Character & Theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Essay

Character & Theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Essay Example So, the intriguing plot development begins in the Arctic Circle as the symbol of mystery and unpredictability. The time when the novel was written was that of rapid scientific explorations. As well as many other young men, Victor Frankenstein was fond of natural scientific researches and decided to devote himself to the science. But he did not just scientific experiments, but he decided to transform living substance from the dead one! Victor Frankenstein's explorations were based on medieval alchemists' researches which tried to prove that resuscitation is possible and a human being can be immortal. Alchemists provided such experiments but nevertheless their dream wasn't realized. But the people's dream of resuscitation and transformation of lifeless substance was and is still survived, and this aspiration is eloquently reflected in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In the spirit of Enlightenment, Victor Frankenstein tried to explore the human nature. He was sure that scientific reason can surpass God, and he made his supernatural experiments intending to bring scientific benefit to the mankind. The spirit of Enlightenment appealed liberty, including human liberty from God, and Frankenstein wanted to realise this idea, but he transformed this idea into the idea of artificial intelligence. It was a popular philosophical idea, and it still survives today, in our century of genetic engineering. But that time Victor Frankenstein used less effective scientific methods than we do today: he used electricity. Experiments with electricity were very popular in the 18th and the 19th century, and many scientists tried to apply it in many realms, including medicine. The experiments with electricity were widely used in medicine as the demonstration showing that frog leg can jolt under the influence of electricity - Victor Frankenstein decided to use this technology for resuscitation. He imagined himself as a great scientist who is able to surpass God and create new life using scientific methods: "So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein--more, far more, will I achieve; t reading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation" (Chapter 3). In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein the old idea of aspiration of man superiority over nature is clearly visible. Alchemists and different scientific experimenters always aspired to surpass nature and place a man over nature, and they didn't reflect possible consequences. Victor Frankenstein realised the danger, nevertheless he went on. But later he found that his creature is not as ideal as he had planned. The monster was ugly, and nobody could see it without fear, and even his creator couldn't look at him without fear: "I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived" (Chapter 5). What was Victor's purpose to create his monster It was an ambition of a man who tried to use his experiments to demonstrate the power of science and the power of humans over nature. Victor internalized his monster, and then

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior Research Paper

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior - Research Paper Example Academic stakeholders started gaining interest in the connection between psychology and law after the World War II was over. During the period of 1960s, various psychologists were called upon in various criminal and civil cases to help with the cognitive side of the cases (Ogloff, 1996). By 1980s, psychology was applied to law, and students started taking courses and training in the field of psychology of law (Ogloff, 1996). Today, criminology and psychology are taught together in formal and professional educational settings, and various theories explaining why criminals perform criminal activities are taught to students and professionals. Body Among the various theories that examine why individuals perform criminal activities, the choice theory is the most commonly used. Choice theory was created by Dr, William Glasser; according to him, the decision of an individual to commit a crime is made in a rational way (Glasser, 2011, p.224). The theory further suggests that there are severa l reasons due to which one acts in a deviant manner; these reasons includes greediness, desire, rage, envy, suspicion, excitement and pride. The base of the theory of choice is the classical school of criminology, which states that an individual is not restricted, and whether to select a criminal path or a socially acceptable path is his or her own free choice. The classical school of criminology has even suggested a way to counter crime – fear of punishment can help prevent criminals from performing criminal activities (Glasser, 2011). The theory of choice categorizes criminal behavior into three different types. The first type is the rational actor; this means that a criminal makes his or her own decision whether or not to commit a crime, and he or she can be stopped through fear of punishments. The second reason due to which an individual commits a crime is because of his or her inner drives and the environment he or she lives in. The best possible way to counter this kind of criminal is to change the environment in which he or she is situated. The last kind of criminal is the one who has been abused or has been a victim of a crime; this kind of criminal can be controlled with the aid of rules and regulations. Criminology is even associated with personality; Eysenck, a psychologist from Britain, is highly recognized for producing a theory that connects criminal behavior with the individual’s personality. He suggested that an individual performs criminal behavior because of the communication between that individual’s environment and his cognitive system (Raine, 1993). This theorist has focused on the predispositions related to criminal activities available in the genes of an individual. People who are in favor of this theory share a common belief that individuals have distinct mental processes. When these processes interact with a particular stimulus, individuals end up acting in a deviant way. This theory has not signaled that an indivi dual is born with criminal-like qualities; this theory rather suggests that only when the neurobiological processes of individuals interact with a certain environment do individuals act in a deviant manner. The study conducted by Eysenck further proved that individuals who exhibit a lower level of extraversion have a tendency of getting angry quickly, acting in an aggressive manner, and are not reliable (Raine, 1993). He even stated that individuals categorized as extraverts tend to experience increased levels of excitement, which

Please write a thoughtful response to one or more of the readings Essay

Please write a thoughtful response to one or more of the readings - Essay Example When the swordfish started attacking and killing the people of Singapore, Sultan Padouka Sri Maharadja became utterly devastated and hopeless. He did not know how to stop the mysterious swordfish attack. His first response was to use his soldiers as barricades against the attacking swordfishes. But this strategy seems so inhumane. So a young boy suggested using banana trees as barricades. The sultan accepted the suggestion and it proved to be a wise decision. The swordfishes attacked the banana trunks, and because these trunks were solid the people were eventually protected from the swordfishes’ deadly attacks. Fortunately, the swordfishes were not merely stopped, but their long snouts were also stuck in the banana trunks. The numerous swordfishes that were caught provided food for the people. On the surface, the story seems to promote wisdom and cooperation. The swordfish attack was successfully halted due to a young boy’s wisdom and the people’s cooperation. However, the story has an underlying moral message: valuing nature and other creatures of the earth. Asians, especially ethnic groups, are environmentalists by heart. The story expresses resistance to irresponsible fishing. The angry swordfishes symbolize how nature would take revenge if people do not change their attitude toward other creatures of the planet. It shows that the damages we do to the environment will return to us tenfold; it could be even lethal. The young boy’s suggestion, on the other hand, symbolizes effective ways of taking care of the environment. Our concern for the environment will definitely pay off in the end, just like how the swordfishes became a constant food supply for the people of Singapore. The second story, Kancil and Sang Buwaya, is a fable about wisdom, or, more specifically, shrewdness. Kancil, a mouse deer, usually goes to the river to drink. However, Sang Buwaya, a crocodile, wants to eat Kancil. And so the poor mouse deer has to

Good Practice in Handling Information Essay Example for Free

Good Practice in Handling Information Essay Promote good practice in handling information in health and social care setting Outcome 1 Understand requirements for handling information in health and social care settings 1. Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in health and social care. OUTCOME 1 1. Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in health and social care. All of the staff need to make sure that confidentiality is paramount. Staff have to read and understand the Data Protection Act of 1998. We have to make sure that we are clear about our standards of conduct, that we are expected to meet. We are encouraged to use the codes of conduct to maintain our own practice is good and we need to look at any area’s where we can improve on. When it comes to Medication, staff have to make sure that all stock is listed on the MAR sheet. The Human Rights Act 1998 details the right to a private life. There is also the GSCC code of practice for social care workers, which provides a clear guide for all those who work in social work, setting out the standards of practice and conduct workers and their employers should meet with regards the handling of information. There is also Caldecott standards which govern the sharing of information based on the Data protection Act. 2. Summarise the main points of legal requirements and codes of practice for handling information in health and social care. DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 This legal document sets out eight principles which are in essence a code of good practice for processing personal data. These are * Make sure that  things are processed fairly and lawfully. * Processed only for one or more specified and lawful purpose. * Adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes. * Accurate and kept up to date data subjects have the right to have inaccurate personal data corrected or destroyed if the personal information is inaccurate to any matter of fact. * Kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes it is being processed. * Processed in line with the rights of individuals this includes the right to be informed of all the information held about them, to prevent processing of their personal information for marketing purposes, and to compensation if they can prove they have been damaged by a data controllers non-compliance with the Act. * Secured against accidental loss, destruction or damage and against unauthorised or unlawful processing this applies to you even if your business uses a third party to process personal information on your behalf. * Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein that do not have adequate protection for individuals personal information, unless a condition from Schedule four of the Act can be met. Question 2 – Emma’s Pointer When a new resident is admitted, then they need to have a new care plan. The care plan will show all the medication that they are currently on. If they have any allergies to anything. All personal clothing and possessions are listed. We list how much money they have, if it is over  £20.00 then we take it to the office for safety reasons. Where it is documenated for the resident. 1.2 Emma We have to always make sure that we respect confidential information and clearly explain to any angency workers about policies relating to confidnentialy to both residents and carers. 2. Emma’s pointer Smart sheet does not go up to Handout 6 !!! When maintaining records, you need to record residents : Medication and any changes to their medication Doctor’s visit’s or any other professional bodies Contact with the family Any falls that have occurred Body mapping Any illnesse’s need to be recorded Daily notes need to updated how residents have been during the day and also during the night. Emma’s pointer Question 3 Should there be an incident at work then staff need to make sure that they fill out the relevant paperwork, i.e. if there was an accident on the premises then they need to fill out the an accident form, if there are any injuries sustatained to a resident then a 24 hour observation chart needs to be started.

Creation of an Online Prescence

Creation of an Online Prescence Scenario Assignment No 1 of 1- Sit 1 As an IT administrator for ACS (Awesome Clothing Store), you are responsible for the companys infrastructure including its online presence. The company has commissioned a new website in order to improve their revenue and reach a higher segment of customers. The developers have delivered the code and database for the website and you are now responsible for bringing it online as well as perform maintenance and adding any additional features that might be required in the future. The website has been developed in PHP and MySQL as well as other technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Please refer to Appendix A for an explanation of the files that you will be given. You are required to prepare a preliminary report which includes your opinion, and diagrams with appropriate reasons. Following are the questions that you need to answer to achieve the criteria set. Task 1 Deploying an Application under a PHP Environment (P1.1, P1.2, M1, D1) The application must be deployed on the web. Explain what is required in terms of hosting services for your application to work correctly. Support your answer by mentioning a number of hosting services that you can choose, select the best one and justify your answer. Illustrate the difference between client-side scripting and server-side scripting supporting your answers with practical examples used in the application. P1.1 Explain the methods and techniques required to host a website. In your answer make reference to registering a domain name and the need to host the websites files online. Registering a domain in a jurisdiction is the first step   popular domain are after the .com are .tv (Tuvalu) .me Montenegro one of the most or the most popular domain registering broker is GoDaddy its vital to select the right domain name so youll ensure that site reaches more hits. 1.Planning and evaluating the best possible route. The site will consist of series of files, so we will need the capacity for files. We can either host them on a local web server or a cloud web server such as AWS. 2.We need to evaluate all the avail webhosting services and come up with the moist suitable 3Various companies such as godaddy offer domain checker, they can also provide an alternative domain after successfully finishing the registration procedure including WHOIS database assign, where the webmaster information us made public or set in private mode. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once We have registered we can use the appropriate tools to upload the content. P1.2 Evaluate the different types of hosting offered by web host providers. Elaborate in detail on at least 2 hosting services and give examples of actual hosting companies offering these packages. For testing and development purposes, deploy the given application and database to a local server such as XAMPP. Currently on the market various webhosting solutions are available there is: Complimentary Hosting Shared Hosting Virtual Hosting Dedicated Hosting Collocated Hosting Complimentary Hosting Complimentary web hosting is ideal for small pages with low traffic, and not for corporate or business use. Such service include various adds and pop-ups and with limited or no support. The Good points in free hosting sen/ices are: Free Ideal for personal websites Ideal to learn on them The Bad points in free hosting services are: -Usually you cannot choose your own domain -Few, limited or no software options -Limited security options -Limited or no database support -Limited technical support -Lack of professionalism -Advertisements As we can see, there are a lot of cons in going to free hosting, however one has to see his need. Shared hosting is very cost effective. With shared hosting, your web site gets its own domain name, and is hosted on a powerful server along with other web sites. Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like e-mail, database, and different editing options. Normal technical support tends to be good. This is recommended for the small businesses. The Good points in virtual hosting services are: Low Cost. The cost is usually shared with others. Ideal for small business Multiple Software options You can have your own domain Normal support is quite good. Negative   points with virtual hosting services are: Limited security due to shared resources Limited traffic volume Limited support Dedicated hosting On dedicated hosting, web site is hosted on Its ideal for high demand traffic and sites. One should expect dedicated hosting to be high avail bile and more secure, with various platform solutions. M1 Explain how effective judgments have been made by suggesting which hosting package is most suitable for this scenario and elaborate in detail why a specific hosting package was chosen over another. Due to the limitation of of our solution For our online clothing website, We can opt to host our own resources, a solution that with we need to procure for resources, where can come result in isses from from ISP or owned   hardware. We can also opt shared hosting. Where it is more feasible option since it includes load balancer, uptime guarantee redundancy site, SLA and higher avability. For this option, we can partner with amazon AWS AWS offers a perfect solution for our goal because most of the backend administration is done automatically various geolocation data centres which translates in faster browsing speed, they offer some tools to write and store our website and they guarantee 99.9% uptime. 99.9% uptime means that we can afford 1 min 15secs downtime daily or 7 hours 33min 66 seconds yearly. Although that seems a lot, hen breakdown the expense, Its more than acceptable for an online fashion store . Of course, the nature of the business is online and the time it makes offline means loss of money, however, taking everything into consideration, we can say this package is the best we can use. Other packages such as GoDaddy or hosting our own server are too expensive for our purpose. GoDaddy, for instance, offers a 247 support to its dedicated hosting. They also 99.9% network uptime, the price will shoot up to â‚ ¬88 a month compared with the AWS which is just â‚ ¬47 a month. Show that conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified by analysing: 1. How the hosting services will make your PHP application work correctly on the web. 2. Evaluate in detail the difference between client-side scripting and server-side scripting by giving practical examples from the application. XAMPP is the tool that is going to be used for our site. After we build the site design and make it available online we are required to create a hosting account, where we decided to make it with on AWS. Then with filezilla (ftp) we need to upload the content to our website. Web Tools such as Dreamweaver have a build in FTP, and one can upload the changes immediately. When upload is completed, one must preview the project for a UAT (user acceptance test). AWS has this functionality and one can find it by clicking web hosting, next to the hosting account that we want to use Server side Scenario The server-side scenario uses a scripting tool on a web server. A users request is triggred directly on a web server to create dynamic HTML files. These files are sent to the client browser. It is usually supplies interactive sites that integrates with databases or other data API. Clients scenario Client usually triggers scripts via browsers. This will be processes on the clients side. The source code is downloaded from the web server to the clients computer through the web browser Scripting language tools should be enabled to perform this operation. This might also create a security threat loophole, with various warning messages being displayed on clients browser. P1.3 Explain the legal requirements of hosting an online website. Once successfully uploaded there is a whole legal framework to be followed. 1.Company Information 2.Web Accessibility and the Disability Discrimination Act 3.The Data Protection Act 4.Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 5.Electronic Commerce Regulations (EC Directive) 6.PCIDSS 7.The EU Anti-Spam Laws 8.The EU Cookie Directive 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legal information such as trading licence vat, numbers etc.

Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Case Study Marketing Essay

Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Case Study Marketing Essay The introduction of Fair Trade has indeed encouraged many businesses in building an efficient ethical supply chain which involves applying strict measures that comprises of identifying, forming and maintaining good supplier relationship with both upstream and upstream. It is important that companies build a viable ethical supply chain as well encourage good working condition in accordance to existing labor laws in other improve brand image and build a strong reputation as well as contribute to sustainable development. In todays business world, building ethical supply chains is extremely essential as it also comes with a lot of benefits attached to the practice. In an article by (Michael R. Levin and Richard J. Cellini, 2008) Consumers, investors, business partners, regulators, and media organizations now expect a company and its entire supply chain to be ethical. The world is becoming a global marketplace and companies must ensure that they have morally strong brand image and create a well trusted supply chain so as to add value not only to their brand but to their image in general, with the wide spread of internet and effective communication consumers are becoming aware of what is actually involve in production and distribution of goods and services. With the increasing rate of climate change people are becoming more conscious of how to care for the environment and the ways of how resources are being exploited. Interestingly, in these recent economic downturns big multinationals companies such as Kraft, Nestle and Starbucks have all managed to form strategic partnership with Rainforest Alliance for Ethical Sourcing of Coffee beans, according to (IGD.com, 2009) Kraft started working with Rainforest Alliance to show support as part of their contribution towards sustainability and helping the environment, shortly after gaining great experience Kraft successfully expanded more work with Rainforest Alliance and included other brands and with this, a total of 150,000 farmers benefited by gaining improved working conditions and better wages, they also helped to protect 70,000 acres of coffee farmland and helped protect rainforest plant and animal species as reported by (IGD.com, 2009) Nestle announced in 2005 to support sourcing its coffee beans ethically after bagging the title in the UK of being the most unethical company and partly responsible for driving down prices of coffee beans at the expense of poor small farmers, they decided to make a serious commitment to support Fair trade and fight poverty, invest in community projects such as improving schools and clinics, providing clean water and repairing roads. Fair Trade label is particularly strong and popular in the United Kingdom, The United States Starbucks made a pledge to make all of its popular espresso brand Fair Trade by the end of 2009 on the other hand, Nestlà © who happens to be a bigger brand with numerous has also join the bandwagon and made commitment to the mass consumer market like its number one rival Kraft, whose brands such as Maxwell house and Kenco has made sure all its coffee beans are from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. (Russell, 2009) Starbucks made a commitment to ethical sourcing in 2009, and has become one of the largest buyers of fair-trade coffee, they also made a decision to have 100% of its coffee certified or verified by an independent third party, such as TransFair USA. To show their commitment to the sustainability, they have planned to invest in communities by doubling loans to farmers by 2015. According to Starbucks, (starbucks.co.uk, 2011)responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee means working with farmers to produce coffee in ways that help provide benefits to their business, their communities and the environment. This falls in line with the Fair Trade objectives, which states that, coffee bean growers should be adequately compensated for their harvest. In addition, Fair Trades primary objectives is ensure that its sets standards for farmers organizations and labor are adhered to by all, they also work in the interest of small-scale producers and help them work in an organized manner, such as in a co-op and make sure all decisions are made democratically and not influenced. In Fair Trade, the farmers are allowed to form unions. While in the Rainforest Alliances standard, they do not get involved with the cooperation of farm workers, and are somewhat laidback. The Rainforest Alliance does not have any existing baseline premium for wages, and they only maintains the low wage bar set by local governments (Trauben, 2009) 2. According to research expert, (Johnson, 2010) who carried out a research in the UK to understand what consumers actually wants, in his studies he discovered that food is the most misunderstood area of public policy, as it accounts for 10% of household expenditure and is linked to 12% of employment, 70% of land use and 20% of energy use in the UK. He also mentioned that demand for food is higher than supply bearing in mind price, quality, availability and access such as logistics issues which play a very vital role in supply chain. (Doane, 2001) Defined ethical consumption as the purchase of a product that concerns a certain ethical issue human rights, labor conditions, animal well-being, and environment it is chosen freely by an individual consumer. With growing trends and change in lifestyle consumer behavior and expectations have changed, due to various issues which ranges from Self-interest to Purchasing Power. People are getting busier and barely have time to cook and therefore have to rely on instant junk foods, maintaining a healthy diet is increasing becoming a difficult task but it is important to make sure that they consume ethically by making sure they are well informed of the food being sourced in a sustainable way. Sending out clear information to create awareness should be encouraged by the government so as to enable the food retailers provide more knowledge and give more information to improve the eating habit of consumers said the Chief Executive of Wm Morrison Supermarkets (Philips, 2010) which is the fourth biggest grocery retailer in the UK and has 479 stores with a strong focus on fresh products. However, having access to affordable healthy foods should be greatly encouraged and not excluded economically from enjoying healthy meals, as these tends to be more expensive. With the recent economic downturn more people have very little disposable income to spend on buying food stuff, as price for simple basic commodities such as rice has witnessed an increase in price globally. (Philips, 2010) also said Key to the affordability of food is choice. Supermarkets offer wide choice in order not only to meet customers expectations but also to drive competition. This encourages innovation to help ensure excellent quality as well as to keep prices down. The conclusion of the research carried out by the (Johnson, 2010) is that consumers have growing expectations and it is the responsibility of the supermarkets to act sustainably, and not increase prices of more healthier foods, Fair trade products should be made affordable and serve as an economically sustainability initiative which helps the environment and must be backed by clear information and honest Fair Trade labeling of products so that consumers have clear knowledge of where the products originates from and the environmental impact. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands that practice responsible sourcing and procurement, carbon footprints and favorable ethical trade practices. Brands who adopt ethical sourcing are perceived as being environment friendly, these ethical firms avoid actions that may somewhat negatively influence, or probably appear to influence, supply chain management decisions for sourcing of resources. 3. Recommendations to help cure the ills of the coffee market would be as follows: In most developing countries where coffee is being exported, the coffee is regarded as very valuable export commodity which makes up a major contribution to their earnings, they are owned by small business owners, the coffee exported from these poor countries are highly consumed by the wealthiest countries, the coffee beans has variety of different grades most of they are somewhat identical which makes a standardized product, but they have distinctive flavors and specialty coffee falls into this category and has a much higher grade which makes it command a higher price than others. The Fair Trade coffee bean are in different grades, although specialty coffee requires a totally different production and pricing which in turn creates a quality control issue for Fair Trade coffee. (Haight, 2011) Fair Trade cannot solve all the problems relating to ethical supply and consumption, consumers should also play a part in curing the ills of the coffee by: a) Ethical Consumption should be encouraged in great measures so as to make consumers use their purchasing power as a means to change questionable ills of the coffee market business as well as the severe oversupply of low cost substandard coffee beans. According to (Jeremy, 2007) Fair Trade is defined as a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seek greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers especially in the South. One complaint amongst many coffee drinkers is that the quality of Fair Trade coffee varies widely. The fact that the growers are guaranteed a minimum price for their product may have unintended consequences, one being that there is no incentive to improve quality. b) Reward companies that practice high ethical standards to set an example for other unethical companies to change their ways of doing business, for example according to a recent study carried out by (Remi Trudel et el, 2012) in trying to understand how much more would consumers be willing pay for an ethically produced product? and also how much less would consumers be willing to pay for the product they think is unethical? 97 coffee drinkers were radomly chosen for the experiment and were given informations about the companys production standards, the result from the experiment showed that people punished unethical goods with a much higher discount than they rewarded ethical products with premiums price. c) Consume authentic ethical products and contribute to the lives of the growers by avoiding bad consumer choice and practices. d) Always check labels and investigate popular brands to understand its history of production and encourage fairness in labor. In conclusion, coffee experts in the industry must work hard to reduce the supply of low quality coffee beans and promote ethical supply of this commodity, which will not only improve the lives of the growers but also contribute immensely in shaping the coffee market, companies should increase actions towards socially responsible marketing, (McDonald, 2013) which involves: Customer oriented marketing Innovative marketing Customer value marketing Sense of mission marketing Societal marketing

Haemochromatosis Detection Essay -- essays research papers

HAEMOCHROMATOSIS DETECTION USING PCR-RFLP INTRODUCTION Hereditary Haemochromatosis (HH), first described in 1865, is a genetic disorder of metabolism, characterized by progressive iron overload resulting from abnormalities in intestinal iron absorption and or release of iron from reticuloendothelial cells . It is an autosomal recessive disorder, where the body accumulates excessive iron, which is deposited in a variety of organs. Iron cannot be excreted, thus, the excess builds to toxic levels in tissues of major organs such as the liver, heart, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, lungs, and synovium (joints). These organs cease to function adequately and eventually become diseased. Serious illnesses such as diabetes, cirrhosis, hepatoma, hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, cardiomyopathy and arthritis may be a consequence of this disease . It affects one in every three hundred Caucasians, and one in nine is a carrier , hence, making its early detection vital. The gene responsible for HH (HLA-H) was recently identified on the short arm of chromoso me 6 and is thought to be mainly caused by a mutation of a gene called HFE, which allows excess iron to be absorbed from the diet . This mutation is known as C282Y. A single point mutation occurs, in which the amino acid cysteine at position 282 changes to a tyrosine . To develop haemochromatosis two genes, one from each parent, are required to be C282Y. However, not everyone with the mutation may develop the disease and it may occur if only one C282Y gene is present (4). 77.5% of affected individuals have two copies of the C282Y mutation, one inherited from each parent, while about 4% have a single copy of the mutation and one normal HFE gene . First proposed in early 1970’s, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has been identified as a simple, robust, speedy, and most of all, flexible method that can be used to detect haemochromatosis . In this technique, specific DNA sequences are amplified for the detection of mutations that may be present, allowing early diagnosis of hereditary heamochromatosis (see figure 1). It is a major development in the analysis of DNA and RNA. The requirements of the reaction are simple, consisting of deoxynucleotides to provide both the energy and nucleosides for the synthesis of DNA, template, primer, DNA polymerase, and buffer containing magnesium . The crux of the PCR procedure involves three s... ...’Med J Aust. 2001 Oct 15;175(8):418-21(PubMed): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11700835&dopt=Abstract 11 ‘DNA Testing for Hereditary Hemochromatosis’: Molecular Genetic Testing in Mainstream Medicine (Vol. 14: Spring, 1997) http://www.mostgene.org/gd/gdvol14c.htm 12 http://www.aiddiagnostika.com/english/kits/GenID/rdb_2045e_haemochromatosis.htm 13 http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_10_171103/ger10460_fm-2.html 14 Marion K. Stott, Andrew P. Fellowes, Jeff D. Upton, Michael J. Burt and Peter M. Georgea : ‘Simple Multiplex PCR for the Simultaneous Detection of the C282Y and H63D Hemochromatosis (HFE) Gene Mutations’ http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/45/3/426 15 http://bip.weizmann.ac.il/mb/bioguide/pcr/PCRwhat.html 16 http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~avierstr/principles/pcr.html 17 Alka Dwivedi, B.C. Sarin, Dev Mittar, P.K. Sehajpal: (2003) ‘Optimization of 38kDA based PCR assay for detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical samples’ 18 McPherson, M.J.(Author). ‘PCR’. - Oxford, , GBR: BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd, 2000. p 70. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utslibrary/Doc?id=5000324&page=82