Portrait of a Women with a Man at a Casement by Fra Filippo Lippi Research Paper

Portrait of a Women with a Man at a Casement by Fra Filippo Lippi - Research Paper Example Also the couple shown is believed to be Ranieri Scolari and Angiola di Bernardo Sapiti. The portrait was painted in 1440 and the couple is recorded to have been married in 1936; therefore the interpretation that the portrait is a commemoration of a wedding is plausible. Barnet asserts that in the formal analysis of portraits, one needs to consider how do the background, the angle of the tilt of the head, the furnishings etc help to develop the overall impression of the figure (2008). When scrutinizing this portrait, one can appreciate that the bride is laden with lavish clothes and jewelry typical of a newly-wedded woman. The laws of Florence required that a woman, unless she was the wife of a foreigner, knight or a doctor, would only wear expensive dresses for a limited period of time (The City Review 2009); therefore a special occasion is shown in the portrait. The overdress has fur lining its edges whereas the underdress has loops of gold embedded in the sleeves. The headdress, se lla, has pearls embellished into it and are also present throughout her dress. The pattern in which they are embedded makes the word lealta, meaning loyalty. The couple glances in an expressionless way although the gazes do not interlock (The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2011). Another interpretation of the portrait is that it may represent the birth of a child.

The New Intelligence Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The New Intelligence Community - Essay Example Critics of the new intelligence community set up maintained that the system is so complex that it became hard to manage; hence doubts on its effectiveness continue to spread. According to an article by Priest and Arkin (2010) in the Washington Post, the intelligence community is enormous, with redundant agencies and tons of reports generated every day that many end up being ignored, resulting to waste of resources and effort. Consequently, the complexity of the intelligence community only causes the ODNI to lack focus on it various agencies. In addition, the President’s Intelligence Advisory Boards stressed that the ODNI must be â€Å"downsized but strengthen by transferring certain functions to other agencies† (Best, 2010, p. 6) because it cannot supervise and assume responsibility to the massive department on its own. The support of the Congress to the development of ODNI is also essential in strengthening the role of the latter, its functions and extent of authority in order to effectively lead the different intelligence agencies under its wing. Nevertheless, the new role of the ODNI is still being developed. With just a few years of operation, the new intelligence system continues to face challenges in cooperating among agencies while sorting out critical reports on terrorism. It is too early to claim that the ODNI is a failure. Given the support of the Congress in defining its role, power and responsibilities, the ODNI can eventually learn how to manage its agencies more successfully. It should also consider reviewing the agencies doing the same work and identify critical reports to efficiently use its resources and

The Health and Safety Laws in the USA Assignment

The Health and Safety Laws in the USA - Assignment Example Consultation Paper on Civil Liability for Unsafe Products presented by The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong, Product Liability sub-committee (1998) under 2.10 states, â€Å"Provided the consumer has a direct contractual nexus with the seller, the consumer is entitled to damages if the other party has broken an express or implied term of the contract.† In the present case, though the assurance of Edward, â€Å"rich people from the PRC had a plan to purchase classical oil paintings from Hong Kong in the near future for resale in the PRC† was not included in the agreement, it is implied that the oil painting is of merchantable quality. According to section 11(2) of the Control of Exemption Clauses Ordnance, even the liability for breach of implied condition of merchantable quality cannot be excluded or restricted by a contract term. Edward further said that there would be a very great demand for this particular classical oil painting owned by him and thus an appreciation of at least three times in value within 6 months. Eventually, no rich people from the PRC purchased the classical oil painting. The classical oil painting in fact depreciated in value. Therefore, there is a case for liability for breach of implied condition of merchantable quality. Also, Edward has induced Fred to buy the oil painting through his assurance and forecast which could be construed as negligence in giving assurance or forecasting appreciation in the value of the oil paintings.   In addition to the implied condition of merchantable quality, the Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 71) also deals with liability in tort for negligence.

The New Intelligence Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The New Intelligence Community - Essay Example Critics of the new intelligence community set up maintained that the system is so complex that it became hard to manage; hence doubts on its effectiveness continue to spread. According to an article by Priest and Arkin (2010) in the Washington Post, the intelligence community is enormous, with redundant agencies and tons of reports generated every day that many end up being ignored, resulting to waste of resources and effort. Consequently, the complexity of the intelligence community only causes the ODNI to lack focus on it various agencies. In addition, the President’s Intelligence Advisory Boards stressed that the ODNI must be â€Å"downsized but strengthen by transferring certain functions to other agencies† (Best, 2010, p. 6) because it cannot supervise and assume responsibility to the massive department on its own. The support of the Congress to the development of ODNI is also essential in strengthening the role of the latter, its functions and extent of authority in order to effectively lead the different intelligence agencies under its wing. Nevertheless, the new role of the ODNI is still being developed. With just a few years of operation, the new intelligence system continues to face challenges in cooperating among agencies while sorting out critical reports on terrorism. It is too early to claim that the ODNI is a failure. Given the support of the Congress in defining its role, power and responsibilities, the ODNI can eventually learn how to manage its agencies more successfully. It should also consider reviewing the agencies doing the same work and identify critical reports to efficiently use its resources and

Reformists or Fundamentalists for Iran Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Reformists or Fundamentalists for Iran - Essay Example This difference leaves the citizen with a choice to make in a democratic nation like Iran (Koontz 98). No party is said to be perfect in their ideas since, in either side, there are both positive and negative effects. However, having compared the goals ideologies and their take on religion, I will advocate for the reformists. This paper seeks to examine the main agenda of the reformists compared to those of the fundamentalists by analyzing their respective ideology, theocracy and religion. The goals that the reformists seek to achieve make them distinct from the fundamentalists. Their main objective is to preserve theocracy in the country. They put emphasis on the need of bringing certain democratic reforms into existence (Koontz 25). Every Iranian should be aware of his or her right accordingly and no one should be discriminated in regards to the gender or the tribe. For instance, in this years elections’ campaigns the reformists who had found refuge in the West due to p ost-election repression of 2009, had come up with a competing discourses as to what reform should be composed of and how an Islamic Republic should look like (Seifzadeh 254). This, according to me makes reformists admirable than the fundamentalists, who base their theocracy on the belief that not all people are equal. To illustrate the theocracy of the fundamentalists, we examine on their belief about the nature of women and men and their roles in society. They argue that, in Iran, women are inferior to men both mentally and physically. Their duties were restricted to child bearing and nurturing prescribed by their biological determinism. They were also to ensure comfort and satisfaction to their husbands. The Fundamentalists sought to suppress the roles performed by women and enhanced control of men over women. They ensured that their visibility in public was not guaranteed. This is not a true picture of a democratic country

Education System Essay Example for Free

Education System Essay The education system of India is very old. It has started from the ancient times. The Vedas, puranas, ayurveda, yoga represent some forms of education. There are evidences of imparting formal education in ancient India under the Gurukul system. Under the Gurukul system, young boys who were passing through the Brahmacharya stage of life had to stay at the Guru or the teachers home and complete their education. Earlier women and people of lower castes didnt have a right to educate themselves. But Jainism, Buddhism and Sufi movements had some liberating effects. The Britishers can be credited for bringing a revolution in the Indian education system because it is the English language and the reformation movements of the 19th century that had the most liberating effect in pre-independent India. India Education Present Condition  After independence, making education available to all had become a priority for the government. As discrimination on the basis of caste and gender has been a major impediment in the healthy development of the Indian society, they have been made unlawful by the Indian constitution. The 86th constitutional amendment has also made elementary education a fundamental right for the children between the age group- 6 to 14. According to the 2001 census, Total literacy rate 65.38%. The female literacy rate 54.16%. Only 59.4% of rural population is literate as against 80.3% urban population according to the 2001 census. Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/education-system-of-india.php#ixzz2KBxKSaq0

Anti-cancer Drug Targeting AFR Receptor

Anti-cancer Drug Targeting AFR Receptor Results 1a 1b Figure 1 Cell viability data based on the use of the XTT assay Two different lung tumor cell lines were tested: one expressing the mutated AFR receptor (blue line) and one that expresses wild-type AFR (orange line). Figure 1a represented AFR lung cancer cell line with Drug X and figure1b represented AFR lung cancer cell line with drug Y. Cells were seeded in wells of a 96 well plate at 3 x 10*4 cells/well before treatment with the drugs at the indicated concentrations for 72 hours (triplicate samples at each concentration). XTT assay reagent was then added to the wells and the absorbance measured at 450 nm. Control wells (no cells) contained medium but no cells. The Cell Proliferation XTT assay is a colorimetric assay for the nonradioactive analysis of cellular proliferation, viability, quantification of cytotoxic and cytostatic compounds like anticancer drugs and pharmaceutical compounds, evaluation of growth-inhibitory antibodies and physiological mediators that able to inhibit cell growth (Sigma-Aldrich, 2016). Sample is adherent or suspension which cultured in 96-well microplates. A fictional receptor (AFR) was targeted by anti-cancer drug to inhibit the mutated AFR function, causing an anti-proliferative effect and even cell death. XTT ((2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide)) assay was used to measure cell viability in the two different lung tumor cell lines, one expressing the mutated AFR receptor (AFR mut) and one that expresses wild-type AFR (AFR wt). Drug Y was observed to hinder cancer cell growth dose dependently (Figure 1). The amount of observed absorbance increases with cell number and incuba tion time for 72hours when a maximum absorbance level is reached. The plot of the XTT assay data should create a curve with a linear part. This area exhibits the highest sensitivity to changes produced by the experimental parameters. Establishing the XTT assay data for treatment of AFR mutated and AFR wild-type lung cancer cell line with drug X from 0nm to 1600nm (Figure 1a), It was illustrated that the cell viability of mutated AFR increased considerably from 1.1 to 1.3 between 0nm and 800nm and then became steady at approximately 1.4 from 800nm to 1600nm. Compared with the wild type of AFR (Figure1a), the trend of the line was similar to the mutated one but the cell viability was first rised from 0.9 to 1.2 between 0nm and 800nm and finally exhibited a loss of linearity when greater than 800nm. The lung cancer cell line with drug X represented a cell proliferation assay because the absorbance values of the mutated one were greater than control conditions, representing an increase in cell proliferation and viability. On the other hand, investigating the XTT assay data for treatment of AFR mutated and AFR wild-type lung cancer cell line with drug Y from 0nm to 1600nm, It was indicated that the cell viability of m utated AFR started off at about 1.1 from 0nm to 50nm and then occurred a dramatic drop from 1.1 to 0.1 between 50nm to 400nm and finally lied on 0.03 at 1600nm (Figure1b). Compared with the wild type of AFR (Figure1b), the line was also decreasing but showed a completely different trend. The cell viability decreased from 0.89 to 0.88 between 0nm and 800nm stably and then exhibited a significant drop when greater than 800nm and finally lied on 0.8 of 1600nm. The lung cancer cell line with drug Y represented a cell apoptosis assay as the absorbance values were lower than control conditions, showing a decrease in cell proliferation and resulted from cellular necrosis or apoptosis. From the data analysis, drug Y was successfully tested to inhibit the function of mutated AFR which have an anti-proliferative effect to cause cell death and drug Y could be put forward for further testing. Figure 2 Flow cytometry apoptosis data: Annexin V -FITC (x axis) and propidium iodide (Y axis)   Ã‚   The proapoptotic effect of drug X and Y. The AFRmut cell line was treated with each drug at a concentration of 800 nM for 24 hours. The cells were harvested, resuspended in buffer and then treated with Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide. Cytograms of annexin-V-FITC binding against PI uptake show three populations: (i) viable cells (low FITC and low PI signal) in gate Lower Left; (ii) early apoptotic cells (high FITC and low PI signal) in gate Lower Right and (iii) cells that lost membrane integrity which results in late apoptosis (high FITC and high PI signal) in gate Upper Right. The percentage of cell death increases in the tumor cancer cell line of drug Y, as demonstrated by incorporation of Annexin V. The inhibition of cell proliferation caused by AFRmut was related to the apoptosis induction. Apoptosis is programmed as cell death which is important in development, in normal function of certain tissues and in the response to the damage. Apoptosis involves events which results in the destruction of cell. Annexin V -FITC is a protein that binds to phosphotidylserine which can be labelled and used to detect apoptotic cells. The flow cytometry apoptosis data was plotted on a dot plot and the lower left was represented the viable cells while the upper right and the lower right were represented the dead cells and the apoptotic cells respectively. From the apoptosis data (Figure2), it was observed that the untreated condition showed 77% viable cells and 21% of apoptotic effect. When AFRmut was treated with drug X, the viable cells were increased by 19% and the apoptotic effect was largely decreased to 3%. In contrast, the incorporation with drug Y lead to considerable anti-proliferative effect where 58% of apoptotic cells were observed and viable cells only remained as 40%. Related to the induction of programmed cell death, the majority of cells from the two tumor cell lines were alive upon carrier treatment, the use of AFRmut lead to the entrance of these cells into apoptosis with incorporation of Annexin V. The treatment of drug Y showed a significant apoptotic effect than the drug X, which has a potential to inhibit the function of mutated AFR and results in anti-proliferative effect. Figure 3 Flow cytometry cell cycle data: x-axis shows propidium iodide fluorescence and y-axis shows the number of cells The AFRmut cell line was treated with drug X and Y at a concentration of 800 nM for 24 hours and then fixed with ethanol and stained with propidium iodide before analysis in a flow cytometer. Treating with drug Y showed no cells in G2/M phase. The inhibition of cell proliferation induced by AFRmut was correlated with cell cycle which was evaluated with propidium iodide by flow cytometry. Cell cycle demonstrated the cell progression through a division cycle which result in cell growth and separation into two daughter cells. Live cell observation of cellular DNA and distribution of cell cycle are valuable to regulate apoptosis, and also the tumor behavior and suppressor gene systems. Cells would be distributed into three phases of cell cycle: G0 /G1 phase (2N), S phase (DNA synthesis with various DNA), and G2 /M phase (4N) to identify apoptotic cells with partial DNA content desirably   (Krishnakumar R, Kraus W ,2010). Propidium iodide fluorescence was needed in these actions to bind DNA. From the flow cytometry results by histogram (figure 3), the untreated condition showed 42% of cells in G0/G1 phase while 31% in S phase and 27% in G2/M phase. When the AFRmut was treated with drug X, the cell number in G1 phase dropped by 7% while there was increase of 6% in S Phase. DNA replication occurs more effectively during S phase. Tumor cells with a higher proportion of cells in S phase as tumors were growed faster and more aggressive in that phase so drug X induced proliferation of mutated AFR. However, the addition of drug Y caused effective anti-proliferation effect by increasing the cell numbers in G1 phase from 42% to 86% since the cell has left the cycle and has stopped dividing. There was increase in the cell numbers and grow in size. The decrease from 31% to 14% for S phase indicated the ineffective DNA replication. Moreover, there was no cells observed in G2/M phase when treated with drug Y which represented the increasing numbers of apoptotic cells and the G2/M pha se arrest, which failed the mitosis progression. Discussion Drug Y can be an effective anticancer drug which targets mutated AFR and inhibit its function to lead an anti-proliferative effect. In the present study, two lung tumor cell lines, mutated AFR receptor (AFRmut) and wild-type AFR (AFRwt), Drug Y was found that it could inhibit the growth of the AFR in vitro. The IC50 values of AFRmut and AFRwt were with the same range of 450nm. Additionally, the cell cycle revealed that Drug Y arrested mutated AFR at S phase and G2/M phase. Furthermore, the data demonstrated that Drug Y induced apoptosis in the mechanism assessed by 3 different methods: cell viability assay, apoptosis assay and the cell cycle of flow cytometry. Taken together, these results suggest that the inhibitory effect of Drug Y on cell proliferation in mutated AFR is mediated through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. The limitation is the flow cytometry are only authorize the relative abundances of cell cycle phases compared to another (Dick FA, Dyson NJ, 2002). These actions can be examined by evaluating a coordinate sample of cells with mitotic inhibitor like nocodazole or G1/S inhibitor like aphidicolin. As these drugs establish a prevalent arrest in M-phase or early S-phase accordingly, moderately proliferating cells will gather at the drug inferred arrest location. For instance, cells arrested in G1 BY pRB expression will stay in G1 phase regardless of nocodazole treatment even regulating cells will accumulate in M-phase[13] Overall, the data demonstrated drug Y is able to develop an anti-cancer drug that targets a receptor called AFR (A Fictional Receptor) to block its activity. Drug Y successfully inhibits the function of mutated AFR by evaluating the cell viability assay, apoptosis assay and the cell cycle of flow cytometry. The assays showed an anti-proliferative effect and even cause cell death, which explains its significant antitumor activity in the various experimental investigations that have assessed. Thus, further studies about the way of administration, dose limiting toxicities and recommended doses are needed for the preclinical development of drug Y to evaluate the potential of the compound as an anticancer drug. References Dick FA, Dyson NJ, 2002. Three regions of the pRB pocket domain affect its inactivation by human papillomavirus E7 proteins. J. Virol.2;76: 6224-6224. Krishnakumar R, Kraus W, 2010. The PARP side of the nucleus: molecular actions, physiological outcomes, and clinical targets. Mol Cell. 39:8-24 Matthew J., et al, 2012. Analysis of Cell Cycle Position in Mammalian Cells  (59): 3491. Sigma-aldrich, 2016. Cell Proliferation Kit II (XTT) [online] Available at: http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/roche/11465015001?lang=enregion=GB Wang, G., et al, 2005. Antitumor effect of ÃŽÂ ²-elemene in non-small-cell lung cancer cells is mediated via induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences CMLS 62.7-8: 881-893.