The Underneath Essay Example for Free

The Underneath Essay The book I most recently read is The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. The book is a fictional book where all creatures can talk to each other. The book has a strange way of telling its story. The story follows many points view, the cats, Grandmother Snake, the Alligator King, Ranger, Gar Face, and more characters. Somehow all of these characters stories tie up together. The book mainly follows the cat’s story. The story starts of when the calico cat, or the mother cat, which was pregnant was abandoned on the highway trying to look for a home. She then finds her way to an old tilted house where a bloodhound called Ranger lives. She liked Ranger but Ranger had an evil owner called Gar Face. Because of Gar Face the calico cat had to stay under the house, which was called the Underneath. After a while the calico cat gave birth to two kittens, Puck and Sabine, and from them did the calico cat made her rule, â€Å"Stay in the Underneath, never go in the Open. † At that part everyone else’s story starts to connect. Gar Faces story finally comes in, and we learn why he is so evil. The story explains about his past when his father bet him and he ran off into the woods. He was hungry, sad, tired but most of all angry. Later he hunts down this deer which he shot and for hours he chased it until it finally gave up and fell, and he learned two things that day how to hunt and survive in the wild and hatred. Later in the story we find out about Grandmother Snake and the Alligator King and they become very important in the end of the story. But Grandmother Snake is filled with loneliness and hatred from her daughter leaving her and from the jar she is stuck in. The Alligator King also has a rivalry between himself and Gar Face. One day one of the kittens, Puck, went out to the Open and got caught by Gar Face and his mother tries to help but she got caught also, leaving Pucks sister behind with Ranger tied up to his chain. They both were put in a bag and when they were in the bag the calico cat asked her son to promise her to break Rangers chain, and Puck kept his promise. That’s when Gar Face threw the bag with the two cats inside into a pond where the calico cat drowns. In the end the Grandmother snake breaks free from her jar and helps Ranger break free. Puck starts attacking Gar Face and at one point Puck pounced on Gar Face’s face where Gar Face grabbed him and threw him into the lake, and Gar Face kneeled down to pour water o his face from the lake, and the last thing he saw was a big grin from the Alligator King. Then finally Ranger and the two kittens were able to run off to a place far away.

Matricaria Chamomilla (Chamomile): A Pharmacognosy Review

Matricaria Chamomilla (Chamomile): A Pharmacognosy Review Abstract Matricaria chamomilla is one of the most ancient and renowned medicinal plant from Asteraceae family. Chamomile is a well-heeled plant of natural stuff having pharmacognostic properties. This plant is natural source of blue oil, prepared by various methods such as hydro-distillation, chromatography techniques, etc. Earlier studies on plant compounds classified have nutritional values and more than one biological activity. Chamomile is thus used in cosmetics, perfumery, in food industry and aromatherapy since thousands of years. It has been suggested as alleviate for numerous diseases. This article briefly reviews the details on chemical constituents of essential oil and plant parts as well as their pharmacological properties, accomplished by QSAR and pharmacophore studies which is an in silico approach that increases the activity of plant by modifying its functional groups. This is an attempt to compile and document information on various aspects of chamomile plant and emphasize its need for research and development. Keywords: Matricaria chamomilla, chemical constituents, pharmacognostic, QSAR Introduction The relationship of plant life and human well-being has been renowned for thousands of years.1,2 Herbs have been vital to both traditional and non-traditional forms of medication dated back to at least 5000 years.3-5The enduring popularity of herbal remedies may be enlightened by the propensity of herbs to graft gradually, typically with minimal toxic side effects. Plants are imperative sources of medication since time immemorial. Studies on natural-products are meant to establish therapeutic values of plants by exploration of existing precise scientific knowledge, conventional uses, and invention of potential chemotherapeutic agents.6 The history of herbal medicine is as old as human civilization. With the promising global concern in adopting and studying customary system of medicine and exploring their potential based on different Medicare systems, the estimation of rich heritage of medicinally active plants is primarily carried out on the basis of morphological, phytochemical, pha rmacological and different techniques such as chromatography, distillation, etc.7 One of the most common herbal plant used for curative purposes is chamomile whose homogeneous tea and herbal mines are primed from dried flowers ofMatricariaspecies.8 Taxonomical classification Kingdom: Plantae, Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plant), Class: Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons), Family: Asteraceae, Genus: Matricaria L., Species: Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile).9 Morphology of plant Matricaria chamomilla commonly known as German chamomile is one of the most ancient annual herbaceous plant of composite family Asteraceae.10 This composite flower is largely favoured aromatic plant having multi-therapeutic values. Chamomile is highly imperative medicinal herb native to southern and eastern Europe. It is most ancient medicinal plant used in herbal remedies for thousands of years known to mankind. Matricaria Chamomilla is a natural resource of blue oil. Various sections of plant such as aerial parts, root and shoot system contains essential oil that has been recommended for variety of healing ailments and diseases.11 Chamomile is a rich source of natural products. There is an immense demand for chamomile plant world-wide because of its influential medicinal values and pharmacological properties. Chamomile plant has a sweet, verdant, and faintly fruity scent. Its florae are daisy-like flowers, with yellow cores and white petals.12 The color of the Blue oil is due to the terpenoid chamazulene, which has been reported for its anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and antispasmodic properties.13 Chamazulene is biosynthesized from sesquiterpene Matricine, which is reported to have solid antioxidant activity and antimicrobial pharmacological actions.14,15 Ethnobotanical Profile Chamomile being a constituent of various traditional, unani, and homeopathic medicinal provisions, it has been used greatly in flatulence, colic, hysteria, and intermittent fever as a drug.16-18 Many scientists have quoted from writings of several doctors of ancient times that chamomile was also used in cardiac diseases and in functioning of liver.19-22 The diverse range of essential oil isolation techniques and analytical procedures have been smeared for studying the volatile components of chamomile by several groups.23 Numerous essential oils are currently in use as aromatherapy agents to ease anxiety, pressure, and depression. Standard anxiolytic oils include lavender oil, rose oil, orange oil, bergamot oil, lemon oil, sandalwood oil, rose-scented geranium oil and chamomile (German and Roman).24 This aromatherapy is the use of concentrated essential oils extracted from herbs, flowers, and other plant parts to heal several diseases. Aromatherapy is becoming increasingly more popula r; however there are only a few apparent indications for its use.25 Aromatherapy massage exerts optimistic effects on anxiety, self-esteem and also highly reduces stress and stress responses in adolescents by taking aroma treatments.26, 27 The international demand for chamomile oil has been steadily growing. Chamomile is internally used as tisane for stomach pain, slow digestion, diarrhoea and nausea; more rarely and very efficiently for inflammation of the urinary tract and for aching menstruation. Chamomile is used chiefly as an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic, also as antispasmodic and mildly sudorific.28 The chamomile extracts was found to have the most effective anti-leishmanial activity.29 The other uses of Matricaria chamomilla are in cosmetics, perfumes, food additives, while the external use includes the powder form of drug that can be applied for healing, skin eruptions, and infections.10,30 A number of chemical constituents have been identified in chamomile as secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, flavonoids, phenyl propanoids and many other additional compounds with potential pharmacological action. Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Compounds Plants engender primary and secondary metabolites which encompass a wide range of functions. Plants can produce many different types of secondary metabolites that comprise of compounds having multivariate function, exposed by humans for their beneficial role in a varied array of applications.31 Phytochemicals have been the single most fruitful source of leads for the expansion of new drug entities from the dawn of drug discovery. They cover up a wide array of therapeutic indications with a huge assortment of chemical structures.32 The Phytochemicals isolated from Matricaria chamomilla have been classified into different classes of compounds (see table no. 1). The detailed information for each class of compounds can be accessible from supplementary table no. S1-S10. Alkanes Alkanes are acyclic branched or unbranched hydrocarbons having the general formula CnH2n+2 , and therefore comprises completely of hydrogen atoms and saturated carbon atoms.33 Drugs are increasingly being developed from natural products and several alkane compounds such as hexane have already been reported, offering a very promising approach to identify novel anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer agents.34 A considerable number of alkanes derived from chamomile have been identified mostly as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents. A list of alkanes along with its structure and biological activity has been documented in a table (see supplementary table no. S1). Flavonoids Flavonoids are low molecular weight bioactive compounds of enormous biological importance. Flavonoids are secondary metabolites outlined by flavan nucleus and its carbon framework refers to C6-C8-C6.35 These compounds can be classified as polyphenols or phenolics. Flavonoids can be further grouped into subclasses such as flavones, flavonols, flavanones, chalcones, aurones, isoflavones, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins. Flavonoid displays several biological properties like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiobesity, cardio protective, and neuroprotective activities.36 A huge number of flavonoid compounds such as rutin, quercetin hesperidin and many others have been reported as drugs that tend to possess anticancer, antioxidant and even senescence effects.37,38 A list of flavonoids along with its structure and biological activity has been listed in a table (see supplementary table no. S2). Terpenoids Terpenoids, encompasses the most abundant and morphologically diverse group of plant secondary metabolites. Terpenoids are more frequently present in plants and around 23,000 compounds have been isolated in all. Terpenoids being a rich reservoir of candidate compounds have been characterized as monoterpenes, diterpenes, hemiterpenes and sesquiterpenes.39 Terpenoid production from plants has various defensive and protective functions that holds potential therapeutic properties such as anticancer (mostly leukemic), analgesic, antioxidant, antimicrobial and others. The terpenoid, eucalyptol which is a fragrant chemical has been propagated as nutraceutical having analgesic, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties.40,41 A list of terpenoids along with its structure and biological activity has been revealed in a table (see supplementary table no. S3). Coumarins Coumarin, which was isolated in 1820 for the first time is classified as an element of benzopyrone family of compounds.42 Coumarins are the well-known phytochemicals that are comprehensively used as a natural active compound. The synthesis of coumarins and their derivatives have noteworthy significance from organic and medicinal chemists for several years. They have been generally used in food, perfumes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and as optical brighteners.43 Several coumarins and their derivatives have been reported for its antimicrobial and anticancer effects, some of which act as drugs. Dicumarol, cyclocoumarol, coumarin and its derivatives are used as an anticoagulants.44 A list of coumarins along with its structure and biological activity has been listed out in a table (see supplementary table no. S4). Phenyl propanoids Phenyl propanoids are the varied family of organic compounds synthesized from amino acid phenyl alanine.45 Phenyl propanoids are the plant polyketides that tend to possess multiple biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-depressant and anticancer.46 Phenyl alanine which is an essential amino acid is sold as nutritional supplement for its reputed analgesic and antidepressant effects.47,48 Phenyl alanine first gets converted to cinnamic acid by deamination which is than followed by hydroxylation and frequent methylation to produce coumaric acid and others with phenyl propane.49 A list of phenyl propanoids along with its structure and biological activity has been recorded in a table (see supplementary table no. S5). Spiroethers Spiroether isomers isolated from chamomile showed antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory activities.50 A list of spiroethers along with its structure and biological activity has been mentioned in a table (see supplementary table no. S6). Fatty acids Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with a long aliphatic hydrocarbon tail produced by hydrolysis of triglycerides. These are either saturated or unsaturated naturally occurring fatty acids. 51 More interestingly, isoamly acetate released from honey bee’s sting act as pheromone.52 Isoamyl acetate is also found to be isolated from wine.53 Fatty acids possesses anticancer, antioxidant and other pharmacological actions which has been depicted in a table (see supplementary table no. S7). Fatty acid esters Fatty acid esters can be obtained by esterification of fatty acids. They are the product of combination of fatty acid with an alcohol.54 Fatty acids acts against microbes, as an analgesic and also as melanogenesis inhibitor. A list of fatty acid esters along with its structure and above mentioned biological activity with its references has been reported in a table(see supplementary table no. S8). Pthalic acid Phthalic acid is an aromatic dicarboxylic acid which is formed by catalytic oxidation of naphthalene directly to phthalic anhydride.55 The significant pharmacological properties of phthalic acid involves anti-androgenic, antimutagenic and anti-leukemic activity. Phthalic acid along with its structure and biological activity has been depicted in a table (see supplementary table no. S9). Fatty alcohol Fatty alcohols are the aliphatic alcohols which are naturally found as waxes produced by plants, bacteria and animals having various biological properties.56 The metabolism of fatty alcohol compounds in fibroblasts is impaired in several inherited humanperoxisomaldisorders, includingadrenoleukodystrophyandSjogren-Larsson syndrome.57 Fatty alcohol along with its structure and biological activity has been documented in a table (see supplementary table no. S10). Catalogue of Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics repositories The large amount of Chamomile phytochemical information is highly discrete and can be easily procurable by a number of web-accessible bioinformatics and cheminformatics databases like PubChem,58,59 Chemspider,60 Human Metabolome Database(HMDB),61 ChemBank,62 NAPRALERT,63 SuperNatural database,64 NPACT65 and many more. PubChem is an open repository for chemical structures and their biological activities, maintained by NCBI, a division of NLM under NIH. PubChem is becoming a valued reserve for drug development fascinating noteworthy interest from researchers in academe and diligence.66 PubChem includes substance information, compound structures, and BioActivity information from three principal databases, Pcsubstance, Pccompound, and PCBioAssay, respectively. Pcsubstance contains descriptions of small molecules, PcBioassay contains biological screening results of substances provided by depositors and Pccompound database contains the unique chemical structures. The aim of PubChem is to make this information easily available.67 Pcsubstance contains about 93 million records, Pccompound contains nearly 33 million unique structures and PCBioAssay contains more than 621,000 BioAssays.68 ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database providing rapid text search and structure search access to more than 28 million structures from hundreds of data sources.69 ChemSpider is a very valued web-based database that facilitates access to various chemical structures, nomenclature, chemical properties and other systematic information. ChemSpider is integrated with RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry).60 The Human Metabolome Database is an opulently annotated resource that is devoted to provide researchers with most recent and comprehensive coverage of human metabolome.70 The latest version of HMDB release is HMDB 3.0 that contains 40278 metabolite entries. The database is intended to contain three kinds of entries: chemical data, clinical data and molecular biology/biochemistry data.61 ChemBank is a public web-based database cheminformatics database established by Broad Institutes Chemical Biology Programand funded by National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Initiative for Chemical Genetics (ICG). ChemBank, a unique among small molecule database houses all the chemical molecular information such as names and identifier of the compounds, their calculated molecular descriptors as well as human curated biological information.62 NAPRALERT (NAtural PRoduct ALERT), an largest ethnobotanical database on pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology and phytochemistry of plants. NAPRALERT, a relational database was initiated in 1975 by Norman Fransworth and is housed within the Program for Collaborative Research at College of Pharmacy, UIC. It includes biochemical information of extracts of organism, in vivo, in situ, in vitro in humans and clinical studies.63 SuperNatural database is the first public database containing 3D structures, their conformers, derivatives and analogues. It consists of ~ 50,000 natural compounds from different sources. Natural products compounds are classified based on different classes of compounds.64 NPACT is Naturally Occurring Plant-based Anti-cancer Compound-Activity-Target database. It presently comprises of 1574 compound entries with detailed information on the structure, and activity of compound. This database gathers experimentally validated plant derived natural compounds exhibiting anti-cancerous property, both in vitro and in vivo. It also provides inhibitory values of compounds (IC50, ED50, EC50, GI50), their molecular targets and drug-likeliness.65 Conclusion Chamomile is extensively in use in world market because of its wide and varied appliance in medical science. Moreover, natural substances are preferred more, rather than synthesized one due to its minimal side effects and easy extraction of its compounds. Chamomile is a natural source for plenty of bioactive substances that cure numerous diseases. Cheminformatics, an in silico approach is a way out for ample of problems in field of medicinal chemistry. This avenue can be used in drug discovery processes. In silico has gained a considerable thrust over last few years. Due to increased availability of computational power, in silico simulations have reward over in vitro methods. In silico methods are time and cost effective, tumbling lots of biological confirmations and offers the possibility of replacing some animal tests with suitable insilicomodels. QSAR and Pharmacophore studies can be carried out at primary level to increase the activity of the compounds which further leads to drug discovery processes.

The Introduction Of Chinese Food Cultural Studies Essay

The Introduction Of Chinese Food Cultural Studies Essay Chinese cuisine has a long history, famous all over the world. Chinese cuisine has developed and matured over the centuries, forming a rich cultural content It is characterized by fine selection of ingredients, precise processing, particular care to the amount of fire, and substantial nourishment. Local flavors and snacks, and special dishes have formed according to regions, local products, climate, historical factors, and eating habits.  The development and diversity of the delights of Chinese cuisine are also representative of Chinas long history. With each dynasty new recipes were created until the art of food preparation reach its peak during the Qing Dynasty (1644 1911). The dinner called Man Han Quan Xi that incorporates all the very best of Man and Han Cuisine is held in high esteem involving as it does countless dishes, each with its own distinctive flavor and appeal. This veritable banquet in its preparation and presentation typifies all of the culture and culinary arts t hat have been perfected over centuries and is a comprehensive amalgam of taste, instruments, and manners.   It also has their own flavor and appeal in our ethnic groups, which is quite distinctive. China has local cuisine, imperial dishes, and dishes of ethnic minorities, Islamic dishes with a strong religious flavor and vegetarian dishes. At the beginning China had only four styles of cuisine. As a sort of traditional food in China, wonton   originated in North China. It was viewed by ancient Chinese as a sealed stuffed bun without holes and therefore was named Huidun (meaning chaos). It was later called wonton in line with the formation rule of Chinese characters. Wonton has a long history. There existed numerous wonton restaurants in cities in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Wonton was featured by clear soup and delicate stuffing at that time. Its fineness was ever appraised by poets and was hard to achieve by common people. In ancient times, it was a custom in some regions to eat wonton on the midwinter day, which is said to has bearing on a famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing. He ever stuffed wonton with medicinal materials on the midwinter day to cure villagers who suffered frostbite. Wanton mee is very famous in many countries, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and so on. In Hong Kong, wonton noodles are usually served in steaming hot soup with shrimp wontons and garnished with leafy vegetables. There are plenty of variations of this popular Cantonese dish, with different toppings and garnishes. For example the soup and wontons in a separate bowl, the noodles being served relatively dry, with the toppings and garnishes, dressed with sauce, dipping the noodles in the soup to eat it. Malaysia offers different versions of the dish, with different states having different versions of the dish and there are versions from  Johor,  Pahang,  Perak, Penang,  Sarawak, and  Selangor. The Malaysian version differs from the original in having slices of  char siu  added to the dish, as well as the possibility of the soup and wontons in a separate bowl, the noodles being served relatively dry and dressed with  oyster sauce. The  Singapore  ver sion of  wanton noodle  is largely similar to the Malaysian version. Wonton noodles  are also very popular in  Thailand, where, as in Malaysia and Singapore, the dish is often ordered together with barbecued pork which is then called  bami mu daeng kiao   Bakkwa  is a  Chinese  salty-sweet  dried meat  product similar to  jerky, made in the form of flat thin sheets. It is normally made from  pork. Bakkwa is believed to have originated from a meat preservation and preparation technique used in ancient  China  that is still practiced in places with  Hokkien  influence. In  Malaysia,  Singapore, and the  Philippines  bakkwa  or  bagua  is the most widely used name. Cantonese speakers use the term  yuhk gÃ…Â n, Anglicised version  long yok, while in  China  and  Taiwan  the product is more commonly known as  rougan. Commercially available versions are sometimes labeled as barbecued pork, dried pork, or pork jerky. Bakkwa is particularly popular as a  snack  in  Macau,  Malaysia,  Singapore,  Taiwan  and the  Philippines. In Taiwan, it is regarded as one of the three pork delicacies. In Malaysia and Singapore, bakkwa has become a highly popular gift offered to visitors and acquaintances, as well as amongst corporate employees (some during the  Chinese New Year). In Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia,  halal  chicken varieties of the snack may be used as a gift substitute. It may also be served in functions such as  Chinese wedding  banquets and religious ceremony dinners. While demand is particularly high during the festive seasons, it is also served throughout the year in various outlets as takeaway snacks or to be served together with main courses at home. The meat is commonly sold in red-colored bags or packaging, an auspicious color in  Chinese culture. In this question, students will learned more about the Chinese food and get more cookings knowledge. Such as the ingredients that can make the tasty Chinese foods. Students also can make it while at home, increasing the cookings skill if could. Especially the students can continue to learning the Chineses cuisine, such as the ingredients to cooking the Chinese food, traditional cooking, provisions, rations, cuisine, and so on. Thats exceptionally effective for those students who expecting to working in Food and Beverage department, Kitchen department, or open a business for selling the Chineses traditional food. What is Chinese set? The history of Chinese cuisine in China traced back to Peking Man and his use of fire and the invention of cuisine some 400,000 years ago. Some other accounts of the history of Chinese cuisine takes the beginning to the Chinese stone age, where the cultivation of rice and the production of noodles, both typical representations of Chinese cuisine as it is known today, are understood from archaeological findings. Not long after the expansion of the Chinese Empire during the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, Chinese writers noted the great differences in culinary practices among people from different parts of the realm. These differences followed to a great extent the varying climate and availability of foodstuffs in China. Different ethnic groups might occupy only small areas, but early on, their cuisines were included in systematic lists of Chinese cuisines. Most Chinese cuisines belong to one of the Four Schools: Lu, Yang (named after Jiangsus major style, Huaiyang cu isine), Chuan and Yue. These are often translated as the cuisines of Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Guangdong. Table setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware-such as eating utensils and dishware-for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. The table should have a centerpiece that performs a solely decorative function. If an informal dinner is being served that will fill the available places at the table, care should be taken to make the centerpiece not too large so that there will be sufficient room to place serving dishes. Informal settings generally have fewer utensils and dishes but use a stereotyped layout based on more formal settings. Utensils are arranged in the order and the way a person will use them. Usually in Western culture, that means that the forks, bread plate, spreader, and napkin are to the left, while knives, spoons, drink ware, cups, and saucers are to the right, although the left-right order is reversed in a minority of countries. The most formal dinner is served from the kitchen. When the meal is served, in addition to the place plate at each setting there is the roll, the napkin, and the following cutlery/silver: knives, spoons where applicable, to the right and forks to the left. Coffee is served in Butler Service style in demitasse and spoons are placed on the saucer to the right of each handle. The utensils at a formal dinner must be sterling silver. Serving dishes and utensils are not placed on the table for a formal dinner. The only exception to these general rules is the protocol followed at the Spanish royal court, which was also adopted by the Habsburg court: accordingly all utensils were placed on the right. At a less formal dinner, not served from the kitchen, the dessert fork and spoon can be set above the plate, fork pointing right, to match the other forks, spoon pointing left. There are a variety of configurations of cutlery on the market but are usually in groups of four groups of eight, but some are in groups of twelve. Most of the cutlery set is a set of five panel members, consisting of a salad fork, fork, a spoon, a spoon and a knife from the table. Appliance parts can have a spoonful of sugar, butter knife and serving well. Some cutlery sets simply consists of kitchen knives, where you have five kitchen knives, a sharpening or butcher and a wooden block bearings, which are the essential dignity. You can put a pair of kitchen scissors and will. At the upper end of these groups, some very used include various Diameter as the chefs knife, paring knife, bread knife, utility knife (for cutting vegetables, fruits and other questions a day) and maybe a knife or scissors. Students can learn about the Chineses table setting, and the menus about the Chineses cuisine that have to showing to customer. That is a useful and a knowledgeable for the hospitality students because Chineses cuisine having a lot of knowledgeable to let the students discovered. Moreover, we can learned how to making the Chineses menu if the students can imagine to open a big dining restaurant for serving the Chineses food by the Chineses table setting.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets :: English Literature

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The 2nd book in the Harry Potter series is about Harry and strange happenings going on in Hogwarts. Soon after Harry and his friends arrive after Hogwarts, a message is written on a wall in blood that says "enemies of the heir, beware, the chamber has been opened." Harry is found near the sight so people suspect he was the one who dun it. Throughout this book, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are constantly looking for the chamber of secrets, and who might have opened it. They have many frightening and exciting adventures along the way, but everything changes as students start to get petrified. Near the end, Hermione gets petrified and it's up to Ron and Harry to save their friends and fellow students. While I was reading this book many questions came to my mind. I wondered why Harry didn't tell anyone about him hearing the voices in the wall. Even though it could have been a bad sign, if he had told Dumbledore, the teachers at Hogwarts might have been able to solve the mystery and stop Tom Riddle sooner. I think if I were Ron I would convinced Harry to tell Dumbledore about the voices. I also would have stayed away from where all of the writing on the wall was going on. While I was reading this book I never would have though that it was Ginny Weasly that opened the Chamber of Secrets. I also never would have thought that the reason Hagrid got expelled from Hogwarts was because Tom Riddle accused him of opening the chamber. I think this is a great book because of how everything in the end ties to each other to make an awesome ending. JK Rowling writes in a very unique style. From the very beginning of the book you can tell the book is going to be full of adventure, close calls, and mystery. Imagery is used a lot in the Harry Potter books because JK Rowling gives the reader a very unique and intense idea of how Hogwarts looks, and what happens in Harry's adventures. While reading this book the reader can almost picture the "enchanted ceilings" and the "lacy snowflake cookies." There isn't very much figurative language in this book. Most of the figurative language occurs in the first book when JK Rowling explains more in detail what Hogwarts looks like. This book, however, does have some figurative language. Personification like "the tree yawned" and "the car burped out the suitcases" give the reader a much more vivid picture of what is happening in the story because they can relate it

Cloud Computing Descends Essay -- Cloud Technology, United States, Job

An upgrade to cloud technology over the United States will potentially affect its workplace. It will lead to an increase in job creation all over the world, mostly due to its implementation at various institutions and companies globally and via many other services that will emerge to enhance or regulate this technology. In comparison to the initial machined technology, cloud computing offers instant delivery, simple & customizable usage, easy accessibility, cost reduction, thus increasing efficiency and demand and its wide range of acceptability. This technology, like any other, also has its disadvantages, though they are seemingly negligible in comparison. Cloud Technology is creating many jobs due to its implementation at most of the institutions such as the schools, companies, and even the government. This is to save expenses while increasing the overall efficiency and quality of their services. This will led to the formation of various additional services such as course instructions and certifications at educational institutions, and new companies to ensure the safety of cloud, thus creating more jobs. Even though its critics claim that this technology is decreasing the amount of jobs present in this field, but they fail to notice that the same amount of jobs are required to run the cloud technology and even more are created due to many of the cloud’s additional maintenance requirements. This is properly verified through many of the surveys including those of Microsoft which suggest that a large percentage of the hiring conducted by many tech companies are due to the Cloud Technology. The value of this market is also predicted to increase by six times its current value. As most people are aware of, there are various possibil... ...T Workforce."ZDNet.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Stallman, Richard M. "Cloud Computing Threatens User Freedom and Should Be Avoided." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "What Does that Server Really Serve?" Boston Review (18 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Year for business to look to the heavens - PREDICTIONS 2014 -." Australian [National, Australia] 25 Feb. 2014: 27. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. McClure, David. "Federal Policy Fosters Government Adoption of Secure Cloud Computing." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Cloud Computing: What Are the Security Implications." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. Cloud Computing Descends Essay -- Cloud Technology, United States, Job An upgrade to cloud technology over the United States will potentially affect its workplace. It will lead to an increase in job creation all over the world, mostly due to its implementation at various institutions and companies globally and via many other services that will emerge to enhance or regulate this technology. In comparison to the initial machined technology, cloud computing offers instant delivery, simple & customizable usage, easy accessibility, cost reduction, thus increasing efficiency and demand and its wide range of acceptability. This technology, like any other, also has its disadvantages, though they are seemingly negligible in comparison. Cloud Technology is creating many jobs due to its implementation at most of the institutions such as the schools, companies, and even the government. This is to save expenses while increasing the overall efficiency and quality of their services. This will led to the formation of various additional services such as course instructions and certifications at educational institutions, and new companies to ensure the safety of cloud, thus creating more jobs. Even though its critics claim that this technology is decreasing the amount of jobs present in this field, but they fail to notice that the same amount of jobs are required to run the cloud technology and even more are created due to many of the cloud’s additional maintenance requirements. This is properly verified through many of the surveys including those of Microsoft which suggest that a large percentage of the hiring conducted by many tech companies are due to the Cloud Technology. The value of this market is also predicted to increase by six times its current value. As most people are aware of, there are various possibil... ...T Workforce."ZDNet.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Stallman, Richard M. "Cloud Computing Threatens User Freedom and Should Be Avoided." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "What Does that Server Really Serve?" Boston Review (18 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Year for business to look to the heavens - PREDICTIONS 2014 -." Australian [National, Australia] 25 Feb. 2014: 27. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. McClure, David. "Federal Policy Fosters Government Adoption of Secure Cloud Computing." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Cloud Computing: What Are the Security Implications." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

How does Frayn present ideas about growing up in Spies? Essay

In the novel Spies, the motifs of personal growth, growing up and childhood are all integral to the plotline. It could be said that besides the theme of memory, growing up is the most crucial theme of the novel. As a genre, Spies fits clearly into bildungsroman style, showing the importance of Stephen’s personal development with relation to the storyline. Throughout Spies, Stephen shows a great deal of personal growth as a character, from his outlook on life, to the ways he interacts with other characters. Frayn expresses this through a variety of literary techniques. Spies’ narrative style is set from two perspectives. Firstly, a reflective third person narrative from Stefan’s perspective as an elderly man that is recalling childhood memories. Secondly, a more direct first person narrative which seems to be more the perspective of Stephen as a young child. The contrast in narrative allows for greater flexibility in showing the contrast between the more mature man, and his younger counterpart. In chapter 9 when Mrs Hayward appeals to Stephen for his help, the perspective switches in the middle of the chapter, which is also indicative of the thought process of the character at that point. By the use of third person narrative to begin the chapter, Frayn gives Stephen’s mind a sense of distance and separation from the event, emphasising the surreal situation of an adult woman ‘driven to humble herself’ by asking a child for help, and Stephen’s inability to cope with the confusion that brings. It shows how at that point, despite his growing maturity, Stephen had not fully matured enough to fully comprehend what Mrs Hayward was asking of him. By dealing with this from a reflective aspect, allows for the elder Stefan to fill in some of the gaps in younger Stephen’s knowledge and understanding of the situation. When the perspective switches to the first person, it gives a greater sense of involvement of Stephen in the scene, and thus adopts language that is more childlike, and a younger inner voice. This again emphasises the difference between the thoughts of younger, and elder Stephen, and provides contrast between child and adulthood. Whereas younger Stephen’s sentences are much shorter and abrupt such as ‘Silence again. I sneak another look’, older Stefan’s language is more complex and extensive, as in examples like ‘he’d begun as her antagonist, now he was to become her accomplice’, showing that Stefan’s ability to express himself has yet to fully develop. These contrasting perspectives also allow to clearly show when the younger Stephen matures or achieves clarity on some thought, as in chapter eight. In this chapter, he claims ‘I see all kinds of things I never saw before’. Another example is when he begins to realise after Barbara’s interpretation that perhaps his and Keith’s ideas that Mrs Hayward is a German spy are perhaps false, or misunderstood. They also create many of the humorous points of the novel, by identifying childish misconceptions of life, and expressing them in a frank manner, as they would have been thought by the children. Characters such as Barbara Berrill and the Hardiment children provide aspects of comedy as to how they perceive the world, and how they are perceived by Stephen and the other children of the close. Barbara, being slightly older than Stephen, appears to have a more mature view on the world, yet it is shown how it is not necessarily correct, as when she claims ‘lots of ladies have boyfriends while everyone’s Daddies are away’. This shows a more romantic outlook on the world, biased by girls’ magazines and entertainment predominately focused more towards love, relationships, and families, rather than war and machismo. Other instances include credence being given to Elizabeth Hardiment due to the fact that she wears glasses; with no other basis for the claim that she is more knowledgeable or intelligent than any of the other children. Frayn also makes frequent use of symbolism to imply aspects of personal growth or sexual awakening. On a large scale, the tunnel that both Mrs Hayward and Stephen pass through to get to the barns can be said to represent a grander theme of Stephen’s transition from safety of childhood, to the more troubling nature of adulthood that Mrs Hayward frequents often. The fact that in order to make that transition Stephen is forced to confront guilt and self doubt shows his maturity as an individual, despite his motives for visiting the barns. Originally, this investigation is done with Keith, in order to discover Mrs Hayward’s secrets, but later again on his own Stephen shows a greater level of development, braving to face the barns on his own for reasons less self-motivated than before. Other smaller symbols used to represent growth include cigarettes and ‘x’ marks. Both of these symbols hold sexual connotations for Stephen, showing another aspect of how he matures throughout the novel. Cigarettes are a motif used throughout the novel to suggest intimacy and sexual relationships, as Deidre Berrill and Stephen’s brother Geoff are known to smoke together. This is explained to Stephen by Barbara in chapter 9 when she tells him ‘they smoke cigarettes and then they kiss each other’, thus implying there is a natural link and progression from one to the other. Mrs Hayward is also discovered to be leaving cigarettes for Uncle Peter in the barns, with the implication that they also smoke them together – another sign of intimacy. Finally also, Stephen and Barbara share cigarettes, this being indicative of their blooming relationship and Stephen’s increasing feelings towards her. As at the beginning of the novel, Stephen would not lower himself enough socially to talk to Barbara, the fact that he shares cigarettes with her further on shows how he has matured sexually, but also socially enough that he no longer feels that all girls are not worth talking to. The ‘x’ marks also represent sexual aspects of life to Stephen, being associated with kisses, femininity, equations, and things that he does not fully understand. As he begins to understand the meanings of the ‘x’ marks, he also begins to realise the childish nature of what he originally believed Mrs Hayward’s secrets were about. By maturing enough to grasp the more romantic nature of ‘x’ marks, rather than the sinister, allows him to accept more the idea that Mrs Hayward’s secret is of a more feminine and sexual nature than her being a German spy. Therefore, the ideas Frayn presents on the concept of growing up in Spies are largely in the use of symbolism and perspective switch, creating the varying levels of understanding for younger Stephen, and allowing the reader to understand the contrast between the thoughts and perspective of the younger character, versus the more elderly character reflecting. This also reinforces the overall theme of memory in the novel, as to have only one perspective throughout Spies would deny the reader to a whole level of the character’s emotions, either the more analytical emotions expressed in reflective speech, or the more abrupt and immediate emotions of the character as he is dealing with the situations he is facing. It is the combination of the two that creates the level of effectiveness that Spies has as a novel.

Disability is not inability

There is an assertion that everyone was created in God’s image according to the Bible. This has left many people baffled on the exact image that is a true reflection of God. In addition to this, there is the question of which gender he belongs to and this brings us to a question which is; is there a person who is 100% normal and perfect? People cannot acknowledge the fact that everyone is different. A large number is fond of looking around and stereotyping and this makes people feel discouraged. A school is an institution in which people from different backgrounds converge all with the aim of attaining Education. The diverse background present people who have different body shapes, different body sizes and all sorts of illnesses and physical disabilities. I credit the school as being a turning point of my perception of the physically challenged to an extent of indulging in campaigns that echo the cliche that goes â€Å"disability is not inability†. I was brought up in a humble background but my parents were able to provide luxuries on top of basic necessities. The neighborhood was friendly and the kids I played with seemed normal to me. At this age, my vocabulary was limited and one of the deficient vocabularies in the little I possessed was ‘disability’. Things seemed normal till I enrolled in elementary school. For the first time, I came across a pupil who hobbled around the compound since one of his legs was shorter than the other. This peculiar walking style earned him a wide range of nicknames of which he could boast of none. I vividly remember my RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE3 close friend likening him with the ‘hyenas’ of Africa which were featured in National geographic. John was avoided like a plague since no one wanted to be associated with him. This affected him mentally and he was always withdrawn for he was always left out while other kids engaged one another in play. Later, I enrolled in high school and by then, I was able to differentiate good from evil. The school proved to be a habitat for all sorts of people who had very different and conflicting views. In the first grade, I met Mike who up to date reminds me my former elementary schoolmate John. Mike seemed to have all sorts of disabilities combined. He suffered from polio, a disease that had weakened his legs and he walked around in clutches. To crown his troubles, he was partially deaf. This implies that walking was a problem and also you had to shout for him to hear. One afternoon as he was walking down the hallway, a group of notorious boys who walked in a gang of six approached him from behind. I had a feeling that something was about to happen and true to my prediction; they shoved him out of the way and gave him a send off package of insults. For the first time, I felt like crying because of an injustice not done to me but to a physically challenged person. I did nothing out of the fear of receiving the same treatment from the terror gang. To my amazement, a girl came out of nowhere and picked mike and consoled him. I felt so ashamed since I had done nothing. This RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE4 occurrence disturbed me so much emotionally and when we were having dinner that evening, I felt that it was the right moment to share the disturbing experience. Emotions occupied the best part of my mother to an extent of being unable to eat. It is then that she prescribed an essay which was a personal reflection of a physically challenged individual as he narrated what he underwent while he was in high school. The individual was subjected to humiliation and he remembers a time he was accused of ruining the graduation ceremony by his friends since he could not climb the five stairs. He was also burdened with group work assignments for his friends argued that he had more free time since he did not play. Laurie Stephens has overridden all the prejudices and boasts to be one of the worlds greatest skiers in the world (Dorff, 12). The article was more than captivating to me based on how he delivers the words creating a feeling of empathy. This made me realize that I had to make a difference in the society no matter how small it would be. Working with special needs kids is not something everybody wants to experience. Having the strength, drive and patience is what one needs to be able to work with special needs people. All through high school, the special needs students had their own classrooms’ and were not viewed as part of the school. I realized that though I could not be able to offer authoritative assistance and order them to be integrated with other students, I could convince my classmates to associate with the physically challenged and RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE5 even visiting their classes. This creates a sense of belonging. However, not all the affected viewed this as a good decision since some viewed that they were being undermined and not being complete human beings. Through exposure to a wide variety of readings focusing on the physically challenged, I am equipped with the knowledge that while others will recognize the efforts, some will just dismiss it on the grounds that one has malicious intentions behind the support. I have enrolled in a part time course which is the sociology of disability. This has enabled me to have a better perception of people with disabilities. This has broadened my mind in the sense that I am able to extend and transform what I learn in books to real life experiences. I have developed an affection towards people who have physical challenges. No one decides how to be born and also a normal person can become physically challenged due to an accident. An example can be derived from the large number of people who were rendered physically challenged as a result of post effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Statistics has it that over 70,000 people died as a result of thermoradiation. However, the disturbing news is that people continue to suffer up to date as a result of the chemical reactions. Many people in these countries are born with malformations (Lindee, 84). The best I can do for such people is to sensitize the community to accept them the way they are and make them feel as fellow human beings. My life has been a journey from ignorance to a full combatant of the physically challenged rights. RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE6 I have joined numerous welfare organizations that seek to recognize the less privileged in the society. I am at the forefront in the battle of empowering the disabled in the society. This has transformed me from someone who just understands disability to someone who has experienced disability.