About the Geodesic Dome in Architecture

About the Geodesic Dome in Architecture A geodesic dome is a spherical space-frame structure composed of a complex network of triangles. The linked triangles create a self-bracing framework that is structurally strong yet elegantly delicate. The geodesic dome could be called the manifestation of the phrase less is more, as a minimum of building materials geometrically arranged ensures a design both strong and lightweight- especially when the framework is covered with modern siding materials like ETFE. The design allows massive interior space, free from columns or other supports. A space-frame is the three-dimensional (3D) structural framework that enables a geodesic dome to exist, as opposed to a typical buildings two-dimensional (2D) frame of length and width. The space in this sense is not outer space, although the resultant structures sometimes look like they come from the Age of Space Exploration. The term geodesic is from Latin, meaning earth dividing. A geodesic line is the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere. Inventors of the Geodesic Dome: Domes are a relatively recent invention in architecture.  Ã‚  Romes Pantheon, rebuilt around 125 AD, is one of the oldest large domes. In order to support the weight of the heavy building materials in early domes, the walls beneath were made very thick and the top of the dome became thinner. In the case of the Pantheon in Rome, an open hole or oculus is at the domes apex. The the idea of combining triangles with the architectural arch was pioneered in 1919 by German engineer Dr. Walther Bauersfeld. By 1923, Bauersfeld had designed the worlds first projection planetarium for the Zeiss Company in Jena, Germany. However, it was R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) who conceived and popularized the concept of geodesic domes being used as homes. Fullers first patent for a geodesic dome was issued in 1954. In 1967 his design was shown to the world with Biosphere constructed for Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada. Fuller claimed that it would be possible to enclose mid-town Manhattan in New York City with a two-mile wide temperature-controlled dome like the one presented at the Montreal exposition. The dome, he said, would pay for itself within ten years...just from the savings of snow-removal costs. On the 50th anniversary of receiving a patent for the geodesic dome, R. Buckminster Fuller was commemorated on a US postage stamp in 2004. An index of his patents can be found at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. The triangle continues to be used as a means to strengthen architectural height, as evidenced in many skyscrapers, including One World Trade Center in New York City. Note the massive, elongated triangular sides on this and other tall buildings. About Space-Frame Structures: Dr. Mario Salvadori reminds us that rectangles are not inherently stiff. So, none other than Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea of triangulating large roof frames to cover large, barrier-free interior spaces. Thus, write Salvadori, the modern space frame sprang from the mind of an electrical engineer and gave rise to a whole family of roofs having the enormous advantage of modular construction, easy assemblage, economy, and visual impact. In 1960, The Harvard Crimson described the geodesic dome as a structure composed of a large number of five-sided figures. If you build your own geodesic dome model, youll get an idea of how triangles are put together to form hexagons and pentagons. The geometry can be assembled to form all kinds of interior spaces, like architect I.M. Peis Pyramid at The Louvre and the gridshell forms used for the tensile architecture of Frei Otto and Shigeru Ban. Additional Definitions: Geodesic Dome: A structure consisting of a multiplicity of similar, light, straight-line elements (usually in tension) which form a grid in the shape of a dome.- Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw- Hill, 1975, p. 227 Space-Frame: A three-dimensional framework for enclosing spaces, in which all members are interconnected and act as a single entity, resisting loads applied in any direction.- Dictionary of Architecture, 3rd ed. Penguin, 1980, p. 304 Examples of Geodesic Domes: Geodesic domes are efficient, inexpensive, and durable. Corrugated metal dome homes have been assembled in undeveloped parts of the world for only hundreds of dollars. Plastic and fiberglass domes are used for sensitive radar equipment in Arctic regions and for weather stations around the world. Geodesic domes are also used for emergency shelter and mobile military housing. The best-known structure built in the manner of a geodesic dome may be Spaceship Earth, the ATT Pavilion at EPCOT in Disney World, Florida. The EPCOT icon is an adaptation of Buckminster Fullers geodesic dome. Other structures using this type of architecture include the Tacoma Dome in Washington State, Milwaukees Mitchell Park Conservatory in Wisconsin, the St. Louis Climatron, the Biosphere desert project in Arizona, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Conservatory in Iowa, and many projects created with ETFE including the Eden Project in Britain. Sources: Why Buildings Stand Up by Mario Salvadori, Norton 1980, McGraw-Hill 1982, p. 162;   Fuller, Nervi Candela to Deliver 1961-62 Norton Lecture Series, The Harvard Crimson, November 15, 1960 [accessed May 28, 2016]; History of Carl Zeiss Planetariums, Zeiss [accessed April 28, 2017]

Nike's business level strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nike's business level strategy - Research Paper Example The age group of this segment are between 15 to 35 years old and Nike develops its brand towards this segment by investing heavily in its advertising campaign. It does so by forging agreements with iconic athletes such as Manny Pacquiao, Kobe Bryant etch who also serves as its spokesperson lending to the success of its first experiement with Michael Jordan with its Nike Air. Nike also supports popular teams due to to their reach and influence to their target market. To avoid dilution of its brand, Nike instead used its subsidiary in reaching other segments. For example, instead of venturing into premium dress and casual wear that would dilute the Nike brand, it instead used the brand Cole Haan to tap into that segment market. The same case applies to snoboarding, skating and surfing which Nike has a brand has not established itself. Instead, it used its subsidiary Hurley International to tap into that market. Umbro specializes in soccer equiptments, apparel and footwear which is surprisingly a Nike subsidiear. This subsidiaries which Nike uses allow it to have an additional 13% revenue in 2009 by tapping into this market segment. In sum, Nike was able to capitalize its brand by investing heavily in advertising and forging partnership with athletes and teams who has a tremendous influence in the age group (15-35) of their segment market. Nike became the leading brand in sports apparel due to the interplay of various functional units in its organization. It is obvious that it popular brand which is responsible for its marketing appeal to its target market is due to heavy investment in advertising which is a function of its marketing department. There are also other functional units that help drove Nike to be a highly innovative and competitive sports apparel company. Its sophisticated IT infrastructure and supply chain are able to effectively reach and deliver product to its target markets

Health and well-being 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health and well-being 3 - Essay Example In such a highly demanding lifestyle the modern man lives, one would usually rely on the help of technology, making him used to sitting or lying down. In addition, the abundance of fast food centers is also a contributing factor to the growth of unhealthy lifestyle where people rely on the cheap and readily available but unhealthy foods. For instance, hamburgers could be hurriedly availed but it sure is full of fat. In addition, the upsize is usually a tempting choice especially during a long day in school or office. Colas are good matches for fast food picks and the upsize is also available for just few more cents, giving more sugar intake. Such influences have been a part of my life for a long time and breaking the practice usually is a struggle. Taking this class has reminded me of my responsibilities to myself, especially in taking care of my health which I can definitely control through self-discipline. I have made a few changes to my eating habits again, getting rid of unhealthy snacks like chips and colas which are sure contributors to diseases affecting the kidneys and other vital internal organs. I now rely on fruits for my sugar intake and eat more vegetables to strengthen my immune system. Eating at home has been frequent these past weeks and adjusting my schedule for me to be able to cook my own food has been deliberately planned. Picking my kitchen needs has given me more time to walk and make my social life healthier by meeting more people, communicating with those whom I meet in the department stores and not limiting my social life within the school. Preparing my own food allowed me to do more various activities, giving me room to relax, think and organize. Learning that sleep is essential to physical health, I made changes to my night activities for me to be able to sleep early and take enough rest, allowing my body to regenerate normally. With the

Critically analyse the specific nursing care of the woman undergoing Essay

Critically analyse the specific nursing care of the woman undergoing emergency caesarean section,2500 words - Essay Example The anatomy and physiological changes referring to pregnancy will also be established, especially in terms of anaesthesia. My role in preoperative care, preparation of the room and equipment, as well as the positioning of the patient will be included in this essay. Body The needs of the individual patient in this case would refer to the operating room needs, with an operating room made ready, the assisting nurse scrubbed and gowned, and the appropriate instrument tray prepared. Informing the appropriate team for the caesarean section would also be essential (Murray and Huelsmann, 2009). Individuals requiring notice would be the operative assistant, the charge nurse, the nursing supervisor, the anaesthesiologist, the OR team, and paediatrician. Information to be transmitted would include indications, how immediate the surgery needs to be, the gestational age of the mother, major pregnancy problems, medications given in labour, and allergies (Murray and Huelsmann, 2009). It is also imp ortant for the anaesthesia machine and a radiant warmer to be set up in the OR. The roles of the nurses also need to be assigned. As soon as the patient delivers, sponge counts and instrument counts would have to be undertaken (Murray and Huelsmann, 2009). Post-operative care is also in order, after appropriate un-scrubbing procedures carried out. The patient is then wheeled into the recovery room, monitored based on doctor recommended intervals. Monitoring of bleeding and infection is also needed, along with the administration of due medications, including antibiotics and pain medications (Littleton and Engebretson, 2005). It is important for the nurse to participate completely in the nursing care of the caesarean section patient because emergency caesarean sections imply an immediate procedure which is threatened by possible foetal or maternal distress or any other issues or complications of pregnancy (Iyer, et.al., 2006). The assistance of the nurse is essential in these cases in order to ensure a speedy, safe, and efficient delivery. It would allow for the efficient use of hospital resources with the ultimate goal of achieving improved and stable patient outcomes. It is also the responsibility of the nurse to assist the anaesthesiologist during the induction of the anaesthesia as well as the monitoring of the patient during the surgery, mostly in terms of vital signs monitoring or any adverse reactions to the anaesthesia (Maaloe, et.al., 2012). Spinal anaesthesia is usually preferred over general anaesthesia for caesarean patients. Although both anaesthesia techniques provide effective anaesthesia during the delivery, spinal anaesthesia provides more benefits for both the mother and the infant. In a review by Krisanaprakornkit (2006), the author established that both methods proved effective in providing anaesthesia. For spinal anaesthesia, the surgery can be initiated sooner, however the risk of hypotension requiring treatment seems apparent in spinal ana esthesia. General anaesthesia also offers better postoperative control (Ng, et.al., 2004). In relation to other postoperative outcomes, including nausea, postoperative back pain, postdural puncture headache, no effective or definitive conclusion could be established (Krisanaprakornkit, 2006). Regional

The Middle East And North Africa Mena Economics Essay

The Middle East And North Africa Mena Economics Essay Economic Integration is the elimination of  tariff  and nontariff barriers to the  flow  of  goods,  services, and  factors of production  between a group of  nations.  The purpose of Economic Integration is to allow the free flow of goods and service between nations that can benefit from the economic resources of partner nations. The Economic Integration Model used for this paper is MENA; commonly known as Middle East and North Africa. The countries and regions included in MENA are labeled in the map below http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/MENA.png The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region that includes both the oil-rich economies in the Gulf and countries that are resource-scarce in relation to population, such as Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. The MENA region includes the following countries: Algeria | Bahrain | Djibouti | Egypt | Iran | Iraq | Israel | Jordan I Kuwait | Lebanon | Libya | Malta | Morocco | Oman | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Syria I Tunisia | United Arab Emirates | West Bank and Gaza | Yemen The MENA countries have signed a series of multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade agreements. Multilateral agreements are within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which, with the exception of Syria and the West Bank and Gaza, all countries in the region are members or have observer status. Ten MENA countries have signed European Union-Mediterranean Association Agreements (EMAAs) with the E.U. These agreements replace the preferential access to European markets for goods from African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries with a reciprocal reduction in tariffs on many goods. However, these agreements generally exempt agricultural commodities. The MENA region is also an oil rich region and the regions economic fortunes over much of the past quarter century have been heavily influenced by the price of oil. During the recession of 2008 that effected global economies and the demand for oil, it led to increase uncertainty for the MENA region because of its high dependence on oil price in the international market. As an integrated unit MENA has been able to cope with global recession because of its combined trade policy. In the years to come, integrated regions similar to MENA might be the answer to future problems and hence makes it important to look at costs and benefits of economic integration in the light of MENA. The paper will firstly look at the current problems and challenges faced by the MENA region and then look at the benefits of integration to the region Challenges faced by the MENA region In order to understand the challenges faced by the MENA region collectively, it is important to divide the region into groups and look at these problems in a coherent segregated manner. According to a report by OECD titled Opportunities and challenges in the MENA region these classifications are: Resource-rich, labor-abundant countries are producers and exporters of oil and gas and have large native populations, which represent almost the totality of their residents. This group of countries includes Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Resource-rich, labor-importing countries are producers and exporters of oil and gas and have large shares of foreign or expatriate residents, who represent a significant percentage of the total population, even the majority in some cases. This group of countries comprises the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) and Libya. Resource-poor countries are small producers or importers of oil and gas. These countries include Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Palestinian Authority. (OECD, 2003) Unemployment The challenges faced by MENA include high unemployment levels (in particular among youth); pervasive corruption and lack of accountability and transparency; bloated public sectors with state-owned enterprises that crowdout the development of private enterprise and investment; low levels of enterprise creation; and, for a number of countries, a high dependence on fuel and food imports generating extensive exposure to commodity price volatility. Given that these challenges are both structural and interconnected, they can be addressed only through a coordinated and comprehensive strategy that involves governments, the private sector, civil society, and the international community which I will show later in the essay. The chart below from the World Bank shows unemployment rates for 2000 and 2009 in the MENA region, indicating the change in unemployment over nine years. (World Bank, 2011) Arab Spring Revolution Immigration is expected to increase in those countries most affected by the Arab Spring. Immigration to GCC countries, which already host significant shares of Arab immigrants, is expected to rise. Numerous accounts have been reported of Immigrants fleeing from Northern Africa to Europe. Furthermore, a survey of Egyptian young people by the International organization for Migration found that the onset of protests and instability may have acted as a primary push factor for youth who reported prior intentions to migrate. The surveys results showed that two-thirds of respondents with migration intentions who were working prior to the start of the protests were negatively affected by the events: 26 percent lost their jobs, 20 percent were asked to take unpaid leave, and 19 percent witnessed a reduction in their working hours. (International Organization for Migration, 2011) Inflation Data from OECD indicated that high inflation which is the product of a high dependence on fuel and food imports represents a major challenge for resource-poor countries. For the MENA region; consumer price inflation has remained high since the oil and fuel price spikes of 2007-08. This is particularly the case in Egypt, which registered an inflation rate of 5 percent during 1996-2005 and a significantly higher rate of 11 percent during 2006-10. A notable exception to high inflation has been Morocco, which has kept consumer price increases below 3 percent. (OECD, 2003) Costs and Benefits of Economic Integration in MENA Although the MENA region has registered a relatively high economic growth during the last few years, However;the absence of a vibrant private sector which would have been able to create more and better jobs, has meant that economic performance has not been reflected in improved living standards for the majority. As discussed earlier, some factors causing this deficiency are rigid labor markets, skills mismatches, the crowding out of private enterprise by SOEs and high corruption. But there are also other economic and structural factors, such as low levels of competitiveness in manufacturing sectors, lack of export-market diversification, and low intraregional integration which still exists in the region. Furthermore, although the Arab Spring provides an important opportunity for economic reform, although its immediate effects will be negative for those countries most affected by social and political instability Transition examples from other regions suggest that the medium-run gains from moving to more open and accountable governments are sizable. Income growth tends to stabilize at a higher average rate in the decade after transition, and income volatility at a lower rate, as compared with the previous period. The results will depend on how swiftly and credibly governments can commit to reform. In the meantime, as investors wait for political uncertainty to be resolved in countries affected by political turmoil, it is inevitable that investment will be delayed and economic challenges will emerge. Evidence from earlier transitions shows that these difficulties tend to be limited; growth typically dips for only one year and then returns to or exceeds previous levels. Integration via Trade in Goods Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferatedin the MENA region in the past two decades. Such agreements can make it possible to reap benefits from internationalintegration, while tailoring the provisions ofthe agreements to the particular needs and adjustmentcapacities of the countries involved. They canalso have beneficial indirect effects. Opening domesticmarkets to partner countries, for example, can increasecompetition in sectors with previously highlyconcentrated industrial structures. Such precompetitive impacts are particularly important for countriesthat have only a nascent domestic competition policy.Also, regional cooperation can be effective in harmonizingcustoms procedures and domestic regulations.Adopting common rules on investment, forexample, has the potential to encourage increased inflowsof foreign direct investment by enhancing thecredibility of FDI-related policies and providing a restrainton sudden policy reversals. According to the World Bank many MENA countries have recently seen the share of intraregional trade in total merchandise trade increase dramatically over the past two decades. Compared to this; the extent of intraregional trade remains lowerthan in all other regions of the world, except for South Asia. Though the ratio of intraregional trade to GDP exceeds 15 percent in the Syrian Arab Republic and Jordan, in most MENA countries the ratio remains in the low single digits. In particular, resource-rich, labor-importing countries generally show a very low level of intra-MENA exports in relation to GDP, despite high total export-to-GDP ratios. (World Bank, 2005). Integration through Services For an economy, services typically contribute a major portion to the GDP. Therefore, it is important to remove barriers to entryfor both domestic and foreign firms and increasethe efficiency of services. The current regional integration agreements inMENA generally do not cover services trade, and in areas where the agreements do cover services, it is in the terms of intentions and tacit agreements. Moreover, there still exist differences in regulations and at times limits on the physical movement of individuals. In these cases it is currently creating a situation in which it is often easier for MENA countries service providers to operate in countries outside the region than within. The chart below from the World Bank represents the service exports for selected countries in the MENA region. Integration through Labor reforms If we compare the regions integration through trade and labor we can see that the MENA region is more integrated in the globaleconomy through labor mobility than through tradeand investment. According to a report by the World Bank on the MENA region titled Economic Developments and Prospects it has outlined that the regions share of global trade flows is below 5 percent, andthe region receives an even lower share of globalFDI flows. However, about 16 percent of all remittancespaid out to migrants in the world originate inthe MENA region, essentially the GCC countries,and 10 percent of global remittances are received byresidents of MENA countries. (World Bank, 2008) They have also explained a recent trend where MENAs share in remittances has come down significantly since the 1990s, at atime when remittances to India, China, Mexico, andthe Philippines have increased exponentially. Thus looking closely at these huge labor flows in the past it becomes important to ask here if immigrations are entirely conflict-driven flows. This is not the case if we look at the chart below where the share of refugees as a portion of Migrants has decreased dramatically. One of the primary factors favoring the increase in immigration still appears to be demographics. According to population projections from the United Nations in context with labor force participation rates, show that, if there is no migration then the labor force in GCC countries will keep growing at 2.2 percent per yearbetween 2005 and 2010, but after 2010, this growth rate will decline. Thus, without additional migrant workers, two GCC workers would still have to supportthree inactive persons over the foreseeable future. This shows that if there are no drastic changes then underlying demographic factors will continue to favor more migration. Integration through Capital Flows Two developments frame the context for recenttrends in capital markets in the MENA region: countriessuch as Syria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisiahave begun to deepen structural and institutionalreforms, increasing the demand for capital The oil boom has generated massive liquidity in theGulf states, thus increasing the supply of capital. Compared with conditions in previous oil boomperiods, a higher amount of the surplus is now availableto the oil-exporting MENA countries and is beingchanneled into project-based investments in the region.GCC countries have already allocated over$1.3 trillion in infrastructure and manufacturing investmentsover the next 5 years according to the EIU outlook for 2007 (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007) On the other hand, Project-based investments have recently been increasingespecially in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, andTunisia. These intra-MENA investments are mostly basedon telecommunications, infrastructure, real estate,tourism, and banking. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has list of multibillion-dollar investment projects in MENA which is getting longer. According to them some recent investment projects include: A$9 billion tourism project by Dubai Holding and Emaar Holding in Morocco, Kuwaits Telecom Group (Wataniya) expanding into Tunisia, DubaiHolding acquiring 33.5 percent of Tunis Telecom ($2.25 billion), and the Bukhater Groups $5 billion City Complex project in Tunisia. To date, there are 15MENA national investment promotion agencies,most of which were established in the past decade.New investments are facilitated by private groupsand finance houses, and governments are closelymonitoring reform indexes published by internationalagencies to analyze the effects of greater investments intra-region. (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, 2011) Integration through Infrastructure Investments In terms of Infrastructure investment recently, there have been cross-border infrastructure projects that are becoming more prominent in the region. Some of the examplesinclude cross-border electricity grids, gas pipelines,transport links, and telecommunication networks. However, there are still many regulatory and financial challenges.In the past, interconnection of power grids in theMENA region was primarily driven by governmentsconcerns about preserving power supply securityin their respective markets. On the other handother benefits,such as capital investments saving, are also considered,though these are not yet the main drivers fornetwork interconnection. The amount of exported and imported power still remains low in many cases. For instance reports from the World Bank show that only 12 percent of total capacity of theAlgeria-Morocco links is used, 17 percent in the case of the Algeria-Tunisia interconnection. (World Bank, 2011) With the exception of Yemen and Djibouti, transportsystems are well developed in MENA countries. Most countries have been able to develop extensiveroad networks, with high capacity in some areas, and modern facilities for air, sea, and railtransport. The key issue in the region is the quality of the transport assets as a result of the lack of appropriatemaintenance or of poor service operations due to institutional deficiencies. Cost-effectivetransport services, efficient facilitation, and transport infrastructure supplemented with good intermodalconnectivity are required to accommodate the growth in global and intraregional trade. However, regional integration initiatives still remain at an early stage of development in the transport sector.As a result of the closure of several borders in the region, land-based transport plays a minor role inintraregional trade in MENA. Conclusion In light of the recent developments and the challenges faced by the MENA region we can accurately see that there is still room for more substantial development in the region as a result of greater intra-regional economic region. Looking at results from the development of intra-regional trade and services we can see that the benefits outweigh the costs and it is important the reforms are taken at a governmental level to allow for greater de-regulation of markets and policies effecting trade flows between countries. Nevertheless, the recent oil boom and global commodity boom does leave tremendous room for development and growth in the region.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay: The Soul of Dorian -- The Picture of

The Picture of Dorian Gray "The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought and sold. It can be poisoned or made perfect. There's a soul in each one of us. I know it." This is a statement made by Dorian Gray to his best friend, Lord Henry, a few hours after he realizes that his behavior of the last eighteen years has been absolutely terrible. First I shall explain the way Dorian Gray lost his ability to be good and how he found it again eighteen years later. After Sybil Vane's death, the young lad was first seized by terrible remorse. After abandoning her in the theatre with most cruel words, he reconsidered his action during the night and was ready to forgive her and marry her, as he had promised. So the news of her suicide was of course quite an unpleasant shock to him. Unfortunately Lord Henry was there to influence him with his corrupt and selfish personality. He taught... ...the soul exists. The soul is a "terrible reality", because it is stronger than any physical phenomenon of belief or disbelief. Whatever you do, it always remains in the depth of your heart and you will always depend on it, as you depend on your reality. If you poison it by neglect or ignorance, you try to sell it for what seems a cheap and easy price, but you cannot sell and separate from a reality that you are a part of; the unavoidable price of "buying" it back is very, very, high. The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay: The Soul of Dorian -- The Picture of The Picture of Dorian Gray "The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought and sold. It can be poisoned or made perfect. There's a soul in each one of us. I know it." This is a statement made by Dorian Gray to his best friend, Lord Henry, a few hours after he realizes that his behavior of the last eighteen years has been absolutely terrible. First I shall explain the way Dorian Gray lost his ability to be good and how he found it again eighteen years later. After Sybil Vane's death, the young lad was first seized by terrible remorse. After abandoning her in the theatre with most cruel words, he reconsidered his action during the night and was ready to forgive her and marry her, as he had promised. So the news of her suicide was of course quite an unpleasant shock to him. Unfortunately Lord Henry was there to influence him with his corrupt and selfish personality. He taught... ...the soul exists. The soul is a "terrible reality", because it is stronger than any physical phenomenon of belief or disbelief. Whatever you do, it always remains in the depth of your heart and you will always depend on it, as you depend on your reality. If you poison it by neglect or ignorance, you try to sell it for what seems a cheap and easy price, but you cannot sell and separate from a reality that you are a part of; the unavoidable price of "buying" it back is very, very, high.

Outline of Carbon and Molecular Diversity of Life

Chapter 4 Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life Lecture Outline Overview: Carbon – The Backbone of Biological Molecules * Although cells are 70–95% water, the rest consists mostly of carbon-based compounds. * Carbon is unparalleled in its ability to form large, complex, and diverse molecules. * Carbon accounts for the diversity of biological molecules and has made possible the great diversity of living things. * Proteins, DNA, carbohydrates, and other molecules that distinguish living matter from inorganic material are all composed of carbon atoms bonded to each other and to atoms of other elements. These other elements commonly include hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and phosphorus (P). (CHONPS) Concept 4. 1 Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds * The study of carbon compounds, organic chemistry, deals with any compound with carbon (organic compounds). *Organic compounds can range from simple molecules, such as CO2 or CH4, to compl ex molecules such as proteins, which may weigh more than 100,000 daltons. * The overall percentages of the major elements of life (C, H, O, N, S, and P) are quite uniform from one organism to another. However, because of carbon’s versatility, these few elements can be combined to build an inexhaustible variety of organic molecules. * Variations in organic molecules can distinguish even between individuals of a single species. * The science of organic chemistry began in attempts to purify and improve the yield of products obtained from other organisms. * Initially, chemists learned to synthesize simple compounds in the laboratory, but had no success with more complex compounds.The Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius was the first to make a distinction between organic compounds that seemed to arise only in living organisms and inorganic compounds that were found in the nonliving world. * This led early organic chemists to propose vitalism, the belief that physical and chemical laws did not apply to living things. * Support for vitalism began to wane as organic chemists learned to synthesize complex organic compounds in the laboratory. * In the early 1800s, the German chemist Friedrich Wohler and his students were able to synthesize urea from totally inorganic materials.In 1953, Stanley Miller at the University of Chicago set up a laboratory simulation of chemical conditions on the primitive Earth and demonstrated the spontaneous synthesis of organic compounds. * Such spontaneous synthesis of organic compounds may have been an early stage in the origin of life. * Organic chemists finally rejected vitalism and embraced mechanism, accepting that the same physical and chemical laws govern all natural phenomena including the processes of life. * Organic chemistry was redefined as the study of carbon compounds regardless of their origin. Organisms do produce the majority of organic compounds. * The laws of chemistry apply to inorganic and organic compounds ali ke. Concept 4. 2 Carbon atoms can form diverse molecules by bonding to four other atoms *With a total of 6 electrons, a carbon atom has 2 in the first electron shell and 4 in the second shell. * Carbon has little tendency to form ionic bonds by losing or gaining 4 electrons to complete its valence shell. * Instead, carbon usually completes its valence shell by sharing electrons with other atoms in four covalent bonds. This tetravalence by carbon makes large, complex molecules possible. * When carbon forms covalent bonds with four other atoms, they are arranged at the corners of an imaginary tetrahedron with bond angles of 109. 5Â °. * In molecules with multiple carbons, every carbon bonded to four other atoms has a tetrahedral shape. * However, when two carbon atoms are joined by a double bond, all bonds around those carbons are in the same plane and have a flat, three-dimensional structure. * The three-dimensional shape of an organic molecule determines its function. The electron configuration of carbon makes it capable of forming covalent bonds with many different elements. * The valences of carbon and its partners can be viewed as the building code that governs the architecture of organic molecules. *In carbon dioxide, one carbon atom forms two double bonds with two different oxygen atoms. * In the structural formula, O=C=O, each line represents a pair of shared electrons. This arrangement completes the valence shells of all atoms in the molecule. * While CO2 can be classified as either organic or inorganic, its importance to the living world is clear. CO2 is the source of carbon for all organic molecules found in organisms. It is usually fixed into organic molecules by the process of photosynthesis. * Urea, CO(NH2)2, is another simple organic molecule in which each atom forms covalent bonds to complete its valence shell. Variation in carbon skeletons contributes to the diversity of organic molecules. * Carbon chains form the skeletons of most organic mole cules. * The skeletons vary in length and may be straight, branched, or arranged in closed rings. *The carbon skeletons may include double bonds. Atoms of other elements can be bonded to the atoms of the carbon skeleton. * Hydrocarbons are organic molecules that consist of only carbon and hydrogen atoms. * Hydrocarbons are the major component of petroleum, a fossil fuel that consists of the partially decomposed remains of organisms that lived millions of years ago. * Fats are biological molecules that have long hydrocarbon tails attached to a nonhydrocarbon component. * Petroleum and fat are hydrophobic compounds that cannot dissolve in water because of their many nonpolar carbon-to-hydrogen bonds. Isomers are compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structures and, therefore, different chemical properties. * For example, butane and isobutane have the same molecular formula, C4H10, but butane has a straight skeleton and isobutane has a branched skeleton. * The tw o butanes are structural isomers, molecules that have the same molecular formula but differ in the covalent arrangement of atoms. * Geometric isomers are compounds with the same covalent partnerships that differ in the spatial arrangement of atoms around a carbon–carbon double bond. The double bond does not allow atoms to rotate freely around the bond axis. *The biochemistry of vision involves a light-induced change in the structure of rhodopsin in the retina from one geometric isomer to another. * Enantiomers are molecules that are mirror images of each other. * Enantiomers are possible when four different atoms or groups of atoms are bonded to a carbon. * In this case, the four groups can be arranged in space in two different ways that are mirror images. * They are like left-handed and right-handed versions of the molecule. * Usually one is biologically active, while the other is inactive. Even subtle structural differences in two enantiomers have important functional signi ficance because of emergent properties from specific arrangements of atoms. * One enantiomer of the drug thalidomide reduced morning sickness, the desired effect, but the other isomer caused severe birth defects. *The L-dopa isomer is an effective treatment of Parkinson’s disease, but the D-dopa isomer is inactive. Concept 4. 3 Functional groups are the parts of molecules involved in chemical reactions * The components of organic molecules that are most commonly involved in chemical reactions are known as functional groups. If we consider hydrocarbons to be the simplest organic molecules, we can view functional groups as attachments that replace one or more of the hydrogen atoms bonded to the carbon skeleton of the hydrocarbon. * Each functional group behaves consistently from one organic molecule to another. * The number and arrangement of functional groups help give each molecule its unique properties. * As an example, the basic structure of testosterone (a male sex hormone ) and estradiol (a female sex hormone) is the same. *Both are steroids with four fused carbon rings, but they differ in the functional groups attached to the rings. These functional groups interact with different targets in the body. * There are six functional groups that are most important to the chemistry of life: hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, sulfhydryl, and phosphate groups. * All are hydrophilic and increase the solubility of organic compounds in water. * In a hydroxyl group (—OH), a hydrogen atom forms a polar covalent bond with an oxygen atom, which forms a polar covalent bond to the carbon skeleton. * Because of these polar covalent bonds, hydroxyl groups increase the solubility of organic molecules. Organic compounds with hydroxyl groups are alcohols, and their names typically end in -ol. * A carbonyl group (>CO) consists of an oxygen atom joined to the carbon skeleton by a double bond.* If the carbonyl group is on the end of the skeleton, the compound is a n aldehyde. * If the carbonyl group is within the carbon skeleton, then the compound is a ketone. * Isomers with aldehydes versus ketones have different properties. * A carboxyl group (—COOH) consists of a carbon atom with a double bond to an oxygen atom and a single bond to the oxygen of a hydroxyl group. * Compounds with carboxyl groups are carboxylic acids. A carboxyl group acts as an acid because the combined electronegativities of the two adjacent oxygen atoms increase the dissociation of hydrogen as an ion (H+). * An amino group (—NH2) consists of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms and the carbon skeleton. * Organic compounds with amino groups are amines. * The amino group acts as a base because the amino group can pick up a hydrogen ion (H+) from the solution. * Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, have amino and carboxyl groups. *A sulfhydryl group (—SH) consists of a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom and to the backbone. This grou p resembles a hydroxyl group in shape. * Organic molecules with sulfhydryl groups are thiols. * Two sulfhydryl groups can interact to help stabilize the structure of proteins. * A phosphate group (—OPO32? ) consists of a phosphorus atom bound to four oxygen atoms (three with single bonds and one with a double bond). * A phosphate group connects to the carbon backbone via one of its oxygen atoms. * Phosphate groups are anions with two negative charges, as two protons have dissociated from the oxygen atoms. * One function of phosphate groups is to transfer energy between organic molecules.Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is the primary energy-transferring molecule in living cells. These are the chemical elements of life. * Living matter consists mainly of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, with smaller amounts of sulfur and phosphorus. * These elements are linked by strong covalent bonds. * Carbon, with its four covalent bonds, is the basic building block in molecular archi tecture. * The great diversity of organic molecules with their special properties emerges from the unique arrangement of the carbon skeleton and the functional groups attached to the skeleton.