The Flashback Scene Essay Example

The Flashback Scene Paper Is it Impossible for a Director of The Flashback Scene in The Restaurant, pages 73-93 of Death of a Salesman to Show Willy as a Tragic Hero? Discuss. In Your Answer You Must Discuss how the Scene Could be Played and Base Your Answer on Textual Analysis of Character, Plot and Stage Direction Commenting on The Context of The Play. The play Death of a Salesman was written in 1949 by Arthur Miller and is one of his most successful plays. At Millers time, America was deemed to be a land of opportunity and all Americans had the right to be successful. However his fathers prosperous living as a clothing manufacturer had been ruined by the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The play examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream, closely related with the theme of manifest destiny. There was much belief in the American Dream, and this would be achieved through hard work, courage and determination by every American. Death of a Salesman is based around the main protagonist, Willy Loman an elderly man. He is an insecure, self deluding travelling salesman. Mr Loman is past sixty years of age and dressed quietly, nonetheless he is a man with massive dreams, a mercurial nature and turbulent longings within him. He never comes to terms with reality for the reason that he is lost in an illusion and false hopes, for example Willy cannot see who he and his sons, Biff and Happy, are and he just believes that they are great men who have what it takes to beat the business world and be successful. However, he is mistaken. In reality, Willy and sons are not, and cannot ever be successful. We will write a custom essay sample on The Flashback Scene specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Flashback Scene specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Flashback Scene specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Mr Loman is unable to see through his own delusions of the American Dream, which he perceives as the ability to become great by obtaining enormous material wealth without any apparent effort, to wander into the jungle and walk out a few years later unspeakably rich. As a result to this, he is trapped in distortion of the American Dream promoted by a capitalist, materialistic modern society. In the play, although Willy does seem to show love and care towards his wife, Linda and two sons, he often becomes confused and angry unnecessarily. He shows trouble distinguishing his past and present, or his ideal life and reality. Due to this, many parts of the play are transcribed to the audience by the insertion of flashbacks, which show us some of the most significant moments in Willys confused life that have happened in his past. These flashbacks, each of which do somehow relate to the present, show an inability for Willy to see his reality. The flashback Willy experiences in the Restaurant scene, which I will be studying, is extremely significant in view of the fact that at this point, the illusions Biff has about Willy and his lies, come to an end. The use of this flashback depicts Willys affair with the Woman and Biff then comes to know about it. By using this scene, this essay will discuss whether Willy is that of a tragic hero or not. In Shakespearean tragedy, tragic heroes will be men of rank, and the calamities that befall them will be unusual and exceptionally disastrous in themselves (taken from http://global. cscc. edu/engl/264/TragedyLex. htm). In other words, Shakespearean tragic heroes should be of noble birth, have a fatal flaw, learn from their mistakes and lastly due to their flaw, this will lead to their downfall. However, the initial idea of the tragic hero had originated in Greek tragedy and it was outlined by Aristotle, who once said a tragic hero must be one of noble character and must fall from power and happiness (taken from http:// www. ccd. rightchoice. org/lit115/poetics. html). In Arthur Millers Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller argues that the common man could also be regarded to that as a very highly placed king and noble man. If this is the case and that the common man could be a tragic hero, I should be able to answer a simple question: Can Willy Loman be considered to be a tragic hero or not? To begin the first part of this essay, it is impossible to represent Willy as a tragic hero in the traditional sense. As I mentioned above, there are patterns into which Shakespearean or Aristotelian tragic heroes should fit into, and clearly Willy does not fit into these principles in one important way- he is not of noble birth or aristocracy. Willy is just a common man. According to the Collins English Dictionary, the word noble has three meanings: 1showing or having high moral qualities, 2impressive and magnificent, and 3member of the nobility (which again, according to the Collins English Dictionary, means either 1quality of being noble or 2a class of people holding titles and high social rank). Oedipus Rex, a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, and The Oresteia, a trilogy of tragedies written by Aeschylus, both contain protagonists whom are of aristocracy and nobility. This too follows in Shakespearean tragedies. In Romeo and Juliet both protagonists originate from high, aristocratic upper class families, as do the protagonists in Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard II and King Lear. As an audience, from the flashback Willy undergoes in the Restaurant, we learn that he is having an affair with The Woman in the Boston hotel room and therefore he is cheating on his wife, Linda. Come on inside, drummer boy. Its silly to be dressing in the middle of the night. (Act Two. Page 88. The Woman) Then once knocking is heard, Willy orders The Woman to stay in the bathroom as he thinks theres a law in Massachusetts about it (it being adultery) and he finds Biff standing at the door. Biff has come to tell his dad that he flunked math and does not have enough credits to graduate. Just as Willy promises his son that he will speak to Birnbaum, and Biff is about to leave the Hotel room, he discovers The Woman and knows instantly that Willy has been having an affair. Biff becomes increasingly more saddened knowing that Willy has given The Woman Mamas stockings! Wheres my stockings? You promised me stockings, Willy! (Act Two. Page 90. The Woman) It is at this point that Willys mercurial nature becomes evident. He threatens to abuse his son if he does not follow his orders to apologise, before Biff refers to his father as a fake, a phoney little fake! However it is not only just at this moment in the scene where Willy does not coincide to being that of a tragic hero by abusing his son. In reality, when Willy and his sons are in the Restaurant talking about Biffs meeting with Bill Oliver, Willy presumes that Biff spites him, so he then strikes him and carries on downgrading his son by calling him a rotten little louse!

Snowboarding in the United States

Snowboarding in the United States Snowboarding has seemingly become one of the most popular sports in the United States, especially after the launch of the Winter Dew Tour at Colorado’s Breckenridge Ski Resort five years ago. Since then, snowboarding sport has undergone a series of evolution. For instance, new snowboarding tricks have been developed to replace or improve the old ones.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Snowboarding in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, advanced sporting equipments have been designed to advance the sport to high levels. On the other hand, some prominent riders have emerged in the last five years, leading to a steep competition among competitors in the sport. However, a number of fatal outcomes have been recorded, owing to the adoption of dangerous snowboarding tricks. Therefore, an aesthetic analysis of snowboarding appears significant for a comprehensive evaluation of the sport. In ge neral, snowboarding is believed to have recorded a remarkable progress over the last five years. Stakeholders in the snowboarding sport reaffirm that, the sport has evolved extensively to reach the highest level of progression, ever since the sport was invented. A recent report indicates â€Å"eight years ago few, if any, adaptive snowboard lessons were offered; today, there are adaptive schools at most resorts and many offer snowboard lessons along with adaptive skiing techniques† (Disabled Sports par. 44). From a practical approach, the observed progression in snowboarding is attributable to the establishment of advanced training courses and adoption of new snowboarding tricks, which have offered riders with new opportunities to endure the strenuous episodes of the sport. Ordinarily, it is believed that, popularity of snowboarding has led to the development of adaptive equipments, which are ability-oriented to suit the needs of the riders. It is claimed â€Å"as snowboardi ng grows in popularity, options in equipment and teaching aids increase† (Disabled Sports par. 36).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In recent years, snowboarding seems to have attracted more riders than it was the case one decade ago. Consequently, new snowboarders are introducing new snowboarding tricks to achieve fun and victory in the game day-by-day. Some of the new snowboarding tricks which have been developed in the last five years include the double cork and triple cork tricks. These tricks have earned several snowboarders immense prominence, owing to their success in attempting the tricks in risky environments. For instance, the double cork snowboarding trick was first attempted by Shaun White at the 2010 Winter Olympics. This trick had not been practised before, but it gained popularity in the sport after the Olympics. Richards claims â€Å"It has been no time at all since we were wowed by Shaun White throwing down double corks in Whistler’s super-pipe at the 2010 Winter Olympics; it is crazy that such an insanely technical trick was to become out-dated† (par. 1). Shaun White had faced immense competition from Kevin Pearce. Therefore, the tragic elimination of Pearce gave White high chances of achieving victory in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Shortly, after the 2010 Winter Olympics, attempts for triple corks begun in the month of May when Nils Arvidsson attempted the trick successfully although he nearly missed the footage. Torstein Horgmo was the second to attempt triple cork tricks successful in June 2010. Horgmo achieved success in trying the new trick; hence he is known to be the world’s first rider to attempt the triple cork trick in the history of snowboarding. â€Å"It was not long after the Olympics in 2010 that triple corks were being attempted. There was a lot of excitement around an attempt by Nils Ar vidsson in May 2010, the near-miss footage† (Richards par. 4).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Snowboarding in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is believed that, double cork and triple cork tricks are the most challenging snowboarding tricks. Since their invention, only a few snowboarders have attempted them successfully without sustaining injuries. They require extensive skills in landing to prevent injuries to the riders. Therefore, those who have attempted the tricks successfully gained auspicious acknowledgement from the snowboard team; that is probably why Dave Richards, the Operations Director of the Nonstop Club remarks that triples are â€Å"massive tricks, and [they earn] full respect to anyone who attempts them† (par. 3). The remarkable successes in double cork and triple cork tricks are regarded to as immense progress in snowboarding in the last half decade. However, thes e tricks have attracted immense criticism from the public and the sporting community across the United States, owing to their health risks. Despite the prominence accorded to the snowboarders who applied the tricks successfully with safe landings, double cork and triple cork tricks are quite dangerous. Dangers of the double cork and triple cork snowboarding tricks can be explained by the two fatal outcomes which have been reported since 2009. In the first outcome, Kevin Pearce sustained traumatic brain injury on Dec. 31, 2009 while preparing for the Vancouver Olympics, leading to a tragic end of his snowboarding career. Pearce fell from the super-pipe and hit his head on the ground while he attempted to rotate; thus, becoming unconscious, owing to the brain injury. During an interview with Rachel George early this year in February, Pearce remarked, â€Å"I was so sick and so dizzy and so gone after that† (par. 3). Pearce’s mental trauma is believed to have been caused by the two successive falls he experienced during his training for the Vancouver Olympics in which he was attempting to qualify for the U.S Olympic team (George par. 2).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The second fatal outcome in snowboarding sport was the death of Sarah Burke in 2012, owing to injuries she suffered during training on Jan. 10, 2012 which was run in Park City, Utah. She had contributed immensely to the progress of snowboarding by pushing for the acceptance of super-pipe triple cork in the Olympics (DeBruin and Pells par. 2). In a brief conclusion, snowboarding has recorded remarkable progress in recent years, owing to advanced training courses. However, the two fatal outcomes involving Sarah Burke death and Kevin Pearce have aroused immense outcry from the sporting community and the public at large. It is argued that double cork and triple cork tricks expose the riders to health risks as it was the case with Kevin Pearce and Sarah Burke. Snowboarders lament that snowboarding used to be quite safe before the introduction of the double cork and triple cork tricks although minor injuries were recorded. Double cork and triple cork tricks involve a high level of athleti c skills; thus, making it difficult for new riders. Currently, the popular criticism of the risky snowboarding tricks seems to have made progress in snowboarding games, not worth appreciation. Consequently, new policy guidelines have been established to prevent unsafe practices in sports, primarily in snowboarding sport, which had not been given significant priority in the past. Ideally, progress is worth successful healthy outcomes in sporting activities. DeBruin, Lynn and Pells Eddie. Sarah Burke Dead: Skier Dies after Accident during Training at Park City, Utah. 19 Jan. 2012. Web. huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/sarah-burke-died-skier-canada-freestyle-park-city_n_1217001.html Disabled Sports. n.d. Snowboarding. n.d. Web. disabledsportsusa.org/snowboarding/ George, Rachel. Head Injuries a Rising Danger for Snowboarders, Skiers. 26 Feb. 2013. Web. usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2013/02/25/snowboarders-skiers-kevin-pearce-concern-concussions/1947593/ Richards D. Re: Doubles ar e so Winter Olympics 2010. 25 May, 2012. Web. nonstopsnow.com/blog/stuff-we-like/snowboardings-triple-cork-club/

Love Social Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love Social Problem - Essay Example It is essential that we, as a society, address childhood obesity. This problem is a social problem for several reasons. Firstly, with the interconnected world we live in, in which resources are so scarce, any over-use of resources by one group of people leads to a shortage or resources for another. In the case of childhood obesity, food is obviously being over-consumed, but this also leads to an over-consumption of many other types of resources such as medical care, that could otherwise be better distributed or lower cost. These are social ills and require a society-wide effort to address them. Childhood obesity is an enormous problem for all of our society that must be addressed by everyone in it. The exact sources of childhood obesity are hard to pinpoint – there is probably a complex interrelation of a variety of factors. But two things are clear – for obesity to occur, children are both eating too much and exercising too little. The origins of both of these problems are societal in nature. Over-consumption is rampant in developed countries; we more, electricity, oil, media, clothing, and nearly everything else than other countries. Everything in the developed world is super-sized, cheap, and made to be consumed in massive amounts. This is especially true of food, where the simplest foods to eat are by far the worst for you – processed foods high in fat and carbohydrates, which encourage children to develop an addiction to both of those things, and parents a love for the simplicity of providing that kind of food to their children. Furthermore, the social activities that children engage in are becoming less and less physical demanding – previously children would have to actually play together, moving around, to entertain themselves, but now entertainment is essentially beamed into their brains in the form of television and video games, which encourage lethargy

Employment interviews as a selction tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Employment interviews as a selction tool - Essay Example There are various types of interviews. Some interviews are conducted face to face between the employer and candidate while others may be conducted electronically or on phone. In terms of forms, interviews can be classified into three types, namely structured interviews, semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews. In the structured interviews, interviewer analyzes the skills of interview through a preformed set of questions. In the semi-structured interview, the interviewer may make the conversation apart from the questions as well. In fact, some questions are developed on the spot from the discussion. In unstructured interviews, there are no preformed questions. Quite often, very simple questions are used to assess the interest and enthusiasm of a candidate for work. For example, one of the interview questions an Assistant Engineer was asked for his assessment by Chunghwa Telecom was, â€Å"Why do you want to join our company?† (â€Å"Engineering Interview Questions†). Interview is one of the best selection tools because it promotes public relations in addition to regular assessment of

Boeing Porter's Five Forces Industry analysis Assignment

Boeing Porter's Five Forces Industry analysis - Assignment Example This is mainly because they are highly entrenched in their airport hubs, making it difficult for new companies to find space in these air ports (Clougherty and Zhang, 2008). Furthermore, smaller airports do not have enough passing traffic that can make these new airlines companies to post some profits. High fuel prices are one of the most dominant barriers for new airline companies (Mouawad, 4). This is because it accounts for approximately 50% of the costs that these airline companies are able to incur (Peoples, 2012). The high number of mergers is also another reason that prevents new companies from entering the market. These companies manage to control a large segment of the market, making it hard for new entities to penetrate. Companies such as Hawaiian airlines, Allegiant Air, and Spirit Airlines managed to survive this competition by creating their own niche market, hence avoiding direct competition with these major airlines (Fojt, 2006). There is also a high level of research and development budget that is required for new entrants into this market. It is virtually impossible to compete in this industry, when the new company does not have information about its competitors, target market, etc (Williams, 2002). Acquiring this type of information requires a great deal of research, which is very expensive. Furthermore, the airline industry has loyal customers, who will only take the national carrier. Based on these facts, threats of new entrants to Boeing are low. The intensity of competition facing Boeing is very high. This is because the industry comprises of large airline companies offering the same services. The airline industry does not have any market leader, and their strategies are not different (Fojt, 2006). This is the reason why most airline companies are forming mergers for purposes of competing efficiently with their competitors (Grundy, 2012).

Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Mentat Tablet (MT)

Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Mentat Tablet (MT) An ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of twenty-eight major bioactive compounds in Mentat tablet (MT), a complex Indian herbal medicine used in the treatment of neurological disorder and improvement of mental health. Multiple-reaction monitoring scanning was employed for quantification in positive and negative mode. The analysis was accomplished on Waters AQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column with linear gradient elution of water/formic acid (0.1%) and acetonitrile/formic acid (0.1%) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The proposed method was validated with acceptable linearity (r2, 0.9984-0.9999), precision (RSD, 0.22–2.11%), stability (RSD, 0.16–1.78%) and recovery (RSD ≠¤ 3.74 %), under optimum conditions. The limits of quantitation were low ranging from 0.28 to 3.88 ng/mL for the 28 compounds. The method was successfully applied to the simultaneous deter mination of 28 compounds in twenty batches of MT tablets. Also, hierarchical cluster analysis and principle component analysis was applied to categorize 20 samples based on characteristics of the 28 bioactive compounds. The results have indicated that this advanced method is rapid, sensitive and suitable to show the real quality of the MT composition and also capable of controlling quality of polyherbal formulations having similar markers/raw herbs. Keywords: Multiple Reaction Monitoring / Multi-Marker Quantification / UPLC-ESI-MS/MS / Hierarchical Cluster Analysis / Principle Component Analysis 1. Introduction Herbal medicines (HMs) refer to one herb or complex mixtures, which usually contains hundreds of chemically different components. Their curative effects are principally based on the synergic effect of their multi-targeting and multi-ingredient preparations [1, 2]. Consequently, quality control becomes troublesome for crude drugs. the method that employs pharmacologically active components to evaluate the quality and authenticity of the complex preparations is confronted with severe challenges. Therefore, better analytical strategies to assure their efficacy, safety, and consistency is essential and in great demand [3]. Moreover, the chemical compounds in the poly herbs in HMs products may vary depending on harvest seasons, plant origins, drying processes and other factors. Thus, it seems to be necessary to determine most of the phytochemical constituents of herbal products in order to ensure the reliability and repeatability of pharmacological and clinical research and to enhance pro duct quality control [4, 5]. Currently, selection of a single or a few specific components from a certain herbal medicine as markers for quality assessment is a widely applied strategy. However, it cannot afford sufficient quantitative information for the other medicinal compositions and cannot accurately reflect the quality of HMs products. All the HMs compositions play important roles in the therapeutic effects. Therefore, selecting multiple constituents from different medicinal herbs as evaluation markers has been gradually applied for the quality control of HMs [6, 7]. Mentat tablets (MT, commercial product) is a polyherbal medication with each tablet composed of multiple herbs extracts (listed in Table S1). Major contributed herbs are Bacopa monnieri, Centella asiaticaand Withania somnifera. MT is a unique all-natural multi-ingredient formula that promotes brain health. It improves the mental quotient, memory span, concentration ability, stress threshold and exhibit significant anti-parkinsonian activity. MT also offers protection against convulsions, which is beneficial in insomnia with its sedative and tranquilizing effects [8-10]. Chemically bacosides, saponin mixture in B. monnieri, triterpenoid glycosides in C. asiatica, steroidal lactones in W. somnifera are the major representative ingredients in MT, in comparison to others. [11-14]. Phytochemical investigations show important classes of bioactive constituents in selected plants which are as in combination of MT that are responsible for the bioactivity [15-20]. Literature survey reveals various analytical methods including thin layer chromatography (TLC) [21], high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) [22, 23], liquid chromatography (LC) [6, 24, 25], liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) [26-29], nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) [30] for the quantitative analysis of the bioactive constituents in HMs to assess the quality of the complex preparations. To the best of our knowledge, there is no method reported for the simultaneous estimation of selected 28 multi-markers in herbals by UPLC-ESI-MS/MSand no such approach has been explored on this important drug combination for quality and consistency evaluation of this herbal preparation. Natural alteration in preparation processes and climate affects the safety and batch-to-batch uniformity of HMs products. Highly sensitive analytical methods are thus required to identify ingredients and evaluate batch-to-batch variation. Compared to conventional TLC, HPTLC, HPLC method which are less sensitive and takes longer analysis time, UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode is more powerful approach. Due to its rapid separation power, low detection limit, high sensitivity, selectivity and specificity, UPLC-ESI-MS/MS offers effective detection to quantify multi-ingredients in complex sample matrices. Previous methods reported in literature only contained one or few compounds, without the consideration of other active ingredients. This paper describes for the first time a simple, accurate and reliable UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 28 multiple bioactive compounds from different polyherbs viz., bacoside A (mixture of bacoside A3, bacopaside II, bacopaside X and bacopasaponin C), withanolide-A, withaferin-A, asiaticoside, madecassoside, jatrorrhizine, palmatine, magnoflorine, curcumin, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid, rosamarinic acid, ursolic acid, catechin, apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, rutin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, corilagin, chrysin and chlorogenic acid with single runtime of 10 min. This method is intended not only for quality control of commercial polyherbal formulated products but also for efficient evaluation of raw materials. The quantitative results were further analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis i.e., hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principle component analysis (PCA) to provide more information about the ch emical differences and batch-to-batch variations. Chemical Structures of all analytes and internal standards were showed in Fig 1. 2. Experimental 2.1 Reagents and materials The reference standards (purity≠¥90%) bacoside A (mixture of bacoside A3, bacopaside II, bacopaside X and bacopasaponin C) was purchased from Natural Remedies Pvt. Ltd. Apigenin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, protocatechuic acid, rosamarinic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, ursolic acid, palmatine, withanolide-A, withaferin-A, asiaticoside, madecassoside, jatrorrhizine, magnoflorine, catechin, chlorogenic acid, curcumin, rutin, corilagin, chrysin, gallic acid and ellagic acid were purchased from Sigma Aldrich Ltd. (St. Louis, MO, USA). Reference standards of quercetin, luteolin and internal standards (IS) andrographolide and piperine were purchased from Extrasyntheses (Genay, France). Twenty different batches of Mentat tablets produced by Himalaya Drug Company, Bangalore, India were purchased from local drug stores from different places in India (Table S2). For all solutions and dilutions, methanol, acetonitrile (LC-MS grade) and formic acid (analytical grade) were purchased from Fluka, Sigma–Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Milli-Q Ultra-pure water was obtained from a Millipore water purification system (Millipore, Milford, MA, USA). 2.2 Preparation of standard solutions and samples A stock solution containing 28 standards i.e., bacoside A (mixture of bacoside A3, bacopaside II, bacopaside X and bacopasaponin C), withanolide-A, withaferin-A, asiaticoside, madecassoside, jatrorrhizine, palmatine, magnoflorine, curcumin, gallic acid, procatechuic acid, ferulic acid, caeffic acid, ellagic acid, rosamaric acid, ursolic acid, catechin, apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, rutin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, corilagin, chrysin and chlorogenic acid were weighed accurately, dissolved in pure methanol.The working standard solutions were prepared by diluting the mixed standard solution with methanol to a series of concentrations within the ranges from 1 to 1000 ng/mL used for plotting the calibration curves. Meanwhile, each standard was also prepared respectively. The coating of each samples were removed completely, and the remains were smashed into powder. Pulverized sample (0.5g) was weighed precisely, and sonicated by ultrasonicator (53 KHz, Bandelin SONOREX, Berlin) using 50 ml 100% methanol at room temperature for 30 min. The extracted solution was centrifuged at 15000 rpm for 10 min, and the supernatant was filtered through a 0.22  µm syringe filter (Millex-GV, PVDF, Merck Millipore, Darmstadt, Germany) to obtained 10,000  µg/ml. The à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ltrates were diluted with methanol to final working solutions and analyzed directly by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The internal standards andrographolide for negative mode and piperine for positive mode were spiked to each working concentration of mixed standards solution and sample solution at a final concentration of 50 ng/mL (50  µL of internal standards mixture of 1000 ng/mL of each in methanol) were mixed properly. All solutions were stored at -200C until use and sonicated prior to injection. 2.3 Instrumentation and analytical conditions An Acquity ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLCTM) system consisting of an auto sampler and a binary pump (Waters, Milford, MA was used for analysis. The compounds were separated on an Acquity BEH C18 (2.1 mmÃâ€" 50 mm, 1.7 µm; Waters, Milford, MA) analytical column at a column temperature of 25à ¢- ¦C. A gradient elution was achieved using two solvents: 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water (A) and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in acetonitrile (B) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The gradient program consisted of an initial of 5% with linear increase from 5% to 60% B over 1.85 to 7.5 min and increased from 60% B to 90% B over 8.5 min, which was maintained for 1.5 min, followed by a return to the initial condition over 2.5 min with a sample injection volume of 5 µL. The UPLC system was interfaced with hybrid linear ion trap triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (API 4000 QTRAPâ„ ¢ MS/MS system from AB Sciex, Concord, ON, Canada) equipped with electrospray (Turbo V) ion source. The optimized parameters for positive mode were as follows: the ion spray voltage was set to 5500 V; the turbo spray temperature, 550à ¢- ¦C; nebulizer gas (gas 1), 50 psi; heater gas (gas 2), 50 psi; collision gas, medium; the curtain gas (CUR) was kept at 20 psi. Optimized parameter for negative mode were as follows: the ion spray voltage was set to −4200 V, the turbo spray temperature, 550à ¢- ¦C; nebulizer gas (gas 1), 20 psi; heater gas (gas 2), 20 psi; collision gas, medium; the curtain gas (CUR) was kept at 20 psi. Quantitative analysis was performed using multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode and its conditions were optimized for each compound during infusion. For full scan ESI-MS analysis, the spectra covered the range from m/z 100 to 1000. Analyst 1.5.1 software package (AB Sciex) used for instrument control and data acquisition. The results of the precursor ion, product ion, corresponding declustering potential (DP), entrance potential (EP), collision energy (CE), cell exit potential (CXP) were shown in Table S3. 2.4 Multivariate analysis Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) is a tool to identify relatively homogeneous groups of cases based on selected characteristics, using an algorithm that starts with each case in a separate cluster until only one is left. In the experiment, HCA of 20 batches of samples were performed, in which a method called average linkage between groups was employed and 28 markers were selected as the measurement. Similarly, Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out based on the contents of quantified 28 bioactive compounds in 20 batches of samples. All the experiment was done using software STATISTICA 7.0. When the contents of investigated compounds were below the quantitation limit or not detected in the samples, the values of such elements were considered to be zero.

John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: Essays Papers

Of Mice and Men - Critical Evaluation ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a book, which deals with the issues of loneliness, dreams and friendship, the author of this book, is John Steinbeck and it was first published in 1937. The story this book tells is of two friends who travel together looking for work during the recession in America in the 1930’s. The men are George and Lennie. George has to look after Lennie because he is a bit dumb and gets into trouble a lot. They both have a dream of owning their own farm one day. All the characters in the novel show aspects of the main themes, the two main characters, George and Lennie, illustrate these themes throughout the book. They travel together for companionship and for someone to talk to. George and Lennie have nothing in common and therefore the only reason they are friends is to stop each other from becoming lonely. Lennie isn’t all that smart and he worships George utterly, but sometimes George gets annoyed with Lennie’s stupidity and shouts at him, for example, in the first chapter when Lennie was annoying him about ketchup he shouts â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy†. Deep down George knows this isn’t true because he doesn’t want to be alone. Also, George cares about Lennie and tries to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Another Character that shows these themes is Crooks. He is isolated from the rest of the workers due to racist prejudice. He lives alone in a shed beside the barn and has very little contact with other people. He is probably the loneliest person on the ranch because know one will speak to him apart form Lennie. He is so lonely he is going insane which is shown when he says â€Å" a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya†. This really sums up Crooks feelings, all he wants is someone to talk to. On a broader scale the whole structure of the book gives the impression of loneliness. For example, the story is set in a town called Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness. Also the first chapter starts by giving you a detailed description of the surroundings, the landscape of the Salinas River and â€Å"the strong and stony Gabilan mountains†. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men :: Essays Papers Of Mice and Men - Critical Evaluation ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a book, which deals with the issues of loneliness, dreams and friendship, the author of this book, is John Steinbeck and it was first published in 1937. The story this book tells is of two friends who travel together looking for work during the recession in America in the 1930’s. The men are George and Lennie. George has to look after Lennie because he is a bit dumb and gets into trouble a lot. They both have a dream of owning their own farm one day. All the characters in the novel show aspects of the main themes, the two main characters, George and Lennie, illustrate these themes throughout the book. They travel together for companionship and for someone to talk to. George and Lennie have nothing in common and therefore the only reason they are friends is to stop each other from becoming lonely. Lennie isn’t all that smart and he worships George utterly, but sometimes George gets annoyed with Lennie’s stupidity and shouts at him, for example, in the first chapter when Lennie was annoying him about ketchup he shouts â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy†. Deep down George knows this isn’t true because he doesn’t want to be alone. Also, George cares about Lennie and tries to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Another Character that shows these themes is Crooks. He is isolated from the rest of the workers due to racist prejudice. He lives alone in a shed beside the barn and has very little contact with other people. He is probably the loneliest person on the ranch because know one will speak to him apart form Lennie. He is so lonely he is going insane which is shown when he says â€Å" a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya†. This really sums up Crooks feelings, all he wants is someone to talk to. On a broader scale the whole structure of the book gives the impression of loneliness. For example, the story is set in a town called Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness. Also the first chapter starts by giving you a detailed description of the surroundings, the landscape of the Salinas River and â€Å"the strong and stony Gabilan mountains†.