Dendrophthoe Petandra L. Miq.s Progesterone-Like Effect

Dendrophthoe Petandra L. Miq.s Progesterone-Like Effect ABSTRACT The in-vivo study on healthy adult female rat were known that extract methanol of Dendrophthoe Petandra L. Miq by intramuscular injection (w/v) at dose 100 mg/kg body weight for four days (s.d.d.) can be produce progesterone hormone two times more than usual levels. That phenomenon apparently indicates that plant as an Indonesia namely Benalu duku were probably consist of steroid with carbon bonding substances at number 1st to 21st namely pregnane derivate. These research aims to determined specificity active substances of methanol crude extract Benalu duku leaves with pharmacodynamics effect like progesterone hormone. Pulverized Benalu duku leaves at 400g was extracted with 2 L methanol pro analysis grade by shaker maceration method at 200C during the 72 hours. Semi solid crude extract were drying by vacuum dried apparatus and UV exposure at 15 minutes and analysis by FT-IR and LC ESI MS. Research result obtained that active substances with main chemical structure of pregnane deriva te were progesterone at about 30%, medroxy progesterone acetate at about 66%, megestrol acetate at about 3% and 1% dydrogesterone. Key words: Benalu duku, pregnane derivate, anabolic steroid, leaves extract FT-IR, Methanolic leaves extract LC-ESI MS. Introduction Dendrophtoe Petandra L Miq (Benalu duku) as a parasites plant growing on Lancium demesticum were known have a several essential active substances and useful for treated proliferation cell (NURAINI et al., 2000, ROOSTANTIA et al., 2000 and RATNA et al., 2007). Some researcher reported that plants have a beneficially active substance like alkaloid, flavonoid, polyphenol, terpenoid and free steroid (ARIFA et al., 2009). New research report explained that crude methanolic extract of Benalu duku leaves can be increasing progesterone hormone two times more than usual levels, but giving FSH levels on female adult rat (BAMBANG, LAZUARDI, 2014). The last research report indicate that plants have a several substances with characterize as a progesterone like effect. Characterization progesterone like effect was known have a specific chemical main structure namely pregnane derivate with consist of carbon at 1st to 21st at their double bonded chain structure or (8S,9S,10S,13R,14S,17S)-17-ethyl- 10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12, 14,15,16,17-tetradecahydro-1H- cyclopenta [a] phenanthrene. Identically of their main structure of pregnane derivate were known as an anabolic hormone and usefully for treatment prostate cancer in adult man (RANDOX LABORATORY LTD, 2013). Pregnane derivate were known have some specific anabolic steroid structure i.e cortisone, hydrocortisone, progesterone, medroxy progesterone acetate, megestrol acetate, 17- ÃŽ ±- hydroxyl progesterone acetate, dydrogesterone. Other herbal medicine with anabolic steroid action was found at Mexico namely Codices plant. That plant was similar with Benalu duku as a parasites plant growing at subtropics seasons (LERNER, ARNWINE, 2002). With analog to Codices plant in Mexico, might be benalu duku leaves after extracted by methanol were containing specific anabolic steroid. By background research at above, will be determined progesterone like effect substance like progesterone, medroxy progesterone acetate, megestrol acetate, dydrogesterone from base on overview of identic molecule ion of LC-ESI MS and function compound of FT-IR. Materials and methods Benalu duku leaves were obtained from Muara Enim region of west Sumatera-Indonesia and identification as a Dendrophthoe Petandra L. Miq at Botany Research Institute at Tangerang – Jakarta Indonesia as described by BAMBANG, LAZUARDI (2014). Reference substance of progesterone was obtained from Sigma-aldrich product 46665 batch SEBA XV. Reference substance of medroxy progesterone acetate was obtained from Harsen pharmaceutical Industry Jakarta – Indonesia at pharmaceutics grade. Megestrol acetate reference material was obtained from Sigma Aldrich at product 46420 batch SZB9173XV. Dydrogesterone reference material was used from European Directorate for quality medicines and health care, France by catalog code Y0001004. A 400 gram of pulverize benalu duku leaves were extracted on 2 L of methanol pro analysis on to the 1 L separated flask during the 72 hours (movement shaker maceration method at 200C). The semi-solid of crude extract were dried on vacum drying and exposure to uv light (15 minutes) for kept contaminate from the mold and some bacteria. Some amount of semi-solid crude extract benalu duku leaves was determined specific molecule structure compound by FT –IR PerkinElmer Frontier 89485 and LC-ESI MS Accela TSQ Quantum Acess Thermo. The semi-solid crude extract methanol of benalu duku leaves was determined to molecule function of progesterone like effect substances at 400 cm-1 to 4000 cm-1 . Performance control of LC-ESI MS were adjusted as follows; column hypersil Gold 0.2  µm length 10 cm gradient method with mobile phase at bottle A 0.1% in Aqua bidest and bottle B 0,1% formic acid in acetonitrile pro HPLC. The gradient was perform at 35% to70% of B in 20 minute at 254 nm UV detector. Automatic sucking and injection capacity was adjusted at 10  µl, flushing capacity 400  µl with velocity at 100 µl.second-1, velocity injector 8  µl.second-1, height of suction apparatus at about 2 ml capacity autosample vial at 1.2 ml. Temperature column was adjusted at 220C at maximum pressure pump 1250 PSI and stabile in 10 BAR (THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION, 2007). Results Analysis Spectrum infra-red of crude extract methanol Benalu duku leaves obtained that stretching aromatic compound specific overtone was presented at 1650 to 2000 cm-1. Especial in 1550 cm-1 to 1600 cm-1 was appeared stretching aromatic compound (1,s). In 1450 cm-1 to 1500 cm-1 was appeared s orbital of stretching aromatic compounds. At finger print area wavelength number of 600 cm-1 to 900 cm-1 and 1000 cm-1 to 1300 cm-1 were indicate of flexible carbon atom and hydrogen outside of area (k orbital) and inside of area (l orbital). To compare similarities of infra-red spectrum between reference material vs., crude extract methanol of Benalu duku leaves at high intensity (%T) indicated that wavelength number of 1400 cm-1 to 1050 cm-1 and 1600 cm-1 to 1660 cm-1 were identic both of them. Even at low intensity (%T) on the finger print area 750 cm-1 to 1000 cm-1 were identic infra-red spectrum between reference materials vs., crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves. Table 1 at bellow w as presented specific function molecules of crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves after assessment by FT-IR by references of NOERDIN (1985). Analysis LC ESI-MS by Triple Stage Quadruple Mass Spectrometers were obtained that compound of progesterone like effect in extract methanol Benalu duku leaves were identic to reference materials of medroxy progesterone acetate, progesterone, megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone. Table 2 at bellow explained that retention time and ion molecule of ESI (m/z) as dependent variable of extract methanol Benalu duku leaves was similar to retention time and ion molecules of ESI references material. Table 1. Infra-red spectrum (cm-1) and intensity (%T) crude extract benalu duku and reference materials of progesterone like effect substances Extract benalu duku Progesterone Med. Prog. acet Megestrol acetate Dydrogesterone Identified function group, cm-1  ± %T cm-1 %T cm-1 %T cm-1 %T cm-1 %T 3500-3400 15-11 3436.69 72 3434,34 0,11 3436,39 10,16 3435,72-3374,34 14,17-14,58 0-H 2927,33 12,87 2969,05-2925 10,25-8,22 Absent 2946,49-2927,66 12,04-12,17 2989,16-2930,19 5,05-13,35 Unsymmetrical vibration, stretching C-H 1632,88 17,15 1699,13-1616,17 49-8,83 1638,95 1,05 1664,2-1629,09 6,49-10,9 1659,51-1620,82 1,24-2,94 Stretching aromatic ring (1,s) 1458,07 18,49 1438,76 15,45 1401,19 3,29 1458,7 14,88 1452,06 14,48 Stretching aromatic ring (s) 1272,22 19,21 1279,25-1268,89 17,85-18,67 Absent 1269,83 10,1 1277,7 12,4 Flexible C-H on orbital (l) 1203,09 19,36 1204,91 14,97 Absent 1206,31 14,18 1193,1 7,97 Alkene, R-OH, stretching vibration C-H, aromatic 1169,44 19,73 1179,06-1162,48 17,64-16,36 Absent 1166,41 16,27 1174,79-1162,58 17,08-14,51 -CH—CH-(trans),R-CH2 1062,81 19,17 1116,32 19,96 1112,60 3,28 1083,18-1058,62 16,29-15,81 1064,16 21,79 Cà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚ CH2, mono substitute alkenes 826,55 23,84 871,18 17,15 Absent 877,33-796,78 14,9-21,26 831,21-793,86 24,45-23,51 Tri substitute alkenes, meta-di subtitute Benzene (aromatic) 721,48 23,67 778,14-687,31 21,77-21,17 Absent 755,83-713,19 20,62 727,77 23,21 cis-di substitute alkenes, mono substitute benzene, meta-disub. benzene (Aromatic) 639,21 23,8 687,31 21,17 644,79 2,57 634,94 20,65 630,99 18,55 cis-di substituted alkenes (vinyl, C-H) Table. 2. Result analysis retention time and molecules ion of ESI between crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves and reference material as medroxy progesterone acetate, progesterone, megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone Analytes Weight ( µg/ml) Area Retention time (minutes) Electron Spray Ionization (ESI) (m/z) Crude extract benalu duku leaves 0,0646 227044 4.40 387.000 Medroxy progesterone acetate 0,15 99585 4.40 387.000 Crude extract benalu duku leavesFigure 1 to Figure 4 at below obtained that LC ESI-MS of extract methanol benalu duku leaves were containing identic active substances of medroxy progesterone acetate, progesterone, megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone. Discussion Analysis by retention time and ESI (m/z) of LC ESI-MS were apparently just two of progesterone like effect substances on crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves that very identic substances to reference material namely medroxy progesterone acetate and progesterone. Other progesterone like effect substances as a megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone on crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves were mostly identic to reference material of megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone by different shift at 0.01 and 0.6 retention time of reference materials. Difference in retention time shift is closely linked nature of polarity samples bound to the column Hypersil Gold of LC. Thus the most likely molecular structure of megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone on methanol extract of benalu duku no resemblance to 100% identically as reference materials of megestrol acetate and dydrogesterone. Analysis to compare between the values of molecule ion fragments (m/z) and ESI (m/z) reference materials of f ourth progesterone like effect substances versus identically substances of progesterone like effect on crude extract methanol benalu duku leaves were apparently have a differences values (p

Role of Line Managers in Human Resource Management (HRM)

Role of Line Managers in Human Resource Management (HRM) Human resource planning (HRP) or workforce planning is one of the classic human resource (HR) administrative tools in the estimation and identification of HR requirements used to meet the organization long-term objectives and economic opportunities. It is therefore defined as the systematic process for analysing the organization needs on how many employees are needed and what kind of knowledge, skills and talents is required in order to satisfy the organization needs (Armstrong, 2009:486). Line managers are required to provide information from their respective departments regarding to the strength of their workforce and what skills is required at the present and in the future. Thereafter, it is duty of the HR manager to gather and analyze these data which will help them to actualize the strategic plans of the human resource and by putting in mind to apply the economic theory when the demand is high the supply is low and vice versa, which will help the HR manager view the exact scenario in the organization and the labour market (D.Haffner handout I, 2010:20-21). HRP does not only assess the organizations current climate and its future labour but it does helps in the management planning of any needed recruitment, training and development of the right employee and the evaluating the progress of the organization which in turn helps in providing information to the managers regarding the need to review their forecasts and programs (Susan E. Jackson et al., 1990:223). Connecting business plan with HRP The objectives of any business vary from one organization to another which could be either short-term or long-term. Due to the constant and rapidly changes in the business, economic and social environments, these factors has played a great impact in many leading organizations to emerge their business plans with HRP so as to adopt a long-term plan. HRP is therefore the key element in every organizational strategic business plan in ensuring that its survival is sustained in the marketplace. Thus this is one of the responsibilities of the human resource in developing the human resource strategies that will be applied into the business plans. This is supported from the quoting of Kathyrn Connors (vice president of Human Resource at Liz Claiborne), who believes that the success of any organization strategies is by implementing the HR plans as shown in appendix 1 (Susan E. Jackson et al.1990:223). The human resource planning model in Appendix 2 shows how the various activities which are interlinked to each other and how they influence each other towards the achievement of the businesss SMART objectives, plans and its development (Armstrong,2009:fig.29.1:490) In a study case of British Gas, which is the countrys leading energy provider has implemented workforce planning model to help them predict the needed engineers who will help in meeting their customers quench for services. The managers are constantly carrying out a forecast programmes that will help them visualize how many more engineers they require in the future so as to meet the needs of their customers. Thus the British Gas success is because of the application of the HRP content in their business plans and putting customer first (Thetimes100.com). Looking at the PEST and SWOT analysis of Bio Energy in appendix 3 has the potential of growing because of its great and cheap services. Since British Gas is one of its competitors, they could apply the HRP principles and model as the way British Gas have. By doing so, they would be the of the top energy suppliers in the world because of their environmental conscious advantage. 2. Recruitment and selection Recruiting and selecting appropriate staffs is a great challenge for many HR professionals. In most of the upcoming companies the demand for labour is high but the research conducted by many HR managers is poor and still have difficulty in differentiating between recruiting and selection, therefore appointing the wrong employees. Therefore, this paper defines recruitment as the various steps an organization undertakes to attract applicants to work for an organization and meet its objectives. Selection is part of recruitment process that is involved in pinpointing the successful candidates for the jobs under reasonable and relevant assessment (Armstrong, 2009:515). A successful organization, be it small or large, always has an organized and a solid workforce that is comprised of well competent and qualified individuals. The human resource manager (HRM) and the line managers participate in different stages of recruiting and selecting the prospective candidates for their company. Process of recruiting and selecting Assuming that a human resource plan has been conducted regarding on how many more staff members are required, the HRM is then required to develop the organizations procedures and policies relating to recruiting new staff and ensure that the selection carried out in unbiased manner. Unsuccessful recruitment is when the companys money is been spent and no outcome is obtained, therefore HRM is also required to strategically plan a recruitment procedure that would be effective to the company. It is then the duty of a line manager to write up the role profile required to fill in his team. Description of individuals competency to perform/operate for example operating equipment and individuals skills, abilities and experience should be included in the role profile. In any role profile there is always an additional part that informs about the terms and conditions of the employment. One can argue about experience requirement because some of the recruiters don not require experienced applicants because in the long run they provide training at their workplace. The line manager should not over exaggerate the content in the role profile because unreal profile could lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction of the recruiter if the applicants do not meet their role profile standard (Armstrong, 2009:515-517). The next step is selecting the best and cost-effective recruitment method to attract prospective candidates. Methods such as internal and external recruitment, recruitment agencies and consultants among others are used by different organizations in recruiting candidates. For example the UKs public sector prefers to advertise their job vacancies both internally and externally which they believe to a good practice. Footnote? Before commencing, it is important for HR manager to initially perform an analysis for their organization before doing a scenario planning especially when the labour market is tight (recession).This in turn helps them to analyse and use this to develop the value of the employee needed and the brand of the employer (Derek, 2009:47-48,57-58). A survey carried out by CIPD (2008) on recruitment found out that a high percentage of candidates relied on recruitment agencies and the lowest percentage used journals for seeking jobs (Armstrong, 2009:520) hence it is crucial for the any recruiter to recognizing the best source of recruiting candidates. Choosing the BEST selection tools Anne and Nancy (2004) have described in their research findings how HR managers have wrong perception on the types of tools used for selecting employees. Poor selection of candidate is due to either poor use of tools or less time spent when selecting, thus it is the duty of line managers to carefully select the appropriate tool ensuring its cost and validity and analyse carefully on the characteristics of the applicants. The use of psychometric tests plays a vital role in measuring individual candidates in their ability, intelligence and personality (Anne and Nancy, 2004: 305-308). For example in an organization such Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest car rental business in UK has a well organized workforce of over 65,000 employees. Enterprise applies the recruitment and selection model in Appendix 4 to recruit new skilled staffs. They use the online recruiting method which they believe that is the easier way the applicant can apply. After the recruitment process, the HR manager will carefully select the appropriate candidates by using a standard documentation that matches the candidates with the required roles, qualities and skills needed in the organization. The candidates are then assessed by taking part in practical exercises and finally being interviewed by the senior manager for his final view (Times100). Howard self drive is a small upcoming company that deals with renting cars like Enterprise do. Looking into its external and internal context in Appendix 5 you can see its success is threatened by limited number of skilled staff. By applying the recruiting and selecting model used by Enterprise then they would have a better chance of being successful because of selecting the appropriate candidate for their organization. 3. Training and development The most effective way for a company to continue achieving its business plans is by expanding its strategies on training and development activities for their employees in order to allow them to flourish their skills and abilities. The theory a valuable employee is one who is well trained and has learnt, hence has shown continuous develop has been used by HR managers to ensure that effective training is provided to their employees and allowing them to progress continuously (D.Haffner, handout 2, 2010:26). The HR manager is responsible for establishing learning and development strategies that will be followed to achieve the better skills for their employees. In the other hand, line managers are in charge of planning training sections for their employees and assessing their progress from their learning and ensuring that every one of them has had the opportunity to train and develop continuously. The provision of learning and training opportunities in an organization provides the employers assurance for employees development and commitment to stay in the organization. Therefore money spent on their training would be worthy but this could also mean that training these employees would make them more competent and may decide to seek employment leading to losses (Derek, 2009:66). Learning programmes could be conducted either by informal or formal, web-based, self-directed or the blend of either 2 or more of them. Informal learning is normally considered by many managers as a source for knowledge but it is the best way to acquire knowledge from the fellow employees as they go by. On-job learning could be another way for learning where one can be coached, mentored, job shadow etc. This type of learning is cost free and more effective (Armstrong, 2009:666-673). For example Tesco, the largest British retail is keen in providing their employees training opportunities and evaluate their skills and abilities at their position at workplace. Employees are provided both on-the-job and off-the-job training. Training techniques used in on-the-job training e.g. shadowing, coaching, and mentoring and job rotation which provides effective learning. Off-the-job training is provided if new skills are needed. Every employee has a self-development chart which shows the learning progress. In Tesco, it is the responsibility of the employees to assess themselves on their development by setting their own SMART objectives. 360-degree appraisal is also been used in Tesco to assess the performance of the employee where the stakeholders are provided this opportunity. The development progress of any employee is rated from Red to Blue. Therefore, Tesco has applied the systematic training and Boyatzis models in appendix 6 in their training and developing program in t heir company for effective customer service (thetimes100). From the Appendix7which shows the analysis of Ganesh supermarket. The manager should apply all the principles Tesco have used for training and assessing the competencies of their employees which will bring success in their organization. 4. Health and safety (HAS) There are many activities occurring in our workplaces which are today governed by legislation that requires the employers to implement in their organizations so as to protect and manage the Health and Safety of their employees and other people who might be affected. The UK health and Safety work Act 1974 states the duties and responsibilities of employers, employees and including individuals who are self-employed on issues regarding to health and safety (Alan, 1996: 52). Health and Safety policies It is the duty of the employer, HAS officers, HR and line managers to bring about the policies and programmes of Health and Safety issues so as to protect their employees. These policies and programmes do not only apply to employees alone but also the consumers, suppliers and nearby communities who will be affected by what the organization does and produces. An employer should always have a signed HAS policy statement which acknowledges the intended agenda regarding to the safety of the employees. Although the issue is that the employer should implement policies on HAS but this relies on the responsibility of each employee to conduct themselves using their common sense. Assessing and auditing It is important to identify and assess any risks that threatens the HAS in an organization and be able to take proper measurements on managing them. A risk could be assessed using a 3-point scale or Holts and Andrews (1993) complex rating scale (Armstrong, 2009:963) which will determine if these risks are hazardous to the employees. It is important that the involvement of HRM, line managers and employees in the auditing HAS programmes as to ensure safety measurements are applied constantly. Training in HAS It is essential for every employee to be trained on ways to handle safety when a hazard has occurred but the issue is that it is not implementing into action. Many organizations only apply training when an accident has happened and at the time when vigilance has risen. This point is supported by the illustration below which was obtain from Herald of Free Enterprise, kings cross and challenges (Mark,1998: 354): many of the principles of good training are widely known in management circles and organization of highly quality will adopt them as part of their explicit policy. Unfortunately it is also true that organizations may pronounce them publicly and yet at the operational levels treat them causally. Senior management may fail to realize that this is happening. The true state of affairs only emerges when some disaster occurs.. A successful health and safety management system (SMS) is one that comprises of strategic plans and the implementation of policies according to HSE publication and British Standard guide which should be set up in an organization. A SMS model in appendix 8 has been developed to be applied in the management of HAS which shows how different issue influences each other in the achievement of safety at the workplaces (Alan, 1996: For example FirstGroup, is the leading public transport company have developed safety culture as one of their activities and their first priority is to provide safety to both their employees and customers. The employers of FirstGroup have implemented the Health and Safety Act 1974 in their organization and provide Prevention Handbook to their employees. Each employee is provided and assessed in their safety training programmes ensuring that each one of them is competent in providing first aid when a hazard has occurred. They have also introduced Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in their organization policies in order to consider those applicants that are physically challenged to join their workforce. Safety-themes are also displayed in their intranet and published in the companys newsletters. Conclusion This article describes the important of the roles and responsibilities of HRM and line managers in these activities in an organization and how they support each in various ways. Human resource planning ensures that the need of the right people at the right time and place are selected who are competent and able to fulfil the business strategies of an organization. Recruiting and selecting the applicants is crucial step for any organisation because of the difficulty in choosing the appropriate method and tools for selecting the candidate of choice. Finally, the need of training employees is an important issue today so that they are well profound with their appointed roles and duties at their workplace and making sure that health and safety in their surrounding is established.

Breakfast of Champions Essay -- Essays Papers

Breakfast of Champions When one hears the phrase â€Å"Breakfast of Champions,† he envisions a grinning picture of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan slam dunking, or Dale Earnhardt in a racecar on a box of Wheaties, a popular breakfast cereal. A few avid Saturday Night Live fans might recall a skit performed by James Belushi. In the skit, Belushi’s â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† was beer, cigarettes, and donuts. Neither of these examples are the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions or Good Bye Blue Morning. A â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† is actually a martini. Breakfast of Champions is a work of fiction with semi-autobiographical allusions. The main characters of the book are Kilgore Trout, Dwayne Hoover, and Philboyd Sludge. Kilgore Trout installs aluminum combination storm windows and screens and writes science fiction novels and short stories. He has no ambition to be a famous writer, so he sends his works to pornographic magazine companies to be published. The names and characters of his works are often changed in the process, and he is rarely paid for his efforts. Dwayne Hoover owns a successful Pontiac dealership. He slowly loses his sanity as the plot unfolds. Philboyd Sludge creates these characters and appears in the story to watch the characters as the story progresses. Breakfast of Champions depicts the story of Kilgore’s travel to Midland City to speak at a festival of arts. Kilgore, at first, rejects the invitation, but he decides to go because h... Breakfast of Champions Essay -- Essays Papers Breakfast of Champions When one hears the phrase â€Å"Breakfast of Champions,† he envisions a grinning picture of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan slam dunking, or Dale Earnhardt in a racecar on a box of Wheaties, a popular breakfast cereal. A few avid Saturday Night Live fans might recall a skit performed by James Belushi. In the skit, Belushi’s â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† was beer, cigarettes, and donuts. Neither of these examples are the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions or Good Bye Blue Morning. A â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† is actually a martini. Breakfast of Champions is a work of fiction with semi-autobiographical allusions. The main characters of the book are Kilgore Trout, Dwayne Hoover, and Philboyd Sludge. Kilgore Trout installs aluminum combination storm windows and screens and writes science fiction novels and short stories. He has no ambition to be a famous writer, so he sends his works to pornographic magazine companies to be published. The names and characters of his works are often changed in the process, and he is rarely paid for his efforts. Dwayne Hoover owns a successful Pontiac dealership. He slowly loses his sanity as the plot unfolds. Philboyd Sludge creates these characters and appears in the story to watch the characters as the story progresses. Breakfast of Champions depicts the story of Kilgore’s travel to Midland City to speak at a festival of arts. Kilgore, at first, rejects the invitation, but he decides to go because h...

Essay on Gertrude and Ophelia’s Death in Shakespeares Hamlet

Gertrude and Ophelia’s Death in Hamlet  Ã‚   The Queen gives a remarkably detailed account of Ophelia’s death leaving one to believe that she may have witnessed the event. We know that she emphasized with Ophelia’s suffering to such an extent that perhaps she realized that the kindest action to take would be to let Ophelia decide her own fate, although she clearly was not in a fit state of mind to do this and was barely aware of her surroundings â€Å"incapable of her own distress.† Ophelia’s death is â€Å"beautified† as she dies in a romantic and beautiful scene befitting her character where she was surrounded by her garland of flowers. (Ophelia herself was â€Å"beautified† in a letter from Hamlet which Polonius found to be a â€Å"vile phrase.†) There is much detail, leading me to believe that Gertrude is trying to soften the blow for Laertes who is already enraged over his father’s death and his sister’s madness; the King says, â€Å"How much I had to do to cl am his rage.† This is a typically selfish reaction of Claudius which serves to emphasize the need for Laertes to control his grief, as he is an extremely fiery character. Ophelia died after collecting flowers from over a brook. I think that she was collecting them to distribute to the court, as she did after her father’s death. Flowers are a symbol of innocence, pure and easily destroyed. The tree she was crawling along whilst collecting these garlands was a willow, which is usually associated with weeping and grief, something we have assigned to the â€Å"watery† (perhaps with tears) character of Ophelia. The branches of a willow hang down towards the ground in a downcast fashion, indicating grief. The personification even extends to her garments that were â€Å"too heavy with heir drink.† The ... ...h his actions do not reflect this thought now, he had previously written her a note saying, â€Å"But that I love thee best, O most best, believe it.† Apart from the ambiguity surrounding her death and her love for Hamlet, Ophelia is described by all as an innocent child, grappling with situations her youth is unprepared for. Even if she had consummated her love for Hamlet, I can still picture Ophelia as a vulnerable and innocent child who has to cope with situations beyond her control in a world where the role of the female is passive. It is this helplessness which Gertrude wants to look after as she â€Å"hoped thou should’st have been my Hamlet’s wife† and her madness which Gertrude wants to save her form by allowing Ophelia to make the decision over life and death. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. 1600? Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet Classic, 1998

The Study of Si Surface Structures Essay examples -- Science Experimen

The Study of Si Surface Structures The goal of this study is to determine the ratios of surface type upon the Si sample. Data is collected from the Si samples using SPALEED. By analyzing the data from dates where combined surfaces are present it is possible to determine the amount of certain types of surfaces present on the sample. The ultimate goal is the ability to control the growth of Pb islands upon the Si crystal. Applications of this research include the design of advanced microprocessors and quantum wires. Introduction: The goal of the REU project to which I was assigned is to determine the amounts of certain types of crystalline surface structures present upon the Si crystal that had been used in previous experiments involving the formation of Pb islands at low temperature. This is accomplished by analyzing certain aspects of the data collected by Spot Profile Analysis Low Energy Electron Diffraction (SPALEED). The data sets are taken from different experimental runs involving various surfaces and are compared to one another. These surfaces include combined types of surface structures as well as those with only a single surface structure present. Background and Experimental Procedure: Within ultra-high vacuum and at very low temperature, a Si crystal is placed. This crystal is heated by use of a tungsten filament to high temperatures in order to eliminate impurities. The Si is then heated again at certain temperatures and for specific durations of time in order to create particular crystalline surface structures. Atoms of Pb are then deposited upon the Si crystal by a process of evaporation. The amount of Pb deposited is known and is measured in terms of monolayers, or layers of Pb upon the surface measu... ...is known through previous experiments that the surface of the Si upon which the Pb is deposited can change the height of the Pb islands formed. By altering the silicon surface upon which the Pb is deposited it is hoped that the Pb islands can be controlled. The hope is that the work here can help pave the way for computer chip architecture in the next fifty years. If the Pb islands can be deposited evenly and placed in specific locations it is believed that they can be use as quantum wires, dramatically increasing the speed of the silicon chip computer. At this time the data is promising. With more data and further analysis the problems of controllable Pb island formation are sure to be solved. The use of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and SPA-LEED are the keys to unlocking the mysteries of the Si surface and it’s connection to the formation of the Pb islands.

Forrest Gump Essay

Forrest Gump is one of my favorite movie of all times. It stars Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, very innocent minded man going through many difficult situations and overcoming them. The story isn’t about a hero, a ticking clock or a villain. It is just a remarkable story of a young man going through his amazing life. Metacritic.com says that it is one of the movies you must see before you die and I must agree! It has won six Academy Awards which includes best picture. The cinematography and mise en scene play major roles in grasping the viewer, making the main character feel relatable and helped the viewers understand the time and place Forrest is in. The first shot the cinematographer uses, which is my favorite scene, is the long shots used when following the feather in the open scenes of the movie. The feather flows from way up high in the sky to and lands on the bench Forrest sits on. An example of very long shots in the film are when Forrest is running (all throughout the movie) and also during the war scenes. Cinematographer Don Burgess recalls, â€Å"With Forrest Gump, I felt very strongly about shooting anamorphic: it depicted the character’s relationship to the world and how he saw the world. I thought anamorphic lens worked so well, compositionally. With the character of Forrest Gump, I short-sighted him a lot to put him out of context, so he always felt odd with things around him. The anamorphic format has a tendency to short-sight better anyway, and we used really wide lenses focused on him; I think it creates that feeling of his relationship to everything else.† I believe that the making Forrest stand out and not really fit in to his surroundings, yet effortlessly moving through the motions is captured by the use of anamorphic shooting. It also helps the viewer understand the time and place in which the story takes place and how the character relates to that period of time. However, the cinematography isn’t the only aspect of the filmmaking process that helps the viewer know the time and place; mise en scene also has plays an important role. Mise en scene is French for â€Å"place on set.† It is the way props or objects are placed on the set in order to bring out the theme of a movie and make it  more realistic for the time and place. Mise en scene can be like entering a time machine when done correctly and that’s exactly how I felt while watching Forrest Gump. From the beginning of the film, at the center of attention is the bench. The placement of the bench lets us know that it is at a bus stop as opposed to a park because a bus stops in front of it, people walk behind and in front of the bench, and also the bus stop sign placed near it. Mise en scene can also be symbolic. There are many examples throughout the film but my favorite is the signed Marilyn Monroe picture behind the picture of the Kennedy Brothers at the Watergate Hotel. Its a bit scandalous and fun since Marilyn was rumored to having affairs with both brother and it also brings out a little bit of history, which I love. Also, in one of the scenes where Forrest is running, there’s a confederate flag on the car. Since they’re in the south and many people believe Forrest symbolizes America, it can be presumed that America is running or moving past its racists history. That’s just one theory. There are so many more examples of mise en scene but that would turn this journal into a ten page paper. Forrest Gump has won an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Film Editing and Best Editing and nominated for six more Oscars, Best Cinematography among them. I believe that all the elements that go into making a film made this movie great but the cinematography and use of mise en scene really made it outstanding.

Somali Movement

The initial opposing party to Barre's regime was conducted by the officers in the army after his defeated in Ogden war in 1977, some of them were sentenced and others escaped to Ethiopia and established the first opposing front called â€Å"Somali salvation Democratie Frof† (SSDF), as well as the immigrants of Ishaq tribe in England established â€Å"Somali National Movement† (SNM). Later in 1989, the United Somali Movement was formed by Hawiya tribe and controlled Mogadishu. The next year about (100) politicians signed a document demanding Barre to resign and appointing a transitional government. In 1991, the Somali Congress Forces (SCF) led by Mohammed Farah Aidid defeated the government forces, however Barre coerced to escape to â€Å"Gedo† near Kenyan borders. The ouster of Barre's government left behind a vacuum power which inspired the appetite of opposing groups to govern. An armed combat between (USC) commanders Mohammed Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohammed to control of the capital. The fighting lasted for 100 days and the number of the victims was estimated about (30.000) thousands. On the meantime, the (SNM) proclaimed independence under the name of Somaliland. In 1992, a cease fire between Aidid and Ali Mehdi was a greed, and no one controlled the capital which amplify the gap between the north and the south. The United Nation Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was establish in 1992 to maintain ceasefire and support humanitarian relief efforts (Khaleji, 2007). Unfortunately, the ceasefire was ignored and fighting nonstop. In 1992, about (350.000) Somali died due to illness, hunger and civil war. The US established multinational forces to secure humanitarian processes and it became United Task Force (UNITF) after approving by Security Council. In March 1993, the United Nation operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) started to reconstruct Somali state and economy. They withdraw in 1995 after having incurred causalities. In 1995, the military combat between local parties became less intense. Aidid stated himself as a president of the Somalia without getting any recognition. His forces occupied Daidoa. In 1996, Ali Mehdi elected as a chairman of the United Somali Congress and Somali Calvation Alliance (USC//SSA). In the same year, Aidid died of his wounds. In 2000, Ali Mehdi lost votes to Abdulqasim Salad Hasssan. In the same year, the transitional national government (TNG) was established because of Somali National Arta Conference in Djibouti. In 2004, the Transitional Federal Government was established in Nairobi. In 2006, a clash between U.S backed militia leaders and Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which won the combat and controlled most of the Southern Somalia (Dresso,2009). Thus, Ethiopia entered Somalia as allies to (TFG) against (ICU). The next year president Abdullah control Mogadishu and US began strike against al-Qaida. In 2010, al-Shabaab declared a coalition with al-Qaida and attacked the capital. In the same year, the famine killed about 260,000 people. In 2012, the Federal Government of Somalia was established. In 2013, US recognized the Somali government for the first time since 1991. In the same year and the next, al-Shabaab conducted some attack operations against Kenya like what happened in November a mass killing in north-east Kenya. In 2016, the African Union leaders agreed to raise their troops and support their military to deteriorate al-Shabaab. In 2017, Mohammed Abdullah selected as a president of Somalia. In October 2017, bombing killed about 350 people in Mogadishu. In march 2018, about 18 citizens were killed and 22 others injured because of blast close to hotel in Mogadishu.