American Cheetah Facts

American Cheetah Facts The American Cheetah (Miracinonyx trumani and Miracinonyx inexpectatus) actually comprised two very different species. These species were predators that lived in the Pleistocene era in North America, about 2.6 million to 12,000 years ago. Interestingly, the American cheetah was more closely related to modern pumas and cougars than it was to cheetahs. If, in fact, the American Cheetah turns out not to have been a true cheetah. Scientists attribute this fact to convergent evolution, the tendency for animals in the same ecosystems to evolve the same general features. Fast Facts: The American Cheetah Scientific Names: Miracinonyx trumani and Miracinonyx inexpectatusCommon Name: American cheetahBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 5–6 feet longWeight: 150–200 pounds, depending on speciesLifespan: 8–12 years, but possibly up to 14 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Plains of North AmericaStatus:  Extinct Description The American cheetah is an extinct genus of two feline species that were endemic to North America during the  Pleistocene period: Miracinonyx inexpectatus  and  Miracinonyx intrumani.  Researchers have pieced together fragments of an American cheetah skeleton to derive a picture of what these predators may have looked like. The American cheetah had long legs as well as a lithe body, blunt snout, and foreshortened face with enlarged nasal cavities (to allow for more efficient respiration). American cheetahs were estimated to have weighed about 150 to 200 pounds and measured about 5 to 6 feet in body length. Miracinonyx inexpectatus  had shorter legs that were thought to be better equipped for climbing than the modern cheetah. Habitat and Range The two species of the American cheetah seem to have shared some important general characteristics, including a preference for open grasslands and plains of North America, particularly in what is now the western section of North America. Diet and Behavior Like modern cheetahs, the lithe, long-legged American cheetah hunted by pursuing speedy mammalian megafauna, including deer and prehistoric horses, across the rolling North American plains. However, theres no way to know if this ancient mammal could achieve modern cheetah-like bursts of speed in the 50-mph range, or if its speed limit was set by evolution to a much lower level. Miracinonyx intrumani more closely resembled a modern cheetah, and may, indeed, have been capable of hitting top speeds of over 50 mph in pursuit of prey. Miracinonyx inexpectatus was built more like a cougar than a cheetah (though it was somewhat slimmer overall), and its fully retractable claws point to a possible arboreal lifestyle- that is, instead of chasing prey over the prairies like Miracinonyx intrumani, it may have leaped on them from the low branches of trees, or perhaps scrambled up trees to escape the notice of larger predators. Reproduction and Offspring The reproduction behavior of the American Cheetah is unknown, but sources such as the San Diego Zoo Global Library speculate that their habits were similar to modern cheetahs. Cheetahs become sexually mature when they are between 20 and 23 months. They breed throughout the year. Females have an estrous cycle- the amount of time they are sexually active- of 12 days, but they are actually only in heat for one to three days. Females demonstrate that they are receptive to males by urinating on bushes, trees and rocks. A male, picking up on the scent, begins yelping, and the female responds with yelps of her own as the male approaches. Female cheetahs will mate with more than one male over the course of their lifetime. The females gestation period is about one to three months. They give birth to one to eight offspring, called cubs, which are between 5 and 13 points. Offspring stay with their mother for 13 to 20 months. Cheetahs reach maturity and become sexually active by 2.5 to 3 years of age. Reasons for Extinction Scientists dont know exactly why the American cheetah became extinct, but they think that climate change, a shortage of food, and competition from humans, such as through hunting and competition for food, may have played a role. The American cheetah went extinct at the end of the last ice age- the same time that American lions, mammoths, and horses died off. Sources â€Å"American Cheetah Facts, Habitat, Pictures and Range.†Ã‚  Extinct Animals, 1 July 2015.â€Å"Cheetah Facts.†Ã‚  Cheetah Conservation Fund.Cheetahs Once Roamed North America.†Ã‚  Roaring Earth, 10 Oct. 2018.â€Å"Long before Canada Was Canada.†Ã‚  Cheetah Conservation Fund Canada, 2 Nov. 2018.Pepper, Darren. â€Å"Miracinonyx (American Cheetah†­).†Ã‚  Miracinonyx.ï » ¿Ã¢â‚¬Å"Reproduction.†Ã‚  SeaWorld Parks Entertainment.San Diego Zoo Global Library. â€Å"LibGuides: Extinct American Cheetahs (Miracinonyx Spp.) Fact Sheet: Summary.†Ã‚  Summary - Extinct American Cheetahs (Miracinonyx Spp.) Fact Sheet - LibGuides at International Environment Library Consortium.

Why Islamic Financial Institutions in Need for Corporate Governance Essay

Why Islamic Financial Institutions in Need for Corporate Governance Legal Framework - Essay Example Islamic finanical systems were particularly sucessful in the pre-colonial era but were methodologicaly replaced by conventional financial institutions during the colonial era. However over the last thirty or so years, Islamic financial institutions have been making a formidible comeback. Today Islamic financial systems have not only been established in Islamic states, but also internationally. Moreover, a number of conventional banks are also offering Islamic financial services evidencing the global acceptance of Islamic financial institutions. According to the World Bank, Islamic fiancial services are offered globally via 284 financial institutions in 38 countries which are Islamic and non-Islamic states. Like any financial institution, good and effective corporate governance is necessary for the effective and efficient functioning of the institution and for the protection of stakeholder interests. The stakeholder insterest are not always monetary in nature and can include ethics, values and/or religion. For Islamic financial institution, the amin interests of stakeholders is that the institution offering Islamic financial services comply with Shariah principles. Thus Shariah-compliant functioning in an Islamic financial insitution is the key component of corporate governance in Islamic financial institutions. ... However over the last thirty or so years, Islamic financial institutions have been making a formidible comeback. Today Islamic financial systems have not only been established in Islamic states, but also internationally. Moreover, a number of conventional banks are also offering Islamic financial services evidencing the global acceptance of Islamic financial institutions.1 According to the World Bank, Islamic fiancial services are offered globally via 284 financial institutions in 38 countries which are Islamic and non-Islamic states.2 Like any financial institution, good and effective corporate governance is necessary for the effective and efficient functioning of the institution and for the protection of stakeholder interests. The stakeholder insterest are not always monetary in nature and can include ethics, values and/or religion. For Islamic financial institution, the amin interests of stakeholders is that the institution offering Islamic financial services comply with Shariah p rinciples. Thus Shariah-compliant functioning in an Islamic financial insitution is the key component of corporate governance in Islamic financial institutions.3 The challenge for Islamic financial institutions in formulating good and effective corporate governance constructs is reconciling Shariah-compliant principles with the interests of all stakeholders.4 The stakeholder relationship in Islamic financial institutions is different from conventional financial institutions because profit and risk sharing principles change the nature of the stakeholder relationship.5 Moreover, the definition of property also changes the Islamic financial institution’s perspective on corporate

Healthy Grief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Healthy Grief - Essay Example Kubler-Ross described grief as occurring in five stages. In the stage of denial according to Ross, the individual facing grief attempt to shut the reality of the loss incurred for a false reality that’s assuring. This stage has characteristics of isolation according to Ross. In the Bible, the depiction of Denial is absent in the account of job. Job on hearing different servants report of the loss that had befallen his house immediately gives God glory and declares that he came naked, and he will return to God naked (Mason, 2002). In Islam, the Quran commands Muslims of true faith to acknowledge that God owns it all and can call anyone home as He pleases (Irish, Lundquist, & Nelsen, 2014). From this comparison, it is clear that the denial lacks in the religious accounts. In the second stage of anger according to Ross, emotions and the masking effects that were applied in denial fade overwhelm the individual. Wailing may occur and intense anger that is directed at self, others of objects like animals around. Even though, rationally it is clear that the dead cannot feel the blame for emotional sake the grieving may do so. According to the account of the bible of job, it is clear that Job felt anger. This is manifested in Job 3; 25 when he said that his fears had come finally even though he either rested or was quiet about preventing them (Johnson, 2010). In Islam, the Quran prohibits wailing but acknowledges sadness that is a form of anger manifestation. An account of prophet Mohamed’s son talking and asking the mountain in it would not break to pieces if it had such grief as he had is a perfect example of anger (Kristiansen & Sheikh, 2012). The third stage on the account of Ross is bargaining. Here the grieving regains hope that maybe perchance the loss can be undone. At times, the grieving may offer to give any possible thing to any agency or God to restore the life of the deceased. In the

Are Stem Cell Treatments Effective Research Paper

Are Stem Cell Treatments Effective - Research Paper Example The embryonic SCs (ESCs) are â€Å"pluripotent† cells which can produce tissues of all embryonic germ layers namely, endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. The adult SCs (ASCs) are â€Å"multipotent† cells having the capacity to generate a limited subset of cells (Lodi et al., 2011). of The characteristic ability of the stem cells to renew themselves continuously for long periods and differentiate into specific cell types under appropriate conditions (Zhong, 2008) make them good candidates for cell-based therapies in regenerative or reparative medicine, especially to treat conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and several neurodegenerative diseases. Research on and application of ESCs for clinical use is a raging controversy. No regular human ESC therapies are available yet. According to the latest literature on the topic, the only on-going clinical trials employing ESC are being conducted on patients with spinal cord injury (Aznar and Sanchez, 2011 ). However, numerous trials have been/are being conducted with ASCs. ... The human heart muscle damaged by a heart attack does not heal naturally. The primary treatment protocol involves a rapid reperfusion of the infarct related coronary artery in order to curtail the ischemic area and reduce tissue damage (Lodi et al., 2011). Also, angioplasty is required to be conducted soon after, to effectively reestablish the coronary flow. A new strategy of restoring damaged heart tissue is through facilitating repair or regeneration of the tissue. Using ASCs as well as ESCs for heart muscle repair is, currently, an active area of research (stemcells.nih.gov). Autologous skeletal myoblast transplantation undertaken as a major multicenter study for MI treatment did not show any improvement especially with regard to the echocardiographic heart function (Menasche et al., 2008) but improvement in the ejection fraction (EF) was noted (Hagege et al., 2006). Adult human stem cells therapy (AHSCT) could successfully improve EF without causing adverse left ventricular remod eling (Schachinger et al., 2009). Also, in a multicenter double-blind study, intracoronary infusion of HSCs into the infarct artery of 204 patients with acute MI following successful reperfusion therapy was found to significantly reduce MI recurrence restenosis or arrhythmia which are two major adverse post-MI cardiovascular events (Schachinger et al., 2006). Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells introduced with a catheter into the heart of 21 patients with severe heart failure in a nonrandomized, open-label study appreciably improved myocardial blood flow with associated enhancement of regional and global left ventricular function (Perin et

How has the ?American Dream? been translated into popular film? Refer :: essays research papers fc

The American Dream is an often mentioned and well-known term used to describe the ideology of the United States of America. Despite the common usage of the term it is not always completely understood and so requires, at least, a brief introduction and definition. P Mueller in his writing Star Trek and the American Dream claims that â€Å"†¦to some the American dream is just "from rags to riches", to others it includes the realisation of high flying ideals as old as mankind itself.† Mueller then goes onto say that the term was coined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams and identifies three main roots: mythical aspects (leading back to the ancient dream of a perfect society and as paradise even before the continent was discovered), religious aspects (which Mueller describes as dealing with the puritan vision of a city upon a hill) and political aspects (arising from the declaration of independence and the constitution). It would seem that the most important of these th ree themes is arguably that of the political nature and various commentators have defined the American Dream in this way. Martin Luther King claimed â€Å"It [the American Dream] is found in those majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, words lifted to cosmic proportions: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This is a dream. It’s a great dream.† Jim Bickford concurred with this view within his writing The American Dream: Our Heritage of Hope (in which he goes onto to identify several examples of the American Dream in practice throughout history) when he claimed â€Å"America was built on dreams† and went onto to discuss the importance of the declaration of independence in creating the dream by stating â€Å"Our ancestors chose to take the risk by putting their lives o n the line and fighting for freedom† . In respect to the medium of film it comes as no surprise that the American Dream has filtered itself, both consciously and unconsciously, directly and indirectly, onto the screen. America, and in particular Hollywood, is the dominant producer of film within the world today. Where Hollywood leads other filmmaking nations follow. The American Dream is largely presented within film in the sense of the political context: life, liberty and (in particular) the pursuit of Happiness but there is no uniform depiction of this.

This Way to the Gas

The holocaust, some know it to have been one if the most horrifying and bureaucratic events to be caused by man or a man in history. The man responsible for this event was the great tyrant Adolf Hitler who was responsible for the death of six million Jews, gypsies, poles, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. A polish writer and Auschwitz survivor Tadeusz Borowski buts in great detail how these people were treated in his then and now famous book this way for the gas ladies and gentlemen. Tadek a character in the story shows conflicting attitudes with other in the camp with sympathy, anger, and moral outrage.Borowski’s short stories show mans inhumanity towards man. There are events from the shorty stories that make his descriptions of the horrors of Auschwitz so shocking and memorable. Memories are short stories like the beginning of This Way for The Gas, A Day at Harmenz, The People Who Walked On, and Silence. In the beginning of the first story This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gen tlemen Borowski starts off with supersizing details â€Å"all of us walk around naked†(29). This is all the Jews and other travelers are ticked on the train being promised to a safe place.Then stripped away of their luggage at Canada, â€Å"take your luggage with you†¦pile your stuff near the exits†(37). Then everyone is stripped of his or her clothing â€Å"thousand of naked men shuffle up and down the road†(29). Women would have their hair shaved off, and everyone is given stripped suits. â€Å"Their nude, withered bodies stink of sweat and excrement; their cheeks are hollow†(31). Again very descriptive about how the malnourished and over worked people looked. These people were as close to skeletons as you could get.On page43 a women denies her on child after she cries out â€Å"Mama! Mama! † just so she won’t have to go to the gas champers. Also in this short story Tadek experiences some things that any man or women wouldn’t d ream of doing. â€Å"I seize a corpse by the hand; the fingers close tightly around mine. I pull back†(48). Tadek in this situation in taking all the dead bodies off the ramp and was discussed and freighted with what he saw. At one point he runs off the ramp because the sight was unbearable. The short story in the book A Day at Harmenz also gives graphic details on ow not only Tadek, but also how others tried to survive. The story begins with Tadek doing hard labor for punishment for not getting up. Mrs. Haneczka Is a women that lives in the village of Harmenz that treats him nicely and gives him food. So Tadek seems to like this women but short with others when people ask him to ask her for food. Tadek’s attitude towards other victims of the camp is expressed there. â€Å"When your time comes to go to the gas, ill help you along personally, and with great pleasure†(53).Tadek showing extreme and hate towards Becker because he believes he was a camp senior at a J ewish camp out side of Poznan and had his own son killed for stealing. Could you blame Tadek for being mad? When the time came for Becker to go to the cremo Tadek actually felt a little sympathy for him. Another example of brutality being shown was in on part of the story a man named Ivan had stole a goose and was furiously whipped, â€Å"the whip hissed. Deep, bloody gashes stood out on Ivan’s face†(79).Another important short story in the book was The People Who Walked On. In the story there’s a shift in tone, at least in the beginning of the story. The story opens up in a peaceful setting; building a soccer field. This is the total opposite then the frenzied horror of the first story. A soccer game on the outside of the fence on a warm day and inside the fence was hard labor. There is a women in the story that secretly has a child Tadek looks at the child and whispered to the mother, â€Å"what a pretty child†(89). â€Å"All you know is pretty!It can die at any moment†(89). The mother is not so happy about the birth of her own child but worried that it’ll be a matter of time before it dies from the gas champers. After that Tadek walks away as if it’s not his concern. This shows not only Tadek’s sudden change of feelings towards this women and her child, but shows the worry in the peoples eyes they have of thinking when the day will come for them to be sent to the gas. The story Silence was somewhat of a turning point in the book that has conflicting instincts of forgiveness vs. evenge. The Americans with the freedom are oblivious of how the prisoners felt or had to deal with in the camps. The statement Silence is about the freedom of the prisoners. In this story Borowski also suggest that human beings have a need for vengeance. â€Å" With hate dragged him into a dark ally†¦ they began tearing at him with greedy hands†(161). The quote shows great detail on how they take their anger and hatr ed on the S. S. soldiers how treated them like dogs. This even tells how the camp drove them to insanity.Not event the motivated speech by the American on page 163 could stop the prisoners from trampling the S. S. solider to death, showing how deep their hate went. Borowski along with other writers who have written about the holocaust serve a good purpose. That purpose is remembrance. Remembering tragic events like this is important because it helps us know and appreciate life that we have now. It’s important that the past things like this should be recognized so we wont be doomed to repeat it.

German Medieval Literature Hildebrandslied - 1025 Words

In each text of the following German medieval literature: â€Å"Hildebranslied,† â€Å"Nibelungenlied† and Tristan courtly virtues of muot, à ªre, and triuwe are present and have importance within the context which either make a situation acceptable or not. These virtues make characters within each text either admirable or looked down upon. It also makes meaning of the text complex rather than one-sided. Although all virtues are present and emphasized, equal value is not given to the virtues in all texts except for à ªre. In â€Å"Hildebrandslied,† the character that displays à ªre in an extreme situation is Hildebrand. The conflict of the passage is a father who knows he must battle his son in the name of triuwe and especially à ªre. While Hildebrand has knowledge that his opponent is his son, his son Hadubrand did not recognize Hildebrand as his father because he believes his father is dead from battle. (27-29) Although not directly mentioned, muot is also present through the description of both Hildebrand and Hadubrand as champions. (2) Mental strength is shown through Hadubrand calling Hildebrand â€Å"utterly cunning.† (38) However in â€Å"Hildebranslied,† muot is not as valued as triuwe and particularly à ªre. As à ªre was most valued because although Hildebrand had knowledge of his son, he still has to fighting his opponent to guard his honor and the honor of his lord. This leads to Hildebrand showing triuwe and perfect à ªre to his lord, as he performs the order to fight against his enemy,