molecule based on molecular properties and behavior. A special computer graphics application and viewer is required to study the image of molecular structure and chemical process. Normally, molecular modeling is applied in field that related to drug design and computational biology who focus on study of molecular structure, dynamic, properties, biological activity (e.g. protein folding, protein stability, protein recognition, and structure prediction, structure determination), and new molecular system design. This is because modeling can support a systematic way to investigate the molecular structure, flexibility and function. The computational approach that used in molecular modeling consists of molecular mechanic, quantum mechanics, and molecular simulation. Molecular mechanic is based on empirical result to model the molecular system through motion of an object. For instance, potential energy is calculated by using force field method. Quantum mechanics is described by using wave function and it is important for understand how the atoms are covalently combine to form molecule. Its example is ab initio and semi-empirical quantum mechanics. Molecular simulation is another computational technique which includes molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo. However, to date, molecular modeling is more concerns to the use of a variety of methods to deduce the atomic information of a system which includes all the approaches mentioned above. To know more about molecular modeling, we are advised to know some of its history so we can make sense of molecular modeling as we know it today. In 1858, Archibald Scott Couper, Friedrich August Kekulà © von Stradonitz, and Aleksandr Mikhailovich Butlerov introduced chemical structure with a structure rule that involves the link of carbons and other atoms. Louis Pasteur modified the molecular structure theory in 1860. In 1865, August Wilhelm Hofmann discovered ball and stick model and color scheme. And Alder and Wainwright performed simulation technique on hard spheres model in 1959. Lifson, Scheraga, Allinger, Levitt, Warshel and others introduced the force field concept in 1960. Whilst in 1970, Rahman and Stillinger described the molecular dynamic simulation of water. In 1971, Protein Data Bank (PDB) was established. In 1977 and 1984, water force field was developed by Berendsen and Jorgensen respectively. At same year, Warshel and colleagues published the concept of protein elec trostatics and enzyme-substrate complex. At late 1980s, high speed computer, program, technology innovation, and a variety of algorithm were introduced. From paragraph above, we only know some important year between late 1850s to 1980s. From 1970s onwards, there is a proposed expectation curve as shown in Figure 1.1. As computational method and technology are more available, the expectation towards biomolecular modeling field was continued to rise especially from 1980s to 1990s. Structure based rational drug design was then introduced. It was expected to replace the less efficient methods. However, unrealistically disappointment was followed. Then scientists undergo a recovery phase where Human Genome Project was introduced and new technology with fast workstation was published. With these, a steady progress of productivity is emerged until today in order to reach the realistic expectation. In addition, it is important to know that the latest molecular modeling trend is focusing on the development and implementation of virtual reality whose enhance the three dimensional visualization. Nowadays, molecular modeling has been altered the way to conduct a research, that is choosing the experiment with highest probability of success before perform it. So, there is a demand to have a better and faster program design. It is important to know that molecular model need not be commercial or costly to prepare, inexpensive materials also possible to produce useful model and result. Question 2: Molecular graphics and molecular viewer If we said that molecular modeling is creation of computational model based on molecular properties and behavior, then molecular graphic is the graphical depiction of molecular modeling. Molecular graphic is a discipline of study molecule through visualization of molecules and their component parts. It is refers to three-dimensional depictions of molecules that made to examine and understand their response during reaction and interaction. To date, molecular graphic has been replaced some function of physical molecule model as it is portability and easy to interact with analysis result. In the early stage of molecular graphic, computer graphic tool was dominated by vector graphical representation based on calligraphic technology. During that time, only line and dot were shown. And main frame computer was required to manipulate the molecular structure before submit to graphic hardware. Until the founded of Molecular Graphics Society (known as Molecular Graphics and Modeling Society today) in 1983 and present of Journal of Molecular Graphics, new graphic techniques, hardware device and graphical software were introduced. This discovery allows the interactivity on the basis of space filling molecular model. As we know that, molecular objects are in three-dimensional structure. So molecular graphic representation (MGR) is concerns to the multi-dimensionality in order to provide more molecular information. Graphical excellence is used as a guideline for the MGR development. It is well designed to present data and it consists of complex idea that able to communicate with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Basically, the graphical display will shows data, induces viewer to have greatest number of idea, makes large data set to be coherent, encourage eyeball technique to compare data by using human eye, integrates statistical and verbal description of a data set, and reveals data at different levels to give more details. There are several types of molecular model that relate to molecular graphic in order to combine the computational technique with graphic art. Here, I will briefly discuss a few types that commonly used. Ball and stick model is the most widely used molecular model. It displays the three-dimensional position of atoms and bonds that link between them. Typically, atom is represented by sphere with specific color and bond is represented by rod. The rod can be rotate to provide the insight of bond flexible. The Figure 2.1 shows the proline in ball and stick model and its structural formula. Black color represents carbon, white represents hydrogen, blue represents nitrogen, and red represents oxygen. Stick model (refer Figure 2.2) is similar to ball and stick model but without ball as it represents all atoms and bonds by using rod with different color scheme. Space filling model (refer Figure 2.2) is a type of  three-dimensional  molecular model  where the  atoms  are represented by van der Waals spheres with different color and join directly to one another. Its measurement scale is the same as the real atom scale. It shows the space that atom occupied instead of shows the chemical bond. Wire frame model (refer Figure 2.3) is similar to stick model which shows the connection of atom by different color scheme but with thinner bond (connector). This model is convenient for drawing large molecules. Chicken wire model (refer Figure 2.4) is another method to visualize molecular model by drawing the polygon mesh on surface. Its shape is similar to the regular  hexagonal  pattern with mesh  structure. Ribbon model (refer Figure 2.5) is a three dimensional schematic molecular model that used to represent protein structure. It shows the path and organization of protein backbone, and serves as visual framework that provides details of atomic structure. Coiled ribbon represents ÃŽ ±-helix,  arrow represents ÃŽ ²-strand, and thin tubes represents loop. It shows the visual basic of molecular structure such as twist and fold. Molecular viewer is the molecular graphic software that used to visualize molecular structure. It is selected based on the size of molecule and the task to do. Here, I will briefly discuss a few types of viewer that commonly used. RasMol is a powerful research tool for visualization of protein, nucleic acid, and small molecules. It is easy to use while able to produce high quality three-dimensional image. It is a free viewing system for PDB coordinate files. Chime is a molecular viewer that modified RasMol code to allow visualization of molecule through web browser. It able to display three-dimensional and interactive molecular model from webpage. Jmol is a Java-based molecular viewer that allows visualization of molecule through web browser (like Chime) or stand-alone computer (like RasMol). It supports many different source files such as PDB format to create molecular model. Cn3D is NCBIs three-dimensional structure viewer. It allows the display of three-dimensional structure, sequence, and sequence alignment with annotation and alignment editing feature from NCBIs Entrez. Swiss PDB Viewer or DeepView is a molecular viewer that provide user friendly interface which allows analyzing several proteins or multiple models at same time. It supports alignment which based on individual residue, main chain, or entire protein. It also can align different homologous protein structure. It can be used as a helper application for browser. Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD) is designed for visualization of large structure molecule such as protein and lipid. Except visualization, VMD also can analyze molecular dynamic simulation, act as graphical front end by display and animate molecule, and sequence browsing. Question 3: Protein structure with reference to hemoglobin and the prion protein Protein structure is biomolecular structure of protein molecule which made up of amino acid polymers. It is critical to its activity and biological function. X-ray crystallography  and NMR spectroscopy are technique that used to determine the protein structure. Basically, the complex protein structure is characterized into four levels of organization (refer Figure 3.1). Primary structure of protein is a linear sequence of amino acid structural unit that held together by peptide bond. It is starting from amino terminus (N) and end with carboxyl terminus (C). The sequence of amino acid will determines primary structure of protein. Change in a single position of amino acid will alter the function and activity of protein, some might cause disease. Secondary structure of protein is local conformation of polypeptide chain. It defined by  the pattern of hydrogen bond that formed between peptide backbones. The polypeptide folds locally into stable structure will form alpha helix, beta pleated sheet, and turn conformation. Tertiary structure of protein is a global three-dimensional structure that formed when secondary structures are folded in three-dimensional space. This folding is triggered by hydrophobic interaction and stabilized by hydrogen bond, van der Waal interaction, disulfide bond, and charge-charge interaction. Tertiary structure can be organized by more than one domain. Domain region can be alpha helix, beta sheet or mixed. Tertiary structure refers to each individual domain as well as to the complete configuration of whole protein. Whilst motif is small structure that plays important role in protein prediction. Quaternary structure of protein refers to regular association of more than two polypeptide chains that fold and coil to form a complex. The interaction between subunits can be identical or different. Quaternary structure is known as a stable three-dimensional structure of multi subunit protein. Hemoglobin is example of protein quaternary structure that found in red blood cells who acts as oxygen transport molecule. It carries oxygen from lung to release in tissue, and binds to carbon dioxide in tissue then releases back to lung. This process is characterized by cooperative interaction of polypeptide chains (subunit) by change their structure to make hemoglobin to be properly function. Hemoglobin (Figure 3.2) is an allosteric protein. It is a tetramer that consists of two types of subunits, two ÃŽ ±-chains and two ÃŽ ²-chains that held together by non-polar interaction and hydrogen bond. Each subunit is arranged as alpha helix structural segment and forms a hydrophobic cleft to allow the attachment of a heme  prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom who acts as oxygen binding site. Each of the subunits can carry one molecule of oxygen. Actually, there has no contact between same type of chain, that is alpha-alpha chain, and beta-beta chain. The contact region occurs between alpha-chain and beta-chain such as alpha1beta1  and alpha1beta2. The alpha1beta2  contact region acts as a switch between deoxy (T) structure to the oxy (R) structure. At T structure or tense state, binding of oxygen is difficult. While oxygen is favored at R structure or relax state as binding of oxygen will trigger the affinity of next oxygen to hemoglobin. Transition from T structure to R structure is triggered by stereo chemical changes at the heme group as shown in Figure 3.3. Like other proteins, hemoglobin is created by DNA in body. Alteration of amino acid will cause blood related disorder such as sickle cell anemia. This disease is results from a mutation at sixth residue in the ÃŽ ² hemoglobin monomer. Proteinaceous infectious virion (prion) is an infectious protein that causes neurodegenerative disease such as Scrapie and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in mammal, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) and Kuru in human. Prion is known as an infectious agent that infects protein, without the transfer of nucleic acid genome, and it causes other proteins to be misfolded. Proteinaceous infectious particle (PrP), a normal cellular protein, consists of around 250 amino acids is found in our body whose involve in the spread of prion disease. Prion theory states that PrP is sole causative agent of prion diseases. If prion is in normal or stable shape (PrPc), it will not cause disease. Whilst if prion is flipped and folded into abnormal conformation (PrPsc), it will cause disease as it induces other proteins to change their conformation and becomes PrPsc as well. This translation is an exponential process where ÃŽ ±-helical and coil structures are refolded into ÃŽ ²-sheet. PrPc  is the endogenous form of prion protein (PrP), while PrPsc  is the misfolded form of PrP. PrPc and PrPsc are known as protein isoform with tertiary structure characteristic. They are categorized as same protein but with different conformation as their folding region is different as shown in Figure 3.4. PrPc contains more ÃŽ ±-helical and coil structure  and PrPsc has more ÃŽ ²-sheet structure. Prion structure is extremely stable. It is highly resistant to denaturation either by heat, ultraviolet light, or radiation. This characteristic makes prion difficult to be eliminated. Furthermore, prion comes in different strains. Each of the strain has slightly different structure. In other words, there has no effective treatment to fight with prion diseases. Question 4: Protein databases Database is an organized collection of data which allows the convenient access of user. Database can be classified into a variety of type. Here, we only focus on the protein data type. There are three types of protein database, that is protein structure database, protein sequence database, and protein motif database. Before discuss the three types of databases, I would like to briefly describe Protein Data Bank (PDB) which is the primary protein database. Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a worldwide repository of three-dimensional structural data of biological macromolecules. Until March 12, 2013, there are 88837 structures in PDB, in which 82224 are protein structure or 92.56% of PDB structure is protein. All the protein structures are obtained through x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM), hybrid technique, and other experimental method. Since 1971, PDB is under the management of Bookhaven. Until 1999, Research Collaboratory of Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB PDB) takes over this task. In 2003, Worldwide PDB (wwPDB) maintains and formalizes the international collaboration by involve RCSB PDB (USA), PDB Japan (PDBj), PDB Europe (PDBe), and Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB) as members of wwPDB. They act as distribution centers of PDB data. PDB acts as a very important resource to organize and share molecule structure data especially in structural biology area. It serves as a global community to allow scientist to share their research. Currently, the newly determined protein structure will be deposited into PDB data before the scientific paper is published. Except three-dimensional database, PDB also known as primary database for protein structure information. Derived or secondary database will use the PDB data and categorize it in a different way based on their own classification. Protein structure database groups protein based on the similar protein structure and common evolutionary origin. Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP), CATH, and DALI Domain Dictionary (DDD) databases are the three main protein structure classification databases. But here I will only discuss SCOP and CATH. SCOP is a repository that organizes protein structure hierarchically based on their structure and evolutionary origin. The classification of SCOP is manually. With assistant of computer tool, SCOP able to visual and compare the protein structure consistency. The latest version of SCOP is 1.75 that released on June 2009 with 38221 PDB entries and 110800 domains. The source of protein structure is from Protein Data Bank. The classification of SCOP has six levels that are class, fold, superfamily, family, protein, and species. There are eleven classes in SCOP hierarchy which differentiate by fold type: alpha ÃŽ ±, beta ÃŽ ², alpha and beta (ÃŽ ±/ÃŽ ²), alpha plus beta (ÃŽ ±+ÃŽ ²), multi-domain protein, membrane protein, small protein, coiled coil protein, low resolution structure, peptide, and designed protein. Between the eleven classes, only the first seven classes are known as true class and others serve as place holder for protein domain that have not been classified. Proteins are classified into group based on their structure similarity. The unit of classification is protein domain. The shape of domain is known as fold. Proteins share common fold if they have same major secondary structures in same arrangement and same topological connections. Superfamily is probable has common evolutionary origin which share common fold and perform similar function. Family shows a clearly evolutionary relationship of proteins with more than 30% sequence identity. Protein level will connect proteins through similar function and structure. The last level, species, is grouped according to unique sequence. CATH is a semi-automated protein structure classification in which the protein domain is classified based on class (C), architecture (A), topology (T), and homologous superfamily (H). The latest version of CATH is 3.5 that released on September 20, 2011 with 51334 PDB entries, 173536 CATH domains, and 26226 CATH superfamilies. CATH has four classes, they are alpha, beta, alpha and beta, and few secondary structure. The class of protein domain is determined by its secondary structure composition. Architecture level describes the overall shape of domain structure that determined by secondary structure orientation. Then, domain will be grouped into topology level based on secondary structure shape and connectivity. Homologous superfamily level will then grouped protein domains together based on similar structure, function, and has common ancestor. Protein sequence database can be divided into manually and automatically annotated database. UniProtKB/SwissProt and Protein Information Resource-International Protein Sequence Database (PIR-PSD) are example of manually annotated database. UniProtKB/TrEMBL and NCBI GenPept are example of automatically annotated database. Here, I will discuss the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB) as example. UniProtKB is a protein sequence and functional information database. The data type that captured in is known as protein annotation. UniProtKB consists of two sections: UniProtKB/SwissProt which can be reviewed and UniProtKB/TrEMBL which cannot be reviewed. Most of the sequence in UniProtKB is derived from International Nucleotide Sequence Database (INSD) and some from PDB database. All these sequences will be automatically added into UniProtKB/TrEMBL. Then the TrEMBL records can be manually selected to be integrated into SwissProt record. UniProtKB/SwissProt is a high curated and non-redundant protein sequence database. The release 2013_03 of March 6, 2013 has 539616 sequence entries. It combines the experimental result, computational analysis, and scientific literature in one entry. It provides all relevant information about the searched protein as the sequence form same gene and same species are merged into same entry. Its file format such as FASTA is downloadable by public. UniProtKB/TrEMBL is a high quality computational analyze and redundant protein sequence database. That means, TrEMBL is computer annotated supplement to SwissProt but with multiple entries for sam eprotein. The release 2013_03 of TrEMBL on March 6, 2013 has 32153798 sequence entries. However, its entry is not redundant to SwissProt. Therefore, the entry of UniProtKB on release 2013_03 will be the combination entry of SwissProt and TrEMBL that is 32693414. Protein motif database also known as pattern and profile database is secondary database that derived from conserved pattern obtained from multiple sequence alignment. It is useful for the classification of protein sequence into family level. PROSITE and BLOCKS are example of motif based database. PROSITE is a protein domain, family and functional site database which comprise of biologically significant protein site, pattern, and profile. It analyzes protein sequence for known motif. PROSITE classification is based on observation. Similar protein sequence will be group into family. And protein domain is classified based on families that share common ancestor or has functional attribute. PROSITE records give the information of structure and function for a particular protein. It is part of the  ExPASy  proteomics  analysis servers and it used the annotation of domain features of SwissProt entry. Up to date, the latest version is release 20.91 of March 4, 2013 with 1661 entries, 1308 patterns, 1053 profiles, and 1057 ProRule. ProRule is the case rule that provides extra information about function and structural of critical amino acids. For instance, it contains the information related to biologically meaningful residue such as active sites, co-factor-binding sites,  and post-translational  modification sites. It helps the protein function determination. And it able to generate annotation automatically based on the PROSITE motifs. PROSITE database is used when identify the possible function of newly discovered protein, and determine activity of known protein. We also can derive a signature or conserved sequence from protein in order to classify protein. This is because each PROSITE signature is linked to an annotation document, where has all related information of the particular protein. PROSITE offers tool that can function for motif detection and protein sequence analysis. The most common application or archive is fingerprint that act as evidence to identify an individual. Appendix: Figure 1.1: Expectation curve for biomolecular modeling and simulation File:L-proline-3D-balls.pnghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Prolin_-_Proline.svg/121px-Prolin_-_Proline.svg.png Figure 2.1: Ball and stick model of proline Structural formula of proline Space filling model Stick modelhttp://www.rsc.org/ej/NJ/2003/b206570n/b206570n-f3.gif Figure 2.2: Stick model (left) and space filling model (right) of proline http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/FST822/aa/btwf.gif Figure 2.3: Wire frame model http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4f/DMT_chicken_wire_mesh.png/227px-DMT_chicken_wire_mesh.pnghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Tubby-1c8z-pymol.png/160px-Tubby-1c8z-pymol.png Figure 2.4: Chicken wire model with stick model Figure 2.5: Ribbon model http://www.piercenet.com/media/ProStructureFig1.gif Figure 3.1: Four levels of protein structure Diagrammatic representation of the structure of hemoglobin Figure 3.2: Hemoglobin http://jr.stryker.tripod.com/images/TransitionRT.jpg Figure 3.3: Conformation transition from T structure to R structure PrPsc PrPcPrion structure Figure 3.4: Prion protein in abnormal conformation, PrPsc (left) and prion protein in normal conformation, PrPc (right)