7 Things to Do the Summer Before Starting Graduate School

Starting graduate school this fall? Like most soon-to-be grad students you’re probably both excited and anxious for classes to begin. What should you do between now and the beginning of your first semester as a graduate student? Relax Although you may be tempted to read ahead and get an early start on your studies, you should make time to relax. You’ve spent years working to get through college and make it into graduate school. You’re about to spend more years in graduate school and face more challenges and higher expectations than you encountered in college. Avoid burnout before the semester even begins. Take time off to relax or you may find yourself fried by October. Try Not to Work This may not be possible for most students, but remember that is the last summer that you will be free from academic responsibilities. Graduate students work during the summer. They do research, work with their advisor, and perhaps teach summer classes. If you can, take the summer off from work. Or at least cut back on your hours. If you must work, make as much downtime as you can. Consider leaving your job, or if you plan to continue working during the school year, consider taking a vacation two to three weeks before the semester starts. Do whatever is necessary to begin the semester refreshed rather than burned out. Read for Fun Come fall, you’ll have little to no time to read for pleasure. When you have some time off, you’ll probably find that you don’t want to read as that’s how you’ll spend large chunks of your time. Get to Know Your New City If you are moving to attend grad school, consider moving earlier in the summer. Give yourself time to learn about your new home. Discover grocery stores, banks, places to eat, study, and where to grab coffee. Get comfortable in your new home before the whirlwind start of the semester. Something as simple as having all of your belongings stored away and being able to easily find them will reduce your stress and make it easier to start fresh. Get to Know Your Classmates Most incoming cohorts of graduate students have some means of getting in contact with each other, whether through an email list, Facebook group, LinkedIn group, or some other means. Take advantages of these opportunities, should they arise. Interactions with your classmates are an important part of your grad school experience. You’ll study together, collaborate on research, and eventually be professional contacts after graduation. These personal and professional relationships can last your entire career. Clean up Your Social Profiles If you haven’t done so prior to applying to graduate school, make some time to review your social media profiles. Are they set to Private? Do they present you in a positive, professional light? Ditch the college partying pics and posts with profanity. Clean up your Twitter profile and tweets as well. Anyone who works with you is likely to Google you. Don’t let them find material that makes them question your judgment. Keep Your Mind Agile: Prep a Little The key word is little. Read a few of your advisor’s papers—not everything. If you haven’t been matched with an advisor, read a bit about faculty members whose work interests you. Do not burn yourself out. Read a little simply to keep your mind active. Do not study. Also, keep an eye out for topics that interest you. Note a stimulating newspaper article or website. Don’t try to come up with a thesis, but simply note topics and ideas that intrigue you. Once the semester starts and you make contact with an advisor, you can sort through your ideas. Over the summer your goal should simply be to remain an active thinker. Overall, consider the summer before graduate school as a time to recharge and rest. Emotionally and mentally prepare yourself for the amazing experience to come. There will be plenty of time to work and you’ll face many responsibilities and expectations once graduate school begins. Take as much time off as you can—and have fun.

An Assessment Into The Bankruptcy Examiners Report...

The purpose of this memo is to provide an assessment into the Bankruptcy Examiner’s report regarding the risk management failure as it relates to Leman Brothers. The fundamental reason for the failure is based on the change in corporate strategy of 2006 in which Lehman decided to shift from a â€Å"moving† or securitization business to a â€Å"storage’ business, with the firm making and holding longer-term, risk investments. This â€Å"strategic positioning† was fully supported by the board, although the chief risk officer and certain senior risk management executives had expressed concerns about the extent of the change to the firm’s â€Å"risk appetite.† Strategy Impact: While investment banks are in the business of taking calculated risks they must consider risk within the firms’ risk appetite. In March 2006 Lehman Brothers adopted a new business strategy to grow its proprietary business from a lower risk brokerage model to a higher risk, capital†intensive banking model with a focus on expanding three specific areas of principal investment: commercial real estate, leveraged loans and private equity businesses to consume more capital. This strategy was risky due to the firm’s high leverage and small equity. This impacted their risk taking significantly because this strategy was generally riskier and more illiquid than their traditional lines of business. â€Å"As some Lehman officers described it, Lehman shifted from focusing almost exclusively on the â€Å"moving†business – a business strategy ofShow MoreRelatedThe Solution of New Century Financial Corporation9605 Words   |  39 Pagessuch companies as Budweiser and American Family Publishing. HAI LÚA’s fifty-year-plus career in television made him one of the most rec- ognized celebrities in that medium. Understandably then, the American public was shocked when press reports in June 2007 revealed that HAI LÚA was more than $600,000 past due on his home mortgage payments. The $5 million mort- gage on HAI LÚA’s Beverly Hills mansion was held by Countr ywide Financial Corporation. Unfortunately, millions of everydayRead MoreThe Solution of New Century Financial Corporation9616 Words   |  39 Pagessuch companies as Budweiser and American Family Publishing. HAI LÚA’s fifty-year-plus career in television made him one of the most rec- ognized celebrities in that medium. Understandably then, the American public was shocked when press reports in June 2007 revealed that HAI LÚA was more than $600,000 past due on his home mortgage payments. The $5 million mort- gage on HAI LÚA’s Beverly Hills mansion was held by Countr ywide Financial Corporation. Unfortunately, millions of everydayRead MorePhar Mor Case8496 Words   |  34 Pagesover $1 billion in losses, and caused the bankruptcy of the twenty-eighth largest private company in the United States. The massive accounting fraud went largely undetected for nearly six years. Several members of top management confessed to, and were convicted of, financial-statement fraud. Former members of Phar-Mor management were collectively fined over $1 million, and two former Phar-Mor management employees received prison sentences. Phar-Mors management, as well as Phar-Mor creditors and investors

Masks In The Twelfth Night Essay Example For Students

Masks In The Twelfth Night Essay In Ir?ne, Voltaire wrote, ?Shakespeare is a savage with sparks of genius which shine in dreadful darkness of night.? One of Shakespeares sparks of genius was in his use of masks. These masks put characters in a sort of ?darkness of night,? allowing them to become someone else. They are used for imagery, so one can discover who a person is?the inside of the mask. Masks are used throughout Shakespeares Twelfth Night to reveal characters true emotions, to carry the story and explain things to the reader, and to express the power of raw beauty. Shakespeare uses this imagery of a mask in many of his characters in the play, but mostly in two: Viola and Feste. Throughout the play the masks help the plot along. At the end, all masks are discarded for a great finale. The perfect example of the use of masking imagery can be seen in Feste the jester. In the play, Feste shows his many personalities in the disguise of masks. Acting as a wise man contrary to his role of the fool, Feste develops one mask. He tries to ?conceal for what is? (I.ii.52) because he knows that if the people realize his intelligence, he will not be called upon to work. These songs Feste sings serve as symbols of a well-formed conscience. People would stop coming to him for this sound advice he gives. Feste demonstrates a strong example of masking imagery because he shows what the play might be without masks. Later, the ?devil man? (IV.ii. 122) in him surfaces when talking to Malvolio. This is a mask because not only is Feste intelligent, not only is he a fool, he is also conniving. These masks appear all over the play, developing from scene to scene. Feste plays the role of a chameleon; changing masks to become what the necessary character for the given situation. Feste acts as ?an ass? (V.i.16) for his acquaintances. This pleases the people and allows Shakespeare to say outrageous but true things that no other character would say. Although characters wear masks, their true identities are always revealed. Feste says, ?Eyes show days?(II.iii.94). He demonstrates that one can remove a mask just as easily as one can put a mask on. Shakespeare develops all these different masks. Some are used only once or twice; others are used for nearly the duration of the play. Near the opening of the play, when Viola adopts her male identity, she creates another self, like two masks. She may decide to wear one or the other while swinging between the two identities in emotion and in character. She decides to take on this identity because she has more freedom in society in her Cesario mask, which is evident when Orsino accepts her, whereas, in her female identity she would not be. The mask of Cesario develops throughout the play. Violas mask pulls the comedy together. First, Violas mask serves her in getting a job to get back on her feet after nearly drowning. This mask helps other people too. The mask gets Olivia back on her feet. She escapes the mourning of her dead brother. Olivia realizes she has something to live for after seeing Cesarios mask. Falling in love with the male version of Viola works out well. The mask turns out to be a replica of something that does exist. Sebastian is there, married to Olivia, when all masks are removed. The mask, growing on Viola, shows importance all over the play. It continues to develop, and this leaves the reader an even more omniscient point of view. While Olivia, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew are clueless as to what is going on, we know about the masks. Shakespeare wanted his readers to stand by and laugh. .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .postImageUrl , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:hover , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:visited , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:active { border:0!important; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:active , .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37 .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1b47f78125a8780cc46ab15a497aff37:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: voting Essay Viola plays the right person at every point in the story to make a happy ending. She removes her mask at the perfect moment. Being both a ?maid? (V.i. 267) and a ?gentleman? (V.i.269) makes this plot what it is. She carries out the functions of both genders, and she is judged from both. The masks deceive. Thinking that Viola is a man, even her brother Sebastian is confused about Violas true identity. She makes her brother think he doesnt ?know by voice or any other feature.?(III. IV.325) This shows that she can fool even the closest of kin thorough the mask. At the end of the play, when all tricks and treacheries are revealed and all masks are lifted, Orsino falls in love with Viola. He first forgives her of her duty to him then says that she shall be her masters mistress as soon as she completely reverts to her female form. The imagery of masks in this play proves to be very well developed in both Feste and Viola. Developing the imagery created by the mask helps to make the whole play more understandable to the reader. Each mask is well developed and has a definite meaning to the reader. Masks are used to conform to ones own needs or to the needs of others, just as in real life. In the book, masks are used to hide something. Everyone eventually came out from that hiding. With masks removed, quality of life improved in the end and everyone became happy. Masks added a lot to Twelfth Night, but Shakespeare was trying to show his readers how much better the world could be if people took off masks. Shakespeare Essays

The Buying Process

Abstract Online shopping has become an integral component of today’s business world. It is one of the populous activities over the internet. Internet buying behavior is nothing else but the process and act of making use of the things gotten over the internet.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Buying Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Just like ordinary shopping, consumers go through various stages when purchasing goods online. This paper examines the buying process for an online product from the Kindle store. Specifically, this paper highlights the stages a customer would go through when purchasing an E-reader from Kindle store. This paper details how the customer would get to recognize their need, how they would search for information, how they would evaluate alternatives, how they would choose the product, how they would make their actual purchase and finally how they would react after the purch ase decision. Introduction Many researchers have conducted surveys over the recent past in a bid to understand the stages consumers go through as they make their online purchase decisions (Liang and Lai, 2000). The studies have also concentrated on what it is quite important to know for the marketers, consumer online shopping behavior in particular. Marketers should know the way customers respond to marketing initiatives and the way they make their purchase decisions when buying products online (Foxall, 2005; Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). In today’s business environment, the business that clearly understands the way customers react to various marketing mix approaches has a great edge over its competitors. Problem recognition According to Kotler Armstrong (2005), the buying process for an online product begins with the need of recognition. This need can be stimulated by an internal or external factor (Case et al., 2001). For instance, a consumer could have a desire to own read ing tablet.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This need then transforms to become a compelling drive. At this point, the marketer needs to clearly understand the customer’s unique needs and what could have triggered the needs (Foxall, 2005). Search and determination of alternatives Once a customer is convinced of their need, the customer will seek more information about the various available brands (Foxall, 2005). The source of this information is usually varied. The marketer must design a unique marketing mix to make prospective customers aware of its brands (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). The marketer can rely on positive referrals (Cho et al, 2001). Loyal and satisfied customers would recommend Kindle products to prospective customers. Evaluation of alternatives From the gathered information, the consumer will decide on a final brand. At Kindle stores, customers can c hoose Kindle Paperwhite 3G, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle or Kindle Keyboard 3G (Amazon.com, 2012). The marketer must be interested to know how the customer evaluates the various alternatives (Huang, 2000). Kotler and Armstrong (2005) have argued that the evaluation of alternatives would depend on the individual customer and the purchase environment. Sometimes, consumers rely on logic while at times they make impulse purchases. Purchase decision Kindle stores offer a variety of prices. For instance, Kindle Paperwhite 3G is worth $179, Kindle Paperwhite is worth $ 119, Kindle is worth$ 69 and Kindle Keyboard 3G is worth $ 139 (Amazon.com, 2012). Since some customers are price sensitive, their purchase intentions and decisions will be influenced by their disposable income (Blackwell et al, 2006). Alternatively, the customer can decide to buy based on the potential benefits of the product (Case et al, 2001). Since customers will only buy when they believe that price of the E-reader is tant amount to its benefits (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005), the marketer should price the product appropriately so that customers can get their perceived value.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Buying Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Post-purchase evaluation After buying the product, the customer will either be contented or not. The customer will display some post purchase reaction which the marketer must be interested in (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). This reaction will be influenced by the relationship between the customer’s expectation and the actual performance of the product. If the customers’ expectations are not met by the product, the customer will be very dissatisfied (Foxall, 2005). Therefore, the marketer must only claim what is in tandem with the products’ actual performance to achieve customer satisfaction. Conclusion The above is a detailed explanation of the buying process for an online product specifically E-reader from Kindle. Consumers follow these stages as they seek to make a purchase decision (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). However, the customer might not necessarily follow the above stages sequentially. When buying an online product, the consumer will first recognize their problem. The customer will then proceed to search and determine the various alternatives available. The customer will then evaluate the alternatives and make a purchase decision (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). Finally, the customer will engage in post-purchase evaluation. References Amazon.com. (2012). The world’s best-selling E-readers. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HCCNJU/ref=fs_sz Blackwell, D. R., Miniard, P. W., Engel, J. F. (2006). Consumer behaviour  10th Edition. USA: Thomson Learning.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Case, T., Burns, O. M., Dick, G. N. (2001). Drivers of on-line purchasing among U.S. university students. Proceedings of the 7th Americas Conference on Information Systems, 873-878. Cho, Y., Im, I., Hiltz, R., Fjermestad, J. (2001). Causes and outcomes of online customer complaining behavior: Implications for customer relationship management (CRM). Proceedings of the 7th Americas Conference on Information Systems, 900-907. Foxall, G. (2005.) Understanding consumer choice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Huang, M. (2000). Information load: Its relationship to online exploratory and shopping behavior. International Journal of Information Management 20: 337–347. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. (2005). Principles of marketing 11th Edition. USA: Prentice Hall. Liang, T., Lai, H. (2000). Electronic store design and consumer choice: An  empirical study. Proceedings of the 33rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. PDF file. This report on The Buying Process was written and submitted by user Giovani I. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Critique the film A Prophet directed by Jacques Audiard

Sacbe, the Ancient Maya Road System

Sacbe, the Ancient Maya Road System A sacbe (sometimes spelled zac be and pluralized as sacbeob or zac beob) is the Mayan word for the linear architectural features connecting communities throughout the Maya world. Sacbeob functioned as roads, walkways, causeways, property lines, and dikes. The word sacbe translates to stone road or white road but clearly sacbeob had layers of additional meanings to the Maya, as mythological routes, pilgrimage pathways, and concrete markers of political or symbolic connections between city centers. Some sacbeob are mythological, subterranean routes and some trace celestial pathways; evidence for these roadways are reported in Maya myths and colonial records. Finding the Sacbeob Identifying the routes of the sacbe on the ground has been extremely difficult until recently  when techniques such as radar imaging, remote sensing, and GIS became widely available. Of course,  Maya historians remain an important source of information for these ancient roadways. The issue is complex, ironically enough, because there are written records that contradict one another. Several of the sacbe have been identified archaeologically, many others are still unknown but have been reported in colonial period documents such as the Books of Chilam Balam. In my research for this article, I did not discover any explicit discussions on how old the sacbeob are  but based on the ages of the connecting cities, they were functioning at least as early as the Classic period (AD 250-900). Functions In addition to simply roadways that facilitated movement between places, researchers Folan and Hutson argue that sacbeob were visual representations of economic and political connections between centers and their satellites, conveying the concepts of power and inclusion. Causeways may have been used in processions that emphasized this idea of community. One function described in recent scholarly literature is the role of the sacbe road system in the Maya market network. The exchange system of the Maya kept the far-flung (and very loosely connected) communities in touch  and made it possible both to trade goods and make and sustain political connections. Market centers with central locations and associated causeways include Coba, Maax Na, Sayil, and Xunantunich. Deities and Sacbeob Maya deities associated with roadways include Ix Chel in several of her manifestations. One is Ix Zac Beeliz or she who walks the white road. In a mural at Tulum, Ix Chel is shown carrying two small images of the Chaac god as she is walking along a mythological or real roadway. The deity Chiribias (Ix Chebel Yax or the Virgin of Guadalupe) and her husband Itzam Na are sometimes associated with roads, and the legend of the Hero Twins includes a journey through the underworld along several sacbeob. From Cob to Yaxuna The longest known sacbe is the one that stretches 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the Maya centers of Cob and Yaxuna on the Yucatn Peninsula of Mexico, called the Yaxuna-Cob causeway or Sacbe 1. Along Sacbe 1s east-west course are water holes (dzonot), steles with inscriptions and several small Maya communities. Its roadbed measures approximately 8 meters (26 feet) wide and typically 50 centimeters (20 inches) high, with various ramps and platforms alongside. Sacbe 1 was stumbled into by early twentieth century explorers, and rumors of the road became known to the Carnegie Institution archaeologists working at  Cob  by the early 1930s. Its entire length was mapped by Alfonso Villa Rojas and Robert Redfield in the mid-1930s. Recent investigations by Loya Gonzalez and Stanton (2013) suggest that the sacbes main purpose may have been to connect Cob to the large market centers of Yaxuna and, later,  Chichà ©n Itz, in order to better control trade throughout the peninsula. Other Sacbe Examples The Tzacauil sacbe is a solid rock causeway, which starts at the Late Preclassic acropolis of Tzacauil and ends just short of the large center of Yaxuna. Varying in width between 6 and 10 meters, and in height between 30 and 80 centimeters, this sacbes roadbed includes some crudely cut facing stones. From Cob to Ixil, 20 kilometers in length, is a noh be followed and described in the 1970s by Jacinto May Hau, Nicolas Caamal Canche, Teoberto May Chimal, Lynda Florey Folan and William J. Folan. This 6-meter wide sacbe crosses a marshy area and includes numerous small and large ramps. Close to Coba was a fairly large platform next to a vaulted building, which the Maya guides referred to as a customs house or  way station. This road may have defined the boundaries of Cobas urban area and region of power. From Ich Caan Ziho through  Akà ©Ã‚  to Itzmal, is a sacbe approximately 60 km in length, of which only a portion is in evidence. Described by Ruben Maldonado Cardenas in the 1990s, a network of roads still used today leads from Ake to Itzmal. Sources Bolles D, and Folan WJ. 2001.  An analysis of roads listed in colonial dictionaries and their relevance to pre-hispanic linear features in the Yucatan peninsula.  Ancient Mesoamerica  12(02):299-314. Folan WJ, Hernandez AA, Kintz ER, Fletcher LA, Heredia RG, Hau JM, and Canche N. 2009.  Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico: A Recent Analysis of the Social, Economic and Political Organization of a Major Maya Urban Center.  Ancient Mesoamerica  20(1):59-70. Hutson SR, Magnoni A, and Stanton TW. 2012.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"All that is solid†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : Sacbes, settlement, and semiotics at Tzacauil, Yucatan.  Ancient Mesoamerica  23(02):297-311. Loya Gonzlez T, and Stanton TW. 2013.  Impacts of politics on material culture: evaluating the Yaxuna-Coba sacbe.  Ancient Mesoamerica  24(1):25-42. Shaw LC. 2012.  The elusive Maya marketplace: An archaeological consideration of the evidence.  Journal of Archaeological Research  20:117-155.

Role of Phytooestrogen in the Prevention of Breast Cancer Coursework

Role of Phytooestrogen in the Prevention of Breast Cancer - Coursework Example They have been suggested to have anticarcinogenic potential (Boccardo et al, 2006). Plant lignans are currently being widely studied for their potential benefits for human health as their consumption has been correlated with lower risks for developing chronic diseases, such as breast cancer and coronary heart disease. However, studies of some classes of lignans, in particular the furofurans, are hampered by the lack of suitable standards to allow accurate analysis (Haajanen and Botting, 2006). A study investigating the association between lignan intake and breast cancer in the early 1980s included small groups of women who were classified as vegetarian, or meat-eating. Over the course of 1 year, the concentrations of lignans excreted in their urine were compared with those of breast cancer patients who had had small breast tumours removed by surgery. The women with breast-cancer had a tendency to excrete smaller concentrations of lignans than vegetarians (Lamartiniere, 2000). Isoflavonoids and lignans are diet constituents with chemo-preventive properties. They occur in certain vegetables as their glycosides from which they are released by the bacterial micro-flora in the gut. The mechanisms by which these agents interfere with the process of carcinogenesis are only poorly understood. Although many epidemiological studies have shown that a phytoestrogen-rich diet, in which isoflavones and lignans are both found, is protective against breast cancer development (Lamartiniere, 2000) the use of soy and its isoflavone GEN by postmenopausal breast cancer patients is controversial (Duncan et al, 2003). The mammalian phytoestrogens enterodiol (END) and enterolactone (ENL) are produced in the colon by the action of bacteria on the plant precursors matairesinol (MAT), secoisolariciresinol (SECO), their glycosides, and other precursors in the diet. Both END and ENL have been shown to possess weakly estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities, and it has been suggested that the high production of these antiestrogenic mammalian lignans in the gut may serve to protect against breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Various in vitro experiments suggested END and ENL significantly inhibited the growth of human colon tumor cells, and the E2-induced proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was inhibited by ENL (Wang, 2002). Human Studies Till now, the evidence for a cancer-protective role of dietary nutrients, particularly those with antioxidant properties, has been based on women without any known genetic pre-disposition and it is important to identify and evaluate dietary factors which may modify the risk of cancer in BRCA carriers. Diet modification may modulate the risk of hereditary breast cancer by decreasing DNA damage (possibly linked to estrogen exposure) or by enhancing DNA repair. The prevention of hereditary breast cancer through diet is an attractive complement to current management strategies and deserves exploration (Kotsopoulos and Narod, 2005). In a recent study by Lambert et al six lignans, including the cyclolignan 3,4-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxy-6,7 cyclolignan, were isolated from the flowering tops of Larrea tridentata. Furthermore the flavanone, (S)-4, 5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone, was isolated