Corporal of Marines Essay Example for Free

Corporal of Marines Essay Corporal of Marines BY Jkid43 What It Means To Be a Corporal of Marines A Corporal of United States Marine Corps had duty and responsibility that they carry out and sever on a day to day base. A Corporal is the lowest as a Noncommissioned Officer in the Marines Corps. A Corporal helps establish good order and discipline for their Marines. Corporals are held accounted for their and their Marines action. As Corporal of Marines they lead their Marines with firmness, fairness, and dignity. Corporals should have confidence, communicate, and good decision making. Corporal makes timely decision not only in combat, but in garrison oo. A Corporal is responsible for their self, along for their Marines. As Corporals their actions and decisions reflects the mission and welfare of their Marines. As NCO, Corporals must accept the responsible of their leadership roles. Corporals as leaders must understand his roles and Marines. For Corporal they must know their Marines comparability, weakness, and effeteness. Corporal is also responsible for their Marines actions. As NCO, Corporals hold accountable for the action their Marines do good or bad. Corporals serve as mentors for theirs Marines and should know their Marines. Which allow Corporal to make decisions base on their Marines abilities. Corporals also are responsible for the well-being and welfare of their Marines. Corporals should insure that their Marine is taken care on and off duty. To ensure if a Marine have an issue that they take the necessary action to ensure marine problem is resolve. Corporals needs to ensure that their Marines have necessary things need for accomplish the mission that their tasks with. Corporals are also responsible for the development and mentors for their Marines. Corporals should ensure that their Marines are challenged and motivated to the best of ability. A Corporal duty as a NCO is to enforce the rules and regulations on a daily base in the Uniform Code of Military Justice UCMJ. Corporals must understand, follows, and enforce the IJCMJ for their Marines. Corporal have a wide range of Jobs among the very wide range of thing Marines do, but their essential duty is to supervise their work and maintain discipline for their Marines. Corporal must ensure that they understand any tasks giving to them. Corporal should also ensure that they have the necessary plan and executing to accomplish the mission. Corporal should get feedback from their senior leader for guides and development to ensure they can leads the Marines better. Corporals duty is to ensure that their Marine is properly trained for any type of mission given to them. When training the Marines, Corporals should ensure that the Marines have their proper equipment, food, water and mind- set when training. Corporals must understand the safety and well-being of their Marine. Ensure that their Marine is healthy mentality, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Corporal duty is also establish good communicates with their Marines. Corporals need to ensure that their marine understand and can accomplish any tasks give to them and supervise to the standard set by the Corporals. The Corporal superiors. This includes the health of each Marine, supply requirements and any other need to ensure the Marines are prepared for any situation. Overall Corporals have a lot of responsible and duties that they must carry out. That core values honor, courage and commitment is emplaced in their Marine, and along themselves. Corporals are to set the example for their Marines emulate. Corporals are to hold themselves to a high stand also.

BoD Lipid Peroxidation Report

BoD Lipid Peroxidation Report A Study of lipid peroxidation The degradative process of lipid peroxidation in the liver and the potential of antioxidants to prevent cell damage Lipid peroxidation of rat homogenate using the Fenton reaction to generate free radicals (-OH and -O2) to initiate the self-propagating peroxidation of cell membrane fatty acids. Two separate antioxidants were used (aTocopherol and Quercetin) to study the potential of antioxidants in the prevention of cell damaged. Data of two separate groups (A+B) was provided along with data enabling the construction of a calibration curve to measure local MDA concentrations as an indication of peroxidation damage. The Fenton reaction produced the highest concentration of MDA in both data sets which is expected, allowing for a comparison of free radical damage in the presence of antioxidants. In the presence of aTocopherol, there was an MDA (nM/ml) concentration reduction from 45nM/ml to 24nM/ml evidencing a peroxidation inhibition via the binding of free radicals to the antioxidant though some damage was still caused as MDA concentration was higher than the control (7nM/ml). Quercetin showed a com plete reduction in local MDA concentration from 68nM/ml to 7nM/ml, which is equal to that of the control; evidencing a complete lipid peroxidation via the binding of all free radicals produced and thus prevents cell damage. Lipid peroxidation is the multistep process of oxidative degeneration of lipids. The process involved polyunsaturated fatty acids and the free radicals -OH (hydroxide) and -O2 (superoxide), which are unstable forms of oxygen to the incomplete valence ring on their outer shell resulting in an unpaired electron (free electrons). Due to the naturally unstable state of a single unpaired electron, free electrons are highly reactive (free radicals) requiring an electron to become stable; making the unpaired hydrogen atoms on the fatty acid tails suitable for binding (Mylonas C, 1999). The three step process (initiation, propagation and termination) of lipid degenerative produces highly reactive electrophilic aldehydes, which react with CH2 group forming CH (carbon centred) radicals. CH radical then reacts with O2 radicals producing peroxyl radicals (Yngo J. Garciaa, 2005). This propagation reaction then reacts with adjacent CH2 groups resulting in the formation of lipid hydroperoxide. Lipids are essential components of cell membranes (i.e. phospholipids and glycolipids) and can be used in the identification of damage as a result of the pathogenesis of disease via reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration. ROS-dependent tissue damage can be identified by increased local MDA (malonedialdehyde) and 4-HNE (4-hydroxynonenal) (Kwiecien S, 2014). MDA is the product of lipid peroxides metabolisation, and can be indicative of oxidative stress related disease i.e. atherosclerosis, and induced gastric injury (due to gastric mucosa damage). Due to free radicals are reactive its uncommon that they a found in that state as they tend to bond and react very quickly in order to fill their valence shell and become stable. The Fenton Reaction (Fe2+ and H2O2) issued to generate free radicals (particularly -OH) and initiates lipid peroxidation within the liver. During the breakdown of lipids, malonedialdehyde (the final product of lipid breakdown) reacts with thiobarbituric acid resulting in a testable pink adduct. The Fenton reaction is as follows: Fe+2 + H2O2 > OH (hydroxyl ion) (Fenton Reaction) OH + lipid > malonedialdehyde Malonedialdehyde + thiobarbituric acid > thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (pink) Set up a series of test tubes a labelled and the volumes laid out in Table 1 were pipetted into the corresponding tubes. Remember to add the rat homogenate last due to this starting the reaction. The tubes were then incubated for 30 minutes at 37 degrees Celsius. At this point, the standard curve of MDA was set up as seen in Table 2 and tested at a wavelength of 532nm. After which thiobarbituric acid was added to the original test tube set and incubated for a further 15 minutes in after the adduct fluid was removed and tested at 532nm. Test Tube Test Buffer Tris HCL (00.2M) pH 7.2 FeCl2 H2O2 Catalase Quercetin OR aTocopherol Homogenate Total/ml 1 Control 1.6ml 0.9ml 2.5 2 Fe2+ 1.1ml 0.5ml 0.9ml 2.5 3 Fe2+/H2o2 0.6ml 0.5ml 0.5ml 0.9ml 2.5 4 Catalase/Fe2+/H2o2 0.5ml 0.5ml 0.5ml 0.1ml 0.9ml 2.5 5 aTocopherol or Quercetin /Fe2+/H2o2 0.5ml 0.5ml 0.5ml 0.1 0.9ml 2.5 Table 1: test tube volumes for each of the five test tubes in the lipid peroxidation assay, empty spaces indicated that the solution isnt added to that tube. Each was incubated for 30 minutes together under the same conditions. Test Tube Final MDA concentration (mM) Dilutions Volume of MDA stock (ml) Buffer (ml) Total Volume (ml) 1 0.1 Dilute 1mM MDA 1:10 0.3 2.7 3 2 0.05 Dilute 0.1mM MDA 1:2 (tube 1 extract) 1.0 1.0 3 3 0.01 Dilute 0.05 mM MDA 1:5 (tube 2 extract) 0.4 1.6 3 Table 2: The dilutions volumes of MDA and the final concentration required, these volumes were used to construct a calibration curve for comparison of the test samples in table 1. NOTE: all data using in the results was provided, this was due to an issue in the lab were where independent data was unintentionally taken by another individual and thus leaving no results for comparison against overall class data. MDA Concentration (nMoles/ml) Optical Density (OD) at 532nM 0 0 12.5 0.07 25 0.145 50 0.26 100 0.55 Table 3: MDA concentration (nMoles/ml), these values were used to construct the calibration curve Figure 1. MDA concentrations were provided due to an issue with both groups overall dilution series. The data from figure 1 was plotted using table 3. The R2 value (0.9986) indicates a strong linear value between the MDA concentrations (nM/ml) and the optical density. Figure 1: A calibration curve using the data from Table 3. The data set shows a strong linear relationship between optical density and known MDA concentration indicating good lab practice. Tube Mean -/+ Stdev SEM 1 Control 0.068 0.077 0.063 0.006 0.073 0.045 0.074 0.058 -/+ 0.025 0.010 2 Fe2+ 0.082 0.081 0.057 0.03 0.003 0.050 0.075 0.054 -/+ 0.029 0.011 3 Fe2+/H2o2 0.174 0.247 0.093 0.577 0.058 0.319 0.251 0.246 -/+ 0.173 0.065 4 Catalase/Fe2+/H2o2 0.355 0.169 0.246 0.063 0.056 0.143 0.134 0.167 -/+ 0.105 0.040 5 aTocopherol/Fe2+/H2o2 0.074 0.173 0.074 0.127 0.259 0.092 0.110 0.130 -/+ 0.666 0.025 Table 4: class data group A using aTocopherol, the values were done in repeat to gain a mean value and allows for Stdev calculation and thus SEM calculation, allowing for later comparison. The data set in Table 4 was provided and used the antioxidant aTocopherol. Seven repeats of each test were conducted to allow for a mean to be gained and thus a Stdev and then a standard error mean. The error mean allows for comparisons between different data sets as it indicates how accurate the experiment was rather than how varied (Stdev). The data was plotted in figure 2 and 3 with the variation of containing either the Stdev (figure 2) or the SEM (figure 3). Figure 2 allows for variation comparison while figure 3 allows for accuracy comparison between the two data sets (group A and Group B). Figure 2: the mean OD values of aTocopherol, the error bars show the variation within the data set. Test tube 2 was the most optically dense of the data set while test tube 2 was the least, though the error bar would suggest some variation in this value considering test tube 1 (control) was more optically dense. Figure 2 shows the optical density of aTocopherol. Test tube 1 contained only buffer and showed little variation between repeats resulting in a small Stdev, while test tube 4 has a large Stdev value and thus would need repeating in order to gain an accurate representation of the data. Test tube 3 was the most optically dense with a value 0.246 (at 532nm), while the OD went down between test tubes 4-5 (0.167 and 0.130). This is visually shown in in figure 3, where the data was plotted in a bar graph and SEM was used to show the accuracy of the experiment. The deviation of the error bars shows high accuracy in some results i.e. test tube 1-2-3. However, the deviation in test tubes 4-5 was high compared to other samples. Figure 3: the graph shows the class data of group A. The mean OD values of aTocopherol were plotted including the SEM to show how accurate the experiment was between data sets. Test tube 3 showed to be the most optically dense of the set while test tube 2 showed to be the least.   Ã‚   Tube Mean -/+ Stdev MDA concentration (nM/ml) 1 Control 0.058 -/+ 0.025 7 2 Fe2+ 0.054 -/+ 0.029 7 3 Fe2+/H2o2 0.246 -/+ 0.173 45 4 Catalase/Fe2+/H2o2 0.167 -/+ 0.105 28 5 aTocopherol/Fe2+/H2o2 0.130 -/+ 0.666 24 Table 5: a table showing the MDA concentrations of Group A class data set of each test tube using the calibration curve in Figure 1. Table 5 shows the MDA concentration of group A using aTocopherol, the control had the sample concentration of MDA as the Fenton reagent (7nm/ml); while test tube three which contained the Fenton reagent and H2O2 resulted in the highest MDA concentration of (45nM/ml). Adding the antioxidant resulted in a reduced MDA concentration of 24nM/ml. The visualisation of Table 5 data is seen in Figure 4 where MDA concentration is plotted against each test tube value (gained from the calibration curve) Figure 4: The graph shows the MDA concentration (nM/ml) of the groups A class data set, as only one set of samples was done no comparison can be made between the same antioxidant via Stdev. Test tube 3 showed to contain the highest concentration of MDA (45nM) while test tube 2 also showed to contain the lowest concentration of MDA (7nM). Tube Mean -/+ Stdev SEM 1 Control 0.041 0.06 0.08 0.057 0.057 0.02 0.297 0.087 -/+ 0.094 0.036 2 Fe2+ 0.037 0.039 0.06 0.06 0.053 0.074 0.047 0.053 -/+ 0.013 0.005 3 Fe2+/H2o2 0.28 0.704 0.242 0.365 0.247 0.385 0.528 0.393 -/+ 0.170 0.064 4 Catalase/Fe2+/H2o2 0.14 0.497 0.087 0.305 0.351 0.099 0.357 0.263 -/+ 0.156 0.059 5 Quercetin/Fe2+/H2o2 0.046 0.035 0.035 0.073 0.073 0.031 0.102 0.056 -/+ 0.027 0.010 Table 6: The table shows the class data set of group B using Quercetin as an antioxidant, multiple repeats were undertaken to allow for an average to be gained and Stdev and SEM to be calculated. The control only contained buffer solution. Figure 5: The graph shows the mean OD of the group B class data set, using quercetin as an antioxidant. Stdev values were used as error bars to visualise the variation between the dataset. Test tube 3 showed to be the most optically dense while test tube 2 showed to be the least though showed high Stdev and thus a lot of variation between the individual repeats. Figure 6: The graph shows the mean OD of the group B class data set, using quercetin as an antioxidant. SEM values were used as error bars to visualise the variation between the dataset. Test tube 3 showed to be the most optically dense while test tube 2 showed to be the least though showed high SEM and thus low accuracy between the individual repeats. Tube Mean -/+ Stdev MDA concentration (nM/ml) 1 Control 0.087 -/+ 0.094 15 2 Fe2+ 0.053 -/+ 0.013 7 3 Fe2+/H2o2 0.393 -/+ 0.170 68 4 Catalase/Fe2+/H2o2 0.263 -/+ 0.156 46 5 Quercetin/Fe2+/H2o2 0.056 -/+ 0.027 7 Table 7: a table showing the MDA concentrations (nM/ml) of Group b class data set of each test tube using the calibration curve in Figure 1. Table 7 shows the MDA concentration of group B using quercetin, the control had the sample concentration of MDA as the Fenton reagent (15nm/ml); while test tube three which contained the Fenton reagent and H2O2 resulted in the highest MDA concentration of (68nM/ml). Adding the antioxidant resulted in a reduced MDA concentration of 7nM/ml. The visualisation of Table 7 data is seen in Figure 7 where MDA concentration is plotted against each test tube value (gained from the calibration curve) Figure 7: The graph shows the MDA concentration (nM/ml) of the groups B class data set, as only one set of samples was done no comparison can be made between the same antioxidant via Stdev. Test tube 3 showed to contain the highest concentration of MDA (68nM) while test tube 2+5 also showed to contain the lowest concentration of MDA (7nM). NOTE: Due to individual data being lost only a comparison between the two data class data set can be made The enzymatic destruction (via catalase, superoxide dismutase) of membrane lipids is a crucial step in the pathogenesis of multiple disease states within adult (Mylonas C, 1999), the reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide) produced during lipid peroxidation readily attacks the polyunsaturated fatty acids within the phospholipid bilayer causing the commencement of a self-propagating chain reaction within the membrane due to CH radicals reacting with O2 radicals producing peroxyl radicals (AW, 1998). Due to the self-propagating nature of the reaction series small lipid peroxidation can cause serious tissue damage resulting in atherosclerosis, asthma or kidney disease. Antioxidant activity quenches molecular oxygen (Yamauchi, 2010), and helps in the stabilisation of lipid-peroxyl free radicals via inhibition. Quercetin, a plant-derived aglycone flavonoid (Zhang M, 2011) was compared to aTocopherol (vitamin E) in the lipid peroxidation of rat liver homogenate. The liver metabolises materials and thus results in the production of free radicals when the oxidative balance is lost it leads to oxidative stress and thus having antioxidants to restore homoeostasis is required. Antioxidants have a high affinity for free radicals (Muriel, 2015) due to their ability to donate electrons. The antioxidant a-Tocopherol reduces oxidation under strong oxidative conditions, reducing the number of free radicals to be free at the end of lipid peroxidation. The data in figure 2 shows the average OD including Stdev bars, the variation in tubes 4-5 indicates poor experimental practice resulting in poor repeats within the data set and thus increasing variation within the data set. It suggests high oxidative conditions in tube 3 producing high concentrations of MDA (nM/ml) as seen in figure 4. Figure 4 also evidences that in the presence of a-Tocopherol lipid peroxidation is reduced as a reduction of MDA (the final product of lipid peroxidation and would result in pink adduct) is being produced suggest an interruption in the self-probating cycle of the fatty acids within the liver homogenate. This reduction is evidence as MDA concentration goes from a peak of 45nM/ml to an MDA reduction 24nM/ml in the presence of a-Tocopherol. When comparing the two sets of Data SEM and SD is used in order to give a relative comparison between the two different groups due to them being undertaken under different conditions. Comparing figure 2 and figure 5 (which used SD) the variation in data set A was much more significant as the higher SD values indicating a large variation within the repeats evidencing low reliability. Figure 5s SD bars a smaller then figure 2 indicating less variation and an increased reliability of the obtain results. Though both sets of data (A-B) show that the highest OD was found to be within tube 3 indicating that Fe2+ and H2O2 produce the highest concentration of MDA (nM/ml). SEM of the two data sets show that the accuracy of the two groups are similar and both show a decline in MDA concentration in the presence of the antioxidant, evidencing a reduction in lipid peroxidation (MDA is the product of lipid peroxides metabolisation which results in the pink adduct) and free radical production in the presence of the chosen antioxidants. Using the calibration curve to gain the MDA concentration of each antioxidant shows that quercetin resulted in a total reduction of free radicals as the MDA concentration was reduced to that of the control (buffer solution). Comparing this to a-Tocopherol there was a reduction of nearly half free radical concentration. These results indicate that the levels of oxidative stress are reduced in the presence of antioxidants. Improvements that can be made include, not losing the individual samples which would have been used for comparison, increasing the amount of antioxidants used to show and overall reduction in free radicals in different antioxidants. Also individual human error resulted in data sets begin provided requiring more lab expertise would reduce this and thus reduce was and cost of the experiment. Antioxidants reduce the concentration of MDA (nM/ml) present in the test tube via the inhibition of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane lipids. Quercetin completely reduced local MDA concentration of the rat homogenate indication no lipid peroxidation was occurring due to the binding of antioxidant to the local free radicals (produced via the Fenton reaction) due to their naturally high affinity. There was also a noticeable reduction of MDA concentration in the presence of aTocopherol though this was only an estimated 50% reduction. It can be seen that antioxidants offer a level of cell lipid protection against free radicals and a reduction in oxidative stress, resulting in less overall tissue damage. References Antonio Ayala, M. F. (2014). Lipid Peroxidation: Production, Metabolism, and Signaling Mechanisms of Malondialdehyde and 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2014(2014), 31. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/360438 AW, G. (1998). Lipid hydroperoxide generation, turnover, and effector action in biological systems. The Journal of Lipid Research, 39(8), 1529-1542. Esterbauer H, G. J. (1992). The role of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in oxidative modification of LDL. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 13(4), 341-390. Justino GC, S. M. (2004). Plasma quercetin metabolites: structure-antioxidant activity relationships. Archives of Biochemistry and BIophysics `, 432(1), 109-121. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2004.09.007 Kwiecien S, J. K. (2014). Lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species and antioxidative factors in the pathogenesis of gastric mucosal lesions and mechanism of protection against oxidative stress induced gastric injury. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 65(5), 613-622. Muriel, S. C.-G. (2015). Antioxidants in liver health. The World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 6(3), 59-72. doi:10.4292/wjgpt.v6.i3.59 Mylonas C, K. D. (1999). Lipid peroxidation and tissue damage. In Vivo, 13(3), 295-309. Yamauchi, R. (2010). Functions of Antioxidant Vitamins against Lipid Peroxidation. (F. o. Science, Ed.) Foods Food Ingredients Japan, 215(1), 501-1193. Yngo J. Garciaa, A. J.-M. (2005). Lipid peroxidation measurement by thiobarbituric acid assay in rat cerebellar slices. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 144(1), 127-135. Zhang M, S. S. (2011). Antioxidant properties of quercetin. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 701, 283-289. doi:doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-7756-4_38.

Formaldehyde: History and Importance

Formaldehyde: History and Importance 1.0INTRODUCTION Formaldehyde is the first member of the aldehyde family (CH2O) and is the most important aldehyde in the environment.3 It is a naturally occurring chemical and a by-product of most organisms, including human, industrial and natural processes. Formaldehyde forms from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials; smoke from forest fires, in automobile exhaust, and in tobacco smoke. Atmospheric formaldehyde is formed by the action of sunlight and oxygen on methane and other hydrocarbons.2 Due to its simple nature, metabolic processes break formaldehyde into carbon dioxide. Formaldehyde does not accumulate in the environment or within plants, animals or people, as it quickly breaks down in the body and the atmosphere.1 It has a pungent odour and is an irritant and is an irritant to eyes, nose and throat, even at low concentrations. The recommended odour detection limit is between 0.05 1ppm.3 Formaldehyde is an important industrial chemical and is employed in the manufacture of many industrial products and consumer articles. More than 50 branches of industry now use formaldehyde, mainly in the form of aqueous solutions and formaldehyde-containing resins. In 1995, the demand for formaldehyde in the three major markets Northern America, Western Europe, Japan was 4.1ÃÆ'-106 t/a [Chem. Systems Inc.: Formaldehyde (April 1996).]. History of Formaldehyde Research in the early 1800s by Liebig discovered the chemical composition and nature of various aldehydes excluding formaldehyde due to the ease with which methanol was oxidized to formic acid and further synthesized to carbon dioxide and water.5 In 1859, Alexandra Mikhailovich Butlerov inadvertently discovered formaldehyde as a result of his proposed synthesis of methylene glycol [CH2 (OH)2]. During his laboratory experiment, Butlerov observed the distinctive odour of the formaldehyde solution while hydrolysing methylene acetate, which decomposed to form formaldehyde and water. 5 He also produced formaldehyde in other forms which led him to publish a detailed report of formaldehyde solution, its gas and polymer. He gave additional evidence of its structure and described the chemical reactions together with the creation of hexamethylenetetramine, [(CH2)6N4] on reacting with ammonia, (NH3). The main way by which formaldehyde is still being produced till date was discovered by A.W. Hofmann but with other catalysts. In 1868, Hofmann made a successive breakthrough by passing a mixture of methanol and air over a heated platinum spiral. This process is currently industrialised by use of a metal catalyst. Over two decades later, the isolation and purification of formaldehyde was achieved by Friedrich Von Stradonitz (1892). 4 1882 marked two significant improvements in formaldehyde research. Kekule then described the preparation of pure formaldehyde and Tollens discovered a method of regulating the methanol vapour: air ratio, thereby affecting the yield of the reaction.6 The spiral platinum catalyst was replaced with more efficient copper gauze in 1886 by Leow. Commercial manufacture of formaldehyde was initiated by a German firm, Mercklin and Losekann in 1889 with the first use of silver catalyst patented by Hugo Blank, another German company in 1910. 6 Industrial development continued from 1900 to 1905, when plant sizes, flow rates, yields, and efficiency were increased. In 1905, Badische AnilinSoda-Fabrik (BASF) started to manufacture formaldehyde by a continuous process employing a crystalline silver catalyst. Formaldehyde output was 30 kg/d in the form of an aqueous 30 wt% solution. The methanol required for the production of formaldehyde was initially obtained from the timber industry by carbonizing wood. The development of the high-pressure synthesis of methanol by BASF in 1925 allowed the production of formaldehyde on a true industrial scale. 6 Importance of Formaldehyde For several decades, formaldehyde has been used consistently in a wide range of products, ranging from personal hygiene, to medicine, to building products and much more. Many different resins are created from formaldehyde, which are in turn used to create other materials having different properties. Formaldehyde derivatives are used as preservatives in personal hygiene products because they kill bacteria or they are used to make other products more effective in terms of foaming action such as soaps and detergents. Its versatile chemistry and unique properties have created applications for use of formaldehyde in all kinds of every day products such as plastics, carpeting, clothing, resins, glues, medicines, vaccines and the film used in x-rays. One of the first benefits you derive from formaldehyde chemistry is as a child, when you received your vaccinations for childhood diseases. These include diphtheria, polio and influenza, to name a few. Since it also acts as a preservative, formaldehyde plays a critical role in our medical schools, preserving cadavers used in teaching human anatomy. It has been used for tissue and organ preservation for more than a century and has greatly assisted the advance of biological science.1 Importance of Green Processes The concept of Green Chemistry helps reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. This helps in dealing with the ever growing increase to protect the environment and the concept of sustainability. A lot of emphasis is based on the research and development phase of each chemical or product, to curtail issues affecting human health and environmental pollution. For every chemical or given product, the following guidelines should govern the choice of route:7 * Choice of feed-stock (costs are relevant of course, but also total resources, energy, waste, etc. in the manufacture of the given feed-stock are important factors) * Choice of reaction path (minimise energy requirements by use of selective catalysts) * Choice of catalyst (efficiency, separation from product, recycling of catalyst) * Down-stream processing/unit operations (minimising the number of stages necessary to obtain the product in the state desired by the customer) * Minimising not only the amount pollutants, but also the volume of waste streams (effluent/ off-gases and solid waste) * Recycling of auxiliary, side-, and intermediate products into the process. This report focuses on physical and chemical properties of formaldehyde (CH2O), its production processes and evolution through time as it tries to conform to some of the principles of green chemistry. 2.0PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS FORMS OF FORMALDEHYDE Formaldehyde is more complicated than many simple carbon compounds because it adopts different forms. Formaldehyde is a gas at room temperature, but the gas readily converts to a variety of derivatives. These derivatives generally behave similarly to gaseous formaldehyde and are used in industry.4 Physical Properties I. Monomeric formaldehyde: This form of formaldehyde [50-00-0], CH2O is a colorless gas that has a foul, overpowering odour and is an irritant to eyes, nose, throat and skin. Monomeric formaldehyde liquefies at -19 °C, and solidifies at -80 °C to give a white paste. The liquid and gas phases polymerise readily at low and normal temperatures up to 80 °C. Pure formaldehyde gas, on the other hand, does not polymerise between 80 100 °C and behaves as an ideal gas. Though it is not commercially available in this form, it can be prepared in the laboratory by the Spencer and Wilde method.6, 3 The molecular formula of gaseous formaldehyde in ambient air is shown below. II. Trioxane: 1, 3, 5- Trioxane is a stable cyclic trimer of formaldehyde, C3H6O3. It appears as a white solid with a chloroform-like odour but does not cause any form of irritation to living things. The pure form of trioxane melts at 61 62 °C boils at 11 °5C and has a flash point of 45 °C. Trioxane is used as a feedstock for some plastics, solid fuel tablet formulas and as a stable source of formaldehyde in laboratories.8, 3 III. Paraformaldehyde: this is a colourless, granular solid with a pungent and irritating smell. It is prepared by condensation of methylene glycol (HOCH2 OH), and its composition is best expressed by the formula HO- (HCHO) Q-H. Paraformaldehyde melts over a wide temperature range (120-170C), which depends on the degree of polymerization. It has similar uses to formaldehyde; it is commonly used as a source of formaldehyde for disinfecting large areas.3 IV. Formalin: The primary market for formaldehyde is in aqueous form, Formalin. It is a clear solution with the characteristic odour of formaldehyde. Methanol is normally present, 6-15%, to suppress polymerisation. In aqueous phase, the dominant form of formaldehyde is methylene glycol and polyoxymethlene glycol for concentrated solutions.3 Chemical Reactions of Formaldehyde I. Decomposition: In thermal decomposition, formaldehyde is relatively stable. At 150C, formaldehyde undergoes heterogeneous decomposition to form methanol and carbon dioxide. Above 350C, the reaction decomposes to form carbon dioxide hydrogen. Catalysts such as platinum, copper, chromium and aluminum are involved in this decomposition reaction to form methanol, methyl formate, formic acid, carbon dioxide and methane.6 2HCHO à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CH3OH+CO HCHO à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CO+ H2 II. Polymerisation: At room temperatures and very low pressures, formaldehyde monomer vapours tend to polymerise while at higher temperatures, monomeric HCHO can be maintained readily for several hours without polymerisation at an equilibrium vapour pressure. In the aqueous phase, formaldehyde is oxidized readily by even mild oxidizing agents, such as Ag(NH3)2+, and this property has been exploited in the development of several wet-chemical analytical methods for formaldehyde.3 III. Reduction and Oxidation Reactions: Formaldehyde is readily reduced to methanol with hydrogen over a nickel catalyst and is oxidized by nitric acid, potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate or oxygen to form formic acid or carbon dioxide, and water.6, 3 A Cannizzaro reaction occurs when formaldehyde reacts with a strong alkali or heated acid to form methanol and formic acid. HCHOaq+ NaOH à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢HCO2Na+ H2 H2+ HCHOaq à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CH3OH In the presence of aluminum or magnesium methylate, paraformaldehydes react to form methyl formate. This is known as the Tischenko Reaction. 2HCHO polymerà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢HCO2CH3 IV. Addition Reactions: V. Condensation Reactions: Formaldehyde is a base product in many synthetic resin product.9 Formaldehyde condenses with urea, melamine, urethanes, cyanamide, aromatic sulfonamides and amines, and phenols to give a wide range of resins; Amino, Phenolic and Synthetic Resins.6 3.0METHODS OF PRODUCING FORMALDEHYDE Over the years, the starting feedstock for the commercial production of formaldehyde is Methanol. This feedstock has been produced by reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen, both usually from natural gas or petroleum fractions, under high pressures in the presence of a catalyst.3 Various patents have been published for the production of formaldehyde but most with no commercial importance. Of all these, the procedure to be discussed is the reduction of carbon monoxide. 3.1Reduction of Carbon Oxides This process has been put through a lot of research due to its low cost of raw materials and potential simplicity. The end-product of this reaction is usually methanol with formaldehyde as an intermediate in the reaction. This process is a two-step reaction; part of the reaction is a simple hydrogenation process and the other, by the Cannizzaro reaction of formaldehyde with itself. The reaction with copper-alumina catalyst forms formaldehyde at temperatures of 282 487 °C and pressures of 117 410 atmospheres.10 CO+ H2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬ CH2O This reduction reaction is highly unfavorable as a means of formaldehyde synthesis due to the following reasons. * Unreasonable high pressures required to obtain high yields * To obtain equilibrium at a reasonable rate and avoid hydrogenation, an extremely active and selective catalyst would be required. 3.2Methanol and Formaldehyde Formaldehyde is industrially manufactured with methanol through three main processes.6 1. Partial oxidation and dehydrogenation with air in the presence of silver crystals, steam, and excess methanol at 680 720 °C (BASF process, 97 98 % methanol conversion). 2. Partial oxidation and dehydrogenation with air in the presence of crystalline silver or silver gauze, steam, and excess methanol at 600 650 °C (77 87 % primary conversion of methanol). The conversion is completed by distilling the product and recycling the unreacted methanol 3. Oxidation only with excess air in the presence of a modified iron molybdenum vanadium oxide catalyst at 250 400 °C (98 99% methanol conversion). Process 3, also known as the FORMOX process, a highly exothermic process, occurs at temperatures of about 350 °C. Though this process uses lower temperatures and a cheaper catalyst, the dehydrogenation process is still prevalent in the industry because of its lower operating costs.2, 3 Production of formaldehyde via conversion of propane, ethylene, propylene, butylene, ethers and butane are not economic therefore have little or no industrial relevance. In addition, the partial hydrogenation of CO and methane oxidation results in lower yields as compared to the former processes.6 3.3Development of the Methanol Process The initial method for the development of formaldehyde was originated from by Hofmann, which is the passing of a mixture of air and methanol over a heated platinum spiral and dissolution of this product to form aqueous formaldehyde, formalin.10 This process was replaced due to difficulties with explosions in completing the product recovery. Subsequent development involved the replacement of the platinum catalyst with platinised asbestos in a heated tube by Volhard. Further research by Tollens introduced the direct relationship between the methanol-air vapour ratio and the formaldehyde yield; which is still a main principle in todays industries. 10 Leow refined the two later processes by replacing the platinum catalyst with copper gauze. This initiated the first continuous process for formaldehyde production. The first stage of this process yielded about 15 20% formaldehyde, with an additional 30% conversion due to further heating of the reaction gases. 10 Though not aware at the time of the concept of green chemistry, research was carried out covering the preparation of catalysts, reaction times and temperatures, and product absorption during the early years of commercial development of formaldehyde. This led to technological development for the use of a silver catalyst by O. Blank in 1910. Thorough investigation with the use of this catalyst proved that higher yields were obtainable as to that of the copper catalyst. 10 Large scale manufacturing welcomed improvements in the method for vapourising alcohol, the scrubbing systems and in the control of the heat of reaction. The copper gauze was observed to disintegrate or fuse together with high air-methanol ratios. To tackle this issue, low ratios were introduced to help keep the catalyst active but this resulted in excess methanol distilled from the formaldehyde. 10 The progress made throughout the years has been achieved by the following: * Efficient catalysts * Improved methods of control * Implicit engineering economies 3.3.1Silver Catalyst Process This route is the classic method for the industrial production of formaldehyde. The two main reactions governed by this process are dehydrogenation and partial oxidation. The dehydrogenation of methanol is a highly endothermic, 650 °C, and heat of reaction is usually obtained from the burning of the hydrogen enclosed in the flue gas. These processes are usually carried out by reacting methanol and air over a heated stationary catalyst and scrubbing the off gases with water to obtain aqueous formaldehyde. 6 Addition of inert substances, water or nitrogen, aids conversion by using higher methanol concentrations relative to the oxygen supplied without reaching the explosive phase. A few key reactions take place during methanol conversion to formaldehyde. 3 CH3OH à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾CH2O+ H2 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= +84kJ/mol H2 +12O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ H2O à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= -243kJ/mol CH3OH+12O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ CH2O+ H2O à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= -159kJ/mol Methyl formate, methane and formic acid are important by products of the above reactions. Below are a few undesirable reactions that must be avoided by proper control of temperature and other factors to obtain high yields. CH2O à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ CO+ H2 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= +12.5kJ/mol CH3OH +32O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ CO2+ 2H2O à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= -674kJ/mol CH2O +O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ CO2+ H2O à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H= -519kJ/mol The usual process for the commercial production of formaldehyde is through the incomplete oxidation of the methanol. So far, this has been proven to be the most optimal process because the distilled methanol is recovered and recycled in the process. This results in higher yield, higher conversion and a high atom economy. 6, 10 The BASF Process This process involves the complete conversion of methanol to formaldehyde (Reaction 1). This process indirectly applied some of the principles of green chemistry. 6, 10 1. Few reaction steps 2. Recycling of materials within the production system to optimise product recovery resulting in a very high atom economy. 3. Environmental awareness with combusted off-gases having no adverse effect on the environment 4. The use of water as a solvent 5. Incorporation of all materials in the process, maximizing final product with extremely low weight percent of by-products formed 6. Optimum surface reaction with arrangement of catalyst 7. Process conditions adjusted to ensure that in retrieving of the final product, the mixture is easily stripped without scare of an explosion. Incomplete Conversion and Distillative Recovery of Methanol In this process, methanol is partially oxidised and distilled to recover formaldehyde. This is the most widely used method of production. It should be noted that an economically feasible process is not necessarily a green process. Partial oxidation of methanol has similar characteristics but differ with the following with respect to green chemistry. 6 1. Two-stage reaction 2. Lower reaction temperatures adopted in the first stage to help suppress the formation of unwanted by-products. 3. Heat of reaction generated from cooling the off gases, recycled in the system reducing energy requirements. 4. Larger amount of methanol is recovered in this process with little presence of the b-products 5. Similar off-gases as produced in the BASF process 6. It also has an alternative route that recycles the tail gas from the top of the absorber. This reduces the amount of feedstock, methanol, required in the process. This produces a more concentrated solution and saves up cost for the distillation process and the yield is relatively high (91-92%). Factors affecting the yield in methanol oxidation processes * The higher the temperature in a dehydrogenation reaction, the higher methanol is converted in the process system. 10,6 * Process air controls the desired reaction temperature and the extent to which the endothermic reactions occur. 10,6 * Besides catalyst temperature, the inert materials added as stated earlier also affect the yield. 10,6 Some of the advantages of the silver catalyst process are listed below:11 * Most cost effective means of manufacturing formaldehyde * Increased formaldehyde yield, methanol conversion and catalyst life * Reduced silver requirements * Greater resistance to plant upsets and poisoning * Improved formaldehyde product quality * Technology demonstrated worldwide 3.2.2FORMOX Process The FORMOX process is the direct oxidation of methanol with metal oxide catalysts (iron, molybdenum or vanadium oxide) to produce formaldehyde. Normally, the catalyst used for this process is a mixture of molybdenum and iron in a ratio of 1.5:2.0. Due to the development of this catalyst, a few advantages have been attributed to this process over the silver catalyst processes. This will be discussed in the later part of this report. The FORMOX process can be characterised as follows: 1. Two stage oxidation reaction in gaseous state. This prevents waste that would have been generated by use of a solvent.6 2. Reaction carried out under atmospheric pressure and at lower temperatures (270 400 °C), results in an almost complete reaction. 6 3. Careful adjustments of process conditions help prevent the formation of unwanted by-products. These side reactions occur at temperatures exceeding 470 °C. 6 4. The conversion rate for this process is relatively high with a high optimization process. 5. One short-coming of this process is with the tail gas that has lots of impurities and flammable components. The alternative route used instead of combustion is in the addition of fuel to the system which burns the tail gas as a supplement for energy in other start-up processes. 6 In summary, the green advantages of the three commercial processes can be summarised as follows: 7 1. Few unit operations 2. Waste is minimised by a highly selective reaction 3. Use of catalysts to optimise process reactions 4. Water used as the only solvent 5. Reaction carried out at atmospheric pressure 6. Gas-phase reaction for the FORMOX process means that catalyst does not have to be recovered from solution 7. Recovery of energy from exothermic reactions to help reduce environmental and economic impacts. 8. High conversion rates achieved through efficient use of equipment, energy and material 9. Use of air as oxidant instead of chemical oxidising agents reducing the toxicity and by-products formed. 3.3Development of New Processes Various research works have been carried out for developing new formaldehyde synthesis. Unfortunately, there has been no existence of commercial units of the techniques discussed below: 1. Partial oxidation of methane to produce formaldehyde which has an advantage of reducing raw material costs of producing the methanol from methane. The inducement for such a process is reduction of raw material costs by avoiding the capital and expense of producing the methanol from methane. 12 2. Production of anhydrous or highly concentrated formaldehyde solutions via dehydrogenation of methanol. In some instances, energy costs are reduced as well as effluent generation, and losses, providing a more favorable condition. 12 3. Formaldehyde production from methylal (produced from methanol and formaldehyde) which is in two phases. Firstly, methylal oxidation which yields up to 70% of the concentrated formaldehyde product as compared to methanol oxidation with 55%. After this, methylal is produced by reacting formaldehyde obtained in aqueous recycle streams from other units with methanol as opposed to recovery by other more costly means, e.g. distillation and evaporation. Development of this process is complete. 12 Further research is still being carried out in the use of bacteria to produce formaldehyde. This will not be discussed in this report. 4.0ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH FORMALDEHYDE REFERENCES 1. Formaldehyde Council, I. (2007, November). Formaldehyde: Facts and Background Information. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from http://www.formaldehyde.org/_base/pdf/fact_sheets/11_01_07-FormadehydeFactsandBackgroundInformation.pdf 2. Daily, C. (2004, April 01). The Chemistry Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Formaldehyde 3. Council, N. R. (1981). Formaldehyde and other Aldehydes. Washington, D.C, USA. 4. Wikimedia. (2010, May 02). Formaldehyde. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde 5. Harrison, K. (1998, July). Formaldehyde. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from 3d Chem: http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=101 6. Wiley, I. (2006). Formaldehyde. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from Ullmans Encyclopedia of IndustrialChemistry: http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com.resourceproxy.manchester.ac.uk/emrw/9783527306732/ueic/article/a11_619/current/pdf 7. Chuck, R. (n.d.). A Catalytic Green Process for the Production of Niacin. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from Lonza Group: http://www.lonza.com/group/en/company/news/publications_of_lonza.-ParSys-0002-ParSysdownloadlist-0026-DownloadFile.pdf/25_A%20Catalytic%20Green%20Process%20for%20the%20Production%20of%20Niacin.pdf 8. Wikimedia. (2010, April 15). Trioxane. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,3,5-Trioxane 9. Smith, S. (2010). What is formaldehyde resin? Retrieved May 07, 2010, from Wisegeek: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-formaldehyde-resin.htm 10. Walker, J. F. (1967). Formaldehyde. Wilmington, Delaware: Reinhold Publishing Corporation. 11. GFRT. (Updated 2010). Silver Catalysts. Retrieved May 07, 2010, from Global Formaldehyde and Resin Technologies: http://www.globalformaldehyde.com/silver.htm 12. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Formaldehyde, Vol12. John Wiley Sons.

Plagiarism Essay -- Education Cheating School Essays

Plagiarism For many, many years schools have been trying to stop students from plagiarizing materials. Detecting this plagiarism used to be easy because students only had access to books in the library, magazines, and encyclopedias. However, as the popularity of the Internet increased, so did the number of essays and papers being plagiarized. Students can easily go onto the internet and in no time at all find and essay on their topic of choice. For a certain fee they can buy the essay and have it delivered right to their doorstep, just in time to hand it into their teacher. Some essays you don’t even have to pay for. You can simply print them off of the computer. This rise in the internet information highway makes it harder for teachers to detect plagiarism, and easier for students to get a not well deserved A on their paper; if they don’t get caught. Bellow I will discuss what plagiarism is, ways teachers can prevent plagiarism, ways teachers can detect plagiarism and ho w students can avoid plagiarism. First of all, what exactly is plagiarism? The Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language says it is, â€Å"to steal or purloin the thoughts or words of another in literary composition.† [1] When we were in elementary school if we had to do research on a certain topic, we would just copy information that was found word for word. We would hand this in and get a great mark. However, times have changed. We’re in College and it is totally unacceptable to copy materials from other people and say that they are yours. It is extremely important that if we do get information from a book, magazine, internet, etc., that it is given credit for that author(s). These are not your thoughts or words so you shouldn’t be... ...e more than happy to help their students. If students are sure and they don’t want to ask their teachers they can find loads of books on proper citation, what plagiarism is and isn’t and how to paraphrase things. In conclusion, people today may not think that plagiarism is that big of a deal. Those people do not understand the consequences of their actions. They could get a failing mark in a class they have worked hard in, or even worse they could be expelled from the college or university. Why would anyone want to take the chances of being expelled? Nobody wants this, which is why it is so important to have knowledge about plagiarism. By discussing what plagiarism is, ways teachers can prevent plagiarism, ways teachers can detect plagiarism and how students can avoid plagiarism I hope people have a better understanding of what plagiarism is.

Comparing Metamorphoses in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Color Purple

The Characters' Metamorphoses in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Color Purple, and Catcher in the The main characters of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Color Purple, and The Catcher in the Rye begin their stories as lonely, confined, and dependent people battling with their own thoughts versus societal pressures. The three long to be self-reliant and free, but lack the means and the confidence to find themselves. Huck, Celie, and Holden ultimately venture on life-altering journeys to attain their individuality and to discover their worth as human beings. Huckleberry Finn has tremendous difficulty transitioning from an easily influenced person to an independent one. He begins as one of many faithful followers to Tom Sawyer, willing to trail behind him into any dangerous situations because Tom seems more self-confident than he ever allows himself to be. "Everybody was willing" (Twain 9) to Tom's declaration, "we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's gang" (Twain 9) where their business is "Nothing only [sic] robbery and murder" (Twain 10). Tom is so self-assured that Huck, lacking confidence in himself to make his own decisions without leadership or outside assistance, is restricted from locating his level of confidence while around his dictatorial best friend. Another dominant source of influence in Huck's life is his father, whose relationship with his son is comparable to that of a lord to a slave. Pap tries to cheat Huck out of his money, claiming "all the trouble and all the anxiety and all the expense of raising [Huck]" (Twain 26), so he can go into a drunken stupor and not be concerned about reality. To vent his anger for failed attempts, he punishes his own son through kidnapping, imprison... ... Through beautiful depictions of their characters' metamorphoses, the authors present the feeling that embracing struggle to define individuality and become independent is something everyone needs to do. The authors essentially disclose through their writing that without opinions, ideas, and liberations of their own, people have nothing else to look forward to in life. Huck, Celie, and Holden, who are each representatives of the diverse American culture, must each to look ahead to uncover their full potential as human beings rather than participate in social order. Works Cited Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, May 1991. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Bantam Books, March 1981. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, NY: Pocket Books/Washington Square Press, June 1983.

The Story Behind The Atomic Bomb :: essays research papers

The story behind the atomic bomb Atomic Bomb August 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended in a matter of seconds. The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Today many argue over whether or not the US should have taken such a drastic measure. Was it entirely necessary that we drop such a devastating weapon? Yes, it was. First, look at what was going on at the time the decision was made. The U.S had been fighting a massive war since 1941. Morale was most likely low, and resources were probably at the same level as morale. However, each side continued to fight, and both were determined to win. Obviously, the best thing that could have possibly have happened would have been to bring the war to a quick end, with a minimum of casualties. What would have happened had the A-bomb not been used? The most obvious thing is that the war would have continued. U.S forces; therefore, would have had to invade the home island of Japan. Imagine the number of casualties that could have occurred if this would have happened Also, our forces would not only have to fight off the Japanese military, but they would have to defend themselves against the civilians of Japan as well. It was also a fact that the Japanese government had been equipping the commoners with any kind of weapon they could get their hands on. It is true that this could mean a Japanese citizen could have anything from a gun to a spear, but many unsuspecting soldiers might have fallen victim to a surprise spear attack! The number of deaths that would have occurred would have been much greater, and an invasion would have taken a much longer period of time. The Japanese would have continued to fight the US with all of what they had; spears, guns, knives, whatever they could get their hands on, just as long as they continued to fight the enemy. As mentioned before, it is a fact that some civilians had been ready to fight our military with spears! What made it possible that the Japanese would resort to using spears? Why wouldn't they use guns or other weapons? Well, the truth was, the government just didn't have the resources to give out a gun to just any citizen. US naval blockades are one of the major reasons that Japan was so low on resources, and a main point opponents of the decision to drop the bomb constantly bring up. Japan obviously was very low on resources.

Prejudice in Mr. Sumarsono Written by Roxana Robinson Essay

Stereotype is a largely false belief, or set of belief, concerning the characteristics of the members of a racial or ethnic group (McLemore, 1983). Stereotype may be positive or negative in mind which is based on limited and minimal knowledge about a group of people. Incomplete information, mistaken perceptions, isolation and segregation have resulted many stereotypes. Viewing of a person with oddity based on the stereotype will limit what we expected and how we respond to them. Prejudice is an unfavorable attitude towards people because they are members of a particular racial or ethnic group. Discrimination is unfavorable action towards people because they are members of a particular racial or ethnic group. (McLemore, 1983). These both are negative manifestations of integrative power. A prejudiced person may not act on their attitude. Therefore, someone can be prejudice towards a certain group but not discriminate against them. Also, prejudice includes all three components of an attitude (affective, behavioral and affective), whereas discrimination just involves behavior and involves some actions. Prejudice and stereotyping parallels attitudes and opinions or beliefs (Stroebe & Insko, 1989) Prejudice also sustains stereotype, while stereotype is a generalization or interpretation toward a person or group of some physical, behavior, belief or other factors. For a 10-year-old girl, she must have got a first bad impression to a stranger, especially a foreigner. She spontaneously thought that someone newbie in another country is a kind of alien with different skin, face structure or another physical body. In that point, this attitude includes a racial stereotype which provokes a prejudice side. Roxana Robinson is a biographer and scholar of nineteenth and early twentieth century American art. She graduated from Buckingham Friends School, in Lahaska, and from The Shipley School, in Bryn Mawr. She attended Bennington College and studied with Bernard Malamud and Howard Nemerov. She received a B. A. degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan. Roxana Robinson is the author of the four novels Cost, (2008) Sweetwater, (2003) This Is My Daughter, (1998) and Summer Light (1988); the three short story collections A Perfect Stranger, (2005) Asking for Love, (1996) A Glimpse of Scarlet, (1991) and the biography Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life, (1989). Mr. Sumarsono is listed as one of the best American Short Stories at 1994. Statement of Problems: 1. Why do Susan and her sister give bad impression toward Mr. Sumarsono? 2. Why did Mrs. Riordan welcome Mr. Sumarsono warmly? 3. What is the cultural aspect of this short story? What is the connection with it? Discussion Mr. Sumarsono is a worker in UN which involved many Western people in it for a long time. Because of the environment, he tried to adapt the style like an American. According to the story, both daughters of Mrs. Riordan, Susan and Kate, with Mrs. Riordan herself fetched Mr. Sumarsono in a Trenton Station in New Jersey and they saw him for the first time with bad impression and underestimate toward Mr. Sumarsono. However, at that time, he was clothed as an American businessman. â€Å"Mr. Sumarsono was wearing an neat suit and leather shoes, like an American businessman, but he didn’t look like an American. The suit was brown, not gray, and it had a slight sheen. And Mr. Sumarsono was built in a different way from Americans: he was slight and graceful, with narrow shoulders and an absence of strut. † (Page 265 line 1) â€Å"Kate and I stood next to my mother as she waved and smiled. Kate and I did not wave and smile†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 265 line 11) In this case, it proved that both sisters didn’t like and give bad thought for Mr. Sumarsono because they didn’t know who actually Mr. Sumarsono was, since Mr. Sumarsono had an Asian figure with pale brown skin. Besides, there were few Indonesian that came to America, or else almost never. Mr. Sumarsono was the only Indonesian who arrived in New Jersey. â€Å"It was 1959, and Mr. Sumarsono was the only Indonesian who got off the train in Trenton, New Jersey. † (Page 264 line 25) Next on, the displeasure of the sisters continued until they were in way home. They were acting like they didn’t need a middle-aged Indonesian in where were they belong to. Moreover, they avoided the lunch time which their mother prepared for them and Mr. Sumarsono. And also, they showed an impolite attitude toward Mr. Sumarsono in the table. â€Å"We were going to watch the mallard nesting, and I hope we didn’t have to include a middle-aged Indonesian in leather shoes†(Page 267 line 1) â€Å"Dev-il,† Kate said, Speaking very loudly and slowly. She pointed at the eggs and then put two forked finger behind her head like horns, Mr. Sumarsono looked at her horns. (Page 269 lines 25) Another evidence occurred at the dinner time when Susan saw her mother wearing a pink dress. She thought her mother’s dress was overlooked just for dinner with a stranger who can not understand their language. â€Å"I was irritated to see that she had put it on as thought she were at a party. This was not a party: she had merely gotten hold of a captive guest, a complete stranger who understood nothing she said. † (Page 270, line 12) Although they kept underestimate him, they were quite surprised that Mr. Sumarsono wasn’t someone like usual Asian guy they were thinking about. He was different in presence. Not only the appearance of him but also his gesture was shown when they were already at home. Somehow, The stop! gesture was making the sisters wondering what makes that Indonesian was different. This gesture is shown by Mr. Sumarsono when he tried to prevent his suitcase as Susan offered to pick up upstairs. â€Å"What struck me was the grace of his gesture. His hand extended easily out cuff and expose a narrow brown wrist, as narrow as my own. When he put his hand up in the Stop! gesture, his hand curved backward from the wrist, and his fingers bent backward from the palm. Instead of the stern and flat-handed Stop! that an American hand would make, this was a polite, subtie, and yielding signal, quite beautiful and infinitely sophisticated, a gesture that suggested a thousand reasons for doing something, a thousand ways to go about it. †(Page 267 line 13) On the other hand, Mrs. Riordan was greeting him cheerfully. She showed an excessive behavior since Mr. Sumarsono decided to spend his weekend in New Jersey. Furthermore, he stayed in Riodan’s as well. Mrs. Riordan tried to catch attention from Mr. Sumarsono. Apart from being dressed in pink, she treated him as best as she can. â€Å"Oh, I’m glad we’re having rice! † she said suddenly, pleased. â€Å"That must make Mr. Sumarsono feel at home. † She looked at me. (Page 273 line 7) She also thought that Mr. Sumarsono was far from his family and being lonely, Mrs. Riordan conclude that he was missing them and she tried to give something that Mr. Sumarsono would feel like he came back to the warm atmosphere when a family was gathered supposed to be. It is shown when Mrs. Riordan asked Mr. Sumarsono to show his wife and children photograph. She saw a strange condition on Mr. Sumarsono with complicated and unfinished look when she asked and he even wanted to take a picture with them. â€Å"The poor man, he must miss his wife and children. Don’t u feel sorry for him, thousands of miles away from his family? Oh, thousands. He’s here for six months, all alone. They told me that at the UN. It’s all very uncertain. He doesn’t know when he gets leaves, how long after that he’ll be here. Think of how his poor wife feels. † (Page 272 line 24) As from the both sisters misjudged all about Mr. Sumarsono and what they have done, they thought that they would feel ashamed, instead of underestimating him. Their prejudice has made them blind to not know who actually Mr. Sumarsono was. Beside it was from their mother, they also felt embarrassed him because they can not be an appropriate hostess to him while Mr. Sumarsono showed his unruffled courtesy. Although Mr. Sumarsono couldn’t speak English well and only responded all Mrs. Riordan and her daughters with simple nodded and smile, at least he knew what attitude he supposed to do when he was visiting people’s house in other country. â€Å"I was embarrassed not only for my mother but also for poor Mr. Sumarsono. Whatever he had expected from a country weekend in America, It could not have been a cramped attic room, two sullen girls, voluble and incomprehensible hostess. I felt we had failed him, we had betrayed his unruffled courtesy, with our bewildering commands, our waving forks, our irresponsible talk about lizard. I wanted to save him. I wanted to liberate poor Mr. Sumarsono from this aerial grid of misunderstandings. † (Page 274 line 24) This story is pertaining aspect of prejudice side. Therefore, prejudice has both cognitive and affective components. Affective component is the positive or negative attitude or feeling while cognitive component contains stereotypes. Stereotypes are beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group. Stereotypes can be positive, negative, or neutral. Stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, or occupation are common in many societies. Stereotypes often results from, and leads to, prejudice and bigotry. The reasons appearing of stereotype is variable, It occurs When people encounter instances that disconfirm their stereotypes of a particular group, they tend to assume that those instances are atypical subtypes of the group. Second, People’s perceptions are influenced by their expectations. And last, People selectively recall instances that confirm their stereotypes and forget about disconfirming instances. As a branch from stereotype, prejudice is a destructive phenomenon, and it is pervasive because it serves many psychological, social, and economic functions. It allows people to bond with their own group by contrasting their own groups to outsider groups. Conclusion This short story which Roxana wrote showed about an experience of Indonesian immigrant who visited and spent the weekend at one of New Jersey’s families, Riordan’s house. Based on discussion above, it is described that the two daughters, Susan and Kate had first bad impression toward Mr. Sumarsono as a strange foreigner. This signs that their attitude showed the prejudice aspect of the racial differences. References Robinson, Roxana. Asking for Love: Mr. Sumarsono. New York: Random House. 1996. Print University of Colorado, USA. Prejudice and Discrimination. http://www. colorado. edu. 1998 (Access Date: Wednesday, May 02, 2012) Anonim. Roxana Robinson Biography. http://www. roxanarobinson. com. (Access date : Wednesday, May O2,2012) Sparknotes editor. Social Psychology. http://www. sparknotes. com. 2007(Access date: Thursday, May 03 2012).