The Strategic Causes of Conflict - What caused the 1991 Gulf War Essay - 1

The Strategic Causes of Conflict - What caused the 1991 Gulf War - Essay Example Up today, the access of a country to chemical and nuclear weapons has caused severe oppositions and conflicts. There are those who support that all countries would have such right while others claim that only certain countries should be authorized to obtain such weapons. Current paper focuses on the identification and the analysis of the reasons that have led to the development of the 1991 Gulf war. The specific war, which was developed by US against Iraq seemed to be related to the latter’s efforts to develop chemical and nuclear weapons. However, other views have also appeared. For example, it has been noted that Iraq paid a high price for its efforts to become the region’s leader, a plan that would threaten the interests of other region’s countries, especially of Kuwait. There is also the view that the practice of Iraq to ignore the guidelines of international community in regard to the trade of the oil could not be tolerated. The views that have been develope d in regard to the causes of the 1991 Gulf war are analytically presented below using relevant literature. It is proved that the specific war was rather unavoidable since its causes were many and their elimination was not feasible, as explained below. In any case, the 1991 Gulf war revealed a series of problems and revealed the ineffectiveness of international community to resolve critical disputes by avoiding the use of military forces. 2. Gulf War of 1991 – Causes 2.1 1991 Gulf War – a brief overview of critical events In order to identify the causes of the 1991 Gulf war it is necessary to refer to a series of events that took place before the development of the war. In August of 1990 Iraqi troops entered in Kuwait; the specific initiative surprised international community and led to the immediate reaction of USA and UN.1 UN ‘warned Iraq to withdraw’.2 Severe sanctions were introduced, as a threat, so that Iraqi government is persuaded to change its plan s and to withdraw its troops from Kuwait; the sanctions were mostly economic while air force was involved for securing the inability of Iraq to seek for support by other countries.3 In addition, US troops were sent to the Gulf so that to secure that there would be no risk for the development of the crisis to the other countries of the region.4 Shortly, the US government developed a coalition, at international level, for deciding on the measures that should be taken against Iraq: Egypt and Saudi Arabia were among the Arab states that stated their willing to participate in such coalition since their security seemed to be threatened by Iraq.5 In addition, the Security Council of UN was asked to give its authorization for the use of military forces, an initiative that was developed in November 1990 and since Iraqi government refused to withdraw its troops from Kuwait.6 The Security Council set a deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait: it was the 15th of January 1991; af ter that date the international community would have the right to use ‘any means for securing the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait’.7 In 16th January and since no response existed from Iraqi government President Bush ordered the beginning of ‘aerial bombardment’.8 These bombardments were continued for about 5 weeks with no success since Iraqi troops refused to leave Kuwait; a ground military operation was ordered, an initiative that finally led to the release of Kuwait from the Iraqi troops.9 The ground operation was terminated in February the 27th

Paralegal class assignmnet #5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paralegal class assignmnet #5 - Assignment Example Although this decision is contrary to my understanding of the relative power of the Federal versus state government, it does not affect what I stand for. I disagree with this decision for I hold that the supremacy of the Supreme Court, as defined in Article III, gives it the jurisdiction over such a case. Q2: Natural law refers to the system of universal law that is determined by nature. In The Antelope case, the US Supreme Court examined the validity of the slave trade following the capture of a ship ferrying slaves from Africa. By the natural law, the slave trade is illegal for it denies human being of their freedom. In this case, however, the national legislation recognized the slaves as the legal properties of the Vessel crew. The positivist argument prevailed, and the judges held that the master was lawfully transporting his ‘possession. Although every judicial theory has unique advantages and limitations over the others, I find judicial restraint as the most appropriate approach for todays justice system. Judicial restraint encourages the judges to limit their power and influence and instead stick to the constitutional provisions. By strictly interpreting the legislations appropriately, judges live to the letter and spirit of the doctrine of separation of powers which defines the legislature as the law formulating body and not the judiciary. The use of marijuana has been illegal in several countries in the world. However, researchers have proved the medicinal value of this controversial plant. Studies have shown that bhang can be used as a painkiller and in the treatment of brain problems (Sharma 179). For this reason, bhang use should not be prohibited as it is the case in many countries. Q3: Deposition, Interrogatory and request for admission are the three primary methods of discovery that enables the party to the case exchange information

Low MicroRNA-21 Expression in HPV-Induced Carcinogenesis

Low MicroRNA-21 Expression in HPV-Induced Carcinogenesis Low microRNA-21 expression in the development of a favorable microenvironment for HPV-induced carcinogenesis Introduction Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the most common sexually transmitted agents. High risk types of Human Papillomavirus, as HPV16, are the causative agents of virtually all cases of cervical cancer and a significant proportion of other anogenital cancers, as well as some head and neck cancers [1-3]. The K14-HPV16 transgenic mice model is specially used to study the HPV-associated squamous cells cancers. In this model, the expression of early region genes (E2-E8) of HPV-16 is driven by the keratin 14 promoter/enhancer [4]. The K14-HPV16 transgenic mice develop epidermal hyperplastic lesions that progress to dysplastic lesions and ultimately to invasive cancer. The expression of HPV oncogenes E6 and E7 induces epithelial carcinogenesis through well-defined premalignant stages before de novo carcinoma development [5]. The basal cells are mitotically active and thus may develop further mutations in response to a proliferative stimulus, and the expression of K14 has been shown to persist in well-differentiated squamous carcinomas [6]. This model of multistep epithelial neoplasia will facilitate the study of both the epigenetic and the genetic factors that regulate neoplastic progression and coordinate malignant conversion. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by base pairing with mRNAs, leading to the inhibition of mRNA translation or its degradation. In normal cells, miRNAs control numerous processes including proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis [7]. Furthermore, these molecules are described as key regulators in many diseases including, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, viral infections and cancer. Some miRNAs are lost during tumorigenesis whereas other miRNAs are upregulated. Previous data indicates that miRNAs are important to distinguish subtypes of cancers, where the histological diagnosis is complex and difficult. Furthermore, it also may be a useful tool to diagnose cancers of unknown origin and to study cancer predisposition [8]. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) has been implicated in various aspects of carcinogenesis. In most solid tumors, miR-21 is overexpressed and thus influences cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis [9-11]. However, the interplay between miRNAs, human papillomavirus (HPV) genes and how these interactions contribute to HPV-associated cancers remain elusive and not well understood. The tumor microenvironment associated to miRNAs plays an increasingly appreciated role in cancer (ref whiteside) however, the microenvironment prior to tumorigenesis can influence the carcinogenesis process. In this study we investigated the expression profile of microRNA-21 in K14-HPV16 transgenic mice, using ear and chest skin samples. Thus, we evaluate the importance of the microenvironment associated with the miR-21 expression and predisposition to HPV-induced carcinogenesis. Material and methods Transgenic mice K14-HPV16 mice on a FVB/N background were generously donated by Drs. Jeffrey Arbeit and Douglas Hanahan, from the University of California, through the USA National Cancer Institute Mouse Repository. Generation of K14-HPV mice has been previously reported [12]. After one week quarantine, the animals were kept as breeder pairs in accordance with National (Portaria 1005/92 dated October the 23rd) and European (EU Directive 2010/63/EU) legislation, under controlled conditions of temperature (23 ±2 ºC), light-dark cycle (12h light/12h dark) and relative humidity (50 ±10%), using hardwood bedding. A standard diet (Global Diet 2014, Harlan, Barcelona) and water were provided ad libitum. Health checks were performed daily. Genotyping of HPV-E6 and E2 (referencias genotipagem Hugo?) 15 offspring females from consecutive litters were genotyped at weaning, using tail tip samples. To genotyping were used tail tips of mice of the strain FVB, wild-type or hemizygous. Tissue lysis was performed using MAGNAPure DNA Tissue Lysis Buffer and Proteinase K for 17 h at 65  °C. Nucleic acids were extracted by the High Pure Viral Nucleic Acid Kit following the manufacturers instructions. To test the efficacy of the method of DNA extraction was investigated the presence of mouse-ÃŽ ²-globin gene. The presence of integrated HPV was assessed by amplification of HPV-E6 and HPV-E2 genes by polymerase chain reaction methodology (PCR) in-house. The resulting genotypes were confirmed to the respective phenotypes. After genotype determination, all animals were sacrificed at 22 to 26 weeks-old and completely necropsied. Ear and chest skin samples were collected into TRIzol (Invitrogen) for miRNA analysis and matched samples were collected into 10% neutral buffered formalin for histological processing. For these procedures, 13 skin samples (ear and chest) of 8 hemizygous females (+ / -) were collected. As control were used 14 skin samples of 7 wild-type females (- / -). Histology Skin samples were fixated in 10% neutral buffered formalin for 48 hours, routinely processed and paraffin-embedded. Histological sections (2 µm-thick) were obtained and stained with haematoxylin and eosin (HE) for examination on light microscopy. Samples and their lesions were classified as normal skin, epidermal hyperplasia and epidermal in situ carcinoma by two independent, blind researchers (CL and RGC). miRNA expression analysis To study miRNA-21 expression, the skin samples were macerated with the TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen) for RNA preservation. The extraction of total RNA was performed using aHigh Pure RNA Isolation Kit(Roche Applied Science), according to manufacturer’s instructions. RNA quality was assessed by measuring the absorbance at 260 nm and its purity was evaluated by the ratio of absorbance at 260/280 nm. cDNA synthesis The conversion of miRNA to cDNA was performed using TaqMan ® MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit ( PN 4366596 , Applied Biosystems ®, Foster CA, USA ), using sequence-specific stem-loop primers from each miRNA (miR-21 and snoRNA-202). The amplification conditions were as follows: 30 min at 15 °C, 52 min at 42 ºC and finally 10 min at 85 °C. miRNA-21 relative quantification We used qPCR technique to measure the relative expression of miR-21 (StepOne Real-time PCR Systems; final volume: 20 uL, with1Ãâ€" TaqMan ® Universal Master Mix II Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California USA; 1x MicroRNA Assay (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California USA) and 2 uL cDNA. As endogenous control, we used snoRNA-202. Statistical Analysis Data analysis was performed by the computer software IBM ®SPSS  ®Statistics for Windows (Version 20.0). The 2ΔΔCt method, along with Student’s t-test was used in order to evaluate any statistical differences in the normalized expression of the miR-21. To analyze the normalized relative expression (-ΔCt) of the different groups, we considered the results corresponding to 99% representation of the population ( ±2).      Results Genotyping and histological analysis We observed the presence of integrated HPV DNA (E6 and E2 ORF) in 53% of mice. All cases with HPV-E6 expression also presented HPV-E2 expression. All mice with integrated HPV DNA demonstrated, phenotypically, various degrees of persistent epidermal and squamous mucosal hyperplasia, characteristic lesions associated to HPV infection, previously described in Arbeit et al. study [12]. After histologic evaluation we observed that, in all cases with integrated HPV DNA, the ear tissues presented epidermal in situ carcinomas while the chest tissues showed epidermal hyperplasia. In wild-type mice we observed normal histology. MiRNA-21 expression profile in tissue of transgenic versus wild-type mice To investigate a possible direct influence of HPV16 on the miR-21 expression profile, we analyzed the relative expression between the all tissues (ear and chest) of transgenic mice and the tissues of the control group. We did not found statistical difference in expression levels between both groups (p=0,615). When we compare the miRNA-21 expression in ear and chest samples, singly, we also did not found statistical difference in expression levels between transgenic and wild type mice (Fig.2). MiRNA-21 expression profile in normal tissue To study the miR-21 normal expression profile in tissues, we quantified the expression of miR-21 in the ear and chest skin samples of the control group. We observed that the ear tissues have lower expression levels when compared to chest tissue (p = 0.036) (Fig.3 a)). Mir-21 expression profile in tissues of transgenic mice To compare the relation between miR-21 expression and lesion type, we analyzed the histology of ear and chest samples from transgenic mice and we quantified the expression of miR-21 in the same. We detected that lower expression levels of miR-21 are associated with cancerous lesions as in situ carcinomas (ear) compared with hyperplastic lesions (chest) (p=0,043) (Fig.3 b)). Discussion Recent studies have associated miR-21 to the pathogenesis of various diseases, including cancer. (ref) MiR-21 overexpression is observed in the majority of carcinomas and hematological malignancies. However, understanding of the potential role of miRNA-21 in previous microenvironment to the development of HPV-associated lesions remains elusive. In cervical cancer, it is accepted that HPV infection is the most important factor for transition from normal cervical epithelium to cervical pre-neoplastic intraepithelial neoplasia and subsequently to invasive cervical cancer. However, the influence of others factors including the microenvironment are poorly investigated. Microenvironment associated to miR-21 may be key factor to the predisposition of cancer. We studied that the expression of miR-21 in normal tissues could be important in development of HPV-associated tumors. Our results demonstrate that, in transgenic mice, all ear tissues presented epidermal in situ carcinomas and chest tissues showed epidermal hyperplasia. Thus, we hypothesize that these interesting facts could be related to different miR-21 profile expression of both tissues. Our results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the miR-21 expression in HPV-positive samples and controls, concluding therefore that the presence of HPV does not directly influence the expression of this microRNA. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that differences in the miR-21 expression existing in the normal tissue microenvironment are an important determinant of the HPV-induced carcinogenesis process. Several studies have expanded the concept that inflammation is a critical component of tumour progression. Many cancers arise from sites of infection, chronic irritation and inflammation [13]. Thomas X. Lu et al., identified an IL-12/IFN-g–dependent pathway as the most prominent upregulated pathway in the lungs of OVAchallenged miR-21-/- mice compared with wild-type littermate controls, providing substantial evidence that this is the major pathway dysregulated in the miR-21–deficient mice [14]. As IL-12 is a major cytokine that regulates Th1 versus Th2 decisions primarily by inducing T cells to produce the Th1 cytokine IFN-ÃŽ ³ [15], may be related to inflammation responsible for tumor progression. These facts that relate the miR-21 downregulation with increased inflammation may explain our findings that tissues with lower miR-21 expression are more likely to develop a carcinogenic pathway. Pten has been verified as a miR-21 target in pancreatic cancer, hepatocellular cancer and squamous cell carcinoma [16, 17]. (†¦) References 1.Walboomers, J.M., et al., Human papillomavirus is a necessary cause of invasive cervical cancer worldwide. J Pathol, 1999. 189(1): p. 12-9. 2.Watson, M., et al., Using population-based cancer registry data to assess the burden of human papillomavirus-associated cancers in the United States: overview of methods. Cancer, 2008. 113(10 Suppl): p. 2841-54. 3.Major, T., et al., The characteristics of human papillomavirus DNA in head and neck cancers and papillomas. J Clin Pathol, 2005. 58(1): p. 51-5. 4.Coussens, L.M., D. Hanahan, and J.M. Arbeit, Genetic predisposition and parameters of malignant progression in K14-HPV16 transgenic mice. Am J Pathol, 1996. 149(6): p. 1899-917. 5.Masset, A., et al., Unimpeded skin carcinogenesis in K14-HPV16 transgenic mice deficient for plasminogen activator inhibitor. Int J Cancer, 2011. 128(2): p. 283-93. 6.Stoler, A., et al., Use of monospecific antisera and cRNA probes to localize the major changes in keratin expression during normal and abnormal epidermal differentiation. J Cell Biol, 1988. 107(2): p. 427-46. 7.Chen, C.Z., MicroRNAs as oncogenes and tumor suppressors. N Engl J Med, 2005. 353(17): p. 1768-71. 8.Paranjape, T., F.J. Slack, and J.B. Weidhaas, MicroRNAs: tools for cancer diagnostics. Gut, 2009. 58(11): p. 1546-54. 9.Chan, J.A., A.M. Krichevsky, and K.S. Kosik, MicroRNA-21 is an antiapoptotic factor in human glioblastoma cells. Cancer Res, 2005. 65(14): p. 6029-33. 10.Iyevleva, A.G., et al., High level of miR-21, miR-10b, and miR-31 expression in bilateral vs. unilateral breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2012. 131(3): p. 1049-59. 11.Kulda, V., et al., Relevance of miR-21 and miR-143 expression in tissue samples of colorectal carcinoma and its liver metastases. Cancer Genet Cytogenet, 2010. 200(2): p. 154-60. 12.Arbeit, J.M., et al., Progressive squamous epithelial neoplasia in K14-human papillomavirus type 16 transgenic mice. J Virol, 1994. 68(7): p. 4358-68. 13.Coussens, L.M. and Z. Werb, Inflammation and cancer. Nature, 2002. 420(6917): p. 860-7. 14.Lu, T.X., et al., MicroRNA-21 limits in vivo immune response-mediated activation of the IL-12/IFN-gamma pathway, Th1 polarization, and the severity of delayed-type hypersensitivity. J Immunol, 2011. 187(6): p. 3362-73. 15.Gately, M.K., et al., The interleukin-12/interleukin-12-receptor system: role in normal and pathologic immune responses. Annu Rev Immunol, 1998. 16: p. 495-521. 16.Darido, C., et al., Targeting of the tumor suppressor GRHL3 by a miR-21-dependent proto-oncogenic network results in PTEN loss and tumorigenesis. Cancer Cell, 2011. 20(5): p. 635-48. 17.Meng, F., et al., MicroRNA-21 regulates expression of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene in human hepatocellular cancer. Gastroenterology, 2007. 133(2): p. 647-58. Fig. 1 Mice genotyping. The presence of integrated HPV was assessed by amplification of HPV-E2 (b) and HPV-E6 (c) genes by polymerase chain reaction methodology (PCR) in-house. Mouse-ÃŽ ²-globin gene was used as endogenous control (a). Fig. 2 Normalized relative expression of miR-21 in transgenic mice (HPV+) and wild-type mice (HPV-), in ear (a) and chest tissue (b). 1

Letter to My Family :: Disease Outbreak Health Essays

Letter to My Family To My Family, Where do I begin? I don't know how many Shelly's piano concerts I missed for this stupid job. Shelly, if you're reading this, I am really sorry. I wish I could make amends but there simply isn't enough time. Jacob, I am sorry I have to leave you even before I would see your first steps. Diana, my sweetheart, loving wife of 10 years, I owe you the most. All those nights that I stumbled home drunk. All those times that I hit you. I am sorry. I am a monster. I guess I do deserve to die like this. Last month I didn't even know where the hell Zaire was. All I knew was that it was some poor backwards nation in Africa that we sold water filters to. Funny how things turn out, I am going to die in this god forsaken place. Twenty people in this village have died. The rest that haven't probably wish they were. David is already dead. Honey, you remember David right? That junior assistant in our department I told you about? I never liked him. He died first too. Serves that prick right. He wanted to tag along on this trip hoping to attain "valuable sales experience." Always kissing up to the boss, that's David. He started complaining about soreness and a headache. Then the day before he died, he vomited all over my briefcase after lunch. We thought he was just complaining as usual four nights ago, but in the morning we found him in his hut dead. I will never forget that sight. His eyes and mouth were both wide open and trails of dried blood ran from them. At first, we th ought one of the villagers poisoned us or something. But then, one of the villagers started screaming as loud as he could. He stumbled and ran in the woods afterwards. We never saw him again. I knew this was bad news already. But it only got worse. The UN folks showed up wearing suits that looked like they were taken straight out of a movie or something. They were all covered up and some of them even had oxygen masks. They prodded David like a dead cow and even stuck a few needles into him.

U.S. Civil Rights Milestones of the Early Twentieth Century

It would be almost impossible to discuss the issue of civil rights in the U.S. without mentioning Martin Luther King. He was the undeniable leader and hero of the American Civil Rights Movement of the twentieth century. He is widely recognized for his valiant efforts to advance civil rights for African Americans in the U.S. in the late 1950's and 60's. Countless streets and buildings carry his name and the country celebrates a national holiday on his birthday in January. He was the founder and first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC organized non-violent protests throughout the South. However, many people in the U.S. are not aware of any of the events in the Civil Rights Movement that took place before Dr. King's leadership. The three major milestones that set the stage for Martin Luther King and the SCLC to advance the cause of U.S. civil rights were the integration of the military, the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education decision, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The first noteworthy event of the twentieth century that advanced the cause of civil rights was executive order 9981. President Truman became enlightened about the plight of African Americans when he met with civil rights activists in the White House in 1946. After establishing a committee to recommend preventive measures to fight discrimination, Truman signed executive order 9981 that called for the integration of the military (Executive Order 9981). However, it was not fully enforced until the U.S. became involved in the Korean War. A legal decision that had a lasting impact on civil rights was the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education handed down in 1955. It established that public schools should not be segregated. Though it was challenged by several southern states for many years, all the states eventually followed it (Brown v. Board of Education).The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest orchestrated by Dr. King. Most people remember Rosa Parks as the brave woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Her arrest led to a boycott of the buses in Montgomery, Alabama for over a year. The protest was successful and led to Martin Luther King's presidency of the SCLC. As the president of the SCLC, he led many protests and marches and gave countless memorable speeches to champion civil rights (Montgomery Bus Boycott). Before MLK assumed a leadership role in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement through his presidency of the SCLC, other key events took place to pave the way for the fight for equality. Truman's Executive Order 9981 in 1948 eventually led to complete racial integration in the military. Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education legally ended public school segregation, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in the end of illegal desegregation on public transportation. These historic events preceded Dr. King's numerous achievements and helped energize the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Works Citedâ€Å"Brown v. Board of Education.†Ã‚  History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/.â€Å"Executive Order 9981.†Ã‚  Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 2016, www.encyclopedia.com/.â€Å"Montgomery Bus Boycott.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 2018, www.britannica.com/.

Medical Office Basics: Hoarding

Do you have a problem selling, throwing away, or even recycling things? If you do it is very possible that you may have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder referred to as Hoarding. Another way to tell if you have this problem is if you shop too much. According to the International OCD Foundation, 3 out of every 4 people shop excessively. While collecting research and reading over signs and symptoms that I will cover later in this paper I realized that I may have an undiagnosed Hoarder in my immediate family. The International OCD Foundation states, â€Å"Hoarding is a complex disorder that is made up of three connected problems: 1) collecting too many items, 2) difficulty getting rid of items and 3) problems with organization. † Of the items hoarded the most common are newspapers and clothes, but also commonly includes containers, junk mail, craft items, books, trash, and in some cases animals. Even collectors can eventually fall into the category of being a Hoarder when their collection becomes so overwhelming that they are no longer able to display their possessions in a safe manner. The clutter in a persons’ dwelling must create a health and safety concern, and also significant distress, in order to truly be categorized as a disorder. It is estimated that as many as 1 in every 20 people have a substantial amount of hoarding problems. The act of Hoarding, cluttering of living spaces and keeping items of little to no value, is most commonly found in older age groups but in rare cases can also be found in adolescents and children as early as 3 years old. The reason that hoarding is found so commonly in the elderly is because the severity of the disorder increases with each decade of life. Hoarding is also found to be more dominant in men than in women. Symptoms of Hoarding are believed to begin in early childhood or adolescence and progress each year without proper therapy. Hoarding is one of only two psychiatric disorders that increase in severity and prevalence as you progress in life, the other is Dementia. There are many consequences that come along with Hoarding, one of the worst being evicted from your home or even your house being ruled as condemned. There was a study done that found 45% of Hoarders could not use their refrigerators, 42% could not use their kitchen sink, 42% could not use this bathtub, 20% cannot use their bathroom sink, and 10% could not use their toilet. In many cases finances also become an immeasurable quandary in a Hoarders life due to paying for storage units for their priceless treasures, buying items to add to their clutter and paying housing fines caused by their property appearing disheveled or having â€Å"lack of curb appeal†. There are four primary characteristics of Hoarding. The first thing you could see is depression or anxiety with a family history of hoarding. Secondly people who hoard have difficult time processing information; these problems can usually be interpreted as having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder qualities. Third, people who hoard tend to form intense emotional attachments to a wider variety of objects than a person who doesn’t hoard. Hoarders attach human-like qualities to inanimate objects. In other words, asking a Hoarder to get rid of an item is like asking them to get rid of a loved one. The last characteristic is that Hoarders do not want to waste objects or throw away items that could be seen as a loss of opportunity represented by the object. As far as treatments for Hoarding there have not been many medical advances. The only treatments medical professionals have been able to come up with thus far are psychiatric treatments, interventions by friends and family, and prescription medications. Although there are medical professionals hoarders could talk to many times they will come up with reasons to avoid getting help such as, cost of treatment, transportation problems, negative views of mental health, low motivation, and lack of public awareness. Future psychotherapy research may focus more on behavioral (exposure treatment) rather than traditional cognitive therapy principles. If you are concerned that you may have some hoarding tendencies there are various types of tests available online to determine if you are a hoarder and how extreme your case might be. There is a test called Saving Inventory-Revised that only involves a test of 24 questions before revealing your score at the end. Another test that would be useful is called the Clutter Image Rating, this test will give you four picture examples of what hoarding looks like and you compare your house with the pictures given in order to rate at what stage of a Hoarder you are. While researching and writing about this topic I learned many things about hoarding that I had not already known. There are many things about Hoarding that you cannot learn by just watching a show on television such as the different treatments that are offered and the things required to classify someone as a Hoarder. I have now come to the conclusion after comparing pictures of a family member’s home to those on the Clutter Image Rating website and now knowing the requirements to being a Hoarder that I do in fact have an undiagnosed Hoarder in the family. References (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding Frost, R. O. (2010). Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Paxton, M. (2011). The Secret Lives of Hoarders. New York: Penguin Group.