King Henry II of England in The Lion in Winter by James Goldman

James Goldman’s masterpiece, The Lion in Winter, is play that is regarded by many as one of the best. The play The Lion in the Winter is basically about the life of king Henry II of England. Although not everything that was mentioned in the play about King Henry II of England was entirely true, some of them are just product of fiction and while some are really unearthed from real history. Some audience or readers may have either liked or disliked King Henry II of England in James Goldman’s play. But if King Henry II of England’s character is based on a real person, could it be that the real King Henry II of England posses the same negative traits that the play had portrayed him? Or does James Goldman’s portrayal of King Henry II of England have historical and factual basic? In the play, The Lion in Winter, King Henry II of England was portrayed as aging and conniving. He was not portrayed as the likeable character but rather more of an antagonist that is against the plots of the other characters, namely his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and his sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John. Basically, everyone was after the throne of King Henry II of England, including himself. He wanted nothing but to protect his throne away from those who want to steal it from him. He was in very good position to do that because he was king, he had all the power of a nation in his palm. He was so addicted to the power he possessed that he became a control-freak, much like every king in history. This was the life the fictional King Henry II of England and the real King Henry II of England. It was a life full of connivances and deception just like in the play. The play had themes like the dysfunctional family,   politics, aging, inheritance, all of which made the bulk of the play’s narration, all of which also made up the bulk of King Henry II of England. It just shows that even the person of highest political position and wealth are most likely to be unhappy. Although, King Henry II of England was portrayed as an aging-annoying snub in the play The Lion in Winter. He is in fact in reality a good-spirited and energetic person, regarded by many as one of the greatest kings to rule. Some reports that he dresses casually except for occasions that require proper attire. Some also say that he loves jokes and does not easily get offended by them, some even say that he has a considerably great humor. Some say that he is very adept in the field of law. Some say that King Henry II of England has an exceptionally photographic memory able to remember each and every person that he had faced. That last claim about the king sounded like an exaggeration to even me. Although there exists many positive notes to King Henry II of England, there also exists an array of negative notes for the king. Others claim that King Henry II of England had a very bad and short temper. Basically these set of others claim that King Henry II of England has a bad personality. I guess we wouldn’t know since it is too far of a history from where we standing today. Enough of his personal life and enough of how James Goldman had portrayed him, let us examine King Henry II of England according to how history itself had portrayed him. King Henry II of England is also known as Henry Plantagenet, Henry Fitzempress, Henry of Anjou, and Henry Curtmantle. He is considered as a king that had played a significant role in history and had accomplished many things. He was the first from the house of Plantagenet to be elected for the throne of the kingship of England. That in itself can be considered an accomplishment because as we know being first is always something to be proud of. Other notable achievements of King Henry II of England were that he was also the one responsible for many expansions of the kingdom and pacification of many rebellions. From the very start, King Henry II of England had inherited many lands form his father, Geoffrey Plantagenet, and his mother Empress Matilda. Although he had inherited many lands from his father, the most significant of lands was the one that her mother had inherited to him, the English throne. He had expanded the kingdom by conquering Ireland. But it didn’t stop there, the expansion went on until it spanned from the Scotland border to Northern Spain. The expansion during King Henry II of England’s term had almost covered more than half of France. (Tabuteau, 183) King Henry II of England was able to pacify rebellions from the kingdoms domain like of those in Scotland and Ireland. This fact is one reason why some people consider King Henry II of England as the greatest king to rule ever. He travelled all round his kingdom in a very active and energetic manner. He became known for being to survey his kingdom far more than any other king. Through this, he became familiar to the lands, thus the reason for his victory over insurgencies. Through travelling the lands, he was also able to spot several castles that were built illegally inside his kingdom. These castles were built by King Henry II of England’s enemies to show him that they to have the capability to build large and fortified castles. King Henry II of England had destroyed those castles together with their owners as a message that says he is still the one that has the most power.   (Tabuteau, 183) Another of his most notable achievement is that he had stripped the barons of their power to collect taxes. In this sense he had demolished the concept of baronship, and he had basically stripped them of their power over normal people. He had assigned sheriffs to collect the taxes from the people instead of the barons. This had been proven as an effective method to collect tax for King Henry II of England’s fast-growing kingdom. The tax remittances were then used for warfare finance in the crusades. King Henry II of England was also one of the firsts who wanted to be separated for the church. He had wanted the individual powers of the church and the government be separated as two different entities. He had wanted such separation from the church so he had formulated the Constitution of Clarendon. In that constitution, he had argued that an accused that is being trialed in church should be turned over to the government immediately when found guilty. (Tabuteau, 185) Perhaps his greatest and most notable achievement is that he was the one responsible of replacing the trial by combat with the more humane manner of trial by jury. I guess that we should thank him in that aspect because most of our legal courts today are based on what had King Henry II of England had decreed. We should thank him because if not for him, we would still be killing each other when we have legal disputes. We should thank him especially the lawyers, because through trial by jury they don’t have learn how to wield a sword, not to mention for their high salary. (Tabuteau, 186) Some argues that his most notable of all his achievements is his formulation of English common law which is now the basis for most of the world’s legal systems, and a centralized government system. (Tabuteau, 186) Although, King Henry II of England’s achievements had made him one of the most popular king even until now, his achievements were always put in danger because of family disputes over territories and other family matters. To resolve the disputes within his family, he had to resort to dividing his territories among his sons. His sons would later turn against him and join allegiance with the king of France. King Henry II of England would manage to pacify his sons for moment. But in the end Richard will manage to snatch the throne from him just in the play The Lion in Winter. Reference Tabuteau, E. Z. (1997).Henry II. World Book Encyclopedia   

Life of Dogs Versus Life of Cats Essay

Dogs and cats, they are completely different species because they have different attitudes, needs, and habit. However as pets, they have some characteristics in common and go through the same issues of grooming, caring and feeding. To start with the similarities between dogs and cats, there are some common problems that may occur if these animals are kept as pets. Both cats and dogs have fur; therefore require regular combing and washing, if you don’t want to deal with fleas in your house. Both cats and dogs shed, so there occur a definite problem with cleaning out their hackles. Both of them were domesticated hundreds of years ago, so they got used to living in captivity. The important issue for the breeder is that both cats and dogs nurse their young without significant help from the human. Both cats and dogs can be trained. And last, but not the least – they bring love and affection to humans and love to sleep with their owners and are believed to ease problems with health. Cats similar to dogs get bored, and therefore they need toys to keep them occupied. If you give them all the possible attention, they will be great animals. Then if we talk about the differences between them, dogs used to live in a pack in the wild, thus, they require being with the pack in captivity, therefore they consider you and your family to be their family. In the wild the dogs hunt in a company of their kind while on the other hand, cats usually hunt by their own selves, and do not need any company. Certainly they can live together, although they do not require being with one another or with anyone else. Dogs are usually extremely playful and want to have a job to do. Dogs are very active animals that can help people to do many kinds of things like exercise, play a game, and so on. Dogs love to be petted, and can sit on your lap for hours whereas cats do not want to sit with you and some of them dislike being held. Dogs are active during the day and sleep at nights while cats are active at night, and can sleep all day long. Dogs are extremely communicative and use their body language and bark to express their feelings whereas cats can meow, but they are definitely not  as noisy as dogs, and much less expressive with their body language. Dogs are strong animals, so they participate in games, but cats just let it happen around it. In addition to this, dogs are social animals that need communication, while cats are independent, and do not need it. Cats have retractable claws, unlike dogs. Cats seem to be very well-balanced and a lot more flexible as compare to the dogs. Most would say that cats have a higher intelligence than dogs do however; dogs are somewhat smarter than cats in the area of verbal command. For example, you can call your dog by name and usually it will come to you, unlike a cat. There are various similarities and differences that dogs and cats hold to each other. This compare and contrast between the two animals can be supposed in different ways. Some may think more highly of cats due to their intelligence, while others may choose a dog because of their companionship.

Using Beowulf in the Secondary Education Classroom Research Paper

Using Beowulf in the Secondary Education Classroom - Research Paper Example During the Anglo Saxon era story telling was an integral part of their daily life. Storytelling had a huge significance to the societies them. Storytelling was done for entertainment, to teach, and as a pastime. As a result of their storytelling culture, they are able to keep certain aspects of social conducts in check. The resulting situation is one in which people were able to know the social standards of conduct that is expected of them by the society. It was also used as a way of passing of culture from generation to generation. The stories that were traditionally told in the Anglo Saxon societies had a number of cultural messages that were passed to the audience (Zimmerman 125). As a result of this nature, they were able to give cultural details to people, enabling the continuity of the society’s cultural values. This is the reason as to why storytelling is commonly referred to as one of the most effective means through which societies in the Anglo Saxon era made sure tha t they preserved their culture from one generation to another. Traditionally the Anglo Saxon culture was always passed from one generation to another through oral literature. This made oral literature an important part of the lives of the people during the Anglo Saxon era. The thing about oral literature that is closely dependent on language. Understanding of a community’s linguistic history will enable someone to understand their oral literature. The English language has undergone some changes between the time of Anglo Saxon and the modern British society (Davison, Jon, Caroline Daly, and John Moss 99). This kind of understanding will help someone in getting the most from Anglo Saxon epic poems such as Beowulf. This will also enhance their use in literal and linguistic arts education. The poem depicts the warrior culture of Europe during the period of Anglo Saxon. This is in many ways of high historical

Developing Positive Assertiveness Research Paper

Developing Positive Assertiveness - Research Paper Example It has been seen that usually the behavior of the people fits within one of the four models that are considered the very basic. These comprise of the passive, the aggressive, the indirectly aggressive and the assertive behaviors. This paper will take a deep look at the explanations and proper examples of both assertive and aggressive behaviors. Since assertive behavior is one of the clearest forms of communication, anger is usually portrayed within it. It communicates the interaction in very clear cut terms. Strong feelings are usually represented through this form of behavior. It takes into perspective the feelings and emotions of others undoubtedly (Wild, 2011). It has been known that acting in an assertive manner indeed builds upon the premise of one’s self esteem as well as the self esteem of other individuals. What it does best is to allow people to take charge of their own lives and be more responsible about what they do and what they say. It is like making life work for one’s own self, which indeed is an essential ideology that comes attached with assertive behavior. It does not dig deep into being a victim of one’s circumstances and situations that is always the case rather it focuses more on taking charge of one’s own entirety. ... It just comes naturally with the advent of time, however much training is indeed required. Merely being assertive does not really manifest in essence. What is needed is how well one overcomes the blocks that are present within the realms of the assertive behavior. This is apparent through the numerous blocks that are there within the lives of the people and which are learned through practice (Lloyd, 2002). An example could be quoted here of the nuances which create problems in the wake of learning how to demonstrate assertive behavior. One such block which hinders the smooth flow of assertive behavior is lack of self confidence, which can create serious problems for the people at large. At times, it is usually very difficult to change such patterns which have existed with an individual for so long, and hence it becomes a norm that is difficult to get rid of. If such blocks are removed, learning is all the same and hence success would be achieved within the ranks of showing assertive behavior. Moving on to aggressive behavior, it is indeed one of the most violent behaviors that mankind has ever known. It can often lead to physical behavior which is the most heinous form of aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior takes into perspective yelling, abuses, physical violence and extreme levels of anger (Emmett, 2011). It could mean to hurt the other person as well as the one who commits to such a behavior in the first place. People usually see aggressive behavior as the one that restrains contact with the individual who is getting into its act for a certain period of time. In other words, the aggressive individual who is showing such a streak would be left high and dry for some time so that

Alternative Solutions to Medical Testing on Animals Article

Alternative Solutions to Medical Testing on Animals - Article Example An ethical principle that guides the use of alternative methods to animal testing encourages the replacement, reduction and refinement as an effective way of minimizing animal suffering while safeguarding biological experiments thereby proposing ethical alternatives as the discussion below portrays. One of such alternatives is cell cultures (Maguire and Eric 121). This refers to the process of growing both human and animal cells in cultures thereby providing scientists with an opportunity to carry their tests effectively. Psychological egoism is among the ethical theories that continue to propagate for the alternative. According to the theory, explains that self-interests often motivate most of the human actions. Scientists and biologists cause immense pain, suffering and even death to other animals in their desire to make inventions thereby enhancing the profits they acquire from such (Watson 66). The theory therefore encourages the use of cells, which provides the scientists with similar platform to carry scientific researches while saving animals from the immense pain. Objectivism is yet another ethical concept that encourages the use of alternatives to animal testing. The concept explains that reality exists independently of consciousness. As such, humans can acquire knowledge from inductive logic and concept formation. Additionally, the concept explains that pursuing one’s happiness is the moral purpose of life. Using animals in scientific experiments provides humans with an opportunity to develop knowledge. However, the concept encourages the use of other safer and painless ways of doing the same. Dissecting animals is often a bloody affair that most people abhor (Monamy 78). The theory therefore encourages methods that enhance personal happiness and does not cause doubts in the minds of the scientists. Reciprocal altruism further advances the thought for a safer and painless ways

Sociology of Developing Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Sociology of Developing Countries - Essay Example The composition of the labor market in the country is a contributing factor in ethnic conflicts in the country. The White settlers in the country are part of the minority group but they occupy and dominate employment in the preferred job categories. This is a clear demonstration of the racial preference given to certain ethnic groups in the country. The labor market in the country is inclined towards recruiting co-ethnics for the preferred employment opportunities at the expense of other ethnic groups (Coppin & Olsen, 1998). The human capital earning in Trinidad and Tobago is another contributing factor in the ethnic conflicts in the nation. The Indians and Africans, who constitute the larger ethnic group, form the dominant labor force with a representation of more than 80%. The other ethnic groups, apart from the Africans and Indians, have low income earnings because of their alignment from the labor force. Coppin and Olsen (1998) state that inhabitants in the country with fair skin color were recruited for employment with low qualifications compared to their counterparts with dark skin color. The socioeconomic status in the country is associated with the marital status and formation. The marital status of people differs by ethnicity and therefore marriage may be a contributing factor in the ethnic conflicts in the country by widening the ethnicity margin (Olsen, 2009). The external interventions may not be necessary for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. This approach may further aggravate the ethnic difference that the country is struggling to bridge. Apprehensions often occur when several ethnic groups stay in close proximity. The approach that the society uses to resolve the differences varies and may make or break it. Trinidad and Tobago has used the internal mechanisms successfully to control and manage the ethnic differences among the

Inclusive education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inclusive education - Essay Example Rather than viewing the situation in such a way, the educator would do better to view the ultimate diversity that such a situation could bring to the table and work to make it beneficial for all involved. Secondly, with regards to the perception that a teacher has with relation to a student with a disability, this has a prominent role with regards to whether the student himself/herself will achieve a level of success. In this way, the reader can be made intimately aware of the way in which perception of disability has a unique and powerful effect on the level of educational attainment that can be realized (Morsink, 1984). As such, the educator must be made aware of their engrained prejudices that exist so as to seek to identify these and work to lessen their effect on the application of education and the approaches that they exhibit both inwardly and outwardly with regards to the students with disabilities within their classroom. Not only is such an approach to disability disheartening to the child himself/herself, it also is oftentimes outwardly visible; although the educator may wish to conceal this, to the other students within the classroom. In this way, the preconceived notions of whether or not a student is able to integrate well with the other students, the course, and/or the material is oftentimes of far greater importance than whether or not the student is truly and innately capable of integrating with the material. Ultimately, what the reader can infer is that the approach to the situation is what is most important from the educator’s standpoint. If one seeks to push back against the inclusion of children with special needs, they should only do so based upon concrete facts and/or evidence and not due to any preconceived and unsubstantiated beliefs with regards to the overall effect that such an inclusion

Business to Business Office Depot Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business to Business Office Depot Inc - Essay Example Office Depot Inc. recorded revenues of $14,278.9 million during the fiscal year ended December 2005, an increase of 5.3% over 2004. Company could not translate this increase into profitability owing to some intense competition in the sector. As a result the company could generate an operating profit of $348 million during FY 2005, a decrease of 34.3% over 2004 while the net profit was $273.8 million in fiscal year 2005, a decrease of 18.4% over 2004. However the quarterly results for FY 2006 have been quite encouraging so far. The final figures for third quarter indicate an operating profit of $55 millions as compared to $42 million for the same period in 2005. Company is now on a massive expansion spree with newer acquisitions like Papirius with operations in Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovakia. Office Depot has also entered the biggest consumer market and one of the fastest growing economies i.e. China with the acquisition of AsiaEC, one of the largest dealers of office products and services in China. It is worthwhile here to mention that the company is not dealing with too many retail customers, therefore it is not possible to interview the retail customers as such. The best method to study and analyze a company operating in B2B environment is; i. To sift through the reports from some of the marketing agencies, company's quarterly/ annual reports, newspapers and journals ii. Speaking to some of the business customers and gathering their feedback. Therefore, I carried out this research mainly by studying and analyzing the latest Internal reports, annual reports/ quarterly reports of Office Depot, market research by Datamonitor, newspapers, Journals and other printed materials. In addition I also studied the reports of some of its competitors like Circuit City Group Inc., IKON Office Solutions, Inc., Staples, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and United Stationers Inc. SWOT analysis Office Depot is the second largest office products company in the US selling a wide range of office supplies, business machines, computers office furniture and related products through superstores in major regions like North America, Europe and Japan, besides using other channels like contract delivery sales force, and the internet. As compared to other divisions, the North American delivery division has recorded strong growth in fiscal year 2005. Strengths Strong Brand Image: Though a relatively newer company, but Office Depot has been able to establish a strong brand image. In the US, Office Depot has become synonymous with office products. Adopting the tagline "Taking Care of Business" into its logo has further given it a unique identity. The company has successfully finalized a multi-year alliance with NASCAR under which it became NASCAR's official office products partner. This has helped in boosting the brand visibility of Office Depot products. While entering newer markets, like the Asian subcontinent, a strong brand image helps in an easy and formidable entry. Balanced Product Mix: Product mix of Office Depot includes branded office products and own brands with general office supplies, computer supplies, business machines and related supplies, and office furniture under various labels, including Office

Identify the level of accessibility in three universities websites in Article

Identify the level of accessibility in three universities websites in the UK - Article Example However, if any unfortunate incident happening comes up, the friendliness of the web pages assures the provision of urgent help. Hence, these websites are highly accessible to all kinds of students. The best thing about these websites is that they all have pages with links to the home page or the main content which makes them friendly towards blind people or students with problems related to eye sight. Furthermore, there are headlined links as well as options to increase font sizes on the main page that are a great help. Taking the websites of universities in the UK in terms of risk management, there seems to be a good arrangement for all kinds of students. Keeping the students away from all possible problems, the websites well portray the level of universities that the UK boasts. Legal and Ethical Issues: Application of good ethical standards is what ultimately reflects the institution or business of which a particular website is. In order to depict the best possible image, all inst itutes and businesses tend to have websites designed, as perfectly as possible. No matter how much the world advances towards casual and tends to portray them as new trends, ethical standards and legality has and will always remain above everything else.

Geography is no longer relevant in the context of a homogenising world Essay

Geography is no longer relevant in the context of a homogenising world Discuss - Essay Example However, Dicken (2011: p41) notes that nation-state borders continue to dominate global relations with nations continuing to enforce state-boundaries, sometimes using violence to do so. Moreover, challenges in overcoming economic and technological barriers continue to shape how different populations separated by geographical location access healthcare and education for example. Therefore, although the relevance of geography seems to have been greatly diminished as a result of a homogenising world, this paper will argue that how people live is still significantly influenced by geographical factors. Aiello and Pauwels (2014: p280) support the concept of an increasingly homogenised world, noting that global flows and exchanges of capitals, services, goods, transfer of technology and human movements have resulted in a more unique and standardized world culture as acculturation leads to a universal culture. In this case, increased interconnectivity between cultures and countries contributes to the formation of a more homogenous culture with the adoption of a more Euro-American lifestyle and social organization model. Modern communications have played a fundamental role in homogenisation as the internet enables people to read about information on foreign nations as they would about their own locality. People all over the world are now exposed to the same news every day, leading to a homogenisation of ideas and perspectives. Increased international travel has greatly influenced homogenisation as well, with people from South East Asia, for example, travelling to Europe and North Amer ica to find jobs. Moreover, increased tourist flows, specifically from developed countries, have encouraged hospitality industries across the world to provide typical Euro-American services, contributing to a more homogenous global community (Aiello & Pauwels, 2014: p281). Popular culture has also

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay â€Å"The language of friendship is not in words, but in meanings† – Henry David Thoreau While reading the novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader gets a front row view into the relationship of the two main characters, Lennie and George. In every friendship, there are dysfunctional moments, ups and downs, genuine moments and never ending adventures. By definition, a friend is someone to talk to, do things with, be there for each other in time of need and be each other’s crying shoulder. Throughout this novel, Lennie and George display a friendship unlike any other. It is so dysfunctional and rare it makes the reader wonder why these two are friends. For example, the boss says â€Å"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.† â€Å"I just like to know your interest.† In this quote found on page 25, the boss is trying to make sense of their friendship. Even though this quote highlights the rarity of George and Lennie’s bond, this causes the boss to suspect wrong- doing on George’s part. At the end of the novel, George ends up shooting Lennie. This perfectly displays the dysfunctional and rare qualities in their friendship. There are many ups and downs in Lennie and George’s friendship in addition to it being dysfunctional and rare. Lennie is mentally ill. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind his actions. For instance, without Lennie, George could â€Å"Go get a job an’ work an’ no trouble. No mess at all and at the end of the month I could take my fifty bucks into town and get whatever I want.† This shows Lennie and George’s Relationship being down. Even though Lennie is a huge burden, George ultimately chooses to not be without him. Even though it seems like George is being held down by Lennie, George stays with Lennie because they both want the migrant dream. â€Å"Someday – we’re gonna get the Jack together, have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and we’ll have a big vegetable patch.† Thus, these two cannot live without each other. Lennie and George have a genuine relationship too. George takes really good care of Lennie, almost like in a maternal way. George says, â€Å"Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much, you gonna be sick like you was last night.† This shows he cares about Lennie. In the beginning, Lennie assaults a lady by tearing the front side of her dress  off in their old town Weeds. George could’ve easily left Lennie to fend for himself but he realized that wasn’t the right thing to do. Lennie hears his dead aunt Clara telling him â€Å"When he got a piece of pie you always got half or more’n half.† â€Å"An’ if there was any ketchup, why he’d give it all to you.† As the novel progresses, Lennie’s past catches up with him and the authorities start looking for him. George knows that if it is caught, the officers would throw him in jail and he wouldn’t survive. So George shoots Lennie to basically put him out of his misery. Clearly, they have a genuine friendship. With every friendship, there are many adventures along the way. The novel starts off in a scenic woodsy area by a lake. Lennie and George run away together from their home town of Weed to run from the authorities and start a new life as migrant workers. When they’ve finally reached the barn, they meet new people and build relationships with them. The boss, Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim, Crooks, and Carlson. Lennie is always getting into trouble and George is always looking to get him out of it. Lennie kills a mouse, strangles Curley’s wife and also kills the dog. Although this book had many twist and turns, it was a heart- warming thriller that illustrated what life was like back in the 1930s. it surely wasn’t easy but having a dream meant a lot to the characters and made them strive to live their dream.

Malaria Mosquito Borne Infectious Disease Biology Essay

Malaria Mosquito Borne Infectious Disease Biology Essay Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasites of the genus plasmodium. It begins with a bite from an infected female mosquito (more than 30 anopheline species), which introduces the parasite via its saliva into the circulatory system, and ultimately to the liver where they mature and reproduce. The disease causes symptoms that typically include fever, chills and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death. Malaria is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions in a broad band around the equator, including much of Sub Saharan Africa, asia and the Americas. There are five species of parasites of the genus Plasmodium that affect humans and of which only 3 species are found in India. These are Plasmodium malariae (Laveran, 1881), Plasmodium vivax (Grassi and Feletti, 1890), Plasmodium falciparum (Welch, 1897), Plasmodium ovale (Stephens, 1922) and Plasmodium knowlesi (Robert Knowels, 1932). Malaria due to P. falciparum is the most deadly, and it predominates in Africa. P. vivax is less dangerous but more widespread, and the other species are found much less frequently. P. knowlesi is the fifth major human malaria parasite (following the division of plasmodium ovale into 2 species). This is an emerging infection that was reported for the first time in humans in 1965 and it accounts for up to 70% of malaria cases in certain areas in South East Asia where it is mostly found. HISTORY Malaria has great impact on social and economic development of humans. Malaria was linked with poisonous vapours of swamps or stagnant water and named by the Italians in the 18th century as Malaria (from the Italian mala bad and aria air). In the fifth century B.C., the greek physician Hippocrates described the clinical manifestations and some of the complications of Malaria. The first major breakthrough in understanding the etiology of the disease was in 1880, when Laveran, a French army surgeon in Algeria, described exflagellated gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum in a fresh blood film from a patient with Malaria. It was only in 1897, that Ronald Ross, a British army surgeon in India, conclusively established the major features of the life cycle of plasmodia by a careful series of experiments in naturally infected sparrows. During the 20th Century, progress was made in vector control technology and in 1955 potent synthetic compound called DDT was found and along with other residual insecticides, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a worldwide program of malaria eradication. This ambitious program was hindered by the development of DDT resistance among vector and chloroquine resistance in some strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Soon it was accepted by the world that Malaria was here to stay and subsequently in 1978, the World health assembly changed its focus from eradication to control. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MALARIA Global Scenario Based on documented cases, the WHO estimates that there were 216  million cases of malaria in 2010 resulting in 655,000 deaths. This is equivalent to roughly 2000 deaths every day. A 2012 study estimated the number of documented and undocumented deaths in 2010 as 1.24  million. An estimated 3.3 billion people were at risk of Malaria in 2010, although of all geographical regions, populations living in Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest risk of acquiring Malaria; in 2010, 81% of cases and 91% of deaths are estimated to have occurred in the WHO African region. The majority of cases (65%) occur in children under 15 years of age. Pregnant women are also especially vulnerable: about 125  million pregnant women are at risk of infection each year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, maternal malaria is associated with up to 200,000 estimated infant deaths yearly. There are about 10,000 malaria cases per year in Western Europe, and 1300-1500 in the United States. Both the global incidence of disease and resulting mortality has declined in recent years. According to the WHO, deaths attributable to malaria in 2010 were reduced by over a third from a 2000 estimate of 985,000, largely due to the widespread use of insecticide-treated nets and artemisinin-based combination therapies. Malaria is presently endemic in a broad band around the equator, in areas of the Americas, many parts of Asia, and much of Africa; however, it is in Sub-Saharan Africa where 85-90% of malaria fatalities occur. As of 2010, about 106 countries have endemic malaria. Every year, 125 million international travelers visit these countries, and more than 30,000 contract the disease. The geographic distribution of malaria within large regions is complex, and malaria-afflicted and malaria-free areas are often found close to each other. Malaria is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions because of rainfall, consistent high temperatures and high humidity, along with stagnant waters in which mosquito larvae readily mature, providing them with the environment they need for continuous breeding. Regional Scenario Out of the 11 countries of SEAR, 10 are malaria endemic. Maldives has no endogenous transmission since 1984. SEAR accounts for 30% of global morbidity and 8% of global mortality due to malaria. An estimated 82.8% of the total population is at risk and about 2.5 million cases are reported annually in the region. India contributes to more than three-fourths of the total cases in the South East Asian Region. Since 2004, there has been an increasing number of reports of the incidence of P. knowlesi among humans in various countries in South East Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. Country Scenario Malaria transmission occurs in almost all areas of India except areas above 1800 meters sea level. Countrys 95% population lives in malaria risk prone areas and 80% of malaria reported in the country is confined to areas consisting 20% of population i.e. residing in tribal, hilly, difficult and inaccessible areas. Directorate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) has framed technical guidelines/ policies and provides most of the resources for the programme. The case load, around 2 million cases annually in the late nineties, has shown a declining trend since 2002. At low levels of surveillance, the Slide Positivity Rate (SPR) may be a better indicator. The SPR has shown gradual decline from 3.32 in 1995 to 1.41 in 2010 (3). The reported Pf cases declined from 1.14 million in 1995 to 0.77 million cases in 2010. However, the Pf % has gradually increased from 39% in 1995 to 52.12% in 2010. Number of reported deaths has been leveling around 1000 per year. Currently, 80.5% of the population of India lives in malaria risk areas. Since 1970s, in India, areas with an API above 2 cases per 1000 population per year have been classified as high risk and thereby eligible for vector control. The current situation of Malaria in India is shown in Fig 6.1. Malaria in India is unevenly distributed with a risk of increase in cases in epidemic forms every 7-10 yrs depending on the immune status of the population, breeding potential of the mosquitoes and the rainfall pattern. In North-East states efficient malaria transmission is maintained during most months of the year. Intermediate level of stability is maintained in the plains of India in the forests and forest fringes, predominantly tribal settlements in 8 states (AP, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan). The largest number of cases in the country is reported in Orissa, followed by Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The largest numbers of deaths are reported in Orissa, followed by West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh Fig 6.2. Annually about 100 million fever cases are being screened by blood smears. There are 3.12 lakh Drug Distribution Centers, 1.17 lakh Fever Treatment Depots and 13 thousand Malaria Clinics functioning in the country. IMPORTANT TIMELINE 1947: At the time of independence, malaria was responsible for an estimated 75 million cases and 0.8 million deaths annually. 1953: National Malaria Control Programme was launched. 1958: With its overwhelming success, GOI launched National Malaria Eradication Programme. 1965-66: Due to concerted implementation of strategies, particularly spraying with DDT, the number of annual cases was successfully brought down to 100,000 and deaths were eliminated. 1971: Since the resurgence of malaria in early 1970s, urban malaria has been recognised as an important problem contributing to overall malaria morbidity in the country. To assist the states in control of malaria in urban areas, Urban Malaria Scheme (UMS) was launched in 1971. The scheme is being implemented in 131 towns in the country. Urban malaria poses problems because of haphazard expansion of urban areas. The urban malaria vector, An. stephensi breeds in stored water and domestic containers. Construction activities and aggregation of labour provide ideal opportunities for vector to breed and transmit malaria in urban areas. 1976: However, in the following years, the Programme faced various technical obstacles as well as financial and administrative constraints, which led to countrywide increase in malaria incidence to 6.47 million cases. 1977: Modified Plan of Operation (MPO) under NMEP was launched as a contingency plan to effectively control malaria by preventing deaths, reducing morbidity so as to improve the health status of the people. With the adoption of the MPO strategy, the total malaria cases decreased significantly. Presently, about 2 million cases are being reported in the country annually, about half of which are P. falciparum cases. 1982: The National Anti-malaria Drug Policy was drafted in 1982 to combat the increasing level of resistance to chloroquine detected in Pf. 1997: The name of the programme was changed to National Anti Malaria Programme. Enhanced Malaria Control Project (EMCP) was launched in April 1997 with the assistance of the World Bank. This is directly benefiting the six crore Tribal Population of the eight peninsular states covering 100 districts and 19 urban areas. 2003: National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme was envisaged as an umbrella programme for prevention and control of Malaria and other vector borne diseases such as Filariasis, Dengue, Japanese Encephalitis and Kala-azar. 2008: the global malaria action plan (GMAP) was launched by the roll back malaria partnership (RBM) as a blueprint for the control, elimination and eventual eradication of malaria, setting as its objective the reduction of the number of preventable malaria deaths worldwide to near zero by 2015. 2010: The year 2010 was an important milestone on the way to achievement of internationally agreed goals and targets for malaria Control. It was the date set by the World Health Assembly in 2005 to ensure reduction of the malaria burden by at least 50% compared to the levels in 2000. The aim was to make indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINS) available to all people at risk of malaria, and for all public health facilities to be able to provide reliable diagnosis and effective treatment for malaria. 2011: In the light of progress made by 2010, RBM updated the GMAP targets in June 2011. Maintaining an overall vision of a malaria-free world, the targets are now to: (i) reduce global malaria deaths to near zero by end-2015, (ii) reduce global malaria cases by 75% from 2000 levels by end-2015, and (iii) eliminate malaria by end-2015 in 10 new countries since 2008, including in the WHO European Region. These targets will be met by: achieving and sustaining universal access to and utilization of preventive measures; achieving universal access to case management in the public and private sectors and in the areas where public health facilities are able to provide a parasitological test for all suspected malaria cases, near zero malaria deaths is defined as no more than 1 confirmed malaria death per 100,000 population at risk. SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT Malaria affects everyday life of the afflicted persons and is one of the major causes of loss of income and absenteeism in schools. It is thus, directly linked with socio-economic development and referred to as both a disease of poverty and a cause of poverty. Economists believe that malaria is responsible for a growth penalty of up to 1.3 percent per year in some African countries. When compounded over the years, this penalty leads to substantial differences in GDP between countries with and without malaria and severely restrains the economic growth. The direct costs of malaria include a combination of personal and public expenditures on both prevention and treatment of the disease. The indirect costs of malaria include lost productivity or income associated with illness or premature death. Although difficult to express in financial terms, another indirect cost of malaria is the human suffering caused by the disease. J. A. Sinton estimated a loss of Rs.7, 500 million per year to the Indian economy on account of malaria in 1935. The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad calculated that each rupee spent on the malaria programme since 1953-54 has brought in a benefit of Rs.9.27 to the nation. According to an estimate by MRC-ICMR, Delhi, in 1994, every rupee invested in malaria control produces a direct return of Rs. 22.10. The calculations do not include the hidden but large savings on account of the labour days, which is many times higher than that of the direct savings of an individual. In terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), malaria in India contributes to 1.86 million years. Among the females, DALYs lost were 0.786 million as against 1.074 million in the males. The maximum DALYs lost (53.25%) were in the middle productive ages from 15 to 44 years followed by children 45 years of age. Transmission dynamics of malaria A large number of factors related to Agent, Host, Vector and Environment have a role in determining the transmission dynamics. Host factors Age : All ages are equally affected. Children are usually effective carriers of gametocytes. In areas with high falciparum transmission, newborns will be protected during the first few months of life due to maternal antibodies transferred to them through the placenta. Gender : Gender does not affect the incidence or severity of malaria infection and disease per se, but because they are often related to frequency of exposure (via occupation, social behaviour, and migration). Innate Immunity : Some persons residing in highly malarious areas do not acquire infection. This may be due to innate immunity of the individual. Such immunity is mainly due to antibodies and T-lymphocytes specific for Plasmodium, which result in reduced illness despite infection. Blood group : There are other factors, which determine immunity against malaria. Genetic characteristics of the erythrocytes and presence of haemoglobinopathies usually confer some sort of protection against infection with malaria parasite. Individuals lacking in Duffy blood group antigen are refractory to P.vivax infection. This points to the fact that Duffy coating on the RBC wall may modify receptors in respect of P.vivax merozoites. Haemoglobin HbS sickle cell trait and Haemoglobin C have a protective effect against P.falciparum. Economic Status : Economic status is inversely related to incidence of malaria mainly because of poor housing. Ill ventilated and poorly lighted houses provide ideal resting places for mosquitoes. Migration : Large scale migration of population from one part of the country for sowing, transplanting and harvesting of crops results in spread of malaria. Tropical aggregation of labour is associated with malaria. The labour migrating from malarious to non-malarious areas bring immune and non-immune population together coupled with local and imported parasite reservoir at the site of temporary camps. Focal outbreaks can be explosive in such situations. They also bring different strains of malaria parasite to the project site including drug resistant strains. Environmental factors Weather: There are seasonal variations in mosquito density, resting, feeding and biting habits, longevity and flight capabilities. Malaria is therefore, seasonal in most parts of the country. In most of the states the maximum transmission is during the period July to November. Temperature and Humidity : Optimal conditions for malaria transmission occur when the temperature is between 20 °C and 30 °C and the mean relative humidity is at least 60%. Sporogony does not occur at temperatures below 16 °C or at temperatures higher than 33 °C. Water temperatures regulate the duration of the aquatic breeding cycle of the mosquito vector. A high relative humidity increases mosquito longevity and therefore increases the probability that an infected mosquito will survive long enough to become infective. The forest cover of an area keeps humidity levels at high level resulting in long survival of all vector mosquitoes. Altitude : Transmission decreases with increasing altitude and as a rule and it stops above the heights of 2000 m. Man made malaria : Construction of roads, railways, irrigation works, dams and barrages, deforestation and other engineering projects have resulted in creation of mosquito breeding place in many new areas. The proximity of human habitation to breeding sites directly influences vector human contact and, therefore, transmission. Agriculture and irrigation have an intricate role in malaria transmission. In areas where irrigation channels are not properly maintained, high vector mosquito density is observed. Temporary hutments in agriculture fields result in increased exposure to mosquitoes. Wells, overhead tanks, ornamental tanks, roof gutters, water storage containers, construction sites, room coolers, valve chambers etc. are important breeding places for A.stephensi. Use of disposable cups, bottles and other items, which can collect water, increase the risks of mosquito breeding. The slums within the town and its periphery are the worst affected areas because of lack of water managem ent and appropriate anti-larval operations. Agent factors Genus : The disease is caused by the haemoparasites of genus Plasmodium, family Plasmodiidae, suborder Haemosporidiidae, order Coccidia. Life cycle : The life cycle of the plasmodium occurs in two stages, the sexual cycle (sporogony) in the mosquitoes and asexual cycle (schizogony) in the human host. Within the vertebrate host, schizogony is found both within erythrocytes (erythrocytic schizogony) and in other tissues (exo erythrocytic schizogony). The development of asexual cycle in man, its duration and course of infection are determined by the genetic composition of the malaria parasite. Sporozoites (microscopic, motile forms of malarial parasite) are released into blood of the human host from the saliva of infected female mosquito when it bites him/ her. Within minutes, these attach to and invade liver cells by binding to hepatocyte receptor for the serum proteins thrombospondin and properdin. The sporozoites multiply in the hepatocytes and get released in batches from them in form of merozoites, which are the asexual, haploid forms. The human red blood cells contain sialic acid residues on the glycophorin molecules attached to their surface. The plasmodium merozoites attach to these sialic acid residues by a parasite lectin like molecule. In the RBCs, the parasites grow in a membrane bound digestive vacuole, hydrolyzing hemoglobin through secreting enzymes. This stage is called the trophozoite and contains a single chromatin mass. The next stage is the schizont (erythrocytic schizont) with multiple chromatin masses, each of which develops into a fresh merozoite. The schizont forms after about 48 hr of intra-erythrocytic life (72 hr for P. malariae) and is characterized by consumption of almost all the hemoglobin and occupation of most of the RBC cavity. The RBC ruptures and a new batch of merozoite is released from it, which infects other RBCs. This cycle repeats itself till the host immune mechanisms come into play. Some schizonts mature into sexual forms called the gametocytes that infect the mosquitoes when they take their blood meal. During the hepatic phase, a proportion of sporozoites do not devide but remain dormant for a period ranging from 3 weeks to a year longer before reproduction. These dormant forms are called hypnozoites and are the cause of relapses that occur in P. vivax and P. ovale. After being ingested in the blood meal of the biting female mosquito, the male and female gametocytes form a zygote in the insects gut wass. The resulting oocyst expands by asexual division until it bursts to release a myriad of motile sporozoites, which then migrate in the hemolymph to the salivary gland of the mosquito to await inoculation into other human at the next feeding episode. Parasite load : The parasite load and the gametocyte production are influenced by development of immunity in human host. The difference in parasitaemia levels observed in P.vivax and P.falcipatum are attributed to the fact that P.vivax tends to invade younger RBCs while the P.falciparum invades all RBCs irrespective of their age. Reservoir : The source of infection is a malaria case with adequate number of mature viable gametocytes circulating in the blood. It has been estimated that in order to infect a mosquito, the blood of a human carrier must contain at least 12 gametocytes per mm3 and the number of female gametocytes must be more than the male gametocytes. The human case of malaria becomes infective to mosquito when mature, viable gametocytes develop in the blood of the patient in sufficient density. Bionomics of malaria vectors There are many species of anopheline mosquitoes in India but only 6 are regarded as primary vectors and another 3 or 4 as secondary or local vectors. The following characteristics of vector mosquitoes play an important role in the epidemiology of malaria. Breeding Habits : The breeding habits of mosquitoes show a lot of variation. Hence, vector mosquitoes tend to be confined to certain geographical areas only. Anopheles sundaicus prefers to breed in brackish waters. The main urban vector Anopheles stephensi commonly breeds in wells, cisterns and over head tanks. Tanks, pools, burrow pits and ditches are the preferred breeding spots for Anopheles annularis and Anopheles philippinensis while Anopheles dirus is usually found breeding in forest pools, streams and slit trenches. A.culicifacies is the major vector of rural malaria. It breeds in different ground water collections. During the rainy season, breeding places are numerous. Hence the density is at its peak in the rainy season. The other major vectors are A.minimus and A.fluviatilis. They breed in running channels with clear water. Therefore the densities reach the peak after the monsoon season when streams and channels have slow moving clear water. Density : For effective transmission of malaria in a locality, the mosquito vector must attain and maintain a certain density. This is called critical density and it varies from one mosquito to another and also under different environmental conditions. Anopheles culicifacies needs a very high density for transmission of malaria. Longevity : A mosquito, after an infective blood meal, must live for at least 10 days to complete the development of malaria parasites. Tropism : Some mosquitoes like Anopheles fluviatilis, Anopheles minimus prefer human blood and are called anthropophilic. Others like Anopheles culicifacies preferably feed on animal blood and are called zoophilic. When the densities are high or when the man cattle ratio is higher, they feed on humans too. This preferential feeding habit is called tropism. It has obvious bearing on the transmission of malaria. Biting and resting behaviour : Some vector mosquitoes bite at or soon after dusk, others either during late night or early hours of the morning. However, some species may be active at two different periods during the same night. Control strategies should consider such habits of mosquitoes. Use of impregnated bed nets would definitely be more effective when there are late biters in that area. A female mosquito rests either indoors (endophilic) or outdoors (exophilic) after a blood meal for maturation of its eggs. The common resting places are either human dwellings, cattle sheds or mixed dwellings. Flight Range : The distribution and dispersal of vector species depend upon their flight range. This is important for tracing the source and planning control measures. Some have a short flight range e.g. Anopheles dirus, Anopheles annularis and Anopheles fluviatilis. The species with flight range upto Two km distance are Anopheles culicifacies and Anopheles stephensi. Anopheles sundaicus may fly upto 8 or 10 km. MODE OF TRANSMISSION The most prevalent mode of Transmission of malaria is through the bite of the infected Female anopheles mosquito. The mosquito is infective only if the sporozoites are present in its salivary glands. However, malaria can also be transmitted by intravenous or intramuscular Injection of infected blood or plasma in an otherwise healthy person. The parasite can stay alive for nearly two weeks at 4 °c in bottled blood. Rarely transmission can also occur from Infected mother to the newborn. Malaria SURVEILLANCE Malaria surveillance connotes the maintenance of an on-going watch/ vigil over the status of malaria in a group or community. The main purpose of surveillance is to detect changes in trends or distribution in malaria in order to initiate investigative or control measures. 1. Fortnightly Domiciliary visits The active case detection is carried out by multipurpose health workers (male) under primary health care system by conducting active case detection every fortnight by making domiciliary visits. Technical justification for a fortnightly blood smear collection is based on transmission dynamics of malaria. The incubation interval in case of P.vivax is approximately 22 days while for P.falciparum it is 35 days. Thus, surveillance cycle of less than one incubation interval will catch most of the secondary cases before the commencement of next cycle. 2. Fever Treatment Depots (FTDs) Fever Treatment Depots are established in remote villages. The FTD holder is given training for one or two days at the PHC in the collection of blood smears, administration of presumptive treatment, impregnation of bed nets, promotion of larvivorous fish, etc. 3. Passive Case Detection (PCD) All Allopathic, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Siddha medicine dispensaries in the health sector are identified and involved in passive case detection. All the fever cases attending the hospital should be screened for malaria and given presumptive treatment. 4. Rapid Fever Survey In case of an epidemic outbreak, every house of the village in the suspected epidemic zone is visited and all fever cases are screened by taking blood smears. 5. Mass survey As an alternative to Rapid Fever Survey, if possible mass survey of the entire population may be carried out in the suspected epidemic zone. Here all the population irrespective of age, sex or fever status is screened by taking blood smear. 6. Drug Distribution Centre (DDC) If it is not possible to have FTD, the medical officer should establish DDC. The functions of DDCs are the same as those of FTDs, except that the DDCs do not take blood slides but administer drugs to fever cases. 7. Annual blood smears examination rate and its validity All fever cases occurring in the community are examined for malaria parasite, and then the total malaria parasite load is examined. The monthly blood examination rate (MBER) norms are 0.8 percent during non-transmission season and 1.2 to 1.8 percent during transmission season were laid down in the Indian Malaria Eradication Programme. ABER = No. of blood smears collected during the year x 100 Population covered under surveillance MBER = No. of blood smears collected during the month x 100 Population covered under surveillance ABER/ MBER is an index of operational efficacy of the programme. The Annual Parasite Incidence (API) depends upon the ABER. A sufficient number of blood slides should be systematically obtained and examined for malaria parasite to work out accurate API. 8. Slide Positivity Rate (SPR) The Slide Positivity Rate among the blood smears collected through both active and passive surveillance gives more accurate information on distribution of malaria infection in the community over a period of time. Trends in SPR can be utilized for predicting epidemic situations in the area. If monthly SPR exceeds by 2  ½ times of the standard deviation observed in SPR of the preceding 3 years or preceding 3 months of the same year, an epidemic build up in the area can be suspected. SPR : No. of blood smears found positive for malaria parasite X 100 No. of blood smears examined 9. Annual Parasite Incidence (API) This parameter measures the incidence of malaria. It is calculated as: API = No. blood smears found positive for malaria parasite x 1000 Total population under surveillance API can be utilized for assessing the malaria endemicity in the area and impact of control operations. The level of API determines whether spray should be taken up in any area. In only those areas with API more than 2, regular rounds of spray would be planned. API calcualtes incidence of malaria and based on this, areas are divided into high low risk zones. 10. P. falciparum Percentage This is calculated as: P.f % = No. blood smears found positive for P.falciparum x 100   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No. blood smears found positive for malaria parasite Pf % is required to find out prevalence of P.falciparum infection, which can cause severe manifestations of malaria including death. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY P.vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae cause low level parasitemia, mild anaemia and in rare instances, splenic rupture and nephritic syndrome. P. Falciparum on the other hand usually cause high levels of parasitemis, severe anaemia, cerebral symptoms, renal failure, pulmonary edema and even death. Pathophysiology of malaria results from destruction of erythrocytes, the liberation of parasite and erythrocyte (Cytokines, Nitric Oxide etc) material into the circulation, and the host reaction to these events. P. falciparum malaria differs from the other human species of malaria parasite because infected erythrocytes also sequester in the microcirculation of vital organs, interfering with micro circulatory flow and host tissue metabolism, which results in severe organ damage. The P. falciparums greater pathogenicity is due to the following reasons: (a) It is able to infect red cells of any age and maturity, leading to high parasite burden and profound anaemia. (compared to that caused by other species which infect only the young or very old RBCs) (b) P. falciparum causes infected RBCs to clump together (forming rosettes) and to stick to the vascular endothelium (sequestration) blocking the blood flow. Ischemia due to poor perfusi

The Merchant Of Venice By William Shakespeare

The Merchant Of Venice By William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a comic, revengeful and tragic play which is set in Venice and the nearby country estates of Belmont. Shakespeare wrote the play during times when England like much of the Europe had restricted the rights of the Jews and even escalated to extremes of banishing them from England in 1290 by King Edward I and were not officially allowed to return until1655 when Oliver Cromwell allowed them. This exile of Jews was still in effect when Shakespeare wrote this play and many scholars believe that some Jews still lived in England at the time of the Christian guise. At the time renaissance Christians disliked the Jews because they believed that their behaviour of charging interest on money they lend (usury) was against the societal morals. During the time of renaissance Christians had become heavily indebted to the Jews who had loaned money to them with interests rates hence their increased hatred for the Jewish counterparts who started terming them as inhuman by demanding usury on the monies they lend. This was a selfish and unfair reaction from the Christian community in Venice because they started treating Jews harshly by imposing hefty taxes on them failure from which their land was confiscated and defaulters imprisoned. Such heavy taxing was intended to boost the financial status of the government especially during adverse economic times (Mahon, 345). Merchant of Venice is a revenge tragedy play which its plot revolves around the quest of its main character shylock a Jew who is bitter on the way his neighbors supposedly Christians treat him and he is on a mission to avenge for such in human treatment. He plans and implements his revenge by engaging in money lending which offers him chance to avenge when a Christian defaults him after he lend the money. In Venice Bassanio borrows money from his merchant friend Antonio to help him woo a wealth noble woman Portia. Antonio does not have ready cash to lend to his friend but he gives him a permission or guarantee to borrow the money he needs on his credit. Antonio is expecting his ships to arrive at the harbor with a lot of merchandise that will enable him to settle the loan. Bassanio is given loan of 3000 ducats by the Jewish moneylender Shylock that is not in good terms with Antonio. Their dispute is a racial and religious one and shylock seizes the opportunity to offer a bizarre alternative to Antonio if he defaults and for sure Antonio chances of defaulting hits peak as the news that his ships had been wrecked. Shylock then takes the case to court demanding that he be given permission to cut one pound of flesh from the defaulters chest as agreed upon earlier. The case is solved amicably by the judge and the play ends in a good way when the main characters Bassanio and Portia marry ea ch other and the ships of the Antonio are found and arrives at the harbor. Shylock is a Jewish money lender who lives in Venice and he has been bittered for many years by the way Venetian Christians have been mistreating him especially by the merchant Antonio. The mistreatments by the Christians have shaped the religions and racial identity of shylock. The character of Shylock in the play merchant of Venice is portrayed as devilish and murderer whose dear intentions is to take away the life of the Christian Antonio believed by his fellow Christian to be the most kind mind to have ever lived in Venice. Shylock wants revenge on the Christian Antonio because he wants to avenge his revenge on the Christians who even call him a villain because nothing seems to stop him at getting the pound of flesh from Antonios chest even after Bassanio offers to pay him twice the agreed upon debt of six thousand ducats. He adamantly refuses to accept the money and demand for the pound of flesh which he claims he bought it hence he must have it because its legally his. Jews like shylock hate Christians at the time so dearly because Christians themselves had no liking for Jews because they believed they killed crucified Jesus Christ hence were on the side of the devil. Christian also hated Jews because they believed they were not human by charging usury on money they lend to Christians but the truth is that Christians had become heavily indebted to Jews who had lend money to them hence their intentional unfair reaction by being anti-Semitic. So the murderous character of Shylock is as result of the hatred and bitterness his arbors against Christians who constantly show hatred towards him and other Jews. He claims for what he believes is his rightfully and seizes the opportunity of Antonios defaulting to make himself to be recognized a as a just man by the Christians who always sees him as an unjust man. This newly earned character of shylock can mainly be attributed to Christians who forced him to hate them and even have a conspiration to kill Anton io, hence offering yet evidence why Christians are portrayed to have contributed to the construction of Shylocks character in the play. Shylock is forced to charges some interest on the money he lends and this becomes his obsession as he wants to acquire lot money to ensure his own security from the ungrateful Christians. With is addiction to getting more money he becomes a greedy person who is not his true self he only need the money as a reaction to the treatment he receives from the Christian community. Shylock sees that getting financial security is the only way to proof to the Christians like Antonio that he is also somebody worth respect and human dignity and not the way they always see him. He thinks that being wealth will make the Christian treat him well but that ends up not the truth as everything he has worked for ends up in the possession of his enemies when the court fines him for conspiring to kill Antonio and that costs half of his property and he later becomes broke and desolate forcing him to become a Christian hence making him loose his identity. Shylocks fate of losing his identity as a Jew is attr ibuted to his past greedy behavior of charging usury on the money he lends to Christians to get as much wealth as he could just to get at his Christian enemies hence it can be successfully argued that Christians can be held responsible for the final man that Shylock becomes as its their hatred and ill treatment that forced him to charge usury which converted him to a greedy person. Through out the play merchant of Venice Christians in Shylocks neighborhood show a consistent hatred and dislike for the Jewish shylock and even fail to call him by his given name but prefers calling him detestable alienating names like the Jew, cruel devil, harsh Jew, currish Jew, infidel, impenetrable cur, the villain and even the devil in the likenesses of the his Jewish identity. Such name calling alienated shylock from the Venetian Christians and make him diabolically foul which gradually constructs shylocks identity and makes him a bitter man who focuses in taking revenge against the Christian community who he beliefs are treating him in humanly. Shylock notices the habit of Christians to assess the worth of them and others according to faulty standards like using money value or grade ones status and value in the community. Christians belief is that the more money one has the greater value and status one belongs to and Shylock in his conspiration to unleash his monomaniacal lus t for revenge against his Christian enemies forced him into money lending ventures which he earns a living from the usury. Shylock sees this means as the only way for him as a Jew to compete with his fellow Venetian Christians. Shylock exhibits a monstrous behaviour especially against his Christian defaulters like Antonio as he sees it as the only achievable and fulfilling way of unleashing his revenge. This change in shylocks behaviour is as a result of the constant cold treatment he receive from his Christian neighbors and this has made him a different person which is not characteristic of the Jew he was at first hence an evident that Christians in Merchant of Venice greatly contributes to the construction of Shylocks racial and religious identity. Shylock in the play admits that he hates Antonio and even declines his invitation to dinner on the grounds that he is a Christian. Shylock hates Antonio even more because he himself is a usurer who lends money with high interest rates that has enabled him to acquire immense wealth. He accuses Antonio of lending money to people in distress without demanding for any interest charge and this escalates his hatred for Antonio because he sees him as a person who threatens his job since he causes his business to lose money as a result of reduced business. Shylock is therefore made to act harshly towards Christians because he accuses them of stealing his business and his run away daughter. This illustrates that the behaviour of Christians like Antonio being kind makes Shylock to change his character and become more harsh and unkind towards his perceived enemies Christians hence the construction of his character in the play. In the play Shylock has been portrayed an isolated, greedy, unreasonable and self-thinking individual who doesnt think of the needs of other people. He even loves money more than his daughter and doesnt want to eat, drink or even pray with anyone and he avoids making friendship making him cranky and steadfast and even rigid in his beliefs. He does a stereo-typical profession as a money-grabbing money lender; a job which makes him hard to let go off his greedy tendencies as he doesnt see any reason why he should do so event at the point where it warrants mercy and pity. He describes the idea of getting a pound of flesh from Antonios chest as a merry sport and finds it very pleasing when flesh is cut out of someones body and this is evident when he insist only for the pound of flesh even after being offered double the priced he is owed. Such unreasonable and weird secluded behaviour portrayed by Shylock is attributed to the racist treatment he receives from the Christians who have neve r seen anything in him other than his Jewishness. Shylock wonders why he is being treated that way by Christians yet he has eyes, has hands, and has organs, dimensions, feelings, senses and even passions just like them. The unreasonable and rigid character of shylock is as a result of the racial discrimination that he has received from the Christians hence the argument that Christians are the ones responsible for construction of his character. Christians are seen as the main modes through which the character of Shylock is shaped through out the play as Shylock constantly claims that he has done no wrong by treating Christians badly because he is simply following what his Christian neighbors has taught him which it eventually becomes an integral part of his character later in the play. His conspiracy to kill Antonio is borne of the insults and injuries which Antonio had inflicted upon him in their previous encounters. This means that by planning to kill Antonio he is does not consider himself as a murderer but rather as a mechanism of applying what his past relationship with Antonio has taught him. For instance Shylock when responding to Salarinos query on what good thing that having the pound of flesh will benefit him, he answers that it will offer him a chance to execute the villainy that Christians has taught him. This means that almost every action that Shylock does is attributed to some past experience that Christians have done to him hence the evidence of the role that Christians play in construction of Shylocks character in Shakespeares play the Merchant of Venice (Bradbrook, 126). During the court session, Shylocks proofs that he is a smart character who can defend himself in every adversary despite the great opposition from his Christian enemies who want to stop him from succeeding in demanding for the pound of flesh from his defaulter Antonio. Shylock guided by his keenness for revenge uses any wit within his disposal to ensure that he is granted the permission to finalize his revenge of killing Antonio. He has nobody on his side but he shows no sign of giving up until he satisfies his yearning for revenge; he argues to the judge that Christians refuses to set free their assess, dogs and mules simply because they bought them thus they own them and they are their slaves then why should he be denied the pound of flesh which he bought in accordance to the law and that why he beliefs that he is acting as per the law hence granting him the right to have the pound of flesh from Antonio as per the agreement they signed. This portrays that Shylock is stopping at not hing to ensuring that he succeeds in vending his hatred for Christians until he kills Antonio. Such courage enamates from his dearly anticipated revenge which he attributes to the cruelty he has gone through in the hands of the Christians hence its the way Christians treated him earlier that becomes the driving forms that makes Shylock a master of his own destiny. This shows that Christians therefore contributed o the construction of his Character in the play merchant of Venice. Christian merchant Antonio resulted to his own destruction when things fail to work according to his will. Shylock suffers a spiritual ruin when the clever Portia helps Antonio in solving the case in the court. Portia disguised as Bellario and Nerissa as a law clerk articulately influence the outcome of the court especially when Shylock adamantly refuses to show mercy for Antonio. Portia then allows him to get the pound of flesh as stipulated by the signed agreement and that was to be done without spilling of even a dot of blood. Shylock gives up and thus losing the case resulting to being fined for conspiring to murder Antonio and this forces him to lose have of his property and in addition is forced to convert to Christianity (Barton, 252).After Portia striping Shylock off his property he becomes broke and loses his Jewish religion and this is as result of the combined forces from the Christian community both outside and in the court. This twist of events therefore changed Shylocks religious identity for the rest of his life. During the time of Shakespeare Jews were treated harshly by the Venice Christians and nobody really cared whether they lived or died. As a way of showing their uncaring behaviour Christians became anti-Semitic and the government of the day taxed them heavily and striped off their money during times that the governments money became low or just for government financial boost. If Jews failed to pay the money taxed on them individually or collectively, then their property especially land was confiscated and defaulters imprisoned. Therefore the Jews population was treated harshly and with a lot of disrespect by Christians who lived in Venice during the renaissance period. This prompted Shakespeare to develop the character of Shylock in Merchant of Venice as to portray the bitterness that Jews felt as a reaction to the harsh treatment they were accorded to by the Christian community. During the time of renaissance Jews had to be portrayed and villain ands people never expected anyone of them to show any drop of compassion for his enemy because the Christians were the ones expected to show compassion towards others especially the Jews who were stereotypically viewed as the murderers of Jesus Christ thus forcing Shylock who is a Jew to behave like the devil. This construction of Shylocks character give Christians like Portia the chance to show their mercy when he corners him using the law which was his only weapon and strips him his property only to give half of it back after he loses his religion to become Christian. The behavior of Shylock charging usury gives Antonio the Christian another chance to show him mercy by refusing to collect part of his goods as a compensation for his conspiration to eliminate him. The outcome of the court forces Shylock to kneel and beg for mercy from the Christians judges which served the interests of the renaissance Christian popul ation in Venice (Shakespeare et al, 145). In conclusion, the discussions and argument made in the essay goes beyond any reasonable doubt that the character of the Shylock who is one of the main characters in the play Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare is heavily constructed by the presence, interactions ad behaviors of the Christian community who happened to be the neighbors of the character. Shylock undergoes a lot of transformations in his character throughout the play and almost everything he does claims that he was thought by his Christians neighbors and in fact he shows no remorse or mercy or even take responsibility for the outcome of his actions since her doesnt even see anything wrong with his weird character. Shylock becomes greedy, alienated, villain, infidel, unreasonable, rigid and even a murderer which all are linked to his dear intentions in trying to avenge for himself and the rest of the Jews for what he terms as inhuman, intolerable and ill treatment by the Christians in Venice and the neighborhood. He belief s that by taking a revenge by killing Antonio he will have succeeded in making the Christians pay for the past unacceptable behaviors against Jews.

Autonomy versus Responsibility: A critique of Nuremberg Essay examples

Autonomy versus Responsibility: A critique of Nuremberg "This case is unusual in that the defendants are charged with crimes committed in the name of the law†¦." ( United States 31) So began Brigadier General Taylor in his opening statement against a selection of German jurists after the Second World War. This trial, United States of America against Josef Altstoetter et al., commonly referred to as the "Justice Case" because all of the defendants were somehow attached to the Nazi judicial system, was unusual, for as Taylor continued: These men, together with their deceased or fugitive colleagues, were the embodiment of justice in the Third Reich. Most of the defendants have served, at various times, as judges, as state prosecutors, and as officials and as officials in the Reich Ministry of Justice. All but one are professional jurists; they are all well accustomed to courts and courtrooms., though their present role may be new to them. But a court is far more than a courtroom; it is a process and a spirit. It is a house of law. This the defendants know, or must have known in times past. I doubt that they ever forgot it. Indeed the root of the accusation here is that those men, leaders of the German judicial consciously and deliberately surpressed the lawengaged in a brutish tyranny disguised as justice, and conveted the German judicial system to an engine of despotism, conquest, pillage and slaughter. The methods by which these crimes were committed may be novel in some respects, but the crimes themselves are not. They are as old as mankind, and their names are murder, torture, plunder and others equally familiar. The victims of these crimes are countless, and they include nationals of practically eve... ... is analyzed: that judges are responsible for the laws they enforce, and therefore must act with complete autonomy while they sit on the bench, recognizing not only written law, but also the unwritten moral law of man. Secondly, no nation is autonomous, they are all bound to accept responsibility before mankind as a whole. Finally, even the law itself is responsible to a higher, moral law that is universal. With this one case, America forever stepped away from the philosophical tenets of autonomous isolationism. Works Cited: - Bosh, William J. Judgment on Nuremberg. Chapel Hill NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1970 - United States. Nuernberg Military Tribunals. Trial of War Criminals Before the Nuerenberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10 Nuerenberg October 1946-April 1949 Volume III. Washington: GPO, 1951

The Category of the Individual Essay -- Sociology Sociological Papers

The Category of the Individual In The Order of Things, Michel Foucault argues that there is a "pure experience of order and its modes of being" (Foucault xxi), that order exists and that it is necessary. Foucault is concerned with language because it is a mode by which we maintain order in the world, and according to his argument, what we should fear are heterotopias, which "undermine language," "make it impossible to name this and that," "shatter or tangle common names," and "destroy 'syntax' in advance" (Foucault xviii). When Foucault refers to 'syntax,' he is not just talking about our method of constructing sentences but "also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things (next to and also opposite one another) to 'hold together'" (Foucault xviii). In other words, there is need for us to take into account how the things in our world are related to each other. One of the ways in which we do this is through the method of categorization, which allows us to organize our world according to similarities an d differences. However, Foucault stresses us to be cautious, to realize that "we shall never succeed in defining a stable relation of contained to container between each of these categories and that which includes them all" (Foucault xvii). An all-inclusive category does not exist; it cannot exist. Foucault insists on the need to pay attention to what is present in the "empty space, the interstitial blanks separating all these entities from one another" (Foucault xvi). It is not that language is inadequate; it is just that we must be conscious of not only what is stated but also what is not directly stated, what is contained inside language and what is outside language. When we organize the things in the world in... ...gle words. I don't believe in 'sadness,' 'joy,' or 'regret.' Maybe the best proof that language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling" (Eugenides 217). We must realize that the only "normal" that exists is what is "normal" to the individual, to us. Our categories do not define us; we define ourselves. Through our experiences, we create identities that are unique to us, and we, as "others," must learn to value our individual experiences because that is where the answer is, where it always has been. Works Cited: Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. New York: Picador, 2002. Foucault, Michel. The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. New York: Vintage Books. Moraga, Cherrà ­e. "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind." Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity. Eds. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi. New York: Routledge.

Chemical Kinetics: Enzymes Essay -- Chemical Kinetics: Enzymes

Chemical Kinetics is the branch of chemistry that studies the speed at which a chemical reaction occur and the factor that influence this speed. What is meant by the speed of a reaction is the rate at which the concentrations of reactants and products change within a time period. Some reactions occur almost instantaneously, while others take days or years. Chemical kinetics understanding I used in the process of designing drugs, controlling pollution and the processing of food. Most of the time chemical kinetics is used to speed or to increase the rate of a reaction rather than to maximize the amount of product. The rate of a reaction is often expressed in terms of change in concentration (Δ [ ]) per unit of time (Δ t). We can measure the rate of a reaction by monitoring either the decrease in concentration (molarity) of the reactant or the increase in the product concentration. Considering the following hypothetical reaction: A 2B Where A molecules are being converted to B molecules, we can say that the rate of this reaction would be: _ Δ [A] (with respect to the decrease in A concentration) Δ t 1 Δ [B] (with respect to the increase in B concentration) 2 Δ t Many factors influence rates of chemical reactions. Some of these factors include: the nature of reactants, for example the formation of salts, acid-base reactions, and exchange of ions are fast reactions, while in reactions where bigger molecules are formed or break apart are typically slow; temperature, frequently, the higher the temperature, the faster the reaction; concentration effect, the reliance of reaction rates on concentrations are called rate laws. Rate laws are expressions of rates in terms of the concentra... ...t being the only target of these enzymes they also make changes retinol, steroids, and fatty acids. The collection of different kinds of alcohol dehydrogenase guarantees that there will always be one that is just perfect for the each task. This enzyme size is 80,000 g/mol, its charge is pI = 5.4, and it optimal pH I 8.6. Works Cited 1. ADH. http://bio.chem.niu.edu/Chem570/Templates/ADH/ 2. Alcohol Dehydrogenase. http://florey.biosci.uq.oz.au/Html/Images/Galleria/dulley/text.html 3. Alcohol Dehydrogenase. http://www.lmcp.jussieu.fr/iucr-top/comm/cteach/pamphlets/15/node30.html 4. Worthington Price List. Alcohol Dehydrogenase http://www.worthington-biochem.com/priceList/A/AlcoholD.html http://www.mssc.edu/biology/B305/GTS/ss98/cjd/alcoholdh.htm http://www.uni-saarland.de/~mkiefer/coenz.htm http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/kinetics/ReactionRates.html

Digital Fortress Chapter 123-126

Chapter 123 An ashen technician ran to the podium. â€Å"Tunnel block's about to go!† Jabba turned to the VR onscreen. The attackers surged forward, only a whisker away from their assault on the fifth and final wall. The databank was running out of time. Susan blocked out the chaos around her. She read Tankado's bizarre message over and over. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI â€Å"It's not even a question!† Brinkerhoff cried. â€Å"How can it have an answer?† â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"The kill-code is numeric.† â€Å"Silence,† Fontaine said evenly. He turned and addressed Susan. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher, you've gotten us this far. I need your best guess.† Susan took a deep breath. â€Å"The kill-code entry field accepts numerics only. My guess is that this is some sort of clue as to the correct number. The text mentions Hiroshima and Nagasaki-the two cities that were hit by atomic bombs. Maybe the kill-code is related to the number of casualties, the estimated dollars of damage†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, rereading the clue. â€Å"The word ‘difference' seems important. The prime difference between Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Apparently Tankado felt the two incidents differed somehow.† Fontaine's expression did not change. Nonetheless, hope was fading fast. It seemed the political backdrops surrounding the two most devastating blasts in history needed to be analyzed, compared, and translated into some magic number†¦ and all within the next five minutes. Chapter 124 â€Å"Final shield under attack!† On the VR, the PEM authorization programming was now being consumed. Black, penetrating lines engulfed the final protective shield and began forcing their way toward its core. Prowling hackers were now appearing from all over the world. The number was doubling almost every minute. Before long, anyone with a computer-foreign spies, radicals, terrorists-would have access to all of the U.S. government's classified information. As technicians tried vainly to sever power, the assembly on the podium studied the message. Even David and the two NSA agents were trying to crack the code from their van in Spain. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FORHIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI Soshi thought aloud. â€Å"The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki†¦ Pearl Harbor? Hirohito's refusal to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba repeated, â€Å"not political theories. We're talking mathematics-not history!† Soshi fell silent. â€Å"How about payloads?† Brinkerhoff offered. â€Å"Casualties? Dollars damage?† â€Å"We're looking for an exact figure,† Susan reminded. â€Å"Damage estimates vary.† She stared up at the message. â€Å"The elements responsible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Three thousand miles away, David Becker's eyes flew open. â€Å"Elements!† he declared. â€Å"We're talking math, not history!† All heads turned toward the satellite screen. â€Å"Tankado's playing word games!† Becker spouted. â€Å"The word ‘elements' has multiple meanings!† â€Å"Spit it out, Mr. Becker,† Fontaine snapped. â€Å"He's talking about chemical elements-not sociopolitical ones!† Becker's announcement met blank looks. â€Å"Elements!† he prompted. â€Å"The periodic table! Chemical elements! Didn't any of you see the movie Fat Man and Little Boy-about the Manhattan Project? The two atomic bombs were different. They used different fuel-different elements!† Soshi clapped her hands. â€Å"Yes! He's right! I read that! The two bombs used different fuels! One used uranium and one used plutonium! Two different elements!† A hush swept across the room. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium!† Jabba exclaimed, suddenly hopeful. â€Å"The clue asks for the difference between the two elements!† He spun to his army of workers. â€Å"The difference between uranium and plutonium! Who knows what it is?† Blank stares all around. â€Å"Come on!† Jabba said. â€Å"Didn't you kids go to college? Somebody! Anybody! I need the difference between plutonium and uranium!† No response. Susan turned to Soshi. â€Å"I need access to the Web. Is there a browser here?† Soshi nodded. â€Å"Netscape's sweetest.† Susan grabbed her hand. â€Å"Come on. We're going surfing.† Chapter 125 â€Å"How much time?† Jabba demanded from the podium. There was no response from the technicians in the back. They stood riveted, staring up at the VR. The final shield was getting dangerously thin. Nearby, Susan and Soshi pored over the results of their Web search. â€Å"Outlaw Labs?† Susan asked. â€Å"Who are they?† Soshi shrugged. â€Å"You want me to open it?† â€Å"Damn right,† she said. â€Å"Six hundred forty-seven text references to uranium, plutonium, and atomic bombs. Sounds like our best bet.† Soshi opened the link. A disclaimer appeared. The information contained in this file is strictly for academic use only. Any layperson attempting to construct any of the devices described runs the risk of radiation poisoning and/or self-explosion. â€Å"Self-explosion?† Soshi said. â€Å"Jesus.† â€Å"Search it,† Fontaine snapped over his shoulder. â€Å"Let's see what we've got.† Soshi plowed into the document. She scrolled past a recipe for urea nitrate, an explosive ten times more powerful than dynamite. The information rolled by like a recipe for butterscotch brownies. â€Å"Plutonium and uranium,† Jabba repeated. â€Å"Let's focus.† â€Å"Go back,† Susan ordered. â€Å"The document's too big. Find the table of contents.† Soshi scrolled backward until she found it. I. Mechanism of an Atomic Bomb A) Altimeter B) Air Pressure Detonator C) Detonating Heads D) Explosive Charges E) Neutron Deflector F) Uranium Plutonium G) Lead Shield H) Fuses II. Nuclear Fission/Nuclear Fusion A) Fission (A-Bomb) Fusion (H-Bomb) B) U-235, U-238, and Plutonium III. History of the Atomic Weapons A) Development (The Manhattan Project) B) Detonation 1) Hiroshima 2) Nagasaki 3) By-products of Atomic Detonations 4) Blast Zones â€Å"Section two!† Susan cried. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium! Go!† Everyone waited while Soshi found the right section. â€Å"This is it,† she said. â€Å"Hold on.† She quickly scanned the data. â€Å"There's a lot of information here. A whole chart. How do we know which difference we're looking for? One occurs naturally, one is man-made. Plutonium was first discovered by-â€Å" â€Å"A number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"We need a number.† Susan reread Tankado's message. The prime difference between the elements†¦ the difference between†¦ we need a number†¦ â€Å"Wait!† she said. â€Å"The word ‘difference' has multiple meanings. We need a number-so we're talking math. It's another of Tankado's word games-‘difference' means subtraction.† â€Å"Yes!† Becker agreed from the screen overhead. â€Å"Maybe the elements have different numbers of protons or something? If you subtract-† â€Å"He's right!† Jabba said, turning to Soshi. â€Å"Are there any numbers on that chart? Proton counts? Half-lives? Anything we can subtract?† â€Å"Three minutes!† a technician called. â€Å"How about supercritical mass?† Soshi ventured. â€Å"It says the supercritical mass for plutonium is 35.2 pounds.† â€Å"Yes!† Jabba said. â€Å"Check uranium! What's the supercritical mass of uranium?† Soshi searched. â€Å"Um†¦ 110 pounds.† â€Å"One hundred ten?† Jabba looked suddenly hopeful. â€Å"What's 35.2 from 110?† â€Å"Seventy-four point eight,† Susan snapped. â€Å"But I don't think-â€Å" â€Å"Out of my way,† Jabba commanded, plowing toward the keyboard. â€Å"That's got to be the kill-code! The difference between their critical masses! Seventy-four point eight!† â€Å"Hold on,† Susan said, peering over Soshi's shoulder. â€Å"There's more here. Atomic weights. Neutron counts. Extraction techniques.† She skimmed the chart. â€Å"Uranium splits into barium and krypton; plutonium does something else. Uranium has 92 protons and 146 neutrons, but-â€Å" â€Å"We need the most obvious difference,† Midge chimed in. â€Å"The clue reads ‘the primary difference between the elements.' â€Å" â€Å"Jesus Christ!† Jabba swore. â€Å"How do we know what Tankado considered the primary difference?† David interrupted. â€Å"Actually, the clue reads prime, not primary.† The word hit Susan right between the eyes. â€Å"Prime!† she exclaimed. â€Å"Prime!† She spun to Jabba. â€Å"The kill-code is a prime number! Think about it! It makes perfect sense!† Jabba instantly knew Susan was right. Ensei Tankado had built his career on prime numbers. Primes were the fundamental building blocks of all encryption algorithms-unique values that had no factors other than one and themselves. Primes worked well in code writing because they were impossible for computers to guess using typical number-tree factoring. Soshi jumped in. â€Å"Yes! It's perfect! Primes are essential to Japanese culture! Haiku uses primes. Three lines and syllable counts of five, seven, five. All primes. The temples of Kyoto all have-â€Å" â€Å"Enough!† Jabba said. â€Å"Even if the kill-code is a prime, so what! There are endless possibilities!† Susan knew Jabba was right. Because the number line was infinite, one could always look a little farther and find another prime number. Between zero and a million, there were over 70,000 choices. It all depended on how large a prime Tankado decided to use. The bigger it was, the harder it was to guess. â€Å"It'll be huge.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"Whatever prime Tankado chose is sure to be a monster.† A call went up from the rear of the room. â€Å"Two-minute warning!† Jabba gazed up at the VR in defeat. The final shield was starting to crumble. Technicians were rushing everywhere. Something in Susan told her they were close. â€Å"We can do this!† she declared, taking control. â€Å"Of all the differences between uranium and plutonium, I bet only one can be represented as a prime number! That's our final clue. The number we're looking for is prime!† Jabba eyed the uranium/plutonium chart on the monitor and threw up his arms. â€Å"There must be a hundred entries here! There's no way we can subtract them all and check for primes.† â€Å"A lot of the entries are nonnumeric,† Susan encouraged. â€Å"We can ignore them. Uranium's natural, plutonium's man-made. Uranium uses a gun barrel detonator, plutonium uses implosion. They're not numbers, so they're irrelevant!† â€Å"Do it,† Fontaine ordered. On the VR, the final wall was eggshell thin. Jabba mopped his brow. â€Å"All right, here goes nothing. Start subtracting. I'll take the top quarter. Susan, you've got the middle. Everybody else split up the rest. We're looking for a prime difference.† Within seconds, it was clear they'd never make it. The numbers were enormous, and in many cases the units didn't match up. â€Å"It's apples and goddamn oranges,† Jabba said. â€Å"We've got gamma rays against electromagnetic pulse. Fissionable against unfissionable. Some is pure. Some is percentage. It's a mess!† â€Å"It's got to be here,† Susan said firmly. â€Å"We've got to think. There's some difference between plutonium and uranium that we're missing! Something simple!† â€Å"Ah†¦ guys?† Soshi said. She'd created a second document window and was perusing the rest of the Outlaw Labs document. â€Å"What is it?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"Find something?† â€Å"Um, sort of.† She sounded uneasy. â€Å"You know how I told you the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb?† â€Å"Yeah,† they all replied in unison. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Soshi took a deep breath. â€Å"Looks like I made a mistake.† â€Å"What!† Jabba choked. â€Å"We've been looking for the wrong thing?† Soshi pointed to the screen. They huddled around and read the text: †¦the common misconception that the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb. In fact, the device employed uranium, like its sister bomb in Hiroshima. â€Å"But-† Susan gasped. â€Å"If both elements were uranium, how are we supposed to find the difference between the two?† â€Å"Maybe Tankado made a mistake,† Fontaine ventured. â€Å"Maybe he didn't know the bombs were the same.† â€Å"No.† Susan sighed. â€Å"He was a cripple because of those bombs. He'd know the facts cold.† Chapter 126 â€Å"One minute!† Jabba eyed the VR. â€Å"PEM authorization's going fast. Last line of defense. And there's a crowd at the door.† â€Å"Focus!† Fontaine commanded. Soshi sat in front of the Web browser and read aloud. †¦Nagasaki bomb did not use plutonium but rather an artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"Damn!† Brinkerhoff swore. â€Å"Both bombs used uranium. The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both uranium. There is no difference!† â€Å"We're dead,† Midge moaned. â€Å"Wait,† Susan said. â€Å"Read that last part again!† Soshi repeated the text. â€Å"†¦artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"238?† Susan exclaimed. â€Å"Didn't we just see something that said Hiroshima's bomb used some other isotope of uranium?† They all exchanged puzzled glances. Soshi frantically scrolled backward and found the spot. â€Å"Yes! It says here that the Hiroshima bomb used a different isotope of uranium!† Midge gasped in amazement. â€Å"They're both uranium-but they're different kinds!† â€Å"Both uranium?† Jabba muscled in and stared at the terminal. â€Å"Apples and apples! Perfect!† â€Å"How are the two isotopes different?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"It's got to be something basic.† Soshi scrolled through the document. â€Å"Hold on†¦ looking†¦ okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forty-five seconds!† a voice called out. Susan looked up. The final shield was almost invisible now. â€Å"Here it is!† Soshi exclaimed. â€Å"Read it!† Jabba was sweating. â€Å"What's the difference! There must be some difference between the two!† â€Å"Yes!† Soshi pointed to her monitor. â€Å"Look!† They all read the text: †¦two bombs employed two different fuels†¦ precisely identical chemical characteristics. No ordinary chemical extraction can separate the two isotopes. They are, with the exception of minute differences in weight, perfectly identical. â€Å"Atomic weight!† Jabba said, excitedly. â€Å"That's it! The only difference is their weights! That's the key! Give me their weights! We'll subtract them!† â€Å"Hold on,† Soshi said, scrolling ahead. â€Å"Almost there! Yes!† Everyone scanned the text. †¦difference in weight very slight†¦ †¦gaseous diffusion to separate them†¦ †¦10,032498X10?134 as compared to 19,39484X10?23.** â€Å"There they are!† Jabba screamed. â€Å"That's it! Those are the weights!† â€Å"Thirty seconds!† â€Å"Go,† Fontaine whispered. â€Å"Subtract them. Quickly.† Jabba palmed his calculator and started entering numbers. â€Å"What's the asterisk?† Susan demanded. â€Å"There's an asterisk after the figures!† Jabba ignored her. He was already working his calculator keys furiously. â€Å"Careful!† Soshi urged. â€Å"We need an exact figure.† â€Å"The asterisk,† Susan repeated. â€Å"There's a footnote.† Soshi clicked to the bottom of the paragraph. Susan read the asterisked footnote. She went white. â€Å"Oh†¦ dear God.† Jabba looked up. â€Å"What?† They all leaned in, and there was a communal sigh of defeat. The tiny footnote read: **12% margin of error. Published figures vary from lab to lab.