Expressive Art Therapy The Rosebush Technique

Expressive Art Therapy The Rosebush Technique The purpose of this paper is to research Expressive Art therapy and to present one structured art activity, the Rosebush fantasy, which is an effective strategy proven in school counseling. Allowing children to draw is giving them the ability to use another language to share feelings, ideas, perceptions, fantasies, and observations of how they view themselves, others and the environment in an effective, non-threatening way. The rosebush fantasy technique is used as an expressive art therapy method to access the emotional world of children in a non-verbal way (Ray et al., 2004, p.277). Clients with various problems can be reached through expressive art therapy as a tool for awakening dormant creativity which can be used through artistic self-expression. It restores the creative/inspiration that clients store deep within by expressing through art. Psychotherapy can assist clients verbalizing their unspoken and unresolved conflicts whereas expressive art therapy will assist the clients to express themselves in a creative understanding without relying on verbal means. Clients of all ages can use expressive art therapy to gain a better understanding of their unconscious through interpretation in their artwork that may show developmental phases and of psychic structure. This therapy is mean for accessing unseen resources and may provide clients a tool for expressing their internal conflicts that they can use throughout their lifespan art therapy is an engaging and effective way for many clients, children and adults to create art that is meaningful and have an emotional effect. It is a way for clients to become more aware of their self perception. Children may be more receptive to expressive art therapy than adult clients who may prefer the verbal approach, but clients of all ages can benefit from art therapy. These therapies also help the study of the ego and the relationship between graphic form and character development (Synder, 1997, p. 74). According to Corey (2009), Carl Rogers theory of creativity is using expressive art to enhance personal growth for individuals and groups. Carl Rogers approach known as expressive art therapy broadens the person-centered approach to spontaneous creative expression that symbolizes deep, inaccessible feelings and emotional states. Drawing, moving, music, painting, sculpting, writing and improvisation are all various artistic forms used in expressive art therapy. This approach is to integrate the mind, body and spirit and are based on the humanistic principles but given fuller form to Carl Rogers notion of creativity (p.181). By using creative approaches to counseling students respond positively. Traditional talk therapy is not as effective as art therapy. Art allows the child to connect with the counselor through images rather than words. Counselors developed an alternate non-verbal technique for children who do not possess the developmental ability to integrate feeling, thoughts, and experiences (Ray et al., 2004, p. 277). According to Ray et al. (2004), J. Stevens saw that adults tend to alienate unpleasant experiences that were causing distress to themselves. Rosebush Identification Fantasy was created so that adults could reconnect with those unpleasant aspects of their experiences. He reported that the participants responses to the rosebush exercise were a result of their own projection of their own experiences. Participants imagined themselves as a rosebush and identified their experiences onto the rosebush. V. Oaklander, a Gestalt child therapist, recognized that both client and therapist can have fun through fantasy and the process of expression of feelings. She adapted the rosebush Identification fantasy for the use of children. The technique can be used to reveal the childs subjective phenomenological world by using this art activity. This technique allows the child to communicate and share themselves with the counselor in a non-traditional format (Ray et al., 2004, p. 277). The rosebush fantasy drawing begins with a short relaxation exercise that focuses on muscle relaxation and concentration on breathing. Playing soothing music in the background can be helpful to relax children and allows them to clean their minds of intervening thoughts. The therapist will then ask specific question that will define the self as the rosebush such as, What kind of rosebush are you? Are you small or big? Do you have flowers? Who is taking care of you? Do you have thorns? When the counselor feels that the child has had enough time to process those questions they ask the child to open their eyes and draw themselves as the rosebush. The counselor allows enough time to complete the drawing. The meaning of this exercise is how the child interprets and explains the rosebush. The counselor may ask the child to describe the rosebush. The counselor may create the creativity by having the child tell a story of the rosebush and what kind of environment the rosebush is in. If the co unselor attempt to connect the childs drawing to their real-life situation the child may become threatened. The counselor may also ask, Is there anything in this drawing that reminds you of your own life? (Ray et al., 2004, p. 277). Drawings can quickly bring to surface issues relevant to counseling that can improve the counselors ability to mediate effectively with the client. Direct questions can be threatening when asking children their actual situation. By using their descriptions of their rosebush fantasy, drawing becomes less threatening. By allowing the child to draw a fantasy the child has emotional distance from the reality of life. The child is able to express details verbally about the rosebush that correlates with their view of self in a safe way. The rosebush technique can be presented in an individual or group session. In an individual session the therapist can have a better understanding of the clients world. To help understand perspectives of others and present themselves to others, this technique is beneficial for a group format (Ray et al., 2004, p. 277). The rosebush technique allows clients to use another language to express their feelings, thoughts, emotions and perceptions of how they view the world. Art drawing is a vehicle to help clients channel their emotions in a non-verbal way and allows the client to feel safe with the counselor. Expressive art therapy is an effective way of counseling that does not involve in traditional verbal communication between counselor and client. It allows the client to feel safe in a non-threatening way to express ones hidden feelings through art.

Rani Shankar Essay examples -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Rani Shankar As much as I would have liked to continue my engaging research on Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's (issues I hold very dear to my heart), during my preliminary research for the third paper I felt drawn to another, equally interesting, topic. As finals rapidly approach and the idea of graduation becomes more real by day, this new topic seemed to have more personal significance to my life. And so I began research on this topic with purely selfish motivations- to better understand the phenomenon of stress. A relatively new concept involving brain and behavior, Hans Selye first proposed the idea of stress as a normal adaptive syndrome, a fight-or- flight situation, very similar to escape behavior (1). Stress is defined as "the set of all organic reactions to physical, psychic, infectious, or other, aggressions, which are capable to disturb homeostasis" (1). Stress lies at the intersection between personal, social, and economic factors and biology. Although stress is an important, integral part of our existence, there is a point at which it becomes overwhelming and our adaptive responses may break down (2). The breaking point varies from person to person, depending on past experiences, coping responses, and genetics (2). Clearly, socio-economics has a lot to do with the ability to cope with stress over time. We may know of some people that are inherently better able to deal with life's stressors. However, genetic bases for dealing and coping with stress are unknown at this time. Stress, usually used to describe a state of mind, illustrates the important connection between mind and body. Although stress is primarily a neuronal reaction, it's effects reach far past neurobiology. Stress is thought to adversely aff... ...y. Biology 202 1st Web Papers. 1998. Bonnie Kimmel. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/serendip.brynmawr.edu 11. Panic Attacks and Panic Disorders. The Harvard Mental Health Letter. April (I). http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-an06.html 12. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. May 9, 1995. Stress Signs are Often Missed In Victims of Violent Crimes. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-an06.html 13. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Body-Mind Queendom. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.queendom.com/ptsd.html 14. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Harvard Mental Health Letter. June (part I), July 1996 (Part II). http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com Rani Shankar Essay examples -- Biology Essays Research Papers Rani Shankar As much as I would have liked to continue my engaging research on Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's (issues I hold very dear to my heart), during my preliminary research for the third paper I felt drawn to another, equally interesting, topic. As finals rapidly approach and the idea of graduation becomes more real by day, this new topic seemed to have more personal significance to my life. And so I began research on this topic with purely selfish motivations- to better understand the phenomenon of stress. A relatively new concept involving brain and behavior, Hans Selye first proposed the idea of stress as a normal adaptive syndrome, a fight-or- flight situation, very similar to escape behavior (1). Stress is defined as "the set of all organic reactions to physical, psychic, infectious, or other, aggressions, which are capable to disturb homeostasis" (1). Stress lies at the intersection between personal, social, and economic factors and biology. Although stress is an important, integral part of our existence, there is a point at which it becomes overwhelming and our adaptive responses may break down (2). The breaking point varies from person to person, depending on past experiences, coping responses, and genetics (2). Clearly, socio-economics has a lot to do with the ability to cope with stress over time. We may know of some people that are inherently better able to deal with life's stressors. However, genetic bases for dealing and coping with stress are unknown at this time. Stress, usually used to describe a state of mind, illustrates the important connection between mind and body. Although stress is primarily a neuronal reaction, it's effects reach far past neurobiology. Stress is thought to adversely aff... ...y. Biology 202 1st Web Papers. 1998. Bonnie Kimmel. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/serendip.brynmawr.edu 11. Panic Attacks and Panic Disorders. The Harvard Mental Health Letter. April (I). http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-an06.html 12. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. May 9, 1995. Stress Signs are Often Missed In Victims of Violent Crimes. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-an06.html 13. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Body-Mind Queendom. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.queendom.com/ptsd.html 14. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Harvard Mental Health Letter. June (part I), July 1996 (Part II). http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/www.mentalhealth.com

Fuzzy Pathetic Loving Ass :: essays research papers fc

Fuzzy Pathetic Loving â€Å"Ass†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, is a classic play that has been retold in many ways. The most recent version of this romantic comedy was done by Michael Hoffman in 1999. This portrayal follows very closely to the original play. Very few lines are taken out, and the characters stay very true to the assumed original idea. The one main difference in the original play and this movie is the depiction of the character Nick Bottom the weaver. The original play shows Bottom as the â€Å"†¦overconfident weaver†¦hilariously overt†¦has extraordinary belief in his own ability†¦totally unaware of his ridiculousness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sparknotes.com). These types of characteristics would normally make readers see Bottom as a cocky, egotistical, center of attention, â€Å"ass†. In the play, this is the case. However, in the 1999 movie version, with Kevin Kline as Bottom, the audience gets a different idea of Bottom without changi ng his basic character traits. Hoffman achieved changing the overall perception of the character of Bottom from to a â€Å"†¦warm fuzzy man, a dreamer for whom we can root†, and pathetic lover, while still keeping the â€Å"ass† quality, by only changing a few small, very subtle things (Jones, 127).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In what would be Act I Scene II of the original play, Bottom is shown sitting alone at a cafà ©. As he is making his way to leave, a rough looking woman walking around in a very hurried and determined manner become the focus of the screen. The audience soon realizes this is Bottoms wife. Bottom seems to become frightened of her on sight, so he hides behind a wall. You also learn that his wife thinks his dreams of being an actor are simply unrealistic and stupid. The original Shakespearian play does not include a wife for Nick Bottom. The adding of a wife to a movie is not normally of great importance; however, the type of wife she is makes all the difference. Later in the scene, when Bottom goes home, the audience sees more of what type of a wife this is. As Bottom enters his house he is shown looking around to see where she might be; he is very quite and slips into a room quickly. Almost instantly, his wife realizes he is home, and she rushes into the room with a very ugly, stern expression on her face. There is no speaking in this scene (Hoffman).

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 32

Elena was radiantly happy. She had gone to sleep happy, only to wake up again happy, serene in the knowledge that soon – soon she would visit Stefan, and that after that – surely very soon – she would be able to take Stefan away. Bonnie and Meredith weren't surprised when she wanted to see Damon about two things: one being who should go and two being what she was going to wear. What did surprise them were her choices. â€Å"If it's all right,† she said slowly at the beginning, tracing a finger round and round on the large table in one of the parlors as everyone gathered the next morning, â€Å"I would like for just a few people to go with me. Stefan's been badly treated,† she went on, â€Å"and he hates to look bad in front of other people. I don't want to humiliate him.† There was sort of a group blush at this. Or maybe it was a group flush of resentment – and then a group blush of culpability. With the western windows slightly open, so that an early-morning red light fell over everything, it was hard to tell. Only one thing was certain: everyone wanted to go. â€Å"So I hope,† Elena said, turning to look Meredith and Bonnie in the eye, â€Å"that none of you are hurt if I don't choose you to come with me.† That tells both of them they're out, Elena thought as she saw understanding blossom in both faces. Most of her plans depended on how her two best friends reacted to this. Meredith gallantly stepped up to bat first. â€Å"Elena, you've been through hell – literally – and almost died doing it – to get to Stefan. You take with you the people who will do the most good.† â€Å"We realize it isn't a popularity contest,† Bonnie added, swallowing, because she was trying not to cry. She really wants to go, Elena thought, but she understands. â€Å"Stefan may feel more embarrassed in front of a girl than a boy,† Bonnie said. And she didn't even add â€Å"even though we would never do anything to embarrass him,† Elena thought, going around for a hug and feeling Bonnie's soft little birdlike body in her arms. Then she turned and felt Meredith's warm and slim hard arms, and as always felt some of her tension drain away. â€Å"Thank you,† she said, wiping tears from her eyes afterward. â€Å"And you're right, I think it would be harder to face girls than boys in the situation he's in. Also it will be harder to face friends he already knows and loves. So I would like to ask these people to go with me: Sage, Damon, and Dr. Meggar.† Lakshmi leaped up as interested as if she had been chosen. â€Å"Where's he in jail?† she asked, quite cheerfully. Damon spoke up. â€Å"The Shi no Shi.† Lakshmi's eyes became round. She stared at Damon for a moment, and then she was bounding out the door, her shaken voice floating behind her: â€Å"I've got chores to do, master!† Elena turned to look directly at Damon. â€Å"And what was that little reaction?† she asked in a voice that would have frozen lava at thirty meters. â€Å"I don't know. Truly, I don't. Shinichi showed me kanji characters and said that they were pronounced ‘Shi no Shi' and they meant ‘the Death of Death' – as in lifting the curse of death from a vampire.† Sage coughed. â€Å"Oh, my trusting little one. Mon cher idiot. To not get a second opinion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I did, actually. I asked a middle-aged Japanese lady at a library if the romaji – that's the Japanese words written out in our letters, meant the Death of Death. And she said yes.† â€Å"And you turned on your heel and walked out,† Sage said. â€Å"How do you know?† Damon was getting angry. â€Å"Because, mon cher, those words mean many things. It all depends upon the Japanese characters first used – which you did not show her.† â€Å"I didn't have them! Shinichi wrote it in the air for me, in red smoke.† Then in a kind of angry anguish: â€Å"What other things do they mean?† â€Å"Well, they can mean what you said. They also could mean ‘the new death.' Or ‘the true death.' Or even – ‘The Gods of Death.' And given the way Stefan has been treated†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If stares had been stakes, Damon would have been a goner by now. Everyone was looking at him with hard, accusing eyes. He turned like a wolf at bay and bared his teeth at them in a 250-kilowatt smile. â€Å"In any case, I didn't imagine it was anything remarkably pleasant,† he said. â€Å"I just thought it would help him to get rid of the curse of being a vampire.† â€Å"In any case,† Elena repeated. Then she said, â€Å"Sage, if you would go and make sure that they'll let us in when we arrive, I would be enormously grateful.† â€Å"As good as done, Madame.† â€Å"And – let me see – I want everyone to wear something a little different to go visit him. If it's all right I'll go talk to Lady Ulma.† She could feel Bonnie's and Meredith's bewildered looks on her back as she left. Lady Ulma was pale, but bright of eye when Elena was escorted into her room. Her sketchbook was open, a good sign. It took only a few words and a heartfelt look before Lady Ulma said firmly, â€Å"We can have everything done in an hour or two. It's just a matter of calling the right people. I promise.† Elena squeezed her wrist very, very gently. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you – miracle worker!† â€Å"And so I am to go as a penitent,† Damon said. He was right outside Lady Ulma's door when Elena came out and Elena suspected him of some eavesdropping. â€Å"No, that never even occurred to me,† she said. â€Å"I just think that slave's clothing on you and the other guys will make Stefan less self-conscious. But why should you think I wanted to punish you?† â€Å"Don't you?† â€Å"You're here to help me save Stefan. You've gone through – † Elena had to stop and look in her sleeves for a clean handkerchief, until Damon offered her a black silk one. â€Å"All right,† he said, â€Å"we won't get into that. I'm sorry. I think of things to say and then I just say them, no matter how unlikely I think they are, considering the person I'm speaking to.† â€Å"And don't you ever hear another little voice? A voice that says that people can be good, and may not be trying to hurt you?† Elena asked wistfully, wondering how loaded with chains the child was now. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes. But, as that voice is generally wrong in this wicked world, why should I pay it any attention?† â€Å"I wish sometimes you would just try,† Elena whispered. â€Å"I might be in a better position to argue with you, then.† I like this position just fine, Damon told her telepathically and Elena realized – how did this happen over and over? – that they had melted into an embrace. Worse, she was wearing her morning attire – a long silky gown and a peignoir of the same material, both in the palest of pearly blues, which turned violet in the rays of the ever-setting sun. I – like it too, Elena admitted, and felt shockwaves go through Damon from his surface, through his body, and deep, deep into that unfathomable hole that one could see by looking into his eyes. I'm just trying to be honest, she added, almost frightened by his reaction. I can't expect anyone else to be honest if I'm not. Don't be honest, don't be honest. Hate me. Despise me, Damon begged her, at the same time caressing her arms and the two layers of silk that were all that stood between his hands and her skin. â€Å"But why?† Because I can't be trusted. I'm a wicked wolf, and you're a pure soul, a snow-white newborn lamb. You mustn't let me hurt you. Why should you hurt me? Because I might – no, I don't want to bite you – I only want to kiss you, just a little, like this. There was revelation in Damon's mind-voice. And he did kiss so sweetly, and he always knew when Elena's knees were going to give out and picked her up before she could fall on the floor. Damon, Damon, she was thinking, feeling very sweet herself because she knew she was giving him pleasure, when she suddenly realized. Oh! Damon, please let me go – I have to go have a fitting right now! Deeply flushed, he slowly, reluctantly put her down, grabbed her before she could fall, and put her down again. I think I shall have to go have a fit right now as well, he told her earnestly as he stumbled out of the room, missing the door the first time. Not a fit – a fitting! Elena called after him, but she never knew if he had heard. She was pleased, though, that he had let her go, without really understanding anything except that she was saying no. That was quite a bit of improvement. Then she hurried in to Lady Ulma's room, which was filled with all sorts of people, including two male models, who had just been garbed in trousers and long shirts. â€Å"Sage's clothes,† said Lady Ulma, nodding at the large one, â€Å"and Damon's.† She nodded at the smaller man. â€Å"Oh, they're perfect!† Lady Ulma looked at her with just the slightest doubt in her eyes. â€Å"These are made of genuine sacking,† she said. â€Å"The meanest, lowest cloth in the slave hierarchy. Are you sure they will wear them?† â€Å"They're wearing them or they aren't going at all,† Elena said flatly and winked. Lady Ulma laughed. â€Å"Good plan.† â€Å"Yes – but what do you think of my other plan?† Elena asked, genuinely interested in Lady Ulma's opinion, even while she blushed. â€Å"My dear benefactress,† Lady Ulma said. â€Å"I used to watch my mother put together such outfits†¦after I had turned thirteen, of course – and she told me that they always made her happy, for she was bringing joy to two at once, and that the purpose was nothing but joy. I promise you, Lucen and I will be done in no time. Now, should you not be getting ready?† â€Å"Oh, yes – oh, I do love you, Lady Ulma! It's so funny that the more people you love, the more you want to love!† And with that Elena went running back to her own rooms. Her maids-in-waiting were all there and all ready. Elena took the quickest, briskest bath of her life – she was keyed up – and found herself on a couch in the middle of a smiling, keen-eyed bunch, each neatly doing her job without interfering with the others. There was a depilatory, of course – in fact one for each leg, one for her armpits, and one for her eyebrows. While these women and the women with soft creams and unguents were at work, creating a unique fragrance for Elena, another one thoughtfully considered her face and body as a whole. This woman touched up Elena's eyebrows to darken them, and gilded Elena's eyelids with metallic cosmetic paint before using something that added at least a quarter-inch to Elena's eyelashes. Then she extended Elena's eyes with exotic horizontal lines of kohl. Finally, she carefully made Elena's lips a rich glossy red that somehow gave the impression that they were continually puckered for a kiss. After this the woman sprinkled the faintest of iridescence all over Elena's body. Finally, a very large canary diamond that had been sent up from Lucen's jewelry bench was firmly cemented into her navel. It was while the hairdressers were seeing to the last of the little curls on her forehead that the two boxes and a scarlet cape came from Lady Ulma's women. Elena thanked all her ladies-in-waiting and beauticians sincerely, paid them all a bonus that had them twittering, and then asked them to leave her alone. When they dithered, she asked them again, just as politely, but in louder tones. They went. Elena's hands were trembling as she took out the outfit Lady Ulma had created. It was quite as decent as a bathing suit, but it looked like jewelry strategically placed on wisps of golden tulle. It all coordinated with the canary diamond: from the necklace to the armlets to the golden bracelets that denoted that, however expensively Elena was dressed, she was still a slave. And that was it. She was going clad in tulle and jewelry, perfume and paint, to see her Stefan. Elena put the scarlet cloak on very, very carefully to avoid rumpling or smearing anything below, and slipped her feet into delicate golden sandals with very high heels. She hurried downstairs and was exactly on time. Sage and Damon were wearing cloaks tightly closed – which meant that they were dressed in the sacking outfits underneath. Sage had had Lady Ulma's coach made ready. Elena settled her matching golden bracelets on her wrists, hating them because she had to wear them, pretty as they were against the white fur trim on her scarlet cloak. Damon held out a hand to help her into the coach. â€Å"I get to ride inside? Does that mean I don't have to wear – † But looking at Sage, her hopes were crushed. â€Å"Unless we want to curtain all the windows,† he said, â€Å"you're legally traveling outside without slave bracelets.† Elena sighed and gave her hand to Damon. Standing against the sun, he was a dark silhouette. But then, as Elena blinked in the light, he stared in astonishment. Elena knew he'd seen her gilded eyelids. His eyes dropped to her pursed-to-be-kissed lips. Elena blushed. â€Å"I forbid you to order me to show you what's under the cloak,† she said hastily. Damon looked thwarted. â€Å"Hair in tiny curls all over your forehead, cloak that covers everything from neck to toes, lipstick like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stared again. His mouth twitched as if he were being compelled to fit it to hers. â€Å"And it's time to go!† Elena caroled, hastily getting into the carriage. She felt very happy, although she understood why freed slaves would never wear anything like a bracelet again. She was still happy when they reached the Shi no Shi – that large building that seemed to combine a prison with a training facility for gladiators. And she was still happy as the guards at the large Shi no Shi checkpoint let them into the building without showing any signs of ill feeling. But then, it was hard to say if the cloak had any effect on them. They were demons: sullen, mauve-skinned, bullock-steady. She noticed something that was at first a shock and then a river of hope inside her. The front lobby of the building had a door in one side that was like the door in the side of the depot/slaveshop: always kept shut; strange symbols above; people walking up to it in different costumes and announcing a destination before turning the key and opening the door. In other words: a dimensional door. Right here in Stefan's prison. God alone knew how many guards would be after them if they tried to use it, but it was something to keep in mind. The guards on the lower floors of the Shi no Shi building, in what was most definitely a dungeon, had clear and obnoxious reactions to Elena and her party. They were some smaller species of demon – imps, maybe, Elena thought – and they gave the visitors a hard time over everything. Damon had to bribe them to be allowed in to the area where Stefan's cell was, to go in alone, without one guard per visitor, and to allow Elena, a slave, to go in to see a free vampire. And even when Damon had given them a small fortune to get past these obstacles, they sniggered and made harsh guttural gurglings in their throats. Elena didn't trust them. She was correct. At a corridor where Elena knew from her out of body experiences they should have turned left, instead they went straight through. They passed another set of guards, who almost collapsed from sniggering. Oh – God – are they taking us to see Stefan's dead body? Elena wondered suddenly. Then it was Sage who really helped her. He put out a large arm and bodily held her up, until she found her legs again. They went on walking, deeper into what was a filthy and stinking stone-floored dungeon now. Then abruptly they turned right. Elena's heart raced on before them. It was saying wrong, wrong, wrong, even before they got to the last cell in the line. The cell was completely different from Stefan's old cell. It was surrounded, not by bars, but by a sort of curlicued chicken wire that was lined with sharp spikes. No way to hand in a bottle of Black Magic. No way to get the bottle top in position to pour into a waiting mouth on the other side. No room, even, to get a finger or the mouth of a canteen through for the cellmate to suck. And the cell itself wasn't filthy, but it was bare of everything except a supine Stefan. No food, no water, no bed to hide anything in, no straw. Just Stefan. Elena screamed and had no idea if she screamed words or just a formless sound of anguish. She threw herself into the cell – or tried to. Her hands grabbed onto curls of steel as sharp as razor that caused blood to well up instantly wherever they touched, and then Damon, who had the fastest reactions, was pulling her back. And then he just pushed past her and stared. He stared open-mouthed at his younger brother – a gray-faced, skeletal, barely breathing young man, who looked like a child lost in his rumpled, stained, threadbare prison uniform. Damon raised a hand, as if he'd forgotten the barrier already – and Stefan flinched. Stefan seemed not to know or recognize any of them. He peered more closely at the drops of blood left on the razor-sharp fencing where Elena had grasped it, sniffed, and then, as if something had penetrated the fog of his bafflement, looked around dully. Stefan looked up at Damon, whose cloak had fallen, and then, like a baby's, Stefan's gaze wandered on. Damon made a choking sound and turned and, knocking anyone in his way aside, ran the other way down the corner. If he was hoping that enough guards would follow him that his allies could get Stefan out, he was wrong. A few followed, like monkeys, calling out insults. The rest stayed put, behind Sage. Meanwhile, Elena's mind was churning and churning out plans. Finally she turned to Sage. â€Å"Use all the money we have plus this,† she said, and she reached under her cloak for her canary diamond necklace – over two dozen thumb-sized gems – â€Å"and call to me if we need more. Get me half an hour with him. Twenty minutes, then!† – as Sage began to shake his head. â€Å"Stall them, somehow; get me at least twenty minutes. I'll think of something if it kills me.† After a moment Sage looked her in the eyes and nodded. â€Å"I will.† Then Elena looked at Dr. Meggar pleadingly. Did he have something – did something exist – that would help? Dr. Meggar's eyebrows went down, then their inner sides went up. It was a look of grief, of despair. But then he frowned and whispered, â€Å"There's something new – an injection that's said to help in dire cases. I could try it.† Elena did her best not to fall at his feet. â€Å"Please! Please try it! Please!† â€Å"It won't help beyond a couple of days – â€Å" â€Å"It won't need to! We'll get him out by then!† â€Å"All right.† Sage had by now herded all the guards away, saying, â€Å"I'm a dealer in gems and there's something you all should see.† Dr. Meggar opened his bag and took out of it a syringe. â€Å"Wooden needle,† he said with a wan smile as he filled it with a clear red liquid from a vial. Elena had taken another syringe and she examined it eagerly as Dr. Meggar coaxed Stefan by imitation to put his arm up to the bars. At last Stefan did as Dr. Meggar wished – only to jump away with a cry of pain as a syringe was plunged into his arm and stinging liquid injected. Elena looked at the doctor desperately. â€Å"How much did he get?† â€Å"Only about half. It's all right – I filled it with twice the dose and pushed as hard as I could to get the† – some medical word Elena didn't recognize – â€Å"into him. I knew it would hurt him more, injecting that fast, but I accomplished what I wanted.† â€Å"Good,† Elena said rapturously. â€Å"Now I want you to fill this syringe with my blood.† â€Å"Blood?† Dr. Meggar looked dismayed. â€Å"Yes! The syringe is long enough to go through the bars. The blood will drip out the other side. He can drink it as it comes out. It might save him!† Elena said every word carefully, as if speaking to a child. She desperately wanted to convey her meaning. â€Å"Oh, Elena.† The doctor sat down, with a clink, and took a hidden bottle of Black Magic out of his tunic. â€Å"I'm so sorry. But it's hard enough for me to get blood out of a vial. My eyes, child – they're ruined.† â€Å"But glasses – spectacles – ?† â€Å"They're no good to me anymore. It's a complicated condition. But you have to be very good to actually tap a vein in any case. Most doctors are pretty hopeless; I'm impossible. I'm sorry, child. But it's been twenty years since I was successful.† â€Å"Then I'll find Damon and have him open my aorta. I don't care if it kills me.† â€Å"But I do.† This new voice coming from the brilliantly lighted cell in front of them made both the doctor and Elena jerk their heads up. â€Å"Stefan! Stefan! Stefan!† Uncaring of what the razor fence would do to her flesh, Elena leaned over to try to hold his hands. â€Å"No,† Stefan whispered, as if sharing a precious secret. â€Å"Put your fingers here and here – on top of mine. This fence is only specially treated steel – it numbs my Power but it can't break my skin.† Elena put her fingers there and there. And then she was touching Stefan. Really touching him. After so long. Neither of them spoke. Elena heard Dr. Meggar get up and quietly creep away – to Sage, she supposed. But her mind was full of Stefan. She and he simply looked at each other, trembling, with tears quivering on their lashes, feeling very young. And very close to death. â€Å"You say I always make you say it first, so I'll confound you. I love you, Elena.† Teardrops fell from Elena's eyes. â€Å"Just this morning I was thinking how many people there are to love. But really it's only because there's one in the first place,† she whispered back to him. â€Å"One forever. I love you, Stefan! I love you!† Elena drew back for a moment and wiped her eyes the way all clever girls know how to do without ruining their makeup: by putting her thumbs beneath her lower lashes and leaning backward, scooping tears and kohl into infinitesimal droplets in the air. For the first time she could think. â€Å"Stefan,† she whispered, â€Å"I'm so sorry. I wasted time this morning getting dressed up – well, dressed down – to show you what's waiting for you when we get you out. But now†¦I feel†¦like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Now there were no tears in Stefan's eyes, either. â€Å"Show me,† he whispered back eagerly. Elena stood, and without theatrics, shrugged the cloak off. Shut her eyes, her hair in hundreds of kiss curls, little wispy spirals that were plastered around her face. Her gilded eyelids, waterproof, still gilded. Her only clothing the wisps of golden tulle with jewels attached to make it decent. Her entire body iridescent, perfection in the first bloom of youth that could never be matched or re-created. There was a sound like a long sigh†¦and then silence, and Elena opened her eyes, terrified that Stefan might have died. But he was standing up, clutching at the iron gate as if he might wrench it off to get to her. â€Å"I get all this?† he whispered. â€Å"All this for you. Everything for you,† Elena said. At that moment there was a soft sound behind her and she whirled to see two eyes shining in the dimness of the cell opposite Stefan's.

Preventing Obesity to Prevent Diabetes Essay

Diabetes is an ailment in which the human body refuses to produce or make appropriate use of insulin. Insulin happens to be a hormone which is required to convert starches, sugar and other foods into energy for everyday life. Although the causes of diabetes remain as a mystery, many medical experts believe that genetics and poor lifestyle choices – e g. lack of exercise – that result in obesity may very well be responsible for the disease (â€Å"Diabetes†). Of course, when insulin is prevented from converting starches, sugar and other foods into energy, metaphorically speaking, it is as though a person has lost a leg or an arm, especially when the individual is just a child. At a growing stage, children’s bodies should be effectively converting foods into energy, so that they can develop into mentally and physically healthy people – the future of our world. Besides, all kinds of preventable abnormalities are equally harmful. Imagine the effect on a child’s self-esteem, not only when he or she is called ‘fat and clumsy’ by his or her slim and fit classmates, but also when he or she must undergo treatment for diabetes at the time that his or her classmates are at play. The International Obesity TaskForce reports that almost 1. 7 billion people around the world â€Å"are at a heightened risk of weight-related, non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes (â€Å"Diabetes and Obesity†). Moreover, the International Diabetes Federation has predicted that by 2025, the number of people with diabetes, including children, may reach at least 333 million (â€Å"Diabetes and Obesity†)! Insulin is responsible for taking the sugar from the human blood to the human cells. If glucose starts to build up in the blood rather than going to the cells, two problems may result: (1) The cells could become energy-starved; and (2) Eventually the high blood glucose level may start to hurt the eyes, nerves, kidneys or heart (â€Å"Diabetes†). Unsurprisingly, such suffering is very difficult for a child to bear. Fortunately, however, individuals that are suffering from diabetes may seek their doctors’ advice apart from making changes in their lifestyles to prevent these problems. If the person suffering from diabetes is overweight, the doctor may recommend weight loss. Effective weight reduction plans, in addition to â€Å"increased physical activity,† may help the diabetic person to a large extent (â€Å"Diabetes and Lifestyle†). According to a report published by the World Health Organization, â€Å"more than 22 million children under five years old are obese or overweight, and more than 17 million of them are in developing countries. Each of these children is at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes†¦ (â€Å"Fight Childhood Obesity to Help Prevent Diabetes†). † Obviously, this is expert opinion on the relationship between obesity and diabetes. If a child is watching television or playing video games most of the time and becoming obese, his or her parents should be sending the child to run around with his or her friends in a park instead. Seeing that children in developing countries are also suffering from obesity, and therefore the risk of developing diabetes, it is clear that obesity may be inherited to boot. Children of poor families do not get enough to eat in any case. What is more, if and when they develop diabetes, their families cannot afford to get them treated. But, even if a child’s parents can afford to get him or her treated, medical treatment is more expensive than prevention of obesity. The California Department of Education reports that â€Å"[o]verweight children and youths are more prone to developing serious health problems now and in the future (â€Å"Final Task Force Recommendations†). After all, this is the age of McDonald’s and Burger King, which makes it even more important to prevent obesity in children as well as adults. It is easy to buy a hamburger from Wendy’s on the way back from school – both for the mom and the child. However, the cost of sickness is much higher than the convenience of a drive through fast food restaurant. Everybody wants children to flourish and help the nation and the entire world to prosper as well. Besides, all health experts are of one voice as far as the relationship between diabetes and obesity is concerned. The fact that most people diagnosed with diabetes are obese, be they adults or children – makes it necessary to check obesity. It has been timelessly stated: we are what we eat. Therefore, it is best for both children and adults to be nourished by healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables are always considered superior to fats and hamburgers. Exercise and keeping fit are always better than excess weight. Nobody has ever doubted that human beings love to eat good food. At the same time, however, it must be borne in mind that obesity may turn into a severe disorder. It may negatively affect the individual’s mental state, by lowering his or her self-esteem. What is more, a child that is fed on McDonald’s five times a week may eventually become incapable of studying in school if diabetes ends up hurting his or her eyes. Mothers too may be rendered helpless as far as housework is concerned. Undoubtedly, therefore, in the case of diabetes, it must be timelessly stated: obesity prevention is better than cure.

Cause and Effect Essay Essay

About 70% of the couples who get married take the decision of getting divorce. Divorce is one of the most serious social problems in the modern world. It has become very common recently, and it affects all levels of society. In the past, divorce was quite rare. Today, however, a majority of marriages break up in the first few years. When involved in a divorce lack of communication, infidelity, and financial problems are the causes to provoke a couple to split apart and take their lives into different path. To begin with one significant cause that leads to a divorce is lack of communication. Many couples stop communicating with each other because each one is busy doing their own things in life whether it is work, hobbies, raising children, activities, among other things. A lot of couples have different job schedules not allowing them to see each other most of the day. When they finally get to see each other is at night and unfortunately they are both tired and they just go to sleep. Since the time that they live together is not enough, the couples find it hard to find time to communicate with each other due to having a busy life and for lack of energy. Also, many married people have poor communication because they do not know how to express their feelings to their partner. Marriage cannot be a successful relationship if either one does not discuss about his/her emotions or issues, and expects their partner to guess what the whole problem is about. Finally, most couples just do actions i nstead of using words. Married couples think that they do not need to express their love for each other verbally and that only providing for the house is sufficient to know that they care and love each other. Many people think that because they provide things from the home like food, pay bills, take care of the house, etc. they do not have any other problems and they live with happiness. Unfortunately, it just makes the couple weaker ending in a divorce. Its quite clear that the less communication that is used in a marriage, the more higher divorce rates. Furthermore, infidelity in a marriage can be devastating, and most of the time leads to divorce. Boredom in a relationship is not a good idea if couples want a successful marriage. Partners who do not challenge each other with enough excitement to keep the relationship interesting cheat. The desire for self-expansion can lead a husband or wife to be aware of opportunities outside of the marriage, opening the door to infidelity. Spouses do not communicate their desires for growth, and they feel the need to cheat. In addition, many couples can cheat using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc. Social network is one of the most common causes of infidelity in married couples. Today, everyone can have a computer or phone that they can access to internet making it way easier to meet new people. Many couples have many jealously problems when they found out that their spouse has being talking or going out on dates with different women/men. Most married couples cannot forgive their spouse of infidelity, leading to an unfortunate divorce. Lastly, multiple sex partners before marriage can lead to infidelity. Many people when they get married think that they will change and stay with just one sex partner, but the truth is that they find it really hard to keep their promise. This can lead to a sense of loss, betrayal, unwelcome memories and other problems. These can affect a marriage later on. After a couple of months they feel satisfied with their spouse, but when the time keep passing they cannot be with just one person, and there is when infidelity takes place in a relationship. After infidelity most or all the trust is lost; not having any other option then the divorce in marriages. Finally, a cause of divorce are financial issues. Money or aspects related to it are of course a possible cause of disagreement between couples. For example, couples that live paycheck to paycheck deal with stress from the pressure of making enough money to survive and provide the family with necessities. If the bills get behind it could start an argument between the two and that on top of being behind with bills can be overwhelming causing more stress, which leads to an unhealthy relationship. For instance, many married couples go into debt. Many couples when they do not have money to pay something tend to use credit cards, but many people end abusing them. They say I will buy it now and I will pay it later. Unfortunately, bills do not stop from coming and when people less expect it they cannot get out of debt. This situation builds up stress between the couples not knowing how to get out of it, and just blaming each other without finding a solution. Finally, gender differences of how they see their financial problems can cause a divorce. For most males when it comes to money is to provide for their family. They like to carry this burden. For most females, their need is to make sure the family is provided for. Problems starts to show when the husband might work longer to provide, but the wife thinks his work is his top priority over family. The husband sees it just the opposite. For some husbands, just because they are working hard, it doesn’t mean they love their jobs more than their families. Obviously, too much work can cause the relationship to suffer. Economic problems can cause a disaster in a marriage, not having other option for the couples then the divorce. Clearly, divorce is a serious issue that can happen to anyone due to cheating, economic problems, and poor communication. Before taking the big step of marriage every couple has to think about all the things that imply being married. Couples should consider living in free union for a short time before getting married, by doing this, you can meet your partner well before making an important decision that can have a huge impact on every couple’s life. The cause of divorce are lamentable and all couples should try to consider them if they want to have a healthy and successful relationship and avoid falling during marriage.

Comparing Fermentation Rate of the S. Cerevisiae Yeast in the Presence of Mgso4, Naf and Sodium Pyruvate

Syl Rogers Bio 210 Comparing Fermentation Rate of the S. cerevisiae Yeast in the presence of MgSO4, NaF and Sodium Pyruvate Hypothesis In the fermentation of rate of yeast, S. Cerevisiae, there will be a higher/ faster rate of ethanol production, However, using catalytic enzymes would make the rate more faster, and MgSo4 will have a higher rate of CO2 than that of NaF and Sodium pyruvate as it act as a more better catalytic enzyme than the others. Methods Preparation of Tubes A solution of yeast and glucose was prepared with different concentration of enzymes.In All the tubes water, 0. 3M glucose and yeast was placed; with the exception of some tubes in which 0. 2M MgSo4 and 2. 5mL and 1. 4ML 0. 2 NaF was placed respectively. In another tube was placed both MgSO4 and NaF. The different solutions were prepared and placed in separate tubes for the experiment. A 45oC water bath was setup to be used for the fermentation process. Data acquiring The tubes were placed in the water bath. A s top watch was used which aids in determining the reaction time.After Every 15 min, data was collected from all tubes by measuring the amount of CO2 being produced. This process continued for a total of 75min allowing enough time for Fermentation to occur in all tubes. Result For the first 15min, In the tube containing 8. 5mL water and 2. 5mL yeast only, the rate of the reaction was 0mm/min whiles the tube with the glucose has a rate of 233. 864mm/min. This is followed by the tube containing 2. 5mL of MgSo4 which has a rate of 165. 8573mm/min. The tube containing the MgSo4 and NaF has a rate of 69. 5mm/min which is followed by the 1. 24mL NaF tube that has a rate of 40. 63mm/min followed by 2. 5mL NaF tube which has a rate of 31. 08mm/min which was the lowest. After 30minutes, the tube containing only water and yeast has a rate of 0mm/min whiles the tube with the glucose has a rate of 208. 97mm/min. This is followed by the tube containing the MgSo4 which has a rate of 174. 1137mm/min . The tube containing the MgSo4 and NaF increased to a rate of 169. 59mm/min which is followed by the 1. 24mL NaF tube that has a rate of 57. 77mm/min followed by 2. mL NaF tube which has a rate of 35. 08mm/min which was the lowest. After an hour of reaction time, the MgSo4 and NaF tube has increased to a rate of 193. 17mm/min which is followed by the glucose tube with a rate CO2 rate of 176. 52mm/min followed by the MgSO4 Tube with a rate of 171. 73mm/min. The 1. 4mL NaF tube has increased to 61. 68mm/min followed by the 2. 4mL tube which was the lowest with a CO2 rate of 31. 31mm/min. For the final 15min of the experiment, the glucose tube has a rate of 176. 48mm/min followed by the MgSO4 and NaF tube with a rate of 169. 7mm/min. the MgSo4 tube has a rate of 157. 40mm/min which is followed by the 1. 24NaF tube with a rate CO2 rate of 57. 46mm/min followed by the 2. 5mL Tube with a rate of 29. 34mm/min which was the lowest CO2 production rate. Fig 1: Rate of CO2 production in the f ermentation of Glucose by S. cereviae Discussion: The fermentation of glucose by S. cerevisiae, which yields equal molar amounts of carbon dioxide and ethanol, showed higher production levels of carbon dioxideunder controlled conditions than any other implying the same for production of ethanol.Fermentation affected by a magnesium sulfate solution ranked second in carbon dioxideproduction while sodium fluoride yielded the least amount of carbon dioxide. These results suggest that magnesium has a positive influence on the production rate of carbon dioxide during the fermentation process and that the control contained an amount of magnesium that was neutralized by the presence of the fluoride anion. Though mean production was lower for the magnesium sulfate solution than the ontrol, a few specific results overlapped suggesting the addition of magnesium sulfate had no affect for those instances. A lower mean value for the magnesium sulfate solution suggests either that the fermentation process was supersaturated by magnesium or that the sulfate anion adversely affected the production of carbon dioxide. Further experimentation should be performed to determine the affects of magnesium sulfate in comparison to other magnesium and non-magnesium containing salts such as calcium sulfate or magnesium chloride to determine which ion has the greatest affect.Unknown variables such as the age of the S. cerevisiae samples may have affected the outcome of this experiment. Verification of S. cerevisiae batch age would allow for additional experiments to determine whether magnesium supplementation affects yeast of a certain age differently than that of another. Additionally, the experimental test tube/vial container allowed for some of each solution to be pushed out of the experimental test tube as the level of carbon dioxide increased.Further experimentation should utilize a better method of measuring the production of the entire original solution, not a fraction of the soluti on as a function of time. An alternative would be to attach a balloon to the tip of the solution-filled test tube, measure the diameter of the balloon, let an hour elapse and then measure the diameter again to determine carbon dioxide gas production. Decreased carbon dioxide production levels for S. erevisiae in the presence of a sodium fluoride solution suggest that an absence of available magnesium during fermentation results in an inefficient fermentation process; some level of magnesium is required in order for the process of fermentation to operate at maximum efficiency. Additional magnesium does not guarantee a faster or more efficient means of fermentation/ethanol production and can have an adverse affect on the fermentation process.