Twilight commentary Free Essays

I have written a film review on the movie; Twilight. The reason for this was due to enjoying writing a piece that had this particular genre. This piece is aimed at mature young women from the age of 16, due to the language I have used, they would find this interesting. We will write a custom essay sample on Twilight commentary or any similar topic only for you Order Now The primary purpose of my writing is to inform and the secondary purpose is to Entertain. Grammar in comparison for my model text to my film review is very significant. Word classes were frequent throughout. Abstract nouns were used such as ‘love’. Prepositions ‘the award winning’ and determiners are also used, ‘her new life in forks’. The sentence structure mainly used complex sentences throughout; due to having a mature audience. The film review also affects lexis; the text is very high in formality and is in the third person. The semantic field of my film review is love and vampires. There are similarities in the model text and differences, due to the audience being more interested in my film review. I have changed the discourse by having a different genre, mine is a romantic fantasy and my model text is a horror-fantasy. I also spoke about the director, as well as going into detail about the two main characters instead of just about the movie. Things alike to my model text ‘Watchmen’ were, starting the text with alliteration, ‘the time’ the model text had ‘travelling towards’. Both talk about the genre of the movie. The atmosphere is described in both as well. Paragraphs are all fairly concise and both talk about the movie and novel adaptations. Graphology is very important. It was very alike to the model text. There was a main picture. This was very large; it gave readers information about the movie. Symbolism was used to show who owned the review. This was colourful and attractive. Typography was placed upon the picture to give the readers’ information about the rating. Bold writing was included, making sure that the readers knew what the picture showed, it was also used for showing important information. A graph on the predictions expected for the audiences’ reactions was used, as well as small adverts for other movies. There is a semantic field of romance within the review. Collocation is used, as is synonyms ‘from beneath’ instead of under; this is to show the texts formality. Antonyms ‘popular, successful’, figurative language aswell ‘almost as if time has stopped’ and connotations ‘untouchable’ (vampires) are all used. Pragmatics affects a few aspects, such as the sub-text, ‘introduces mythological creatures into our lives’ which means there are more than one way a reader could take this and they will feel more intrigued. Shared understanding-I am using words that suggest that the reader would know what I am talking about. There is alliteration within my text. A serious tone with some humour is used; the text is reflective to my theme of romance. There is a great depth of the characters and of the film itself. How to cite Twilight commentary, Papers

Only Once In A Lifetime Will A New Invention Come About To Touch Every (2615 words) Essay Example For Students

Only Once In A Lifetime Will A New Invention Come About To Touch Every (2615 words) Essay Only once in a lifetime will a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives. Such a device that changes the way we work, live, and play is a special one, indeed. A machine that has done all this and more now exists in nearly every business in the U.S. and one out of every two households. This incredible invention is the computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed the American society. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of peoples lives for the better. The very earliest existence of the modern day computers ancestor is the abacus. These date back to almost 2000 years ago. It is simply a wooden rack holding parallel wires on which beads are strung. When these beads are moved along the wire according to programming rules that the user must memorize, all ordinary a rithmetic operations can be performed. The next innovation in computers took place in 1694 when Blaise Pascal invented the first digital calculating machine. It could only add numbers and they had to be entered by turning dials. It was designed to help Pascals father who was a tax collector. In the early 1800s, a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage designed an automatic calculation machine. It was steam powered and could store up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Built in to his machine were operations that included everything a modern general-purpose computer would need. It was programmed byand stored data oncards with holes punched in them, appropriately called punchcards. His inventions were failures for the most part because of the lack of precision machining techniques used at the time and the lack of demand for such a device. After Babbage, people began to lose interest in computers. However, between 1850 and 1900 there were great advances in mathematics and physics that began to rekindle the interest. Many of these new advances involved complex calculations and formulas that were very time consuming for human calculation. The first major use for a computer in the U.S. was during the 1890 census. Two men, Herman Hollerith and James Powers, developed a new punched-card system that could automatically read information on cards without human intervention. Since the population of the U.S. was increasing so fast, the computer was an essential tool in tabulating the totals. These advantages were noted by commercial industries and soon led to the development of improved punch-card business-machine systems by International Business Machines (IBM), Remington-Rand, Burroughs, and other corporations. By modern standards the punched-card machines were slow, typically processing from 50 to 250 cards per minute, with each card holding up to 80 digits. At the time, however, punched cards were an enormous step forward; they provided a means of input, output, and memory storage on a massive scale. For more than 50 years following their first use, punched-card machines did the bulk of the worlds business computing and a good portion of the computing work in science. By the late 1930s punched-card machine techniques had become so well established and reliable that Howard Hathaway Aiken, in collaboration with engineers at IBM, undertook construction of a large automatic digital computer based on standard IBM electromechanical parts. Aikens machine, called the Harvard Mark I, handled 23-digit numbers and could perform all four arithmetic operations. Also, it had special built-in programs to handle logarithms and trigonometric functions. The Mark I was controlled from prepunched paper tape. Output was by cardpunch and electric typewriter. It was slow, requiring 3 to 5 seconds for a multiplication, but it was fully automatic and could complete long computations without human intervention. The outbreak of World War II produced a desperate need for computi ng capability, especially for the military. New weapons systems were produced which needed trajectory tables and other essential data. In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchley, and their associates at the University of Pennsylvania decided to build a high-speed electronic computer to do the job. This machine became known as ENIAC, for Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator. It could multiply two numbers at the rate of 300 products per second, by finding the value of each product from a multiplication table stored in its memory. ENIAC was thus about 1,000 times faster than the previous generation of computers. ENIAC used 18,000 standard vacuum tubes, occupied 1800 square feet of floor space, and used about 180,000 watts of electricity. It used punched-card input and output. The ENIAC was very difficult to program because one had to essentially re-wire it to perform whatever task he wanted the computer to do. It was, however, efficient in handling the particular programs for which it had been designed. ENIAC is generally accepted as the first successful high-speed electronic digital computer and was used in many applications from 1946 to 1955. Mathematician John von Neumann was very interested in the ENIAC. In 1945 he undertook a theoretical study of computation that demonstrated that a computer could have a very simple and yet be able to execute any kind of computation effectively by means of proper programmed control without the need for any changes in hardware. Von Neumann came up with incredible ideas for methods of building and organizing practical, fast computers. These ideas, which came to be referred to as the stored-program technique, became fundamental for future generations of high-speed digital computers and were universally adopted. The first wave of modern programmed electronic computers to take advantage of these improvements appeared in 1947. This group included computers using random access memory (RAM), which is a memory designed to gi ve almost constant access to any particular piece of information (Hall, 75). These machines had punched-card or punched-tape input and output devices and RAMs of 1000-word capacity. Physically, they were much more compact than ENIAC: some were about the size of a grand piano and required 2500 small electron tubes. This was quite an improvement over the earlier machines. The first-generation stored-program computers required considerable maintenance, usually attained 70% to 80% reliable operation, and were used for 8 to 12 years. Typically, they were programmed directly in machine language, although by the mid-1950s progress had been made in several aspects of advanced programming. This group of machines included EDVAC and UNIVAC, the first commercially available computers. John W. Mauchley and John Eckert developed the UNIVAC, Jr. in the 1950?s. Together they had formed the Mauchley-Eckert Computer Corporation, Americas first computer company in the 1940?s. During the development of the UNIVAC, they began to run short on funds and sold their company to the larger Remington-Rand Corporation. Eventually they built a working UNIVAC computer. It was delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951 where it was used to help tabulate the U.S. population. Early in the 1950s two important engineering discoveries changed the electronic computer field. The first computers were made with vacuum tubes, but by the late 1950s computers were being made out of transistors, which were smaller, less expensive, more reliable, and more efficient. In 1959, Robert Noyce, a physicist at the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, invented the integrated circuit, a tiny chip of silicon that contained an entire electronic circuit. Gone was the bulky, unreliable, but fast machine; now computers began to become more compact, more reliable and have more capacity. These new technical discoveries rapidly found their way into new models of digital computers. Memory storage capacities increased 800% in commercially available machines by the early 1960s and speeds increased by an equally large margin. These machines were very expensive to purchase or to rent and were especially expensive to operate because of the cost of hiring programmers to perform the complex operations the computers ran. Such computers were typically found in large computer centersoperated by industry, government, and private laboratoriesstaffed with many programmers and support personnel. By 1956, 76 of IBMs large computer mainframes were in use, compared with only 46 UNIVACs. In the 1960s efforts to design and develop fastest possible computers with the greatest capacity reached a turning point with the completion of the LARC machine for Livermore Radiation Laboratories by the Sperry-Rand Corporation, and the Stretch computer by IBM. The LARC had a core memory of 98,000 words and multiplied in 10 microseconds. Stretch was provided with several ranks of memory having slower access for the ranks of greater capacity, the fastest access time being less than 1 microseconds and the total capacity in the vicinity of 100 million words. During this time the major computer manufacturers began to offer a range of computer capabilities, as well as various computer-related equipment. These included input means such as consoles and card feeders; output means such as page printers, cathode-ray-tube displays, and graphing devices; and optional magnetic-tape and magnetic-disk file storage. These found wide use in business for such applications as accounting, payroll, inventory control, ordering supplies, and billing. Central processing units (CPUs) for such purposes did not need to be very fast arithmetically and were primarily used to access large amounts of records on file. The greatest number of computer systems were delivered for the larger applications, such as in hospitals for keeping track of patient records, medications, and treatments given. They were also used in automated library systems and in database systems such as the Chemical Abstracts system, where computer records now on file cover nearly all known chemical compounds (Rogers, 98). The trend during the 1970s was, to some extent, away from extremely powerful, centralized computational centers and toward a broader range of applications for less-costly computer systems. Most continuous-process manufacturing, such as petroleum refining and electrical-power distribution systems, began using computers of relatively modest capability for controlling and regulating their activities. In the 1960s the programming of applications problems was an obstacle to the self-sufficiency of moderate-sized on-site computer installations, but great advances in applications programming languages removed these obstacles. Applications languages became available for controlling a great range of manufacturing processes, for computer operation of machine tools, and for many other tasks. In 1971 Marcian E. Hoff Jr., an engineer at the Int el Corporation, invented the microprocessor and another stage in the development of the computer began. A new revolution in computer hardware was now well under way, involving miniaturization of computer-logic circuitry and of component manufacture by what are called large-scale integration techniques. In the 1950s it was realized that scaling down the size of electronic digital computer circuits and parts would increase speed and efficiency and improve performance. However, at that time the manufacturing methods were not good enough to accomplish such a task. About 1960 photoprinting of conductive circuit boards to eliminate wiring became highly developed. Then it became possible to build resistors and capacitors into the circuitry by photographic means. In the 1970s entire assemblies, such as adders, shifting registers, and counters, became available on tiny chips of silicon. In the 1980s very large scale integration (VLSI), in which hundreds of thousands of transistors are placed on a single chip, became increasingly common. Many companies, some new to the computer field, introduced in the 1970s programmable minicomputers supplied with software packages. The size-reduction trend continued with the introduction of personal computers, which are programmable machines small enough and inexpensive enough to be purchased and used by individuals. One of the first of such machines was introduced in January 1975. Popular Electronics magazine provided plans that would allow any electronics wizard to build his own small, programmable computer for about $380 The computer was called the Altair 8800. Its programming involved pushing buttons and flipping switches on the front of the box. It didnt include a monitor or keyboard, and its applications were very limited. Even though, many orders came in for it and several famous owners of computer and software manufacturing companies got their start in computing through the Altair. For example, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, fo unders of Apple Computer, built a much cheaper, yet more productive version of the Altair and turned their hobby into a business. After the introduction of the Altair 8800, the personal computer industry became a fierce battleground of competition. IBM had been the computer industry standard for well over a half-century. They held their position as the standard when they introduced their first personal computer, the IBM Model 60 in 1975. However, the newly formed Apple Computer company was releasing its own personal computer, the Apple II (The Apple I was the first computer designed by Jobs and Wozniak in Wozniaks garage, which was not produced on a wide scale). Software was needed to run the computers as well. Microsoft developed a Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) for the IBM computer while Apple developed its own software system. Because Microsoft had now set the software standard for IBMs, every software manufacturer had to make their software compatible with Microsofts. This would lead to huge profits for Microsoft. The main goal of the computer manufacturers was to make the computer as affordable as possible while increasing speed, reliability, and capacity. Nearly every computer manufacturer accomplished this and computers popped up everywhere. Computers were in businesses keeping track of inventories. Computers were in colleges aiding students in research. Computers were in laboratories making complex calculations at high speeds for scientists and physicists. The computer had made its mark everywhere in society and built up a huge industry. The future is promising for the computer industry and its technology. The speed of processors is expected to double every year and a half in the coming years. As manufacturing techniques are further perfected the prices of computer systems are expected to steadily fall. However, since the microprocessor technology will be increasing, its higher costs will offset the drop in price of older processors. In other words, th e price of a new computer will stay about the same from year to year, but technology will steadily increase. Since the end of World War II, the computer industry has grown from a standing start into one of the biggest and most profitable industries in the United States. It now comprises thousands of companies, making everything from multi-million dollar high-speed supercomputers to printout paper and floppy disks. It employs millions of people and generates tens of billions of dollars in sales each year. Surely, the computer has impacted every aspect of peoples lives. It has affected the way people work and play. It has made everyones life easier by doing difficult work for people. The computer truly is one of the most incredible inventions in history. Julie Gibson English 2 - Pre-AP Essay BibliographyWorks Cited:Chposky, James. Blue Magic. New York: Facts on File Publishing. 1988. Cringley, Robert X. Accidental Empires. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing, 1992. Dolotta, T.A. Data Processing:1940-1985. New York: John Wiley Sons, 1985. Fluegelman, Andrew. A New World, MacWorld. San Jose, Ca: MacWorld Publishing, February, 1984. Hall, Peter. Silicon Landscapes. Boston: Allen Irwin, 1985. Gulliver, David. Silicon Valey and Beyond. Berkeley, Ca: Berkeley AreaGovernment Press, 1981. Hazewindus, Nico. The U.S. Microelectronics Industry. New York: Pergamon Press, 1988. Jacobs, Christopher W. The Altair 8800, Popular Electronics. New York: PopularElectronics Publishing, January 1975. Malone, Michael S. The Big Scare: The U.S. Computer Industry. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Co., 1985. Osborne, Adam. Hypergrowth. Berkeley, Ca: Idthekkethan Publishing

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Essays - Movements For Civil Rights

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson "I am somebody." Born in the year 1941, from the town of Greenville, South Carolina, Jesse Jackson was and still is one of the most powerful civil rights leaders of the twentieth century. His voice, face, and organizations have been very popular and intricate to the civil rights movement. He has fought for not only African Americans, but has also met with world leaders and was successful where other politicians were not. Many people do not realize the reverend's ties to our great state. Reverend Jackson actually attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship for a short time before transferring to the North Carolina Agriculture and Technical College. In North Carolina he received his BA in sociology. He then returned to Illinois and attended the Chicago Theological Seminary. This seminar had a large impact on his life, and he was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1968. Reverend Jackson soon started his very own Operation Push, (also known as People United to Save Humanity), which was based in Chicago, after he controlled the Chicago wing of Operation Breadbasket. His work for black rights over time expanded to truly represent all kinds of people. After more than fifteen years of fighting for racial equality, in 1984, Reverend Jackson ran for his first presidential election, with the help of his National Rainbow Coalition, Inc., an umbrella organization of minority groups. Much of his interests became shifted towards womens', minorities', and much broader civil issues as problems arose around him that opened his eyes to other problems in society. After unsuccessfully running for president two elections in a row, Jesse decided to get involved in other ways politically. In 1991, after no other political leader could convince Saddam Hussein to release American prisoners caught during the gulf war, Reverend Jackson convinced the Iraqi leader to begin releasing the prisoners after a very short conversation. Jackson also played a very important role in the release of Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria in1984, and the long awaited release of forty-eight Cuban hostages just four years later, in 1988. These accomplishments are also accompanied by a large amount of even more impressive facts. In the two elections Reverend Jackson ran in, he won a total of votes higher than ten and a half million. Jesse also registered over three million new voters in the years her ran for election, in 1984 and 1988. He hasn't run for president for nearly ten years, but he doesn't rule out the possibility of running again. His son, Jesse Jr. is currently representing Illinois in the House of Representatives and Jesse himself is working in the U.S. Senate, trying to make the District of Columbia pass into statehood. The district, with a large amount of minorities, has a higher population than five current states, yet has no political voice or representation. Jesse has received over forty honorary degrees, saved many lives, and inspired millions. He has received the NAACP award for lifetime achievement, and has been named the top ten most respected Americans in the United States for the last twelve years. The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson has truly proved that his motto, "I am somebody," not only applies to him, but can also apply to anyone, no matter what gender, ethnicity, or social class. Yes, Reverend Jackson your are right when you say, "I am somebody." Works Cited Winslap, Michael. Civil Rights Leaders: Jesse Jackson. New York: Brunswick Publishing, 1996. Mitchell, Malcom. "Jesse Jackson." National Rainbow Coalition. 10 December 1998. Http://www.usbol.com/ctjournal/Jjacksonbio.html. (13 March 1999).

Word Choice Whiskey vs. Whisky

Word Choice Whiskey vs. Whisky Word Choice: Whiskey vs. Whisky To mark Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re taking a look at a spelling problem with deep connections to Ireland: whether to write â€Å"whiskey† or â€Å"whisky.† So are these terms interchangeable? Or is there a difference? And what does this have to do with Ireland anyway? Let us explain! The Origins of Whisky/Whiskey Whisky (we will default to this spelling to save repeating ourselves too much) is a distilled alcoholic drink made from malted grain. It is widely associated with two countries: Scotland and Ireland. Both have a long history of distilling whisky, but the word itself comes from Ireland. A modern whisky still.(Photo: saxonrider) In particular, it comes from Old Irish term uisge beatha, meaning â€Å"water of life.† This is the Irish version of aqua vitae, which was the Latin word for distilled alcohol of any kind (not just whisky). Eventually, uisge beatha entered English and was anglicized to become â€Å"whisky† or â€Å"whiskey.† Why two spellings, though? This may have started as a matter of regional preference. The story most people tell is that, during the 19th century, Irish distillers wanted to distinguish their product from their Scottish competitors. As such, they started using the spelling â€Å"whiskey† for Irish whiskey. Scottish whisky, meanwhile, became known as Scotch whisky. A Global Drink We see this Irish–Scottish division in modern spellings around the world: The spelling â€Å"whiskey† is standard in Ireland and the US. This is partly because of the large number of Irish immigrants who set up stills over here. â€Å"Whisky† is standard in most other countries, including Japan and India. This is not a strict distinction, though. As such, while â€Å"whiskey† is standard in the US, you will also find distillers who call their products â€Å"whisky.† For instance, Maker’s Mark uses the spelling â€Å"whisky† to recognize the Scottish heritage of company founder Bill Samuel. Whiskey or Whisky? Some people say there are differences between â€Å"whiskey† and â€Å"whisky,† such as the distillation process or the type of still used. Most of the time, though, â€Å"whiskey† and â€Å"whisky† are just different spellings of the same word. And as such, they are often used interchangeably. However, if you want to avoid upsetting drink geeks, remember: Whiskey is the spelling associated with Ireland. Whisky is associated with Scotland (especially â€Å"Scotch whisky†). So the correct spelling depends on where your favored tipple comes from. And if you want a Saint Patrick’s Day drink that won’t cause spelling headaches, you can always try Guinness instead.

Themes of War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Themes of War - Essay Example The theme of the author is able to display how war affects every level of society while holding the wrong intent that negatively impacts those directly and indirectly involved without good reason. This is displayed through the monologue and the way that the author describes the specific situation. The first way in which the author describes the problem is with the individuals that are fighting in Iraq and what this has caused to their personal lives. This occurs specifically with Cheo’s brother who is fighting in the war. The conditions which are described show how his brother is suffering not from the fighting but, instead, from the lack of care which is received while being in Iraq. â€Å"He sat in a tank in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. Wrote six, seven, eight hours a day. These brilliant letters of fear† (Rivera, 346). The fear is then described with the brother waiting to die while there is nothing to do but wait. This problem is one which continuously ar ises in the main theme, specifically in how it has affected his brother by creating fear and causing him to believe only in death. The conditions of the war and the treatment of the soldiers further show that the Iraqi war is one which is not worth fighting and is only leading to misery and loss of life. The individuals that are affected then move into the familial relationships that have connections to those that are in the war. Cheo, as the main character, is first shown with the effects that he has had toward the war because of him missing his brother and of the pain which he knows he is in. This is followed by his confusion over the rights and beliefs which he knows he should have and which cause a division of whether to believe in the war or not. The problem which arises is first seen with Cheo’s observations of his brother and how he changes from saying that he loves others to fighting them and no longer having this characteristic. The reflection continues with Cheo cha nging his belief in wanting blood and bombs and waiting every day for Iraq to be bombed so his brother can come home (347). The change in the character of Cheo shows how the relationships of the family and those that are waiting for the war to be over affect the situation even more, as well as the attitudes of those that are placed in the war. The problems noted with the family then turn to the dialogue becoming one of a national and societal problem. This creates a connection that moves from the family and into the political and social impact that is created. â€Å"And this billboard went up in my town showing Stalin, Hitler, and Hussein, saying we stopped him twice before we have to stop him again! This billboard was put up by a local newspaper!† (348). The attitude created in society is one which shows the same violence that is taking place in the war, despite the lack of knowledge or understanding of what is occurring in the war as well as why it is being fought. The them e of violence and how this takes over at every level is displayed through this dialogue and by showing that there is a sense of the war spreading because of attitudes, changing beliefs and the position of being involved in the war. The war, then, becomes one that is based on growing attitudes of violence over nothing that is occurring within society except for a desire to have money and oil. The theme continues with noting that the war is based not only on problems

Apostolic Worship (African Amercian) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Apostolic Worship (African Amercian) - Essay Example The traditional worship involves significant holiness and extensive reference on the Lord Jesus Christ’s name. These rituals are reflected in dress code during baptism, use of wine in communion, strong interpretation of the scriptures within the New Testament, and ordination. During worship, we use the authorized version of the Bible, which is King James. The commonly used version is the English Version to serve the congregations. Usually, the New Testament is highly adhered to as; it reflects on the life and suffering that Jesus underwent. Unlike other churches, we conduct worship on Sundays. The worships allow us to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit. We usually sing various songs to cleanse our presence before the Lord. The church concentrates on worship, as it welcomes the Holy Spirit, which leads us during the service. Mostly, the congregation silently prays together to ask for the Holy Spirit to lead in the service (Alexander 58). The leadership of our Church is concentrated on the male members. The tradition is governed by the New Testament, which influences the male dominated leadership within the church. Prior to 1961, the Church leadership concentrated on one prelate leader. However, after the death of Lawson, Bonner proposed different governance within the church. Bonner’s proposal meant that; the church will involve the governance of different archbishops, and apostles who will form a board (Clark 146). Additionally, Bonner found it suitable to establish two more boards to account to the Apostle’s board. These boards involve the Boards of Presbyters and Bishops. When dealing with women and leadership within the church; our congregation remains adamant. The church holds that the scriptures never provide room for women to preach. The argument presented against women preaching is that; she seizes the authority given to a man. Women who preach are discouraged in First Corinthians 2:12. However,

Thiamine Functions and Structure

Thiamine Functions and Structure Marno Terblanche Clinical Chemistry II BAssignment Overview About five million individuals in America suffer from heart failure, with an additional 550,000 new diagnosis made each year. The life expectancy of people living with this condition has gradually increased due to the availability of useful and established treatment opportunities. The percentage of mortality in the States continues to be high even though things like â€Å"omega-3 fatty acids, ÃŽ ²-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors† have bettered the circumstances of these people. Vitamin B1, or better known as Thiamine, plays an integral part in the treatment of heart failure and is regarded as a clinical significant factor in the well-being of the heart. It also enhances the prognosis and general health of the patients. Heart failure can be caused by trace mineral deficiencies such as thiamine deficiency and therefore thiamine supplementation can be of great assistance in the treatment of this condition (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Vitamin B1 was the first out of eight B-vitamins to be identified, and ever since the discovery it was given several names, with Thiamine being used the most (DiNicolantonio, 2013). It is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that it cannot be stored by the body and is obtained through food sources such as beef, nuts, milk and whole-grain foods (Ehrlich, 2011). Studies around the causes of beriberi by a Dutch physician and pathologist, Christiaan Eijkman, led to the discovery of Vitamin B1 in 1897. Beriberi is a widespread and sometimes deadly disease associated with heart failure. By 1926, vitamin B1 was separated into its pure form and given the name thiamine (Vitamins in Motion, 2013). More about Thiamine (Vitamin B1) Absorption The absorption of thiamine takes place in the jejunum with the aid of two processes. An active transport system in the small intestines is responsible for the absorption of thiamine once the levels drop below normal. Once the levels are too high, an inactive mucosal process occurs. The small intestines are capable of absorbing about 5 mg of thiamine. Tissues can reserve up to 30 mg of thiamine. The storing of thiamine is very important as the body cannot produce its own. The liver, heart, kidneys and brain are some of the organs which stores thiamine, with most of it found in the skeletal muscles (Nguyen-Khoa, 2013). Structure The structure of thiamine consists of a pyrimidine ring with the radical –NH2 and a thiazole ring. These two rings are connected with one another by means of a methylene bridge (Mouton, 2014:4). Thiamine found within living tissues have a diphosphate ester structure known as thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). TPP serves as a coenzyme that binds tightly to the apoenzyme (Ball, 1998:268). Functions There are four structures of thiamine that are present in all human beings. They include: thiamine monophosphate, thiamine diphosphate, thiamine triphosphate and unphosphorylated thiamine (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Thiamine is very important in the body as it operates as a coenzyme that converts carbohydrates into glucose, which in turn is used to provide energy. It also assists in the metabolism of fats and protein, and is essential for healthy eyes, hair, skin and liver (Ehrlich, 2011). Thiamine monophosphate can actively move into the central nervous system and nerves where it is capable of preserving the sodium and potassium concentrations. Sodium and potassium is required for nerve impulse conduction, and therefore it is vital for these levels to be maintained (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Thiamine is occasionally referred to as an â€Å"anti-stress† vitamin because of its ability to support the immune system and improve the ability of a person’s body to endure traumatic situations. People who suffer from vitamin B1 deficiency are deprived from these normal functions that the vitamin provides, and therefore they develop conditions such as dry and wet beriberi (Ehrlich, 2011). Thiamine deficiency Diets that are low or deficient in vitamin B1 can lead to Thiamine deficiency (beriberi) as well as constant (long-lasting) diarrhoea. Diarrhoea actually weakens the body’s capacity to take up vitamin B1 (Nguyen-Khoa, 2013). There are two forms of beriberi namely dry and wet beriberi. Dry beriberi involves the deficiency of thiamine that affects the nervous system while wet beriberi comprises of cardiovascular complications (DiNicolantonio, 2013). A potential reason as to why wet beriberi arises, because of thiamine deficiency, is based on the fact that ATP is depleted from the cardiac muscle cells. The decrease in ATP then leads to the weakening of the cardiac muscle, which in the long run causes heart failure. There will be an increase in the concentration of adenosine monophosphate in the cardiac muscle cells as a result of the inability of the cells to produce ATP. The adenosine monophosphate is then converted to adenosine, which then starts to accumulate in the cells and then finally leading to its release into the plasma by the aid of a nucleoside transporter. The manifestation of systemic vasodilatation and headaches is due to adenosine in the plasma (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Features of wet beriberi As a result of thiamine deficiency and specifically wet beriberi, patients will represent with cardiovascular symptoms. It will include swelling of cells and tissues because of excessive water build-up, lactic acidosis, fluid retention, systemic dilation of blood vessels and a high-or-low-output cardiac failure. In addition to the mentioned symptoms other signs such as increased levels of catecholamine and low diastolic pressure may be evident of wet beriberi (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Shoshin beriberi is known as an acute version of wet beriberi and these patients may show signs of an acute cardiovascular collapse as well as metabolic acidosis. If left untreated (i.e. if thiamine is not injected immediately) it may lead to death (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Epidemiology The prevalence of beriberi may be associated with the fact that milled rice was consumed by some populations all over the world. The external part of the rice that contained thiamine was removed by the milling process. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there is a significant improvement in Indonesia where this process of removing the outer crust was and still is implemented. Back in the day beriberi was widespread and a health concern, but currently the occurrence is less common than what it was. Beriberi has a tendency to affect infants between 1 and 4 months as well as adults (Knott, 2010). Measurement of thiamine Direct detection is one of the methods used to measure the concentration of thiamine in the system. It can also be measured by determining enzyme activity of those enzymes that require thiamine for optimal functioning. There is more than one method that can be used to measure thiamine levels. Urinary and serum thiamine level estimation, red blood cell transketolase and TPP (thiamine pyrophosphate) analysis is some of the methods available. It is important to measure thiamine stores and amongst all current tests available there is still no consistent test usable for this purpose. Thiamine will move to the liver and enter the red blood cells soon after it has been absorbed in the jejunum. The amount of thiamine in blood ranges from 60-120 ÃŽ ¼g/L. From this total volume (concentration) about 80% will be found within the red blood cells. Because thiamine has a limited duration in the body, it is not reliable to measure serum levels or use it as a marker of thiamine stores (DiNicolantoni o, 2013). Excretion of thiamine in the distal nephron is also directly associated with the amount of thiamine in blood. However, the concentration will be dependent on recent intake only, and therefore isn’t indicative of thiamine sites (for storage) in the body. 24-hour urine samples are required for evaluating thiamine levels, and this may be tiresome for the individual (DiNicolantonio, 2013). So far the most effective and reliable test available is the â€Å"erythrocyte transketolase activity assay† that evaluates transketolase activity. In an artificial manner thiamine is added to the red blood cells followed by the measurement of transketolase activity. Transketolase cannot function without thiamine diphospahte. Because it requires the coenzyme for optimal functioning the action of the transketolase enzyme proves that there is indeed thiamine diphosphate in the cells. Since red blood cells are one of the first cell types to be affected by thiamine deficiency, it can be considered an accurate test procedure (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Treatment Thiamine supplements are essential to those individuals that suffer from dry or wet beriberi. It is recommended that 1.1-1.2 mg of thiamine supplements are administered on a daily basis. When it comes to wet beriberi the patient may require 100 mg/day intravenous thiamine supplementation for more than a few days. It has also been suggested that individuals whose chances are higher of developing the deficiency should receive 100 mg of supplements three times daily. In instances where there is a confirmed deficiency, an increased dosage of thiamine (from 100 to 200 mg) should be taken three times daily. The supplementation is critical for the management and treatment of this deficiency and it has been showed that there is substantial improvement in the condition after the person received treatment (DiNicolantonio, 2013). Prognosis Beriberi is not that difficult to treat. With proper treatment one can expect to see a significant recovery, even in more severe types of this deficiency. Within 12 hours of supplementation one can notice an improvement. Because treatment provides for more rapid recovery, it can almost be used as a diagnostic test. Overall the prognosis is fairly good (Nguyen-Khoa, 2013). Conclusion Individuals who suffer from heart failure are more prone to develop vitamin deficiencies such as thiamine deficiency. It is therefore important to limit any nutritional defects to prevent such deficiencies from occurring. This is a controllable condition and with necessary treatment one can expect substantial improvements. The use of vitamin B1 has demonstrated to better heart function, urinary function as well as symptoms of heart failure (DiNicolantonio, 2013). References Ball, G.F.M. (1998). Bioavailability and Analysis of Vitamins in Foods. 1st ed. London: Chapman Hall. DiNicolantonio, JJ. et al. (2013). Thiamine Supplementation for the Treatment of Heart Failure: A Review of the Literature. Congestive Heart Failure [online]. 19, p.214-222. Available from: . [Accessed 18 August 2014]. Ehrlich, SD. (2011). University of Maryland Medical Center [online]. Available from: https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b1-thiamine>. [Accessed 18 August 2014]. Knott, L. (2010). Patient.co.uk [online]. Available from: www.patient.co.uk/doctor/beriberi>. [Accessed 26 August 2014]. Mouton, TM. (2014). Clinical Chemistry II B Core Notes Bellville: CPUT Nguyen-Khoa, DT. (2013). Medscape [online]. Available from: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/116930-overview>. [Accessed 18 August 2014]. Vitamins in Motion [online]. (2013). Available from: www.vitaminsinmotion.com//VitaminsinMotion_VitaminB1.pdf‎>. [Accessed 9 August 2014].