The lilly ledbetter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The lilly ledbetter - Essay Example Notably, the president acknowledged that the nation’s economy can work if it works for everyone. He also added that citizens should not be favored in terms of pay on the basis of gender, religion, disability, race, ethnicity, and age because that is not only prejudicial and unlawful but also unfit for business (Office of the Press Secretary 1). At the time of the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay bill to law, the Republicans opposed the bill as drafted. Howard McKeon, an Education and Labor Committee member, raised the matter that company executives would be held responsible for deeds undertaken by supervisors and managers who had left the company a long time ago (Office of the Press Secretary 1). For instance, this will allow a retiring worker to seek for compensation from the company now run by executives who had no hand with the past acts of favoritism. In my opinion, the Lilly Ledbetter Law should remain a federal law. This is because it offers women opportunities for equal pay. Women need to be in a nation that treasures their contributions, that offers no limitations to their dreams n that offers them opportunities they had never imagined. Office of the Press Secretary. "Remarks of President Barack Obama on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act Bill Signing." The White House. N.p., 29  Jan.  2009. Web. 25  Jan.  2014.

Lap report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Lap - Lab Report Example Explanation of Procedure: A meter stick was mounted at slightly greater than eye level, level to the ground. A plumb bob, actually a string with a nut tied to the end, hung at head level exactly 0.5 meters from the meter stick. This served as an observation post with easily converted and consistent measures. As the moon fully rose past the horizon, two index cards were â€Å"butted† to either edge of the moon and the indicated length was recorded. This procedure was repeated later. Data and Calculations: The chart results: time d (cm) D (cm) conversion ? 7:10 50 0.5 205265 2053 10:10 50 0.5 205265 2053 Where: d=50 cm as set by the experiment. D= the measure between the cards ?=the angle size of the moon in arc seconds calculated as =(D/d) x 205265 The diameter of the moon is calculated as: D= (205265 x 2053)/ 380000km d=3800 km The angular size of the moon by calculation is: 2053 arc seconds The estimated diameter of the moon is: 3800 km The angular size of the moon is consist ent throughout a one night period; however, the distance to the moon varies over time, so over years, the angular size changes Conclusions and Analysis: The method used produces a good approximation of the diameter of the moon.

The Wife of Bath’s Faithfulness Essay Example for Free

The Wife of Bath’s Faithfulness Essay In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer reveals the characteristics of the Wife of Bath through her tale and background. Chaucer portrays the Wife of Bath as a woman of faith through her religious actions and beliefs despite her human faults. Chaucer states in the General Prologue that â€Å"not a dame dared stir/ [t]owards the altar steps in front of her,† meaning that no one stepped in front of her to receive communion (GP ll. 459-460). If one did go ahead of her, â€Å"so wrath was she/ [a]s to be quite put out of charity† (GP ll. 461-462). Chaucer depicts the Wife of Bath as eager to receive the Sunday communion. By displaying her eagerness to receive communion, Chaucer explains that she has compassion for the Church. Furthermore, the Wife of Bath displays her respect for the church by dressing in her best outfits such as â€Å"hose [that] were of the finest scarlet red† (GP l. 466). Also, Chaucer states that the Wife of Bath â€Å"had five husbands, [but she had them] all at the church door† (GP l. 470). In the eyes of the church getting married at the church door is a sign of her faith. In her tale, the Wife of Bath expresses a dislike for the â€Å"holy friars,† whom she describes as having â€Å"seem[ed] to have purged the air† (W l. 10). Purging the air in this case refers to the friars raping the fairies. The Wife of Bath conveys loyalty to the church by expressing concern that the â€Å"holy friars† would commit the terrible sin of rape, considering their position in the church. Also in her story, she tells of a knight who raped a maiden (W l. 34). The king was to â€Å"condemn [] the knight to lose his head/ [b]y course of law,† but the queen begged the king to let her impose the sentence (W ll. 37-38). As a result, the king gave her the authority to decide the fate of the knight. The queen summoned the knight to ask him the question, â€Å"what is the thing that women most desire?† (W l. 51). If he answered the question correctly within a year and a day, then he could keep his life (W l. 50). With the help of the Wife of Bath, the knight returned with the right answer and his life was saved (W l. 191), and then kept his pledge to marry her (W 1. 201). She makes the pledge to the knight to be a faithful and fair wife (W 1. 387). The Wife of Bath reveals her own faithfulness through the knight’s integrity to return to the queen with an answer. Through her tale and her own actions, the Wife of Bath presents herself as a woman of faith.

Five-Antiretroviral Drug Class Resistant HIV-1

Five-Antiretroviral Drug Class Resistant HIV-1 Five-Antiretroviral Drug Class Resistant HIV-1 In A Treatment Naà ¯ve Patient Suppressed With Optimized Antiretroviral Selection Joseph M Volpe, Douglas J Ward, Laura Napolitano, Pham Phung, Jonathan Toma, Owen Solberg, Christos J Petropoulos, Charles M Walworth Abstract Transmission of HIV-1 exhibiting reduced susceptibility to protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors is well-documented, but is evolving for integrase inhibitors and is limited for the fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide. We describe here a case of transmitted 5-drug class resistance involving protease, reverse transcriptase (nucleoside and non-nucleoside), integrase, and fusion inhibitors in an antiretroviral naà ¯ve patient that subsequently was successfully treated based on the optimized selection of an active antiretroviral drug regimen. Keywords: Transmitted Drug Resistance; TDR; Integrase Inhibitor Resistance; Tropism; Introduction Drug susceptibility can be a key determinant in choosing an initial antiretroviral (ARV)regimen for patients who are naà ¯ve to ARV therapy.The selection of aregimen in which individual components have less than full susceptibility can result in virologic failure.Transmission of HIV-1 exhibiting resistance to protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors is well-documented[1-3] andbecause of this,DHHS guidelines recommend baseline genotypic resistance testing to guide drug selection in patients who are ARVnaà ¯ve[4]. However, given the relative newness of the integrase (IN)inhibitor class and the limited use of enfuvirtide (ENF), transmitted resistance for these drug classes is less well-defined[5-7]. To date, two cases of raltegravir resistant HIV-1 transmission have been reported in the literature[5-6]. Although transmission of virus resistant to more than one ARV class occurs less frequently than a single class[2-3], when it occurs, the selection of a baseline regimen can bemore challenging. Such was the case in 2005 when a New York City man acquired a dual tropic, multidrug-resistant HIV-1 strain[8], during a time when fewer therapeutic options were available. Here, we describe the first documented multidrug-resistant HIV-1 strain containing variants that exhibit resistance to five ARV classes. This reportnot only demonstrates one of the earliest cases of transmitted resistance to the integrase strand-transfer inhibitor (INSTI) class, but also exemplifies the need to develop a detailed resistance profile prior to initiating therapy. Case History A man in his forties was hospitalized in 2010 with severe flu-like illness. HIV-1 antibody testing during hospitalization was negative. HIV-1 RNA testing by PCR was not performed. Six months later, follow-up HIV-1 antibody testing was positiveand infection was confirmed by Western blot. Initial CD4+ count and viral load were 376 cells/mm3 and 211,540 copies/mL, respectively. Baseline genotypic resistance testing demonstrated extensive resistance to nucleoside and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI, NNRTI) as well as protease inhibitors (PI) [Figure 1]. Confirmatory testing was performedto verify the initial genotypic resistance profile. Additional genotypic testing for INSTI resistanceand phenotypic testing for PI, NRTI, NNRTI and INSTIsusceptibility was conducted. Phenotypic co-receptor tropism testing was also performed to evaluate additional ARV treatment options. Due to the complexity of the baseline resistance profile, ENF susceptibility was also assessed. Methods Resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) to inhibitors of HIV-1 PR, RT, and IN were identified by conventional DNA sequencing(GenoSure ® MG, GenoSure ®Integrase, Monogram Biosciences and LabCorp).Phenotypic susceptibility to PR, RT,and INinhibitors, ENF, and co-receptor tropism were also assessed using well-established pseudo-virus infectivity assays (PhenoSense ®, PhenoSense GT ®, PhenoSense ®Integrase , PhenoSense ® Entry, and Trofile ®, respectively; Monogram Biosciences). Molecular clones of full-length envelope sequences were generated and evaluated for ENF susceptibility and co-receptor tropism (PhenoSense ® Entry, Trofile ®). The gp41 sequences of envelope clones were generated by conventional DNA sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted on clonal gp41 sequences to rule out co-infection. PR and RT regions were also interrogated by massively parallel (â€Å"deep†) sequencing. A sequence library was generated using the IlluminaNextera XT library preparationkitand an IlluminaMiSeq2x250bp paired-end run resulted in 1,017,032 reads with an average read depth of >15,000X (after alignment). Reads were trimmed using cutadapt and fastx toolkits and aligned to the NL4-3 reference genome (accession number AX032749.1) using bowtie2[9]. Results Genotypic resistance analysis of the baseline virus identified mutations associated with resistance to PI (L10Y, K20I, E35D, M36I, K43T, I62I/V, V82K), NRTI (M41L, D67N, L74V, L118I), and NNRTI (K101E, Y181C, V189I, G190S) [Figure 1]. Repeat genotypic resistance analysis from a second draw confirmed the initial findings, as well as mutations associated with INSTIresistance (G140S, Q148H). Reductions in susceptibility to PI, NRTI, NNRTI, and INSTI were confirmed by phenotypic testing, which demonstrated large reductions in susceptibility to efavirenz, nevirapine, and raltegravir. Notably, the NRTI resistance mutation M184V was not identified bygenotypicassessment although a phenotypicassessment revealedmodest reductions in susceptibility to emtricitabine and lamivudine (IC50fold change (FC) 7.16 and 5.25 respectively)that exceeded the biological cutoff (FC 3.5).Further analysis of the sample using deep sequencing failed touncover minor variants harboring an M184V substitution. Neither deep sequencingnor the phylogenetic analysis of envelope clone sequences yielded evidence for dual infection. Initial phenotypic analysis for ENFsusceptibility (FC 6.31)fell within 0.2 log10of the biological cutoff(FC 6.48). This cutoff is based on a reference population of ENF-naà ¯ve baseline isolates from the TORO clinical trials [10]. Given the proximity of the measuredENF susceptibility of the patient sample to the biological cutoff and considering both the broad distribution of the susceptibility of the reference population and the inherent variability of the phenotypic assay ( ±3-fold), further analysis was warranted. Consequently, envelope gp41 sequencing was performed on 44 molecular clones generated from the virus population. Phenotypic analysis to determine ENF susceptibility was performed on 20 of the 44 clones that had unique gp41 sequences relative to the consensus sequence of the virus population. Two clones, (#10 and #25), exhibitedreducedENF susceptibility(FC 46 and >MAX, respectively), well above the biological cutoff. The gp41 sequence of these two clonesrevealed novel substitutions (Q40R, N43S) at amino acid positions previously associated with ENFresistance [11]. Co-receptor tropism testing indicated that 19 of the 20 selected clones exhibited R5 tropism, consistent with the R5 tropism determination for the overall virus population. Based on resistance and co-receptor tropism testing, the patient was placed on a regimen of ritonavir-boosted darunavir, tenofovir/emtricitabine, and maraviroc, which successfully suppressed viral replication to 3 at diagnosis to 614 cells/mm3 at one year of treatment. At three years post-initiation of treatment, the patient’s virus remains suppressed with a CD4 count of 865 cells/mm3 (Table 1). Discussion To our knowledge, this case representsthe first confirmed report of the transmission of HIV-1 containing variants exhibiting resistance to five antiretroviral drug classes,as well as the third confirmed report of transmitted INSTI resistant HIV-1.The selection of tenofovir/emtricitabinein the treatment regimen was based upon an assumption that anM184V variant might have been present below the limit of detection for population sequencing. Often, lamivudine or emtricitabineis incorporated intoARV treatment regimens toexploit the impaired replication of M184Vvariants, despitelimited evidence to support this approach. Detectable reductions in phenotypic susceptibility due to M184V variantsrequire a viral subpopulation approximating 40% of the total viral population[12]. Here, the absence of an M184V-containing subpopulation below the limit of detection of genotypic assays was confirmed by deep sequencing.Thus, the observed reduction in phenotypic susceptibility to emtricitabine and lamiv udine waslikely due to the combination of L74V and V118I substitutions along with the thymidine analog substitutions M41L and D67N. This case further demonstrates the clinical utility of co-receptor tropism testing to guide maraviroc prescription.ARV treatment experienced patients have a lower prevalence of R5 tropic virus compared with ARV treatment naà ¯ve patients. Laboratory studies demonstrate preferential transmission of R5 virus[13] and data from clinical cohorts demonstrate that over 70% of ARV naà ¯ve patients harbor R5 tropic virus[14]. In ARV treatment naà ¯ve patients, there is no genetic linkage data to suggest that ARV resistant profiles in pol influence envelope co-receptor tropism. Despite the extensive ARV resistance profile identified within the pol gene, the case patient was treatment naà ¯ve and thus more likely to harbor R5 tropic virus. Envelope substitutions associated with ENFresistance include Q40H and the N43D.Clonal analysis of this case virus led to the identification of two novel substitutions Q40Rand N43S that were demonstrated to confer high level phenotypic resistance to ENF. The value of baseline resistance testing to determine an optimal ARV treatment regimen is highlighted in this case report. Current DHHS guidelines recommend supplemental genotypic INSTI resistance testing when transmitted INSTI resistance may be a concern[4]. There is evidence that transmitted INSTI resistance is followingthe same temporal coursepreviously observed for NRTI, NNRTI and PI[15]. With the recent approval of a third INSTI, more widespread INSTI use, overlapping INSTI cross resistance profilesand documentation of this third case of transmitted INSTI resistance, baseline testing for INSTI resistance may become prudent. Figure 1: Results of both the genotypic and phenotypic drug resistance analyses are listed here. The net assessment column considers both the genotype and phenotype test results and provides a final resistance call based on the cumulative data. †  Single values represent biological cutoffs, and ranges indicate lower and upper clinical cutoffs. †¡ Fold change is defined as the ratio of the measured IC50 for the patient-derived virus to that of the NL4-3reference virus. Table 1: Patient Clinical Parameters Viral loads, CD4 and CD8 counts, and CD4/CD8 ratiosfor this patient are listed over the treatment period. The initial viral load measurements were obtained using the Roche COBAS ® TaqMan ® 2.0until 7/12. Subsequent values were obtained using the Siemens Versant ® HIV-1 Branched DNA assay.

Use of Imagery in Jean Toomers Cane Essay -- Toomer Cane Essays

Use of Imagery in Jean Toomer's Cane Dusk. It is that darker side of twilight when the sun has just set, but the moon has yet to take full charge. It is a time of mergings, of vagueness and ambiguity, when an end and a beginning change places. The sun steps aside and lets the moon and stars take over for a while. As the most pervasive image in the first section of Jean Toomer's Cane, it is the time of day when "[t]he sky, lazily disdaining to pursue/The setting sun, too indolent to hold/ A lengthened tournament for flashing gold,/Passively darkens" ("Georgia Dusk," 15). It is also a reflection of the souls of the characters, like Karintha, "perfect as dusk when the sun goes down" (3). Dusk and its smoky, dreamlike derivatives form the connective imagery joining light and dark, day and night, black and white. It is the kind of imagery that most closely articulates what George Hutchinson called Toomer's dream of a new "American" race in his essay "Jean Toomer and American Racial Discourse" (227). He says, "To omer's vision of a coming merging of the races makes perfect sense within the framework of the first section of Cane: the dystopia of the contemporary South implies a corresponding utopia" (234). While Hutchinson's theories rely heavily upon miscegenation and Toomer's use of racially mixed characters, the more compelling evidence seems to lie in the murkiness of both the mystic-like atmosphere of rural Georgia and the half created characterizations of its people. Through his distinctly modern use of imagery, Toomer creates a new iconography that defines a vision of the future where colors merge and race is no longer the harbinger of identity. To call Toomer's agenda and use of imagery modern implies ... ...on, George. "Jean Toomer and American Racial Discourse." Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 35, 2 (Summer 1993). 226-245. Reuben, Paul P. "'Chapter 9: Harlem Renaissance - Jean Toomer.' PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research Guide. URL" http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/toomer.html Toomer, Jean. Cane. New York: Norton, 1988. Toomer, Jean. Selected Essays and Literary Criticism. ed. Robert Jones. Knoxville: UT Press, 1996. Whyde, Janet. "Mediating Forms: Narrating the Body in Jean Toomer's Cane." Southern Literary Journal. 26, 1 (Fall 1993). 42-52. Williams, Scott. "A Jean Toomer Page" http://members.aol.com/bonvibre/toomer0.html Yeats, William Butler. "Into the Twilight." The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. eds. Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: Norton & Company, 1988.

Loneliness and Unrequited Love in James Joyces Dubliners Essays

Repetitive routines, and mundane details of everyday life characterize the lives of Joyce’s Dubliners and trap them with frustration, restraint, and violence. Routines affect the characters who face difficult predicaments, but it also affects characters who have little open conflict in their lives. The most consistent consequences of following mundane routines are loneliness and unrequited love. The consistency of these Dubliners’ lives through the stories, effectively traps them, preventing them from being receptive to new experiences and happiness. At the beginning of the twentieth century, chances for marriage in Ireland were slim. Gabriel and Gretta Conroy in â€Å"The Dead,"are the only married couple at the Morkin sisters Christmas party. While Mr. Duffy in â€Å"A Painful Case," and Maria in â€Å"Clay," who both live alone, certainly illustrate the emptiness of isolation, two married characters also seem upon consideration to be just as isolated. Mr. Duffy’s obsession with his predictable life costs him a golden chance at love. In â€Å"Eveline," the young girl has a chance to save herself from a life of poverty but cannot move, as if she was trapped, when her chance to flee arrives. She is trapped by her poverty that makes her family dependent upon her economically and social conventions that insure she will care for her family even though her father is abusive and keeps all her money. She will live out her life in poverty, as her mother did, making thankless sacrifices for all until she too loses her mind: â€Å"that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in craziness† (28). Mr. Doran, in "The Boarding House," has been tricked into marriage by Mrs. Mooney: â€Å"the instinct of the celibate warned him to hold back"(52). He does not love Pol... ...ad are more alive to many than the living. Gabriel Conroy's final, stark self-evaluation serves to crystallize the very essence of this hemiplegia in a few finely honed sentences. He realizes that, trapped as he is, he is incapable of real passion, real emotion: â€Å"He had never felt like that himself towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love.'† He can no more 'apprehend' this intensity of feeling any more than one whole lived such a life could perceive the â€Å"wayward and flickering existence† he shares with the hosts of the dead. He feels his own boring identity fading out, yet feels nothing. He can only stare at the individual, unique snowflakes that hit his window, but cannot enter his little world. The image of the snowflake is soon faded into the grey shapeless mass of snow. His stories depict Dublin as a place conducive to self-destruction.

Marco Polo’s Influence on Christopher Columbus Essay

Marco Polo’s Travels formulated in Europe of the fourteenth and fifteenth century a new perception of the Eastern world, a world just as advanced and sophisticated as that of the West. Yet, another two centuries were needed for a significant change to take place; this was Christopher Columbus’ voyage. For Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo’s travelogue was a valuable and solid resource that contained the necessary details of the East. The geographical descriptions in his writing generated a basis for Columbus’ scientific calculations for his expedition and the explicit depictions of the luxury of Cipangu and Cathay, flawed though they were, created a strong motivation for Columbus. In the 12th of May 1492, Christopher Columbus, accompanied by the writings of Marco Polo, sets sail to change history forever. Marco Polo’s travelogue was the only written account to have enlightened the European world with details of the Eastern world. In the year 1254, when Marco Polo was born in a noble family of Venice, the public knowledge of the East was close to nothing. Ever since the years of Alexander the Great, Europe had scarce information about its neighboring civilization. Although basic trade routes were present along the Silk Road, â€Å"no one in the West seems to have had any notion of the country from which it had come or those through which it had passed.† Islamic countries that surrounded Europe, along with the Atlantic Ocean created a natural barrier, isolating the Europeans from the rest of the world. Even the vigorous merchants of Venice, Genoa, and Constantinople could not penetrate beyond the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. â€Å"The religion and commerce of Islam were flourishing throughout that continent† after the first Crusades. Due to this strong â€Å"Islamic curtain†, the Europeans were unaware of the existence of the Mongol empire gradually rising as one of the world superpowers until Marco Polo came back with fascinating stories after his service under the Great Khan. The seventeen years of service under Kublai Khan safely and conveniently provided Marco with a wide range of experiences in the Asian continent. The Polo brothers, Maffeo and Nicolo Polo (father and uncle of Marco Polo) had initially met with the Khan some years before they took Marco on their second journey to China. Let me tell you next of the personal appearance of the Great Lord of Lords whose name is Kubilai Khan. He is a man of good stature, neither short nor tall but of moderate height. His limbs are well fleshed out and modeled in due proportion. His complexion is fair and ruddy like a rose, the eyes black and handsome, the nose shapely and set squarely in place. The Khan was a wise and brave man, and Marco being a master four languages and young and healthy as he was, the Khan appointed him to a high post in the administration. Marco was given a golden tablet in the shape of a tiger’s head, â€Å"which grated Ch’ang Ch’un a free pass and the right of assistance everywhere in the Mongol Realm.† With sufficient access, Marco was able to visit various places in Asia and gained an abundant amount of experience with its culture. He illustrates the geography, climate, people, and religions of the East in depth, even mentioning the recipe of Mongolian dried milk. Marco Polo’s achievements were only completed after his return home, when encounters Rustichello of Pisa, a romance writer who became his collaborator in putting his stories into a book. Two years before the death of Kublai Khan, the Polos were assigned their last mission to escort the Mongol princess Kokachin to marry the Persian prince, and then to return home. Painstakingly, they accomplished their mission and arrived home in the winter of 1295. Marco begins a new life with the jewels and gold acquired in his journey. When a war between Venice and Genoa starts off, Marco is captured and imprisoned for a year in the Genoese prison. Here he meets Rustichello, to whom Marco tells the stories of his great journey. After his return home, Marco, although Rustichello did most of the work, publishes his travelogue: Marco Polo Travels. Marco’s book remained more for entertainment purposes until the 1450s and 60s when Johann Gutenberg invents the letterpress and catalyzes its spread. At first, many people were skeptical about his book. His writing contained many mentions of legends and myths that seemed to be quite exaggerated. Neither did Marco include any descriptions about the Great Wall. Regardless of these  controversies, his book became one of the first books to be massively published through the Gutenberg’s letterpress. Travels spreads out through Europe in no time. By the time all of Europe is shocked by his book, Marco approaches his death, leaving the last words: â€Å"I have only told the half of what I saw!† Whether or not Marco’s words were reliable was not an issue at this point. In the years following Marco’s death, immense changes occurred in the minds of Europeans including the perception of world geography, directly affecting Columbus’ preparations. The TO map best represents the medieval understanding of the world. (Diagram attached to the back) The circle O, represents the world and the branches of the T, the Don and the Nile. Asia fills the upper semi circle and in the left and right of the upright section of the T, which represents the Mediterranean, lays Africa and Europe. In the center is Jerusalem and at the top is Earthly Paradise of Adam and Eve, believed at the time to be the source of great rivers such as the Tigris and the Euphrates. Images of Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and others of the bible can be found on the map. As presented, the TO map signifies the primitive form of the world map before the years of Marco Polo. The world map rapidly evolved starting from the publishing of Marco’s book to the time of Columbus. The impact of Marco Polo’s works is displayed in these maps. Among the numerous versions of different maps, â€Å"the first maps known to us†¦ strongly influenced by Marco’s Books and which still remain to †¦[is]†¦ the Catalan Atlas,† drawn up by the Majorcan Jew Abraham Cresques at around 1380. Here is introduced for the first time, India, in the form of a peninsula and images and lands of the Great Khan. The map also includes on it images of traditional legends of the area. Great resemblance can be found between them and those of Marco’s book. Representations of the world grew bigger and wider until finally, even the notion of a path westward to Asia is brought up. When the impact of Marco Polo started to take place, a physician of Florence by the name of Paolo Toscanelli, played the role of transforming the ideas of Marco Polo into the scientific inspirations for Christopher Columbus.  Toscanelli was one of Marco Polo’s believers, who supported Marco Polo’s estimate of the length of Asia to be correct. He argued that, according to his calculations, â€Å"a voyage of 3000miles from Lisbon to Cipangu and 500miles from Lisbon to Quinsay† was possible. With this calculation, he urged men that an expedition for the search of Japan, described as the â€Å"most fertile in gold,† should be organized. Among these men was the young and ambitious Christopher Columbus. The theories of Toscanelli stimulated the intellectual interest of Columbus and soon Columbus was determined to find out more. Columbus wrote Toscanelli questioning him for more comprehensive information. Toscanelli replied with an encouragement of Columbus’ aspirations and a chart of calculations, which he carried with him on his voyage. By this time, Columbus was determined to put his thoughts into action. Although Columbus’ calculations were carefully made, most of it was erroneous. One of his major calculations was his misconception of a degree. He thought the length of a degree was 562/3 Italian nautical miles. (â€Å"the Italian nautical mile used by Columbus contained 1480 meters† ) This was not his own idea, but of the general public of his time. According to Henry Vignaud, he obtained his results â€Å"because he knew in advance what he wanted to find.† Based on his degree and other elements including the calculations of Toscanelli, Columbus’ conclusion came out to be far from the truth. It came out that Tokyo would be on the meridian that runs through Western Cuba, Chattanooga, Grand Rapids, and Western Ontario. In other words, â€Å"he underestimated the size of the world by 25 percent.† Yet, until his actual departure, he had no clue whatsoever of his mistakes or of the American continent. Marco Polo had provided Columbus with crucial information of the East, but Columbus had not known that there were so many more things to consider, such as the existence of another world in the West. Fifteenth century Europe was an age of exploration and discovery; interest of the Eastern world was increasing rapidly everyday. Trade with the Indies, which referred to most of Eastern Asia, flourished during the time of Columbus, especially in Portugal and Spain where spent most of his life. â€Å"The account of Polo’s travels told how to buy spices from the East,† and  other goods such as silk, gold, silver, or perfumes were also taken by caravans across Asia to Constantinople and then redistributed through Europe. Although the price was costly due to long and burdensome process of shipping and handling, the demand for these merchandises continued to rise as the amount of luxury and wealth of Europe also increased. Thus, it was soon evident for a new and shorter route for the importing of these valuables. Repeated attempts were made to get around Africa to India. Columbus, however, â€Å"decided that the African route was the hard way to the Indies.† He was thinking of an easier and quicker way to reach the East; he proposed to travel west. His rather rash plot satisfied the desires for expansion of the people of his time. After Columbus made up his mind, his next task was to convince the wealthy Princes to provide the necessary equipment and money for his expedition. Unfortunately, Columbus was turned down in the Portuguese committee, where he had gained a certain level of respect as a merchant. He, then moved to Spain, and started his six years of persuasion. It was hard for Columbus to support with solid evidence his requests at first. He, thus, turned to Marco Polo. Columbus used the tempting descriptions of the Cipangu, or today’s Japan, for his first argument against the princes. By the time of Columbus, â€Å"The Travels of Marco Polo became one of the best-known tales in western Europe.† One of the biggest issues of Marco Polo’s book was whether or not its magnificent portrayal of Japan’s luxury was true. According to Marco Polo, wealth of no other civilization matched that of the Japanese. They have gold in great abundance, because it is found there in measureless quantities†¦so much indeed that I can report to you in sober truth a veritable marvel concerning a certain palace of the ruler of the island. You may take it for a fact that he has a very large palace entirely roofed with find gold. Just as we roof our houses or churches with lead, so this palace is roofed with fine gold. Even the most stubborn princes gazed open-mouthed at the imagination of such  luxury. Certainly, the search for Cipangu sounded much more convincing after such descriptions. Another part of Columbus’ argument was based on religious reasoning. The failure of the Crusades was a huge disgrace for the Christian ruling class of Europe and many attempts to regain control of the Holy Land, which was then occupied by the Turks, were made. The Mongol empire, which the Europeans still believed to exist way after its actual downfall, sounded like a strategically profitable deal. Horrific impressions faded away as benevolent descriptions of Kublai Khan and the rest of his subjects were made in Marco Polo’s book. Now let me tell you something of the bounties that the Great Khan confers upon his subjects. For all his thoughts are directed towards helping the people who are subject to him, so that they may live and labor and increase their wealth. Likewise, Europeans were shocked at the incredibly civilized qualities of the Mongols they previously considered barbaric. In 1492, after six years of tenacious persuasion, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain finally accept Columbus’ proposal. The end to Columbus’ persuasion of princes only brings forth about a new beginning of an arduous journey of exploration and a new world. Marco Polo’s Travels acted as a basis for Christopher Columbus’s achievement and the Age of Discovery. Columbus may have formulated a flawed theory of the world, but it was convincing enough for the princes who bought into it. This surely could not have been done without evidence found in Marco Polo’s book. Without Marco Polo, there would not have been Columbus, and furthermore, no America. Marco Polo’s possibly false information has made one of the biggest changes in history.