Cholesterol Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cholesterol - Assignment Example Cholesterol bromination can be used to purify cholesterol (Barton, Miller & Young 98). In most cases, oxidation refers to the addition of the oxygen atom to a substance. However, in organic chemistry, oxidation refers to the loss of bond by carbon atom to hydrogen forming new bonds with other atoms. The overall reaction is characterized by loss of electron density hence loss of the electron. Cholesterol is capable of undergoing both autoxidation and photo-oxidation to produce oxysterols in each case. The common oxidants used for cholesterol oxidation are zinc and sodium dichromate. The first step involves the formation of the ketone, where the O double bond replaces the OH functional group. Then zinc is used to remove the bromine atoms (Stewart, Lee & Can 439). Debromination is the opposite of the bromination because it involves the removal of the bromine atoms from the organic molecule. It is one of the dehydrogenation reactions where cholesterol dibromide is boiled in the presence of alcoholic halide to produce the corresponding alkene molecule. The chemistry behind this reaction is that the bromine attached to the carbon in the alkyl bromide undergoes a reaction with hydrogen that is attached to the ÃŽ ²-carbon that releases the hydrogen bromide. The product of the reaction is the formation of a double bond between ÃŽ ± and ÃŽ ² carbon resulting into an alkene (House & Row 182). Isomerization is a process involving the transformation of a molecule into another with the same atoms but different arrangement. The new molecule is called an isomer. In the case of cholesterol, oxalic acid assists in shifting 5-Cholesten-3-one to a 4-Cholesten-3-one by shuffling of the position of the carbon-carbon double bonds. Oxalic acid provides the acidic medium that favors shifting and formation of a double bond to a new location leading to the formation of the conjugated system with the ketone group (Seager, Spencer & Slabaugh 123). Crystallization is the

Stop the Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Stop the Massacre - Essay Example Palestinians only get to hear of the data regarding their fellow citizens who have passed due to the conflict. However, the reporting is also compromised by media houses that are rooting for a western perspective, which has labeled Palestinians as terrorists yet the majority of Gaza residents are peace-loving citizens and have no arms that threaten Israel’s peace and tranquillity. The Israel army claims that it is undertaking surgical strikes aimed at only killing Hamas fighters (Yaakov 1). However, the grim reality on the ground paints a different picture. Most of the dead are innocent civilians who include children, women and the elderly. The support of the western nations for the conflict points at the eroded moral values of the strongest nations, which ought to stand for the enforcement of human rights. The above story paints a bleak future for Gaza’s residents who have become used to the torrential blasts of Israel mortar. This is a story about the contrast in the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. On the onset of the operation dubbed protective edge, Israelis, in amusement, watched from cinemas and cliffs facing Gaza as their army bombarded Gaza from the air leading to the death of innocent people (Yaakov 1). The Israelis, whom the army claims to be protecting, were celebrating as it pounded and destroyed the lives of Palestinians. This was in contrast to the picture painted by Israel’s media, which claimed that its citizens live under the constant threats of rockets. The war against Gaza was based on a false premise publicized by the Western-backed media so that world can turn a blind eye on the atrocities that are occurring during the military incursion into Gaza. The result of this war is the creation of a modern-day concentration camp and the death of even the unborn babies in the wombs of Palestine’s women. Palestinians cannot leave Gaza since they will be exposed to attacks.