Matricaria Chamomilla (Chamomile): A Pharmacognosy Review

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

IT Security Essay -- Cyber-security, Enterprise Security

Denial of service (DoS)- This type of attack occurs when a hacker overloads a server or network device with numerous IMCP (Internet Control Message Protocol) ping requests, such that it is unable to respond to valid requests. By updating to the latest service pack and applying security patches, you can minimize the threat of DoS attacks by reducing the vulnerabilities in the TCP/IP network protocol. Although disabling ICMP can remove valuable troubleshooting tools, it can effectively remove the possibility of DoS attacks. Also, any firewall or security software should be configured to recognize and block these attempts if possible. Back door- In a back door attack, a hacker exploits a coded â€Å"opening† in an application that allows them access to the user’s computer. By educating users to be wary of unknown email sources, attachments, and pirated software and multimedia, you can minimize the possibility of incidents of Trojan Back Door software being installed. Closing unused ports, maintaining updated anti-virus definitions, and running personal firewall software can also reduce the threat of back door software. Null sessions- A NULL session is an attack that exploits weaknesses in the NetBIOS networking protocol. By utilizing Windows XP version or later on PC’s (or switching to Mac! Haha!) and making registry changes to require authenticated users, you can effectively remove the possibility of null sessions. Spoofing- Since spoofing refers to devices that are external to your network mimicking an internal address, configuring your firewall to deny external packets from sending from internal network addresses will prevent this type of attack. Smurf attack- By disabling broadcast addressing on the router, you can eli... ..., 4th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc. Ryu, C., Sharman, R., Rao, H.R., Upadhaya, S. (2013). Security protection design for deception and real system regimes: a model and analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 201(2), 545-556. Retrieved from Science Direct Database on 20 October 2014. Samuelle, T. (2009). Mike Meyers' CompTia Security+ Certification Passport. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Shim, S., Chae, M, Lee, B. (2013). Empirical analysis of risk-taking behavior in IT platform migration decisions. Computers in Human Behavior,25(6), 1290-1305. Retrieved from Science Direct Database on 20 October 2014. Sullivan, J., Beach, R. (2012), Improving project outcomes through operational reliability: A conceptual model. International Journal of Project Management, 27(8), 765-775. Retrieved from Science Direct database on 20 October 2014.

Group Experience

My group experience with picking Bollywood dance provided an opportunity to play a leadership role like courier graph the dance. Bollywood dance is the dance-form used in the Indian films. It is a mixture of numerous styles. These styles include belly-dancing, kathak, Indian folk, Western popular, jazz, and even Western erotic dancing. I enjoyed myself in an artistic manner by connecting the audience through dance. I am committed to this form of dance because it originates from my native country India. I basically taught my other team mates this form of dance and now it affects their personal character in terms of eastern dancing. My personal experience about teaching this dance was fairly enjoyable. I had an opportunity of teaching â€Å"bhangra† to my classmates too which is a form of a regional dance in India. By doing such leadership activities, I have gained an experience in organizing a group and modeling the way. In the process of my group project, I had a vision of achieving something extraordinary by teaching the eastern dance to westerners. There was different tactics and ideas that I implemented in this process where I was also helped by my other teammates in order to make it work. I admired their vision in doing something different within my dance. We talked about two minutes and everybody agreed to do the Bollywood dance. It was a challenge for me to teach Indian dance to western people because they are grown with different culture and they have different perception in dance. My ideas and techniques were definitely questioned by others but I still had a strong motivation to make it work and I took certain amount of risk in order to make my idea work. Teaching any activity requires certain amount of confidence, faster collaboration and strength. I always had a positive attitude towards this activity and I knew there would certain challenges to make this happen but the participation of my team mates gave me more confidence. My team mates motivated themselves because they had an interest to learn about new culture. I handled their challenges and gave them the proper guidance they needed. There were people who would take initiative and put lot of effort in our group project. I was also thrilled by seeing their dedication. There was a time when we I did not know what to do or we were lacking a concept; we all worked together to solve the way out of it. I thrilled to see the dedication that my teammates had towards our team goal. In conclusion, I would say that our overall team effort was tremendous, we were doing a genuine hard work to achieve our goal, and we had morale booster, team effort and confidence within our group. I would also like to point out the group skill was very good and my teammates gave their best to put up a good presentation.

Adv Top in Enterprise Analysis Essay

1. What is the main thrust of the strategy that AOL has been pursuing? In 1999, the major problem facing the â€Å"AOL Anywhere† strategy was how high-speed, broadband technologies would impact the company’s future growth. If AOL were to remain dominant against its competitors, it, too, would have to offer broadband access. Indeed, the emergence of broadband was the motivation behind the AOL/Time Warner merger, which was announced on January 10, 2000. The merged company became a formidable presence in the Internet, media, and entertainment fields. 2. What appear to be the strengths of this strategy? Do you think AOL’s strategy is proactive or reactive, and why? One of the strengths of the strategy is that the company was able to expand into the next level of the media venues that the world was achieving. The strategy was a reactive one, AOL needed to make major changes to adapt the new technologies in the new worldly age. 3. Telecommunication capacities are doubling every six months. What are the implications of this for AOL’s strategy? What are the implications of this for IT and other functional managers in most firms today? The merger for AOL did cause some implications for the company, one was expense, AOL would have needed to hire new employees that were skilled in the new areas of the company and create a new division for the company to keep and manage the new areas. 4. Research reveals that office automation as an issue has been declining in importance for IT executives. What might this mean in terms of strategic information systems? Strategic information systems (SIS) are information systems whose unique functions or specific applications shape an organization’s competitive strategy and provide it with competitive advantage. Office automation in the IT system is not an easy accomplishment, systems are used constancy with no breaks by far more personal across a company, the process needs to be monitored and watch. 5. The six strategic thrusts we presented are not mutually exclusive. Discuss the implications of this fact. * Differentiation, Cost, Innovation, Growth, Alliance and Time these six strategies have their good and bad aspects for the company. The good points are that the strategies can help the company meet its goals; the bad points are working against the company if the goals are not meet in their set dates and times. 6. De-regulation has encouraged new entrants into the airline industry. Given the enormous advantages of competitors who own reservation systems, how can new entrants overcome barriers to entry? By sharing the technology with other companies who wanted to be in the airline business, Sable shared the technology for the reservation system. They also became the company that managed, updated and maintained new technologies for the system. 7. Discuss the role that IT managers play within a firm as it seeks to improve its competitive posture. What contributions can they make, and in what areas must they take the lead? IT manager keep their departments in the lead by including all department from IT as well as other areas from within the company. They will also attend seminars for new technologies that are coming out onto the market, I know in previous companies that the managers would attend these seminars for this very purpose, they also will upgrade their systems such as workstations every three years and major server systems every 5 – 10 years depending on its rate of use by the company. These timelines will usually keep the company in the completive edge since they will need to know what other companies are using and if they are happy with the technology. 8. What are the implications of new wireless technology such as Satellite TV, Web-enabled cell phones, and other handheld devices to the financial industry? One such implication is that new technologies are a risk for any company to take, especially early on in the development and test stages. Apple for instance knows this very well, The took a chance when they introduced the iPhone to the world. They could have had a disaster on their hands if they had not played the part correctly. 9. Discuss the importance of telecommunications to the Federal Express’ strategy. Telecommunications in the federal express industry is very important, it has allowed the industry to have the companies and the customers to work together and make the ability more efficient. Telecommunications systems enhance information flow between organizational entities, bridging the gap in space and time. 10. What is the significance of new economy e-business systems? Give some examples of the impact of telecommunications on internal business systems. Although expensive, the importance has provided the companies that use the internet for some of the services are more attractive to customers. Some of the features enabled the customers to make orders and ship their packages themselves online, this helps the company with scheduling because then they can determine a particular place and time for the customer to bring the packages to them to be processed. 11. How might firms seeking international competitive advantage rely on information technology? What strategic thrusts might they employ? Recognizing the immense importance of e-business, many firms are rapidly building infrastructures, re-engineering business practices, and developing partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and others as they adopt new technology. Case Study 2 1. Use on-line library databases to identify articles in trade publications that provide case studies of ERP implementations. These articles may provide some insight into each of these questions: a. How widespread is the use of ERP across certain industries? ERP systems help organizations deal with the supply chain, receiving, inventory management, customer order management, production planning, shipping, accounting, human resource management, and other business functions. b. What are the benefits reported from implementing ERP? Organizations have a business justification for implementing ERP systems. The business benefits of ERP include improved accessibility of information; real time access to data benefits the organization, improved cycle time for orders, decreased financial close time, and reduced operating costs, and lowered inventory levels. c. What are its limitations? One of the limitations is time, most ERP plans need years to full implement and show the true level of success. 2. Research and learn about the implementation of ERP. Use trade publications and on-line library databases (e.g., ABI Inform, ProQuest, First Search, Wilson Select Plus, available through your library) to conduct a search for articles. d. Find a success story of ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the success of this implementation? Some of successes in the case studies that I read have to do with the proper planning and the timeline goals of the business plan. e. Find a story of problems encountered with an ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the encountered obstacles? One common factor that I notice was the human obstacle, companies needed to rely on a good staff to make the company run smoothly and grow. The ERP implementation time line takes years to complete, and as long as the company has the staff it does succeed.

Critical Analysis of the Methodology Used by Barba-Briosco et al. in Their Study of Pollutants in the Huelva Estuary, Spain The WritePass Journal

Critical Analysis of the Methodology Used by Barba-Briosco et al. in Their Study of Pollutants in the Huelva Estuary, Spain Introduction Critical Analysis of the Methodology Used by Barba-Briosco et al. in Their Study of Pollutants in the Huelva Estuary, Spain ). The adoption of the experimental method in Barba-Brioso et al.’s study   to examine the research problem is harmonious with its use of basic descriptive statistics of element concentrations and other elements in the wetland. The use of Merck 1000 ppm and bicarbonate determination indicate its pursuit for accurate generation of results relating to water and wastewater examination. The objectivity of the study is also shown in its triplicate measurement of the samples, with the representative value (mean) having achieved specific percentage accuracy. Barba- Brioso and colleagues also cited other authors in their calculation of the instrumental detection limit, which is suggestive of their stance to provide evidence to the relevance and applicability of the method to their study. It only means that the authors wanted to back up their use of such method through other studies utilising the same. Moreover, the objective of detecting anthropogenic inputs through hydrochemical irregularities was addressed in the study by tackling hydrochemical parameters, amongst others, in basic descriptive statistics organised based on tidal and cyclical conditions that took place at the time when sampling was carried out. This allowed the analysis of the estuarine waters to find slight alkaline content alongside local recording of acidic values at the rim of the tidal channel during low tide periods. The objective of detecting anthropogenic inputs through hydrochemical irregularities was also addressed by an identification of the wide variation in the mean pH values in the lacustrine wetland, which is higher during winter (8.4) than during summer (7.5). In addition, the methodology used a Piper diagram to plot the hydrochemical data, bearing dissolved prime cations and anions, which then exhibited two major water types in the wetland, specifically sodium chloride sulfate and a mixture of cal cium, magnesium, and sulfate-chloride.   The Piper diagram has been used   also in other studies depicting similar direction as that of this study, such as in the studies of Adams et al. (2001), Cloutier et al. (2008), and Van den Boogaart and Tolosana-Delgado (2008). The procedure in Barba-Brioso et al. (2010) revealed greater concentrations of nitrate distribution during low tide, which increases in the upstream route as well as detected the highest levels of nitrate and phosphate in small streams. It may thus be inferred that these data emanating from the methodology, enabled Barba- Brioso et al. to address the second objective, which again is to detect anthropogenic inputs through hydrochemical irregularities. Such objective was also addressed by the methodology’s stance to determine Ca and Mg concentrations through atomic absorption spectroscopy as well as atomic emission spectroscopy to determine K and NA. The application of SPE and HPLC procedures in quantifying all the studied pesticides was also congruent with the objective of identifying the various sources of pollution by apportionment procedures. In the same manner, the methods being carried out alongside this (e.g. use of water and methanol to condition the cartridge, etc.) app arently supported the study’s intention to tackle the objective of identifying anthropogenic inputs through hydrochemical irregularities. Furthermore, to determine trace elements, the methodology used measurements of iron elevated contents at the convergence of the Tinto River and the Tidal channel. Citing the methodology In the study of Guillen et al. (2012), the authors did not use the same methods as Barba-Brioso et al. (2010) in their (Guillen et al., 2012) attempt to find out trace elements’ mobility through the modified BCR sequential extraction method. Rather, atomic absorption spectroscopy and atomic emission spectroscopy were utilised by Barba- Brioso et al. (2010). Mass spectroscopy with plasma of inductive couple carried out the analyses of dissolved trace elements in Barba- Brioso and colleagues’ study. The pursuit of the method to derive the expected precision was seen in an attempt to correct for any drift during the analysis through the measurement of certified reference material, thereby producing the range of a specific   mean precision for all the analyses and a particular detection li mit optimisation for all the trace elements being analysed.     The apportionment methods also allowed different potentially toxic elements to be distributed on a closely parallel manner with the pattern of major cations and anions, in which a declining upstream trend was depicted during both high and low tides. The method used enabled the study to determine the sources of pollution in the Domingo Rubio wetland in Tideland area and overall wetland. The manner of data collection was highly scientific and accuracy-specific, as the study intended to investigate the major ions and trace elements as well as the pesticide distribution in the coastal wetland. The passing of the replicates of water sample through the equivalent cartridges at a specific flow rate was also indicative of an aim to ascertain pesticide distribution, which was linked to an objective of identifying the various sources of pollution in Domingo Rubio. It may also be observed that the analytical methods concerning anions and nutrients in which Merck 1000 ppm and Standard Methods were used to examine water and wastewater were parallel to the objectives of determining hydrochemical anomalies and various sources of pollution in the wetland.   It may therefore be claimed that the extent to which the methodology has enabled the investigators to meet the stated aims and objectives is sufficient enough. Further, the quality of the data being provided was something to be confident about. The authors enumerated the analytical methods and procedures one by one, strongly focusing on the details of these procedures, including the elements being examined. They also used a table on which to organise the data, clear enough for the reader to understand them. The high confidence level of the data being presented is indicative of how they were analysed in the results section, in which the parameters of water quality were summarised and compared, alongside the samples’ chemical composition. In this regard, the study is able to pinpoint that the tidal channel is characterised by slight alkaline content, describing its pH mean values during low tide and high tide, and that there is the presence of acidic values at the rim of the tidal channel during low tide. This specific analysis was enabled by the kind of data being gathered and the manner through which to analyse them. In addition, the methodology paved the way for the result to conclude that the water samples being examined were oxidising. Similarly, it was able to point out that the most acidic water had the higher Eh values, leading to a deviation from the common pattern demonstrated by the dominant waters in the wetland.   The results also revealed the existence of the effect of tidal interaction through the way the data were used to examine the gradual decline of the electrical conductivity in the upstream route. The data also allowed identifying the period when the maximum value was recorded. The study’s depiction of dissolved oxygen concentrations in the draining streams across the agricultural areas is parallel to its objective to find out the influence of tidal and cyclical conditions on the concentrations of pollutants. An interesting point to mention is the fact that Barba-Brioso et al.’s (2010) study was cited by Haarstad et al. (2011) in their investigation of pollutants in natural we tlands and the latter also used the experimental design, enabling the authors to identify the pesticides found and identify toxic heavy metals. An experimental design – with a different statistical approach – was also utilised in Barba-Brioso et al.’s (2010) study on the application of the life cycle impact assessment to the Domingo Rubio tidal structure. With the above discussion, it is thereby concluded that there are no more areas in which the methodology could be improved as it was able to cover all the necessary aspects deemed to be achieved by the objectives.   Conclusion This paper has been focused on analysing critically the methodology adopted in the study of Barba-Brioso et al. (2010), which is about water pollution from multiple sources in the Huelva Estuary. This work is able to pinpoint the extent to which the methodology has allowed the aims and objectives to be addressed in their entirety. Sampling for both high tide and low tide was utilised in Barba-Brioso et al.’s study to consider the impacts of tidal regimes, in which water samples were taken during winter and summer. A highly systematic and intricate methodology was adopted, considering that the study itself was quantitative where objectivity and statistical validity were highly considered. The study’s adoption of the experimental method is consistent with the use of basic descriptive statistics that allowed examining the concentrations of elements in the wetland. It also utilised hydrochemical parameters, amongst others, as a way to contribute to addressing its objective to identify hydrochemical irregularities. With   the study’s identification of dissolved oxygen concentrations in the draining streams, it likewise tackled the objective of recognising the influence of   tidal and cyclical conditions on the concentrations of pollutants. The conclusion thus generated is that the methodology was able to cover all areas and that there were none left to be improved because of this. References Adams, S., Titus, R., Pietersen, K., Tredoux, G., and Harris, C. (2001) Hyrdochemical characteristics of aquifers near Sutherland in the Western Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Hydrology, 241 (1-2), 91-103. Bamberger, M. (2000) Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Development Projects. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Barba-Brioso, C., Fernandez-Caliani, J. C., Miras, A., Cornejo, J., and Galan, E. (2010) Multi-source water pollution in a highly anthrropized wetland system associated with the estuary of Huelva (SW Spain). Marine Pollution Bulletin,   60(1), 1259-1269. Barba-Brioso, C., Quaranta, G., Galan, E., Fernandez, J. C., and Miras, A. (2010) The life cycle impact assessment applied to the Domingo Rubio tidal system by the study of seasonal variations of the aquatic eutrophication potential. Science   of the Total Environment, 408 (23), 5897-5902. Bower, M. (2005) Psychoanalytic Theory for Social Work Practice: Thinking under Fire. East Sussex: Psychology Press. Cloutier, V., Lefebve, R., Therrien, R., and Savard, M. M. (2008) Multivariate statistical analysis of geochemical data as indicative of the hyrochemical evolution of groundwater in a sedimentary rock aquifer system. Journal of Hydrology, 353 (3-4), 294-313. Guillen, M. T., Delgado, J., Albanese, S., Nieto, J. M., Lima, A., and De Vivo, B. (2012) Heavy metals fractionation and multivariate statistical techniques to evaluate the environmental risk in soils of Huelva Township (SW Iberian Peninsula). Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 119-120 (1), 32-43. Haarstad, K., Bavor, H. J., and Maehlum, T. (2011) Organic and metallic pollutants in water treatment and natural wetlands: A review. Water Science Technology, 65 (1), 76-99. Van den Boogaart . K. G. and Tolosana-Delgado, R. (2008) Compositions: A unified R package to analyze compositional data. Computers Geosciences, 34 (4), 320-338.

Substance Abouse while in prison Research Paper

Substance Abouse while in prison - Research Paper Example This paper will evaluate the prevalence of substance abuse in prisons and also their health implications to the users. Adequate literature will also be reviewed to identify the effective responses which have been formulated to deal with the problems of substance abuse in prison as well as the evidence of harm reduction strategies. This paper hopes to give insights and motivation for those countries going through the same menace to consider implementing such responses to curb the drug use in their prisons. The prison population is composed of a large percentage of drug users particularly in the developed countries. According to Zurhold, Stà ¶ver, & Haasen, (2004), there is an estimated fifty percent of prisoners who have been involved with substance abuse a time in their history in the European Union and an estimated 80% of prisoners in the USA. Injecting drug users are more than 50% of the entire population of the drug users in prison (Dolan et al., 2007), while in the contemporary community, they account for barely 1-3% which shows that drug use in prison is more dangerous than in the broader community (Aceijas et al., 2004). Many users of drugs in prisons are highly dependent on the drugs as more than 80% of prisoners in developed countries have been reported to have been under the influence of illicit substances while they were in prison. The situation is mostly prevalent because most of the notorious drug users have been in prison at a point in time. The collection of many large scale substance abusers at the same time and at the same place enhances exchange of ideas and practices such that the result of it is a population of heavy abusers of drugs and other illicit substances. Many prisons have put very strict measures to inhibit the entry of drugs in the prisons but in most countries, this has been very unsuccessful. Despite those

Operating system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operating system - Essay Example As a result, there is a need for a communication interface between the computer and the human users. Interfacing the peripheral with the CPU For the central system to function, it requires a number of peripheral units which helps the system to work. Such peripheral units include the memory, the hard drive etc. The processor also needs input and output devices such as the keyboard, the mouse and the monitor in order for it to be able to receive data and give data from the results of processing the raw data. All these resources need to be managed and that is where the operating system comes in. The operating system sits between these peripheral components and the central hardware (the processing unit) and regulates the way these units access and use the operating system. The operating system manages the application systems as well and acts as the intermediary between the applications which are not able to communicate directly with the computer hardware. Advantages of an operating syste m Multitasking and time sharing One of the greatest advantages of an operating system is the ability to multitask. Multitasking refers to the fact that the processor will be handling more than one process concurrently. This is done through time sharing and the operating system in any computing environment is very useful in determining which functions will be given which computing resources. Before the modern operating system architecture was developed in the 1950s and the early 1960s, computer processors only processed one process at a time (Meyler, Fuller and Joyner 584). The main disadvantage of processing one process at a time is that valuable processor time is lost every time there is a delay in data execution or memory access for that particular process. An operating system schedules the access of the processor of the computer and makes sure that the processor is busy throughout the uptime. Using complicated algorithms, the operating systems also determine which application or device to be given access to the processor. Based on how complicated a process is, it can be given preference or denied preference. The operating system also is able to determine which processes are critical and therefore gives them preference in order to avoid fatal errors. For instance, if a printer is asking for a timeslot in the processor, it may be given preference over other processes because delays in processing the printing data may lead to the whole process failing. In this regard, a computer operating system not only schedules processes but also acts as an error handling system which prevents the computer as well as the various processes from failing. Programmers don’t need to know the processor architecture One of advantages of operating systems is that programmers never have to worry about the architecture of a computer as long as they code programs which can be executed by the operating system. This also means that programs can be run in computers with different hardware architectures since the applications don’t have to communicate directly with the hardware (processor). In this regard, the operating system separates the functions of application developers from computer architects. The computer programmer does not have to understand the internal working of the computer because the operating system will do most of the communication between the applications developed by