Design of the The Brion Tomb by Carlos Scarpa

Design of the The Brion Tomb by Carlos Scarpa In my study I intend to explain Carlo Scarpas thinking in his design of the Tomba brion vega, his most visited work and analyse the design of each element individually and as a whole. It is a site of elegance and poetry and epitomises Carlo Scarpas use of architecture to produce meaning and feeling. Carlo Scarpa himself describes the tomb as a pathway (Unora con Carlo Scarpa The Brion Tomb is situated in the north of Italy in the village San Vito dAltivole near Treviso. It was designed for the family Brion by Carlo Scarpa after the death of Giuseppe Brion. It was commissioned by the wife of Giuseppe, Onorina Brion; together they co-founded the electronics firm Brion-Vega. Giuseppe was born in San Vito and the family owned a plot of land in the local cemetery as well as a funerary chapel which originally stood on the site. Scarpas original idea and his early work for the family was for a number of seperate tombs for different family members on the original cemetery plot. These early designs were to later incorporated in to the final design. in 1969 the family bought an L shaped plot of land wrapped around the northern and eastern sides of the existing cemetery. Acquiring this plot of land allowed Scarpa to incorporate all the family tombs into a single master plan for the Brion families resting place. Not taking with the mainline trend that with money and power when death occurs a huge shrine or monument should be erected in memorial Scarpa went the opposite way. Scarpa states I believe it is mistaken to consider the Brion Cemetery the product of a wealthy capitalist. Rather it is quite the opposite. Of course I could have just made a large statue and left the rest a lawn, but I enjoy making things doing this he avoided the narrow dictates of rationalism, choosing rather to stress inner depth, dreams, and nostalgia. In this he creates a poetic resting place as much as a sculptural memorial in a green, calming garden. In March 1970 the Plans for the site had reached their final form and planning permission was given for construction. The Cemetery was completed in 1978 and is regarded by many as Scarpas masterpiece. Below is a quote from Scarpa on his design of the Brion Tomba. I consider this work, if you permit me, to be rather good and (something) which will get better over time. I have tried to put some poetic imagination into it, though not in order to create poetic architecture but to make a certain kind of architecture that could emanate a sense of formal poetry. I mean an expressed form that can become poetry, though, as I said before, you cannot intentionally make poetry. The deceased has asked to be close to (the) Earth since he was born in this village So I decided to build a small arch, which I will call Arcosolium. Arcosolium is a Latin term from the time of the early Christians in the Catacombs. Important persons or martyrs were buried in them.) I used a more costly version I thought it (was) a good idea for two people who had loved each other to be put in such a way as to be able to greet one another, after death. Soldiers stand erect, movements are human. The Arcosolium became an arch, a bridge span, an arch of reinforced concrete and would still have looked like a bridge if I hadnt had it illustrated, I mean decorated. But instead of painting we used mosaics, A Venetian tradition that I interpreted in a different way The statement above just shows how much thought went in to the design of his lifes masterpiece. The body of the cemetery The L shaped site has 5 main focal points; the arcosolium which was of great importance was placed on the north eastern corner to in Scarpas words benefit from the best view and sunniest exposure. The arcosolium acts as a kind of visual hinge on the L shaped site joining the north and eastern sides of the site. The family graves are situated on the north wall of the site sheltered underneath a canopy which shelters them from the elements. On the south side of the L shape is a pavilion which floats over a Lilly pond. To the western end he designed square chapel which leads to a private burial ground for local priests. Another entrance way to the site was constructed close to the pavilion where the original funerary chapel stood. The site is enclosed by a 2.3m high wall. Internally the views out from the site almost become a part of the design and Looking towards the site the 60deg slope of the wall directs sight over the cemetery causing minimum obstruction of the views out from the town whilst also masking its internal parts. Scarpa acknowledged that he had captured the sense of the countryside, as the Brions wished (Scarpa 1978-84) The Arcosolium The Arcosolium in history has been situated within a catholic burial chamber. A single catacomb would contain multiple arcosolium for important people and martyrs. They are arched recesses carved from solid rock with a solid stone coffin sarcophagus to the bottom. The arch and around it were often decorated with symbolic frescoes. In the image to the left is the arcosolium which is situated in Via Latina, Cubiculum E, a catacomb in Rome. You can clearly see the arched recess to the rear and the religiously painted walls. Scarpas arcosolium is the main focal point for the whole tomb, acting as a hinge between the two perpendicular areas of the site. The two heads of the family are buried here and is therefore sited with importance and was built on the north east corner of the site. Unlike the solid arch of the historic catholic arcosolium the arch Scarpa designed is sleek and slender and is made out of concrete and bows over the sunken ground on which sit the two sepulchers. The asymetical arch has four components or visual nuances which make the whole. The arch itself is visually two parts with the vertical main arch or the backbone spanning the sepulchres and below this sits a floating plane which shelters the crypts. The backbone has four fins which run the length of the arch. These fins are closed to their underside so to shelter the occupants. The two floating planes are decoratively layered to their topside rather like the arcosolium decoration of old. These are connected to the third and fourth components of the arch by pin joints and are the two concrete plinths which sit at the two ends of the arch and ground the design and also convert the otherwise compressional structure of an arch in to a tensile structure. The plinths themselves are split in to two parts with a solid mass capping the arch and a more dynamic form ending the completed arch. The plinths are decorated not with paintings or materials but with the zig zag form which dominates the cemetary. The two concerete plinths are orthogonally stepped three dimensionally lessening with weight the further away from the arch they are. Below the arch the two sepulchres sit in a sunken circular bowl which is sheltered by the arch above. Originally this circular base plate was to be surrounded by a water channel emanating from the north pool. The tombs themselves are made out of two tone marble with the sides facing each other being ebony, the top layer a speckled, black marble and the bottom layer a more grained white marble. The ebony planks on the facing planes of the coffins give them a softer touch. The two crypts are sat side by side underneath the arch and lean to each other as though they were trying to touch. This is also reiterated on the underside of the masses. Scarpa not wanting to ground the two objects too much curved the underside of them making them seem moveable and not stuck to the ground. Scarpa described it like this It is as it should be that the two people who loved each other in life to bend toward each other in greeting after death. A sense of Scarpas romance can be seen here. In Yutak Saitos book Carlo Scarpa, he describes how the two sepulchres are perceived to float like two boats beneath the arch. This is reminiscent of the buildings of Scarpas beloved Venice. Whilst under the arch the coloured glass tiles can be seen. Yutak Saito says The ceiling of the arch is covered in glass tiles, giving the sense of celestial brilliance The glass tiles run either side of an onyx strip which runs down the middle of the four fins of the arch, these omit a milky white translucence . Brion Tomba graveyard entrance The entrance lies down an avenue of trees which run the old Village Cemetery. Upon approach the first thing noticed is the two intersecting circles which lay at the end of the small corridor and their framed picture of the lawn and the ivy covered wall beyond. The entrance is sat beside other existing tombs and its scale is as those of the existing tombs. This gives the Brion Tomb a tardis like feel once inside having entered through here. The entrance is decorated with a zigzag design like the arcosolium with horizontal slices through the mass in which the sky or in Scarpas eye the heavens can be seen. On entering the square entrance opens up like a cave and upon speaking strange echoes bounce off the zigzagged inside. Again horizontal slices allow the sight of the heavens whilst inside this dark entrance way. Four steps lead up to the corridor beyond. These are slightly offset to the left hand side giving you a sense of direction in which one should travel. This small gesture The intersecting circles at the end of the corridor are rimmed with red and blue glass tiles. They signify the earth and the heavens and the earth and the intersected section signifies the spiritual world which may lie in between. You can also see this looking through the two circles with the green grass signifying the earth the sky the havens and the grey concrete wall which splits the two the spiritual world. With these two connotations Scarpa wanted to instil a sense of how close the three worlds are and how they intersect with each other. The corridor splits left and right now. The left hand side is brighter and beckons you down, another path indicator of which Scarpa is well known for. Looking down the corridor the left hand side of the arcosolium can be seen with the countryside in the background and the corrid or opens a few metres down. It opens to the right with the left hand side continuing further. At the transitional point between open and closed a water course continues the line of the structure which runs down in to the arcosolium adjacent to the walkway. Along this walkway are a set of offset steps which lead up to the grazed area above. These steps are of different thicknesses with each possessing a different sound when treaded upon. If you turn right at the corridor the path leads you down a darkened corridor which opens up onto a floating path which leads to the raised pavilion, the pavilion sits on the pond that feeds the watercourse. The Pavillion The pavilion sits on the north side of the site above a shallow body of water. At a distance it seems to float above the water. It is supported by a set of slender steel columns which rise out of the water. The idea behind the pavilion was to create a canopy under which the souls of the dead may enter to mediate. It is accessed via the main entrance way along a thin dark corridor and then through a glass door which is opened with an elaborate system of pulleys which are visible on the other side of the wall to the glass door. The top of the pavilion is clad in timber and Yutaka Saito in his book Carlo Scarpa notes the similarities in the depth and emphasis of the design relating to the series of torri gates of the fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Below the weathered timber box sits a thin metallic modesty panel painted green and is textured with a pattern of nails which softens the strong material making the space more comfortable. From its exterior the pavilion looks like a solid structure and a sense of weight is felt on sight but the innards are hollow which lets light pass down in to the space where underneath sits a bench on which Scarpa imagined the spirits could rest after they have had their playtime in the surrounding gardens of the cemetery. Its openness gives a connection between the spirit world and ours allowing passageway of souls in to it. Underneath the pavilion a small seating area is found for the spirits and this sits on a small jetty which seems to float a few centimetres above the pond. This may not be a piece of aesthetic design but a great knowledge of how water and construction materials react over time with staining and corrosion. This can also be seen on the back wall of the pavilion with it seeming to float just above the water level. Use of water Carlo Scarpa was of Venetian origin and this influenced his designs in that water and the effects it caused were often key elements of his designs. Bodies of water and/or water courses were elemental. He spent most of his life in Venice, wandering down its narrow gangways with buildings either floating on or reflected in water; a world changing with the ebb and flow of the tides. The brion tomb is no exception with Scarpa designing two pools at opposing ends of the site which were to be connected by thin streams that would weave inbetween the tombs connecting them with a sense of life or movement of the flowing water. A relationship between the lagoon and the canal can be envisioned here. The concept was not fully designed in but can still be seen in the form of a channel running between the pavilion and the arcosolium. Being from Venice Scarpa knew the effect of the tide and how this could effect materials and sometimes whole structures, submerging their lower floors on some occasions and the water course and pool in the cemetery were designed to avert flooding the adjacent spaces when it rains. The pools themselves are rather shallow being only half a metre in depth at their deepest point with the zig-zag pattern leading down to the lowest point giving the water a sense of volume and a place for the sun to play in, creating moving shadows and reflections of the surrounding structures during daytime hours. There are a number of water channels on the site. They all flow to the arcosolium and narrow as they get closer. This narrowing of the channels give the feeling of a sense of momentum and in essence, life. Brion Family Tomb The small family tomb is situated on the south side of the site and sits against the exterior wall giving a sense of shade for its occupants. It is a triangular shaped structure with a small entrance to the west. The entranceway is small and was designed so that to enter one must bow as a sign of respect to the deceased occupants. Internally the space is small yet the horizontal slits in the form allow the external openness to join with the internal space. The roof of the tomb narrows towards the top with a slice taken out at its peak. This was again the idea that the spirits could roam freely around the site and come back to their resting places for repose. The chapel and Sacristy The chapel sits on the east of the site and its importance is emphasised by the continual vertical planes that cut through the horizontal plane of the flat lawn. This emphasis shows its hierarchy and label the structure as being the building of most importance. There are two entrances to the chapel, one through the gardens and the second which is used for more formal occasions such as church mass. The entrance through the gardens shows this hierarchy the most, the tall walls create a strong vertical volume to travel down. Two small steps are at the entranceway and act as a transition between the less formal garden space and the more formal chapel beyond. On the left hand side wall a grid pattern of concrete lines was formed with 10mm recesses in which layers of plaster were trowelled and then polished which reflects light down the corridor. On this wall the door to the private sacristy can be found and follows the same grid patten as the walls slightly camouflaging it to identify its privacy. At the end of the corridor stands a large steel and plaster sliding lattice door reminiscent of the style of Otto Wagner of whom Scarpa was a fan and the traditional Japanese screen. Beyond the doors stands the chapel and the chinese style threshold that leads in to it which allows for the easy passage of coffins and on occasion to cope with a large numbers of people. The predominant material used in the construction of the chapel was again layered concrete. The floor is made of small cobble like stones which run at a 45deg angle to the room towards the alter. Two marble steps lead up to the alter and junctions between the materials was planned meticulously. The journey was very important in the planning of the site and all the senses were thought of when designing. Although the site is made up of lots of separate elements they are all part of the whole and are linked by pathways sometimes physical and sometimes psychological. http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Brion-Vega_Cemetery.html

Antidepressant Drugs: Types, Effects and Developments

Antidepressant Drugs: Types, Effects and Developments Introduction: Depression is one of the parts of mental disorder which is affecting millions of people worldwide. [6] The logical analytical approach used in clinical and forensic toxicology for the identification of one or more Antidepressant Drugs as a cause of intoxication is largely based on both simple and fast screening methods which cover their extraction and identification including detection of their possible metabolites is been tried to reviewed. Antidepressant: Types Functions Antidepressant drugs cover many varieties of drugs having different modes of actions like [16] etc. Adverse effects Antidepressants are supposed to increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children accompanying other disorders like depressive and psychiatric disorders. [17] [18] [19] The European Medicines Agency showed warning on the use of Antidepressants which might be increased the risk of suicidal behavior in children and adolescents. [31] TCAs and MAOIs can produce similar kind of side effects like Tachycardia, blurred vision, urinary retention, cardiovascular effects , hypotension, respiratory depression, coma etc. [4] Thus, these drugs may be responsible for the fatality and intoxication and can produce severe effects. Also their growing rate all over the world may show threatening effects which is the matter of global concern. Thus, its increasing prescription rate and adverse effects resulting in a growing interest for determination methods in the Clinical and Forensic field. Biological Samples use for the Screening of Antidepressant Drugs Biological samples are the basic requirement of Forensic and Clinical Toxicology as it solve several related questions which make basis of judgement, consultation and expertise for the above two fields. The matrices generally encountered for analysis are urine [34], hair, nails, vitrous humour etc. The most important biosample used for analytical purposes is Blood. It is a liquid connective tissue of the body composed of different kinds of blood cells suspended in a fluid called plasma. Blood (plasma, serum) is one of the best choices for quantitative and qualitative measurements of drugs of interest because pharmacological or toxicological effects correlate more effectively with their concentrations in blood. [42] Another important biological sample is Urine which is a widely used specimen employed for screening, identification and testing of unknown drugs, forms in high amount, readily available, easy to collect and contains much useful information about the major metabolic functions of the body. [43] Taking Forensic concept in postmortem cases if the positive finding of drug occurs in urine shows that the detected substance or its parent compound might be present in the body some time before death [48] A next alternative to the blood and urine specimen found is Oral fluid for their applications in therapeutic and toxicological drug monitoring [54] When analytical studies get concern with long duration of exposure to the detection window Hair could be as a best biological matrix for the identification and analysis of drugs. It is supposed that drugs or chemicals enter in to hair by passive diffusion from blood capillaries into growing cells and the mechanisms of substance incorporation, analytical methods, result interpretation and practical applications of hair analysis has been well reviewed showing practical utility of hair analysis. [62] Except from all the above given matrices one very precise and rarely encountered biological sample is Vitreous Humor. Its a fluid found between the lens and retina of the eye proved to be the best choice for analytical examinations as it is relatively well isolated and protected from putrefaction. Two different fatality cases were reported where the extraction of drugs is done from Vitreous humor. One case has been reported of citalopram fatality where the extraction of drug is done from Vitreous humor yeilding concentration of citalopram (SSRI) less than 0.04mg/L and in second case venlafaxine fatality is reported where postmortem analysis revealed the concentrations of Fluoxetine (SSRI) and its metabolite Norfluoxetine as 5.2 mg/l and 2.2mg/l respectively. [64] Other than these specimens, body tissues like liver [71], cerebrospinal fluid etc. canalso encounter for toxic and therapeutic drug monitoring biological matrices. Techniques for Sample Preparation Several methods have been published for the determination of one or more antidepressants in biological fluids for therapeutic monitoring or for toxicological purposes. For making biological samples suitable for analytical purposes some treatments should be given to overcome the matrix effects such that the other materials should not interfere with the analytical separation that is the extractability of the analytes in the sample inturn the results of the analysis. [96] These kinds of techniques are rapidly gaining acceptance in bioanalytical applications to reduce both time and labor required to produce bioanalytical results. Thus we can say that these methods give a high selectivity and sensitivity over a wide dynamic range and contribute in formulating very fine detection techniques. Some Commonly Prescribed New Generation Antidepressant Drugs and their Metabolites Several new antidepressants that inhibit the Serotonin (SERT) and Norepinephrine transporters (NET) have been consistently use for therapeutic purposes. [108] are showing below. Sertraline is an effective and highly utilized SSRIs group of drug and â€Å"its principle metabolite is desmethylsertraline.† [41] Another SSRIs group of Antidepressant drug, Fluoxetine has been used worldwide in the therapy of major depression. (3) â€Å"It is primarily metabolized via N-demethylation by the [117] Citalopram is a selective and potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor. [78] Another very important group of Antidepressant drug is SNRIs which includes drugs like Venlafaxine which inhibits serotonin, noradrenaline, and to a lesser extent dopamine reuptake. [39] In the majority of published analytical methods for determination of Antidepressant drugs, gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, in combination to different kinds of colums operating under different separation conditions, mobile phases and detectors has been used. These were tried to review in the table given below. With high-performance liquid chromatography the analysis is done by using different kinds of detectors like Fluorescence detector, UV detector, Mass detectors etc. For ex. a high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) in human plasma where Fluorescence detector was used. [140] A survey of most recent multiresidue analytical methods developed for the determination of different kinds of Antidepressant drugs in different types of biological test matrices with their specific cleanup procedures including the choice of mobile phase, stationary phase, detector system and validation data is summarized in the tabular form below. TABLE Abbreviations:APCI atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation, ESI eletrospray ionisation, LLE liquid-liquid extraction, LOD limitation of detection, LOQ limit of quantification, SIM single ion monitoring, SPE solid-phase extraction, SRM selected reaction monitoring , ESI electron spray ionization, UV ultraviolet, FD fluorescence detector, LC_TMS liquid chromatography tandom mass spectrometry, LC_MS, GC_MS gas chromatography mass spectrometry, RP-HPLC reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Thus, this table is framed for the comparative study of the major analytical approaches used in the detection and identification of Antidepressant Drugs and their metabolites in different biological matrices in order to develop the new methods with the aim to increase the sample throughput and to improve the quality of analytical methods. Thus, analytical methods for the detection of ADs and their metabolites in biological matrices are of interest in the field of forensic toxicology which involves the analysis of drugs and poisons in biological specimens and interpretation of the results to be applied in a court of law. Several analytical methods have been developed for analysis of these antidepressants in biological matrices. These methods provide a good precision and accuracy over the entire analytical range and allowing the development of very rapid and efficient analytical methods by using newer kind of analytical techniques. Conclusion: As the subject of Antidepressants toxicity is evolving, newer methods for their analysis are also evolving. However, some classes of Antidepressants drugs are less toxic and well tolerated but can lead to Toxic or Fatal Drug interaction. The research in this field is very active and results in a large number of papers published every year. Therefore they may be encountered in many Clinical and Forensic cases. Therefore, this review is mainly aimed to target latest analytical and instrumental methods used for detection and characterization of Antidepressant drugs and their metabolites in biological test matrices in turn focus on their toxic as well as therapeutic aspects which would be definitely prove to be helpful in future research and still there is lots of work required in this area as its prescription rate and toxicity is evolving day by day all over the world and by using non-destructive and sophisticated newer instrumental techniques we can also built a new strategy of examina tion and investigation for the drugs of interest. However, in this study, a decision about whether a studys findings are positive or negative cannot always be based strictly on the primary outcome measure. Future trials should also consider, using different kinds of detecting techniques and methods which would allow for easier comparison and interpretation of results across studies as the subject is of global concern and despite the success of such methods there is a continuing need for sustained innovations. Thus, future work in this area will definitely prove to be a promising from both clinical as well as from forensic prospect.

Free Much Ado About Nothing Essays: Schemes and Tricks :: Much Ado About Nothing Essays

The plot of Much Ado About Nothing is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks. This statement is confirmed throughout Much Ado About Nothing. The play contains many examples of tricks and schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of characters. The major examples of such manipulation include- Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato tricking Benedick into believing that Beatrice loves him, Hero and Ursula trick Beatrice into thinking Benedick is in love with her. The relationship between Claudio and Hero also endures much manipulation. For instance Don John and Borachio trick Claudio and the Prince into believing Hero is unfaithful. As in the tradition of Shakespeare, the Friar deceives everybody into thinking Hero is dead. An instance of trickery involves Benedick being manipulated to believe Beatrice is in love with him. This trickery is carried out playfully by Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio. They realise Benedick's stubbornness in Act II Scene iii, when he states "ma n is a fool when he dedicates his behaviours to love." Due to this stubbornness Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio must devise a way of attaining the love amid Benedick and Beatrice. In Act II Scene iii the men accomplish this by way of waiting for Benedick to be within ears reach, then raising the topic of Leonato's niece Beatrice. Don Pedro’s reference about "your niece Beatrice was in love with Signor Benedick." helps to accomplish such manipulation. This scheme is completed when this is overheard by Benedick, and due to his insecurity about love he falls for their trick, thus loving Beatrice. Another example of manipulation that is closely related to the one involving Benedick but Beatrice becomes the focus of the scheme. Like Benedick, Beatrice's feelings about love are strong and opposing. When she states "Not till God make men of some other mettle than earth" she assumes that her desired partner does not exist. Hero and Ursula believe that Benedick would make a good husban d for Beatrice and as a result of this, they plan a scheme to bring about love between Beatrice and Benedick. Hero and Ursula accomplish their scheme in Act III Scene i. Their scheme is concluded by means of discussing that they have heard that Benedick loves Beatrice greatly. Beatrice overhears this and thinks the combination of her and Benedick’s wit and intelligence would make a successful match. Beatrice displays her free will when making this decision.

The Inevitable Water Shortage in America’s Future :: Drinking Water Shortage

The same dream again.   It had been haunting him for weeks now.   Always the same.   Water.   Fresh water.   Drinkable water.   He got out of bed slowly, his stillsuit itching in that one certain spot again, and went to his refrigeration unit.   What flavor do I want this morning?, he thought to himself.   Eggs Benedict.   He opened the top of the squeeze tube and gulped the yeast solution down. All the troubles had begun in the year 2010 when Aldo was in his first year of college.   The first of many droughts had hit the Southwestern United States of America due to excessive use of the Colorado River.   Few had died in that one, but it was just a child compared to the trials to come. Aldo Goldwater was now thirty-five years old.   He had grown up in Phoenix, Arizona in a time when water conservation was a thing of inconvenience.   People back then would flood their lawns, wash their vehicles, even bathe with water.   Times were different now. The Water Conservation Act of 2011 was one of the U.S. Government’s first feeble attempts to ensure water quality and availability into the future.   His father, too, had been a visionary, and was important in the drafting of that first weak attempt at revamping the water usage laws in the United States. The droughts of 2016 and 2017 proved it ineffective, however, and deaths around the country totaled in the thousands, but that was just the beginning.   As global warming and ozone layer depletion gained the forefront in the news, temperatures around the world continued to rise.   Rainfall decreased annually at a steady rate, and polar ice caps were melting, making sea levels rise.   Ironically, the US’s major source of water, the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest non-renewable reserve of water in the world (Reisner 11) ran out in 2017, just when our water situation was at its peak. Water shortages were not the only problem.   When river water is used in irrigation, much of it evaporates, the rest usually finds its way back to the river it came from.   Due to the evaporation and repeated use, it increases in salinity, salt.   Each time it is used and reintroduced into the rivers, the water gets saltier.   Each year crops got smaller, until many areas previously used for farming could no longer sustain plant life.   In some areas you could even see a white dusting of salt (Reisner 6) that looked like a frost in ninety-five degrees of heat.

Preston Hot Zone :: essays research papers

Preston's Hot Zone Imagine walking into a tiny village in Africa, suffering and dying from some unknown virus. As you approach the huts you hear the wails of pure agony from the afflicted tribe members. Coming closer, you smell the stench of vomit mixed with the bitter smell of warm blood. People inside lay dying in pools of their own vital fluids, coughing and vomiting up their own liquefied internal organs; their faces emotionless masks loosely hanging from their skulls, the connective tissue and collagen in their bodies turned to mush. Their skin bubbled up into a sea of tiny white blisters and spontaneous rips occurring at the slightest touch, pouring blood that refuses to coagulate. Hemmorging and massive clotting underneath the skin causing black and blue bruises all over the body. Their mouths bleeding around their teeth from hemorrhaging saliva glands and the sloughing off of their own tongues, throat lining, and wind pipe, crying tears of pure blood from hemorrhaging tear ducts and the disinte gration of the eyeball lining and bleeding from every opening on the body. You see the blood spattered room and pools of black vomit, expelled during the epileptic convulsions that accompany the last stages of death. Their hearts have bled into themselves, heart muscles softened and hemorrhaging , the brain clogged with dead blood cells (sludging of the brain), the liver bulging and yellow with deep cracks and the spleen a single hard blood clot. Babies with bloody noses born with red eyes lay dead from spontaneous abortions of affected mothers. It is the human slate-wiper, the invisible ultimate death, the filovirus named Ebola. The theme of Richard Preston's Hot Zone seems deal with man's one predator, the invisible one, the one thing that man cannot seek out and conquer, the one that lurks unseen and undetected in the shadows waiting for a warm body to make its new breeding ground in, with total disregard for person, social class, or status. We are "meat", as the biologists at the USAMRIID Institute stated, no names, no faces, no "individuality", the virus rips through our bodies with no thought, mechanical reproducers who sabotage our cells and used them as incubators until their "offspring" replicate to the point the cell wall bursts, releasing hundreds of new virus particles. Literally thousands of these "killers", as humans see them can be held on the point of an ink pen.

Betrayal in Hamlet

It is said that â€Å"To be betrayed by ones own blood is unforgivable and one must get revenge. † Betrayal plays a very important role in the Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet is betrayed by his own mother, Gertrude. She betrays her son and her late-husband, the king by immediately marrying Claudius, the king's own brother. Hamlets girlfriend, the lady Ophelia, even breaks the heart of the prince and deludes him. Even Hamlet betrays several people: he misleads Horatio, his friend. He betrays Ophelia by convincing her that he does not love her.Finally, King Claudius betrays his brother, the late king, by murdering him, marrying his wife, and taking his crown. Also betraying Hamlet and Gertrude. Hamlets mother Gertrude betrays her first husband, the first king of Denmark. This betrayal comes in the form of a hasty marriage to the king’s brother Claudius, who we find out later murdered his brother in an attempt to acquire the crown. This is an act of betrayal on Gertrude’s part, because she should be in mourning of the her first husband’s death, but she immediately enters another marriage, with the kings brother.This is a betrayal to Hamlet because his father was killed, and his mother soon marries the man who we find out is responsible for it. We find out that Claudius killed his brother and Hamlets father with poison, we find this out when Hamlet is visited by a ghost in which Horatio cannot identify but shows itself to Hamlet as his father, it is at this time that the ghost tells Hamlet how he really died and who was responsible . When Hamlet learns of this news, he is enraged with the news and he begins looking to get revenge on the murderer Claudius.Hamlet throughout the play begins to doubt his sanity and if he should kill his uncle Claudius or himself â€Å"To be or not to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. † (Hamlet), this is an act of betrayal on Hamlets part. As much as Ophelia really loves and cares about Hamlet, she betrays his trust. This was not all her own doing, she was influenced by others around her. She betrays his trust by co-operating in her father's scheme to spy on Hamlet for the king. Ophelia betrays Hamlet because Laerates and Polonius were worldly wise and poisoned her mind.Whenever Hamlet comes nearer to her, she remains silent and then discloses all to her father whatever happened. Simultaneously Hamlet’s behavior is very strange. He is depressed and abhorred his life. The world to him was weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. I believe that Ophelia really loves Hamlet and did not want to do this to him but she didn’t want to betray her brother and father, Laertes and Polonius. Claudius is an extremely shady character. Claudius killed his brother by pouring posion into his ear. He would’ve gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for his brothers ghost.Claudius then quickly married Gertrude and became king. Hamlet knows none of this however, yet already despises his mother and step-father/uncle. In scene 2, Claudius gives a very sly speech, avoiding the fact that he is in the middle of a very incestuous relationship. Claudius tries to beat around the bush and not really explain anything about his marriage to Gertrude. No one questions him because he is King, but the people are not happy about this situation anyway. Claudius’s slick nature somewhat surfaces when he is speaking to Hamlet also.He is obviously uncomfortable with the fact that Hamlet is still mourning the death of his father and almost seems to bully him to stop. Claudius, of course, seems to say this with a face full of smiles as if politely correcting Hamlet, but it seems obvious that he is downright afraid of what Hamlet could do if he discovered the truth. Keeping his enemies close seems to be his plan. Not only will Claudius be able to keep his eye on Hamlet, but he can be sure that Hamlet won’t be able to rise up against him if he stays. Claudius has much to lose if anyone finds out his terrible secret—that he killed the King, his brother.The main characters that betrayed others were Gertrude, Claudius, and Ophelia. Gertrude betrays her late husband, and her son Hamlet by marrying Claudius. Claudius betrays his brother by murdering him, taking his crown, and marrying his wife. Finally, Ophelia betrays Hamlet by listening to her brother and reporting Hamlets actions back to her father. Betrayal plays a huge role in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Pretty much every character betrays someone and is betrayed by somebody. Some may say that the characters actions were justifiable but I feel like they were all wrong.

Women in Ancient Greece

Behind every great man there is a great woman. The woman being the mother and wife of the household, the caretaker and glue that held things together while the man was the â€Å"breadwinner†, this was an ideal that held true throughout history only until recent years. In Ancient Greece, women held an obligation to their house and husband, they were property in a sense, but at the same time they almost held an important position of power, only it was hidden behind the veil of the home life. While they were reliant upon their husbands, it can be viewed that it was the females that helped their husbands and sons obtain the positions that they held, for good or bad. The female role of power in Greece varied from slave to queen, the woman’s role was the important but often subservient glue that was meant to keep the family together. Greek culture did not have to write down what was expected of women of the ancient time, because the men in society spent the entirety of a female’s life leaving their impressions of how they were meant to behave. Analyzing the work of various philosophers and writers, women were viewed as tools of the household, as the glue that held the household. However women were not considered anything outside of that, and were expected to remain in the household and tend to the children. The wives and mothers were at the center of the household, even when the husband was home. The husband would have seniority in the household, but when he was gone, the women were in charge of everything, including the slaves and the children. While the men were gone, the women were meant to follow a stern set of rules in order to avoid being seen with the suspicion and gossiped about by her neighbors. The women of Ancient Greece sought to please their husbands and everything described to be a â€Å"good wife†. If they feel that another woman has been unfaithful, even if she simply let her husband’s friend into their house when he isn’t home, the other women will talk and attempt to ruin the reputation of the woman.