America Needs Its Nerds Essay Example for Free

America Needs Its Nerds Essay The socially and physically inept, the outcasts, often associated with computers and books- these characteristics constitute the stereotype of the average geek. Students are afraid to reveal their identities in an environment among their peers because of the fear of being an outcast among the idolized jocks. In an excerpt from America Needs Its Nerds Harvard student and writer Leonid Fridman expresses his disgust for the unjust treatment of individuals who are essential to our country- the geeks. He addresses the American public with a call to action to put geeks into their deserved positions, giving them hope and motivation to express their own identities. Fridman utilizes irony when discussing how even Harvard students are being picked on, as well as the compare and contrast between Americas discouraging treatment of the nerd to East Asia and Chinas praising of them, to represent how the fear of social rejection has forced these mistreated intellects to hide their academic capabilities. Leonid Fridmen is disappointment with the fact that even at Harvard, one of the top Ivy League colleges, students are still picked on because of their levels of intellect. It is ironic that even at one of the top colleges in America where nerds and geeks dominate the realm of the school that anti-intellectualism is rampant. Social standing competes with intelligence even at the most academic institution, showing America that students are ashamed of their intellect because of the negative stereotypes society degraded them with. Fridman also employs irony when referring to get[ting] wasted at parties by describing how nerds avoid damaging their brain and bodies, but are punished socially for not  physically hurting themselves. Fridmans call to action addresses the American public as being erroneous in their actions of idolizing the nonintellectual while demeaning the studious intellectuals when he compares Americas academic values to those of East Asias. In America, athletes and celebrities are rewarded and more prevalent in society then those interested in pursuing academics. With these characteristics of our society, it is impossible to compete in the technology rate or be a leading political and cultural force with other countries who encourage academics rather than reject the individuals who excel in it. Fridmans belief of demeaning the intellectual is a continual paradigm in our society today. In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected to be the Governor of California; however, it was primarily for his name recognition as a body builder and film star, lacking any experience working in government. Although Schwarzenegger lacked the intellectual knowledge he needed, he was elected because the public idolized him. The public is more interested in the media and athletics and neglect to realize the important impact researchers and intellects have on our world. Colleges pay college athletic coaches more than the professors working at an institution. Americans pay more on professional sports then they do to fund cancer research or education. As USA Today wrote, You can get a Nobel Prize at your university and you wont get anywhere near that attention. And so I think between the public and the media, they are telling us what they value. The public is involved, and often times addicted, to athletes or social media and reject the academically motivated as outcasts from the ideal society. Unfortunately, this public is unaware of the capabilities of academic achievement and the progress it has brought us in our world.

Causes and Effects of Climate Change Essay

Causes and Effects of Climate Change Essay The earth climates nowadays is changing very rapidly and differently. Besides that, the climate changes in our earth are affecting our lives psychologically, physically and emotionally. What is climate change? Climate change is the seasonal changes for a long period of time in the world. These climate patterns play an important role in shaping natural ecosystems, and the human economies and cultures that depend on them. For example, the changes in climate can affect how people, plants and animal live, such as food production and health risks. As the earths climate is dynamic and always changing through a natural cycle, the world is now worried about the changes that occurring today have been speeding up and seriously affecting humans lives. All across the world, people are taking action to prevent climate change. For example, in 2007, scientists from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that warming oceans and melting glaciers due to global warming and climate c hange could cause sea levels to rise 7-23 inches by the year 2100. So, some islands and some small countries will be flooded by the sea water and even disappeared very soon. Because of this, we must take action as soon as possible to try to solve this problem or to prevent the more serious of climate changes occur. Im interested in this topic because the climate changes in our country or this world are too serious and its interesting to discuss and try to fix the problem. However, what are the causes and effects of climate changes that affecting our lives and environment? There are two main causes of climate changes natural causes and human activities. Natural causes have influenced the earths climates such as volcanic eruptions, ocean current, the earths orbital changes and solar variations. The eruptions of volcanoes cause a cooling effect on the earth. When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO2), water vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere. The volcano eruptions will affect the climatic pattern for years although the eruptions occur in a few days. The sulphur dioxide gas will reach the upper level of the atmosphere. The tiny particles, dusts and ashes will block the incoming sun rays and this will leads to cooling at the atmosphere. This is because the bouncing of sunlight to the space is cooling the atmosphere of the earth. Furthermore, ocean current is one of the natural cause that affecting climate changes. The ocean is the major component of the climate system. The oceans cover about 71% of the earth and absorb about twice as much of the suns radiation as the atmosphere or the land surface. Winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns. Besides that, the oceans also play an important role of the concentration of carbon dioxide. The changes in ocean circulation will affect the climate through the movement of carbon dioxide into or out of the atmosphere. Moreover, another cause that affects climate changes is the earths orbital changes. The earth makes one full orbit around the sun every year. If there is no tilt we will not experience seasons. Changes in the tilt of the earth can affect the severity of the seasons. For example, if there is more tilt means we will experience warmer summers and colder winters and if there is less tilt means we will experience cooler su mmers and milder winters. Another main cause that leads to climate changes is human activities. From the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities. Therefore, they created many jobs for the people. And many people moved from rural areas to cities. Many vegetation areas were cleared to become houses or factories for industries. Natural resources are being used extensively for construction, industries, transport, and consumption. All this has contributed to the rises of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. Human is generating industries factories and houses, and running the vehicles that used many fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gases. These uses of fossil fuel will leads to climate changes. Global climate change is caused by the fertiliser that used for agricultures. The result of microbial action in the soil, these chemical will release nitrous oxide. Besides that, the emission of methane and carbon dio xide will also affect climate changes. In addition, the increasing of agriculture is also caused by the increasing of human population in the world. All the causes are giving a great impact for climate changes in our earth. What are the consequences of these causes for the climate changes to our world? We can see that there are three main effects on climate changes in our environment. Firstly, climate change in the world will affects human health. There are so many past researches showed that climate change will leads to human health and producing diseases. For example, in the research paper by Healey et al., 2010 that I have read said that the climate change is affecting the health of northern people such as Nunavut, Canada. Besides that, Cecchi et al. (2010) have conducted the research on the effects of climate change on allergic asthma. Moreover, Mickley, 2007 stated that high levels of surface ozone and particles have been implicated in many diseases involving the cardiac and respiratory systems. These researches showed that the climate changes are seriously affecting the humans health. Secondly, climate changes will also affect the biodiversity. Biodiversity is very important for the plants and animals to maintain their habitat and ecosystem. The climate changes have impacted the loss of biodiversity. For example, the water sources may change, the food chain may destroy and the medicine sources may change. In addition, the marine ecosystem will be affected not only by an increase in sea temperature but also ocean acidification, which increases the vulnerability of fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs. Furthermore, climate changes also will affect humans mind and behaviour psychologically. Climate changes will affect humans behaviour such as consumption, energy use and population growth. Besides that, climate changes also impact psychosocial and mental health including stress, guilty, anxiety to adapt and cope with the new changing weathers. The climate changes will cause the increase of social disorder such as post traumatic disorder, suicide, stress, abuse, violence and anxiety. Therefore, climate changes will be giving a great impact on the humans psychological lives. Discussion As we can see how the causes and effects of climate changes that occur in our world and this topic was concerned by the worldwide. So, what are the solutions and method that we can prevent climate changes or solve the problems that we are having now? Actually there are some solutions that our government, community and society can do. Firstly, the government can help the communities and businesses to reduce deforestation, plant new trees in the forest and empty land, earn sustainable livelihoods and adapt to changing climatic conditions. Next, teachers in lecturers in schools and colleges must give the knowledge of how to protect our earth from the very young age of the children and students. One of the reasons that caused the climate changes is the emission of carbon dioxide from the vehicles. Therefore, we can reduce the uses of vehicles and car-pooling in our daily lives. Besides that, at home, we can switch our light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs and turn off the light when we a re not using it or after using it. Conclusion As a conclusion, we can see there are many effects of climate changes that seriously affecting our environment, health and biodiversities. If we still have not take any actions to prevent the climate changes, our mother earth will be become sick more seriously. Furthermore, when the deforestation continuing occurs, there will be having many different consequences to our environment. Climate changes will also leads to psychological problem such as post traumatic disorder, stress, anxiety and violence among the communities. So, to protect our environment and give our next generation to have a better place to stay, we must always know how to prevent the climate changes such as stop cutting off the trees, save energy, car-pooling, etc. Therefore, let us together to protect and love our beautiful mother earth that given by God and try to keep her healthy as long as we can.

Gran Torino 2008 Film Studies Essay

Gran Torino 2008 Film Studies Essay Clint Eastwood. A legend in the film industry. Born on the 31st of May in 1930, he began directing in 1971 and producing in 1982. Famous for his roles in the Dollars Trilogy, the Dirty Harry films, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, his name is synonymous with masculinity. He has 7 children from 5 different women where only 2 of whom, each were at one point his wife. In December 2008, Gran Torino was released and distributed by Warner Brothers. The movie tells a story of Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a caucasian veteran of the Korean War. Walt is the spitting image of the generic racist American war veteran who sits outside his house with a 12 gauge shotgun firmly pointed at immigrants with a southern drawl. Clint Eastwoods portrayal of Walt is true to this generic image albeit as the story progresses, his attitude towards his neighbours softens. Walts most prized possession is his Gran Torino, a classic muscle car. The film begins with Walt Kowalski mourning silently the passing of his wife. Living alone, his two sons do not get along well with their father. Days later, Walts neighbours son, Thao (Bee Vang), tries to steal his car as part of a gang initiation ceremony. Walt foils this attempt with his semi-automatic rifle from his war days. Thaos family is grateful towards Walts actions that saved Thao from a life in the gang. Walt takes it upon himself to set Thao on the right path. But when Thaos sister, Sue (Ahney Her) is assaulted by the same gang who tried to recruit Thao, Walt is forced to take action. Walts rifle from the Korean War is symbolic of his past deeds. It represents the acts of violence and aggression he perpetrated during his days of service. Shut the fuck up! You want to know what its like to kill a man? Well its goddamn awful, thats what it is. The only thing worse is getting a medal of valour for killing some poor kid that wanted to just give up, thats all. Yeah, some scared little gook just like you. I shot him right in the face with that rifle you were holding in there a while ago. Theres not a day goes by that I dont think about it. You dont want that on your soul. But I got blood on my hands. Im soiled. Thats why Im going it alone tonight. Walt is a man who is tortured by his past. Walts Gran Torino and his dog, Daisy are the only source of happiness and comfort for him prior to him befriending his Hmong neighbours. At the beginning of the movie, Walts distaste for the asian people is very apparent. He refers to them as gooks most of the time. However, as the film progresses, he realises that he is closer to his asian neighbours than he is to his own family. God, I got more in common with these gooks than I do with my own spoiled-rotten family. Jesus. Happy birthday. At one point in the movie, Walt becomes so close to Thaos family that hes seen grilling some steak in his backyard with Thao, Sue and Thaos date. Walts resourcefulness is apparent as he has a garage filled with tools that according to him took 50 years to put together. He sees Thaos interest in them and gifts to him a lubricant, duct tape and a visier grip. He later goes on to to help toughen Thao up by teaching him how to talk like a man. Walt even goes so far as to help Thao secure a job at a construction site and purchase tools for him to kickstart his independence. In order to show their appreciation of Walts help towards Thao, the local Hmong community frequently brings food to him. At first, Walt is reluctant to accept the gifts. But as they persist, he gives in after tasting and falling in love with the flavorful Hmong food. The Hmong shaman reads Walt and tells him that he is not respected by people and that he carries a heavy burden. Upon hearing this, Walt becomes visibly shaken and begins coughing blood. Every instance that Walt was about to take aggressive action, a military themed drum beat would follow. This use of music indicated to the audience that Walt was about to undertake something important. The military drum beat also brings to mind a sense of patriotism that Walt has towards his country. This is further illustrated by the large American flag on his porch. The overall colour used throughout the movie is a dull green. This is reflective of the calm pace of the movie with the exception of the times during confrontation when it is usually dark. Thaos character at the beginning of the film is a passive one. He seldom talks and even when he does, he speaks with a soft tone. This can be attributed to his sisters role as the dominant figure in the house. Thao is regarded as feminine even by his own family. Needless to say, Walt despises Toad as he calls him. Yeah Yum Yum yeah nice girl nice girl, very charming girl I talked with her yeah. But you, you just let her walk out right out with the Three Stooges. And you know why? Cause youre a big fat pussy. Well, I gotta go. Good day, pusscake. As the film progresses, Walt gradually succeeds in toughening Thao up. At one point, Thao stands up for himself when he encounters the Hmong gang while going home from work. Though Thao may be weak willed, he is definitely a kind and helpful boy intent on helping others. At one point in the film, when a caucasian lady drops her groceries on the sidewalk, a group of 3 Hmong teenagers notice but do not help. Instead they make lewd gestures. Thao however rushes to aid the lady much to the surprise of Walt who was watching intently. Some of the issues discussed in the movie are that of racism, multiculturalism and religion. In terms of racism, Walt is racist towards every non caucasian person in the film. Though he mostly keeps it to himself, sometimes his outburts contain racial slurs. Walts neighbourhood is also assumed to be a previously white dominant one. But as immigrants moved in, more people of other races settled down there. Particularly the Hmong people. The movie intends to show audiences that racism can be overcome by intellect. This is apparent when Walt saves Sue from some African American thugs. When Sue is in the car conversing with Walt, he tells her that shes alright. From then on, the relationship between Walt and Thaos family improves and they become close allies. Multiculturalism is an important aspect of this film as various races can be seen and traditions of the races are also portrayed. When Walt is invited for lunch at Thaos house for a celebration, he pats a child on her head. This act is seen as disrespectful in Hmong culture. In the scene where Sue is ambushed by the African Americans, she is seen to be dating a caucasian teen. During Walts visit to the doctor, in the waiting room, people from various races can be seen as well. Theres Walt, a caucasian, an African American lady, an Indian lady with a traditional dress, a presumably Mexican man, an Arabian nurse with a headdress and an asian doctor. The film intends to educate the viewers that the American landscape is fast changing where once Walts neighbourhood used to be predominantly White, it is a rarity to see a caucasian. In terms of religion, Walt is a catholic though not a devout one. His take on faith is insouciant and of disdain. Father Janovich: Why didnt you call the police? Walt Kowalski: Well you know, I prayed for them to come but nobody answered. While talking to Father Janovich, he calls the priest a young 27 year old virgin. By the end of the movie though, he appears to reconnect with his religious roots as he attends confession. The movie doesnt appear to lean to either to matriarchy or patriarchy. Though the values of the different cultures are quite apparent. In the Hmong culture, a lot of family members can be seen congregating. Communication is generally open and inclusive. Whereas for the western culture as seen in Walts family, the viewer can see a family which is estranged and on bad terms. Walts sons dont pay much attention to their father and only contact him when they want something. In terms of respect, the Hmong people generally are more respectful towards their elders. But in the case of Walts grandkids, the granddaughter smoked a cigarette in Walts house. There are a few film techniques used in the film that are noteworthy. When Walt is confronting the gangs house at night towards the end of the film, an estblishing wide shot is used showing Walt approach the house. The lighting at this point is very low-key, only highlighting what the audience needs to see. Faint background noises such as a barking dog, and crickets can be heard in the distance leading the viewer to assume that the location is one which is seldom visited. When the gang members begin talking to Walt, the camera cuts to a wide shot of him. From the houses behind him in the background, curious neighbours can be seen coming out of their rooms. In the next few moments, a few more shots of neighbours coming out of their houses can be seen to further emphasise the point that the whole scenario is being scrutinised. At this point, the gang leader draws his weapon, but Walt keeps insulting them, determined to carry out his plan unfazed. He insists on defending his neighbours. This is the point where the viewers see that deep beneath the grouchy exterior, Walt is a genuinely good man. The movie overall was a refreshing change from the regular action films which lack depth and substance. Gran Torino has enough action to maintain the male audience attention while catering to the emotional aspect as well via good character development and storyline. The touching scenes in the film truly can impact the viewer and make them question their own attitudes towards culture and racism and doing whats right. Where at first the viewer is antagonistic towards Walt, they come to appreciate is gruffness and empathise with him and feel genuine sadness when he sacrifices his life in the end.

Holes-Why is it a good novel for teenagers? Essay -- English Literatur

Holes-Why is it a good novel for teenagers? In this essay I intend to look at why the book ‘Holes’, is a good novel for teenagers to read. Written by Louis Sachar in 1998, it is a modern novel telling readers a story about the life experiences of a young boy called Stanley. The story revolves around Stanley being unfairly acquitted for a crime leading to him being faced to cope with life at a juvenile detention centre. Along with this main plot, there are several other underlying smaller plots that contribute towards the success of the story as a whole. I will examine the various reasons for why this book would appeal to teenagers. There are three simultaneous plots, which creates more excitement and suspense for the reader. But the main theme is how young Stanley Yelnats IV comes to redeem the curse which was visited upon his great-great-grandfather and all the Yelnats family, through the generations, by Madame Zeroni. Stanley, the main character in the story, is falsely accused of stealing a pair of trainers, which had been donated to help raise money for the homeless shelter. These trainers weren’t any ordinary trainers; they had belonged to the most famous baseball player in history, Clyde Livingstone. Stanley isn’t too disheartened when he is sent away from his family to a juvenile delinquent’s camp (Camp Green Lake) for a crime he did not commit, due to his family’s long known history of bad luck. Stanley doesn’t blame the judge for falsely convicting him, but he blames the whole misadventure on his â€Å"no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather†. For Stanley, his troubles are just a natural part of being a Yelnats, which is a factor of life that he has become accustomed to. .. ...n different parts of the world, not all teenagers may be treated in the same way Stanley had been. This is why it might be interesting to see what different parts of the world are like. The story isn’t really realistic either, because a teenager wouldn’t really expect such events to take place in this day and age. A teenager may want to read something that could happen to them, but from someone else’s point of view. The finding of treasure may seem to be an old-fashioned task and hence may not create the excitement that it was aimed for. Despite some not so appealing events in the story, I would recommend this book to all teenagers due to its suspense and excitement elements. The reader becomes intrigued to reach the ending, which is very successful in connecting all the sub plots to reveal the conclusion to the treasure and Stanley’s family history.

Macbeth vs Scotland, PA Essay -- essays research papers fc

Macbeth: The thin line between tragedy and dark humor. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has always been considered one of the literary worlds most celebrated tragedies. It is arguably the darkest and most gruesome of his plays. The protagonist, Macbeth, is the poster child for tragic hero, â€Å"a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy† (www.dictionary.com). And until recently we were satisfied with that†¦ At the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, a low budget comedy was unveiled. It was called Scotland, PA. This film was written by a first-time director, Billy Morrissette, and depicts the familiar story in a surprisingly different form. The premise of the plot is held in tact but the setting is shifted several hundred years, to the 1970s. The characters’ names even remain familiar. The dialogue is contemporary English yet you can still recognize the similarities in conversation. Major themes from the original work – revenge, guilt, self doubt, fate, and prophecy still exist in this manipulated adaptation. â€Å"He (Morrissette) is able to make an interesting point about how the difference between tragedy and comedy is often how the material is viewed by the audience†.(Berardinelli) Prior to Morrissette’s Scotland, PA, Roman Polanski brought his adaptation of Macbeth (1971) to the silver screen. This more traditional adaptation follows the plays blueprint. The setting remains unchanged, as well as the plot and dialogue. This movie was made soon after a horrifically traumatic events in Polanski’s life, the heinous murder of his pregnant wife by members of the ‘Charlie Manson family’. The film may have been a therapeutic outlet for him. The extremely gory murder scenes may have been a result of his attempts to deal with his pain and show give insight into the horror that filled his life at the time. Polanski’s adaptation definitely added a horror flick tone with the gruesome portrayal of despicable violence. The most notable difference in the portrayal of Mac and Pat, in Scotland, PA versus the portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, in Macbeth, is the atrociousness, or lack of, with which we view them and their crimes. Mac and Pat seem to be less despicable than Macbeth and Lady Macbeth for several reasons. One key reason is the omission of the ordered murder of Macduff’s family ... ...ind their evil deed. Lady Macbeth is aware of her position as motivator, and even states in the play that she wishes she were a man so that she could carry out their plan herself. Even in Scotland, PA, Pat is continuously directing and instructing Mac in all of their actions pertaining to the murder and cover up. She tells Macbeth to get the safe combination, to stop him from escaping, and talks him through virtually the entire process. The major difference in the two works is presentation and context. This relates directly to the representation of the main characters. By keeping the premise but altering the way the course of events occurs gives the audience a different insight into the development and representation of the characters, particularly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Both adaptations were very well done, particularly Scotland, PA. It shows that, with a little tweaking, comedy can be found in even the most bloody and tragic of stories. Works Cited: Dictionary.com. 2005, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 3/8/2005 . Macbeth [1971] – Review @ EOFFTV. 2000, 3/8/2005 . Phillips, Brian and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on Macbeth. 9 Mar. 2005 . Review: Scotland, PA. 2002, 3/8/2005 .

Asian Culture and Healthcare Essay -- Healthcare

Culture is a very important factor to the Asian community. Their whole lives, from their religion, to how they interact with one another, to how they view health care is all dependent on tradition and beliefs. At the third largest majority group, there are almost 12 million Asian or Asian American people living in the United States (Spector, 2009, p 232). Of them, 10.2 million are just Asian, and 1.7 million are Asian mixed with one or more other races. Being Asian refers to having origins to the people from the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. This area uses over 30 different languages and cultures, and has many different religions. One thing that they have in common is their belief in the religion and philosophy, Taoism. Taoism originated in ancient China from a man named Lao-Tzu. Tao has many meanings, including way, path or discourse. Spiritually, it is the way to ultimate reality, or the way of all nature that regulates heavenly and earthly matters. The Chinese believe that the universe is a vast entity, and everything has a definite function. Nothing can exist without the existence of another because everything is linked together, and is kept in harmonious balance. Health is the state of spiritual and physical harmony with nature. When this balance is violated, the result is illness. To remain healthy, those following Taoism believe that they must conform their actions to the â€Å"mobile cycle of the correspondences† (Spector, 2009, p 235). There are two main components to the important idea of traditional Chinese medicine. First is that the human body is regarded as a complete organism that needs to remain in harmony with itself. During sickness, the whole body is regarded, instead of just the affected ... ...r patients with different cultural beliefs, attitudes and health care practices. Knowing a patient's culture can dramatically improve patient compliance, care and earn patient respect. Works Cited Gupta, V. (2010). Impact of culture on healthcare seeking behavior of Asian Indians. Journal Of Cultural Diversity, 17(1), 13-19. Joswick, D. (2012). What acupuncture can treat. Retrieved from https://www.acufinder.com/ Acupuncture+Information/Detail/What+can+acupuncture+treat+ Spector, R. E. (2009). Cultural diversity in health and illness (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Zhao, M., Esposito, N., & Wang, K. (2010). Cultural beliefs and attitudes toward health and health care among Asian-born women in the United States. JOGNN: Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 39(4), 370-385. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01151.x

Six Major Classes of Nutrients

There are six major classes of nutrients:  carbohydrates,  fats,  minerals,  protein,  vitamins, and  water. These nutrient classes can be categorized as either  macronutrients  (needed in relatively large amounts) or  micronutrients  (needed in smaller quantities). The macronutrients include carbohydrates (including  fiber), fats, protein, and water. The micronutrients are minerals and vitamins. The macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide structural material (amino acids from which proteins are built, and lipids from which cell membranes and some signaling molecules are built) and  energy.Some of the structural material can be used to generate energy internally, and in either case it is measured in  Joules  or  kilocalories  (often called â€Å"Calories† and written with a capital  Cto distinguish them from little ‘c' calories). Carbohydrates and proteins provide 17  kJ approximately (4  kcal) of energy per gram, while fa ts provide 37  kJ (9  kcal) per gram. ,[17]  though the net energy from either depends on such factors as absorption and digestive effort, which vary substantially from instance to instance.Vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water do not provide energy, but are required for other reasons. A third class of dietary material, fiber (i. e. , non-digestible material such as cellulose), is also required,[citation needed]  for both mechanical and biochemical reasons, although the exact reasons remain unclear. Molecules of carbohydrates and fats consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates range from simple  monosaccharides  (glucose, fructose, galactose) to complexpolysaccharides  (starch).Fats are  triglycerides, made of assorted  fatty acid  monomers  bound to a  glycerol  backbone. Some fatty acids, but not all, are  essential  in the diet: they cannot be synthesized in the body. Protein molecules contain nitrogen atoms in addition to carbon, ox ygen, and hydrogen. The fundamental components of protein are nitrogen-containing  amino acids, some of which are  essential  in the sense that humans cannot make them internally.Some of the amino acids are convertible (with the expenditure of energy) to glucose and can be used for energy production, just as ordinary glucose, in a process known as gluconeogenesis. By breaking down existing protein, some glucose can be produced internally; the remaining amino acids are discarded, primarily as urea in urine. This occurs normally only during prolonged starvation. Other micronutrients include  antioxidants  and  phytochemicals, which are said to influence (or protect) some body systems.Their necessity is not as well established as in the case of, for instance, vitamins. Most foods contain a mix of some or all of the nutrient classes, together with other substances, such as toxins of various sorts. Some nutrients can be stored internally (e. g. , the fat soluble vitamins), wh ile others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by a lack of required nutrients or, in extreme cases, too much of a required nutrient. For example, both salt and water (both absolutely required) will cause illness or even death in excessive amounts.