Monday, January 27, 2020

Osmotic Pressure Effect on Plasma Membrane of Blood Cells

Osmotic Pressure Effect on Plasma Membrane of Blood Cells Syed Ibrahim Introduction The plasma membrane is vital as it defines the boundary between cells and their environment (Heidcamp et al., 2014). Plasma membranes are crucial in maintaining electrochemical gradients, controlling material exchange, and allowing signal transduction (Zhao et al., 2004). The purpose of this lab was to identify isoosmotic solutions by examining the effect of osmotic pressure on the plasma membrane of blood cells and Elodea guard cells; as well as to understand cell viability and membrane integrity using the Trypan blue exclusion assay. To examine the effects of osmosis, animal blood cells and guard cells from Elodea leaves were examined in this lab. Plasma membranes are found in both animal cells and plant cells; however, cell walls are only present in plant cells (Freeman et al., 2011). It was expected that these cells would shrink in hypertonic solutions, stay the same size in isotonic solutions, and swell (in the case of Elodea guard cells) or even burst (in the case of animal blood cells) in hypotonic solutions (Heidcamp et al., 2014). Since glucose has a van’t Hoff factor of 1 while potassium chloride (KCl) has a van’t Hoff factor of 2, it was predicted that 0.15M glucose and 0.07M KCl would be the isoosmotic solutions for both the animal blood and the Elodea guard cells. Concentrations greater than the isoosmotic solution were expected to be hyperosmotic, while concentrations less than it were expected to be hypoosmotic. Viable cells have intact plasma membranes (Heidcamp et al., 2014). In this lab macrophage cells, a type of leukocytes, were treated with various compounds and the effect of these compounds on the membrane of the cells was examined using Trypan blue, which differentially stains viable and non-viable cells based on whether the cells have an intact plasma membrane (Freeman et al., 2011; Strober, 2011). Of the three known compounds, it was predicted that hepes-buffered RPMI (HPMI) would damage the membrane the least as it contains vitamins and supplements, and it was predicted that methyl ÃŽ ²-cyclodextrin (MÃŽ ²CD) would damage the cell the most as it removes cholesterol from plasma membranes (LifeTechnologies, 2013; Rodal et al., 1999). Results The following three equations were used in calculations. Equation 1 was used to calculate osmolarity, in order to determine the osmotic effect of a particular solution, (Heidcamp et al., 2014). Equation 2 was used to calculate osmotic pressure and Equation 3 was used to convert Celsius temperature to kelvin temperature (Heidcamp et al., 2014; USMA, 2012). Where: = osmolarity = van’t Hoff factor = molar concentration Where: = temperature = temperature Where: = osmotic pressure (kPa) = van’t Hoff factor = molar concentration = ideal gas constant = (Chieh, 2002) = temperature Part A: Lab 2 Report Sheets Please refer to attached sheets. Part B: Answers to Assigned Questions Based on the observations of my colleagues and myself, 0.15M glucose and 0.15M potassium chloride (KCl) were the isotonic solutions for the Eloda guard cells, while 0.15M glucose and 0.035M potassium chloride (KCl) were the isotonic solutions for the animal blood cells. Solutions with solute concentrations greater than the isotonic solution were hypertonic, while concentrations less than it were hypotonic. Based on the observations from the lab, 0.6M glucose and 0.3M glucose were hypertonic for both the plant and blood cells, while 0.07M glucose and 0.035M glucose were hypotonic for the plant and blood cells. Additionally, 0.6M KCl, and 0.3M KCl, were hypertonic for the plant cell, while 0.07M KCl and 0.035M KCl were hypotonic for the plant cell. As well, 0.6M KCl, 0.3M KCl, 0.15M KCl, and 0.07M KCl were hypertonic for blood cells while there were no observed hypotonic KCl solutions for blood cells. It is expected that the isotonic solutions of glucose and KCl will have the same osmolarity. Based on Equation 1, osmolarity is the product of the van’t Hoff factor and molar concentration. Since glucose has a van’t Hoff factor of 1 while potassium chloride (KCl) has a van’t Hoff factor of 2, it is expected that glucose will have double the molar concentration of KCl to obtain the same osmolarity in the isotonic solutions. The observations from this lab reveal that for plant cells, glucose and KCl had the same concentrations for isotonic solutions; while for animal cells, glucose had approximately four times the molar concentration of KCl for isotonic solutions. This may have occurred due to the subjective nature of classifying tonicity, and since these observations were split up amongst four groups, their subjective impressions may have been different. Ideally, one group to do all four sets, but due to limited time in the lab, this was not possible. Tween-20 is a non-ionic type of surfactant that can be used solubilizing agent for membrane proteins (Iwahashi et al., 1991; Sigma, 2003). Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is a protein that adsorbs onto negatively charged portions of the membrane bilayer, forming temporary gaps in the membrane, thus increasing the permeability of the membrane (Tsunoda et al., 2001). Based on this information, Tween-20 would likely cause more damage on the membrane bilayer, resulting in more blue cells (after the Trypan blue exclusion test). Therefore, the odd unknown is most likely Tween-20, and the even unknown is most likely BSA. Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: Tween 20 [sorted by relevance] Reference: Iwahashi, K., Tsubaki, M., Miyatake, A., Miura, S., Hosokawa, K., Ichikawa, Y. (1991). Catalytic properties of cytochrome P-450scc from bovine and porcine adrenocortical mitochondria: Effect of tween20 concentration. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 38(6), 727-731. Search Engine: Google Search Terms: Tween-20 Reference: Sigma. (2003). Tween-20 (P5927) Product Information. SigmaAldrich. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-aldrich/docs/Sigma/Product_Information_Sheet/1/p5927pis.pdf Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: â€Å"bovine serum albumin† [sorted by relevance] Reference: Tsunoda, T., Imura, T., Kadota, M., Yamazaki, T., Yamauchi, H., Kwon, K. O., et al. (2001). Effects of lysozyme and bovine serum albumin on membrane characteristics of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol liposomes. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 20(2), 155-163. Based on the Trypan blue exclusion assay observations recorded in Table 2.2, unknown 1 (most likely Tween-20) caused the most damage to the plasma membrane as it had the highest percentage of blue cells (60%). Tween-20 belongs to the class of polyoxyethylene sorbate combounds (Boxtel et al., 1990). Among many functions, these compounds solubilize the proteins and lipids found in the plasma membranes, thereby lysing the membranes (Boxtel et al., 1990). This allows Trypan blue to enter the lysed membranes, making them blue. Discussion and Conclusions Summary of findings In the first part of this lab, the effects of osmosis were examined on animal blood cells and Elodea guard cells. It was determined that isoosmotic solutions for the Eloda guard cells were 0.15M glucose and 0.15M potassium chloride (KCl), while the isoosmotic solutions for the animal blood cells were 0.15M glucose and 0.035M KCl. Solutions with solute concentrations greater than the isotonic solution were hypertonic, while concentrations less than it were hypotonic. It was expected that the isotonic solutions of glucose and KCl would have the same osmolarity, since neither of them can easily diffuse across the membrane without the use of a channel or transport protein (Heidcamp et al., 2014) . Based on Equation 1, osmolarity is the product of the van’t Hoff factor and molar concentration. Since glucose has a van’t Hoff factor of 1 while potassium chloride (KCl) has a van’t Hoff factor of 2, it was expected that glucose would have double the molar concentration of KCl to obtain the same osmolarity in the isotonic solutions. The results from this lab do not reflect this theoretical expectation. This may have occurred due to the subjective nature of classifying tonicity. Ideally, one group should to do all four sets of observations for Table 2.1, but due to limited time in the lab, this was not possible. In the second part of this lab, membrane integrity and permeability was examined using the Trypan blue exclusion. Normally Trypan blue is not permeable in living cells. However, if the plasma membrane is not intact, Trypan blue is able to enter the cell, staining it blue (Heidcamp et al., 2014; Strober, 2011). Once treated with the specific compounds (such as glycine or Tween-20), the Trypan blue exclusion assay was performed on the RAW macrophage cells. Afterwards, the number of blue (non-viable) and non-blue (viable) cells were counted and their respective percentages were calculated. Glycine is smallest of the twenty common amino acids, and nearly all (97%) of treated cell remained viable (Freeman et al., 2011). Methyl ÃŽ ²-cyclodextrin (MÃŽ ²CD) is a compound that removes cholesterol from plasma membranes, making the membrane more permeable, and it resulted in only 55% viable cells (Rodal et al., 1999). Hepes-buffered RPMI (HPMI) is a medium that contains vitamins and supplements that can be used for cell growth, and nearly all (98%) of treated cells remained viable (LifeTechnologies, 2013). In addition to these three compounds, the cells were treated with two unknowns. The odd unknown resulted in relatively few (40%) viable cells, while the even unknown resulted in many (85%) viable cells. Tween-20 belongs to a class of detergents which are known to solubilize membrane proteins, thereby lysing the membranes (Boxtel et al., 1990; Iwahashi et al., 1991). Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is a protein that forms temporary gaps in the membrane, thus increasing the permeability of the membrane (Tsunoda et al., 2001). Based on the literature, Tween-20 would cause more damage on the plasma membrane resulting in fewer viable cells. Therefore, the odd unknown was determined to be most likely Tween-20, and the even unknown was most likely BSA. Answer to questions An organism that thrives in high-salt environments is known as a halophile, such as Halomonas meridian (James et al., 1990; Ventosa, 1998). Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: halophile Reference: James, S., Dobson, S., Franzmann, P., Mcmeekin, T. (1990). Halomonas meridiana, a New Species of Extremely Halotolerant Bacteria Isolated from Antarctic Saline Lakes. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 13(3), 270-278. Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: halophile Reference: Ventosa, A., Nieto, J., Oren, A. (1998). Biology of Moderately Halophilic Aerobic Bacteria. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 62(2), 504-544. Methyl ÃŽ ²-cyclodextrin (MÃŽ ²CD) is a compound that removes cholesterol from plasma membranes (Rodal et al., 1999). Thus it is expected, that MÃŽ ²CD makes the plasma membrane more permeable, and allows Trypan blue to enter the cell. The results from this lab agree with this, as a relatively large percentage (45%) of cells treated with MÃŽ ²CD was stained blue in the Trypan blue exclusion assay. Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: methyl beta cyclodextrin Reference: Rodal, S. K., Skretting, G., Garred, O., Vilhardt, F., Deurs, B. V., Sandvig, K. (1999). Extraction of Cholesterol with Methyl-beta -Cyclodextrin Perturbs Formation of Clathrin-coated Endocytic Vesicles. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 10(4), 961-974. The predictions are below: Acetone is an organic solvent that solubilizes lipids from the plasma membrane (Jamur Oliver, 2010). High concentrations of acetone can disrupt lipid packing in the membrane, thereby increasing membrane fluidity and permeability (Posokhov Kyrychenko, 2013). Therefore is predicted that acetone will increase cell permeability and allow some of the Trypan blue into the cell, staining some cells blue. Methanol is an organic solvent that dissolves lipids from the plasma membrane (Jamur et al., 2010). Methanol can increase the rotational mobility of membrane lipids, increasing its fluidity (Joo et al., 2012). Similar to acetone, it is expected that methanol will increase cell permeability and allow some of the Trypan blue into the cell, staining some cells blue. Saponin is a detergent that selectively removes cholesterol from the plasma membrane, resulting in small holes in the membrane (Jamur et al., 2010). This would act in a manner similar to MÃŽ ²CD, likely causing the cell to be permeable to Trypan blue and staining many cells blue. Triton X-100 is a non-ionic detergent that non-selectively solubilizes proteins from the plasma membrane (Jamur et al., 2010). This would act in a manner similar to Tween-20, likely causing the cell to be highly permeable to Trypan blue and staining a large percentage of them blue. Search Engine: PubMed Search Terms: cell membrane permeability Reference: Jamur, M. C., Oliver, C. (2010). Permeabilization of cell membranes. Immunocytochemical Methods and Protocols, 588, 63-68. Search Engine: Web of Science Search Terms: effect of acetone on membranes Reference: Posokhov, Y. O., Kyrychenko, A. (2013). Effect of acetone accumulation on structure and dynamics of lipid membranes studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Computational Biology and Chemistry, 46, 23-31. References Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., Walter, P. (2008).Molecular Biology of the Cell(5th ed.). New York: Garland Science. Boxtel, R. M., Lambrecht, R. S., Collins, M. T. (1990). Effect of polyoxyethylene sorbate compounds (Tweens) on colonial morphology, growth, and ultrastructure of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. Apmis, 98(7-12), 901-908. Chieh, C. (2002). The Ideal Gas Law. Ideal Gas. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c120/idealgas.html Freeman, S., Harrington, M., Sharp, J. (2011). Biological Science (Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Canada. Heidcamp, W., Antonescu, C., Botelho, R., Victorio-Walz, L. (2014).Laboratory Manual: Cell Biology BLG311(Fall 2014 ed.). Toronto: Ryerson University. Iwahashi, K., Tsubaki, M., Miyatake, A., Miura, S., Hosokawa, K., Ichikawa, Y. (1991). Catalytic properties of cytochrome P-450scc from bovine and porcine adrenocortical mitochondria: Effect of tween20 concentration. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 38(6), 727-731. James, S., Dobson, S., Franzmann, P., Mcmeekin, T. (1990). Halomonas meridiana, a New Species of Extremely Halotolerant Bacteria Isolated from Antarctic Saline Lakes. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 13(3), 270-278. Jamur, M. C., Oliver, C. (2010). Permeabilization of cell membranes. Immunocytochemical Methods and Protocols, 588, 63-68. Joo, H., Jang, H., Yun, I., Bae, S., Chung, I., Bae, M., et al. (2012). The Effect of Methanol on the Structural Parameters of Neuronal Membrane Lipid Bilayers. The Korean Journal of Physiology Pharmacology, 16(4), 255. LifeTechnologies. (2013). RPMI 1640 Medium, HEPES. Cell Culture Transfection Reagents. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://www.lifetechnologies.com/order/catalog/product/22400089#productDetailPage Posokhov, Y. O., Kyrychenko, A. (2013). Effect of acetone accumulation on structure and dynamics of lipid membranes studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Computational Biology and Chemistry, 46, 23-31. Rodal, S. K., Skretting, G., Garred, O., Vilhardt, F., Deurs, B. V., Sandvig, K. (1999). Extraction of Cholesterol with Methyl-beta -Cyclodextrin Perturbs Formation of Clathrin-coated Endocytic Vesicles. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 10(4), 961-974. Sigma. (2003). Tween-20 (P5927) Product Information. SigmaAldrich. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-aldrich/docs/Sigma/Product_Information_Sheet/1/p5927pis.pdf Strober, W. (2011). Trypan blue exclusion test of cell viability. Current Protocols in Immunology, 21(3B), A.3B.1–A.3B.2. Tsunoda, T., Imura, T., Kadota, M., Yamazaki, T., Yamauchi, H., Kwon, K. O., et al. (2001). Effects of lysozyme and bovine serum albumin on membrane characteristics of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol liposomes. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 20(2), 155-163. USMA. (2012). Metric System Temperature. U.S. Metric Association. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/temps.htm Ventosa, A., Nieto, J., Oren, A. (1998). Biology of Moderately Halophilic Aerobic Bacteria. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 62(2), 504-544. Zhao, Y., Zhang, W., Kho, Y., Zhao, Y. (2004). Proteomic Analysis of Integral Plasma Membrane Proteins. Analytical Chemistry, 76(7), 1817-1823.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Being Gay

Being Gay: What the Filipino Parents Should Understand About the LGBT About 3 days ago, I have read an article in the Philippine Star advising parents on what to do when they have a gay child. It was written by a local journalist, Tintin Bersola-Babao according to her interview with a â€Å"noted psychologist. The article details how parents should stop all the effeminate ways of their children and how to tell them that they are what â€Å"God† made them and they must live a family with only the opposite sex in the future. Phrasing my last sentence that way is an understatement on how the article abhors the LGBT and limits a child’s choice on his own sexual identity, but at least, you have a hint of where I’m coming from.This essay is entitled â€Å"Being Gay,† the same title as that of the said article I have read to parallelize the contentions of what should the parents do to their gay child according to the perspective of a â€Å"noted psychologistâ⠂¬  who speaks of the word of her god (I still don’t know which god she has been referring to all those times, though) rather than the word of her profession and someone from the LGBT and is happy that his parents never did what the article advised them to do. On the choice of â€Å"Being† GayFirst of all, the title of the article has expressed a belief that the author, under her mind, has the idea of gayness as a state of being rather than a stigma. You, parents should be able to understand that homosexuality is not an imposed consciousness that your children have to live with, because nothing should be imposed on them, to begin with. They live their own lives according to what they inherently have, not that someone has inflicted them with characteristics and told them what they should be just because the bible says so.You should let your children explore the horizons of their sexuality than impose an identity that you want your children to have. Your child’s identity is a product of the choices they made, the challenges they faced, and the trials they conquered. In order to positively maximize your child’s personality, s/he should not be limited to the out dated social norms and concepts of morality. These things stop them from being who they really are like a box that imprisons them in the shadow of others. Without giving them the freedom to discover their own ‘self,’ children further evelops confusion on their own sexuality. They will question themselves because they deviate from what you told them to be, worse, on what they can see and get from the society. Even you prohibit your gay child to be effeminate, his inner â€Å"gay† self will still manifest, one day or another. That is because once again, gayness is a state of being. You can’t strip that aspect of your child off them. That is who they are. The least you can do is to accept them, nurture them, and support them. Besides, whatever they will become, they are your children. On the guarantee to heterosexualityThe first thing to comprehend on the issue of homosexuality and effeminacy is that a child’s preference on clothes or toys doesn’t suggest their sexuality. There is no guarantee to heterosexuality of a boy who loves sports and toy guns or a girl who acts genuinely lady-like. As children, their choice on toys depends on what you give them or what they see in the media. There is no such thing as an instinctive preference on things like these; it’s the society that is telling us that girls should play with Barbie dolls and boys should play with toy guns.In the same line of thought, a boy who’s playing with Barbie dolls doesn’t suggest his homosexuality. He might be playing with dolls because he admires their beauty or he wants to be a doll maker or fashion designer in the future. A girl playing with toy guns might want to be in the military someday or an action film actress. The point here is that children are way beyond what we see on them. You should be able to accept your child beyond what is seen by the naked eye. Regardless of their sexuality, they are still human beings. On God and MoralityConsidering the concept of individualism as a playing card in the issue of sexuality, morality should not be a basis of your judgment to your children. Morality is something that you can’t quantify. What is immoral to you may be moral to others. The concept of right and wrong doesn’t really matter in the issue of homosexuality, though; because there is nothing wrong with homosexuality and homosexual acts in the first place. What is wrong is on how people look and label the LGBT as a disease created by demons. The religion backbone of the argument against the LGBT is not even valid.Those were close minded opinions formulated by people who at first believed that women are inferior to men. The thing is, the bible may be the word of God, but what we know about t he bible is just an interpretation of a group of people according to their own context. The age of close-mindedness has been gone for a very long time; however, we still suffer its aftershocks. God created everyone equally, the bible says, and God created the world. Even the gays and the lesbians are created by God in his own image. They too are children of God. They were gays because God wants them to be gay.It’s just sad that other people believe otherwise. Again, there is nothing wrong with being gay, what is wrong is to punish your child because he is one. Raising a better person The first misconception of most parents when they have a gay child is that their child will be a lesser person – they will have a hard time finding a good job, they are shames on the family, so on and so forth. The second is that having a gay child is caused by their failure to raise the child to become a better person. Parents, I tell you, none of those were right.They were just mistaken beliefs. The truth is that being a straight individual is not a prerequisite to become a better person, in the same way that being gay is not an obstacle for someone to land on a good job. In our society nowadays, gays are well accepted in the corporate arena. Companies value qualifications and skills more than one’s sexuality. As a matter of fact, majority of the LGBT graduates were hired in the first job they applied to because of their confidence and inherent dynamism, studies shows. Nothing’s to be worried about.BUT if you chastise your child for being gay because of the reason that he will not get a good job for being one, you’re the one who are discriminating your child, not his future boss. Being a better person means being able to contribute to the greater good. And with its definition, none is said about one’s sexual identity. For as long as you raise your gay child to be someone who respects other people, someone who loves of God, someone who do esn’t violate the law, and someone who is productive enough to help himself, his family, and his country, you should be proud of yourselves.You have raised a better person, even though he’s gay. On love and future family â€Å"Love is human experience, not a political statement. † Anne Hathaway said. Love should know no limit, love should know no discrimination. You should love a person, not a gender. This is what most of Filipino parents failed to understand. Telling your effeminate son that he is a boy and that he should be marrying a woman (girl) is a good way of raising him but telling him that he should love a person regardless of who and what he is, is better. You, of all the people, are the ones who should have the reason to understand your children’s feelings.Don’t force them to love someone that they don’t. They can’t choose who to love, nor can they choose to love who they don’t. The key is to just support them emotio nally for them to know if what they feel is real love. No one else can help them do that. Only you. The problem with most people is that they think that love only exists between a man and a woman, and that a homosexual relationship is just an offspring of lust and sexual desires. But, for a fact, the most solid love is the love that exists in a gay relationship because the couple has overcome the challenge of a mandatory social conformity.Gay couples were able to embody what love really is –loving someone’s heart, not someone’s penis or vagina. Parents please don’t deny your children to love and be loved. You’ve once experienced it; let your child have the same. An appeal to Filipino parents To the Filipino parents who were blinded by the close-minded culture of social conformity and religious righteousness, please remove your blindfolds. The world is more than what you see inside the box of ignorance. You are parents, and as parents, you should un derstand your children; not make them suffer because you think they deviate from the social norms.Accept them for who they are, not make them someone they are not. Let them see the world the way you saw the world, let them experience life, the way you did. In the end, regardless of their sexuality, they are your children. We are your children, and we need you to guide us to be better people, not a better dick or a better vagina. You, of all the people, should be the first ones to recognize our identity, to empower our senses, and to be proud of us. The arguments that were laid are of pure logic and human reason. There are no concrete scientific evidence to prove the arguments, but at least, they are something to ponder upon.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Computerized Student Billing System

| HOW TO PAY SCHOOL FEES THROUGH BILLING| 1. 1 . If your sending agency (e. g. Bank of Tokyo, Sumitomo Corporation, GSIS, etc. ) is to be billed through the Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS), go to Room 302, Vinzon's Hall : 1. a. Have your Form 5 approved by OSSS. Please check the name of the Scholarship and the privilege (e. g. Tution Only, All School fees) if it is indicated on the form. 2. b. Submit your Form5 to ARS-Billing. If your Scholarship privilege covers all school fees, your Form 5 will be stamped REGISTERED. If you are paying part of the assesed fee (e. g. student fund, fine), follow item 3 below 2. 2 . If your sending agency is to be billed through the OUR 3. a. Submit the certificate of Authority to Bill from your sending agency everytime you enroll 4. b. Submit your Form 5 to ARS-Billing for stamping of REGISTERED 3. 3 . If you are paying part of the assessed fee (e. g. student fund, fine), proceed to the payment area and pay the necessary fees| International Student Billing System The student receivables system brings University charges and credits into one account. The Billing and Receivables Office will compile the latest information from University offices (i. e. Financial Aid, Registrar's and University Housing and Dining) and prepare the monthly billing statement. A finance charge of 1% per month on the unpaid balance from prior month's billing will be assessed. A student with a past due (encumbered) account balance will be denied registration. The University bills by semester, not by academic year. Actively enrolled students will receive their billing statement via STARS. Notification will be sent to the student at their WIU e-mail address when each bill is ready to view on STARS. Students may establish one additional e-mail address to which the notification may also be sent by notifying us at  [email  protected] edu. The e-mail will include the account balance and the due date. Students who need more than one additional billing email can contact the Student Assistance and Parent Service Center. Account detail may be viewed on STARS by selecting B/R Account Detail. Failure to  view a bill will not excuse finance charge assessment or payment of the account. It is the student's responsibility to notify the appropriate office of address or e-mail corrections. Payments Billing System The Billing and Receivables Office compiles the latest information from University offices (i. e. Financial Aid, Registrar’s, and University Housing and Dining) and prepares the monthly billing statement. Billing statements are sent electronically to the student’s wiu. edu e-mail address as well as any parent/guest e-mail on file when the bill is ready to view on STARS. The e-mail will include the account balance and the due date. Payment Due Dates Payment is due on the 28th  of each month. Tuition and fees  for the fall term are billed in August, charges for the spring term are billed in January, and charges for the summer term  are billed in June. Open Payment Policy: Students are responsible for paying their account balances within the semester incurred. These charges, in accordance with Western Illinois University Policy, apply to all students billed through the Billing and Receivables office, and are subject to a finance charge of 1% on the unpaid account balance after the 28th of each month. Failure to view a bill will not excuse finance charge assessment or payment of the account. It is the student’s responsibility to update their STARS account of address or e-mail corrections. A financial hold will be place on any delinquent student account that will prevent registration, release of transcripts, and release of diploma. Payment Methods ACH: Make payments directly from your bank account via  STARS  Payment Online. Automated Payment Plan: An automated payment plan is available to divide your cost of attendance into several monthly payments. Payments are deducted monthly on the 5th of the month from the designated bank account. There is not a finance charge assessed on the contracted amount; however, there is a $2. 00 per month transaction fee to cover processing. Additional charges incurred above the contracted amount will be billed and subject to a 1% finance charge if not paid by the 28th  of each month. A contract must be completed on STARS by a student or individuals with parent and guest access. Any changes to a completed agreement must be done by the student or guest that originated the contract. Only one contract per semester may be completed for each student. By Mail: Mail your payment (personal check, cashiers check or money order) to the Billing and Receivables Office, 1 University Circle, Macomb IL 61455-1390. Include your student ID number on all payments. Credit Card: Credit card payments may only be processed through the Illinois Treasurer's Electronic Payment website,  www. illinoisepay. com  or by calling 1-877-455-3729. They accept MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. There is a convenience fee associated with this service. In Person: Take your payment (cash, personal check, cashiers check or money order) to the University Union Service Center outside of the WIU Bookstore. Return Payments Personal checks and ACH payments that are accepted by any unit of the University and are returned by the student’s bank unpaid are subject to a penalty of $25. 00 per each returned payment. The University suspends the check cashing privilege for a minimum of one full year if an individual has more than two payments returned by the bank for any reason. Sanctions Against Delinquent Accounts * Transcript and Diploma Hold: If an account becomes past due, transcripts of the student’s records will not be released and graduating students who are past due will also have a hold placed upon their diplomas until their account is brought to current status. * Finance Charge Assessment: Delinquent accounts are subject to a monthly 1% finance charge assessment. This amount is calculated as a part of the monthly billing process on any unpaid amount due. Internal Collections: Following the end of each semester, students not registered for the following semester should contact the Billing and Receivables Office to make payment arrangements. If your balance is not paid in full or a payment agreement is not made within 90 days of the end of the semester, a claim will be submitted to the State Comptroller’s Office in accordance with the Illinois Collection Act which authorizes the deduction of the amount you owe WIU from an amount normal ly due to you (i. e. payroll, tax refunds, etc. ). Attorney/Collection Agency Placement: If payment arrangements are not made on a timely basis, the account may be referred to an attorney and/or collection agency. The account may also be reported to TransUnion credit bureau. * Registration: Students will not be allowed to register for the current or future term if they have a past-due balance and may be required to prepay for the upcoming term. A student will remain a prepay student for a minimum period of two years. If you have questions regarding certain items on your bill, please contact the following departments: Finance Charge/Billing Address  | Billing and Receivables| 309. 98. 1831| Financial Aid| Financial Aid Office| 309. 298. 2446| Library Fines| Library| 309. 298. 2705  | Tuition/Fees| Billing  and Receivables  | 309. 298. 1831| Telephone Charges| Telecommunications| 309. 298. 2713| Health Center Charges| Beu Health Center| 309. 298. 1888| Insurance Fee| Student H ealth Insurance  | 309. 298. 1882| Parking Fines| Parking Services| 309. 298. 1921| Housing Charges| UHDS| 309. 298. 2461| Student ID Card Charges| UHDS| 309. 298. 2461| Orientation Fee| Registrar| 309. 298. 1891| Athletic Waivers| Athletics| 309. 298. 1964|

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Roman Empire Was At Its Height. Despite Many Historians

The Roman Empire was at its Height. Despite many historians and professors attribute the fall of the Roman empire to excess and corruption, the role of Christianity shifting power, increased technology beyond the borders of the empire, the passing of power and trade created a situation that made the fall of such a large cumbersome empire inevitable. Rome History The founder of Rome goes back to the very first early days of the civilization. It is so old it is known as the eternal city. The Romans believed that their city was founded in the year 753BC. Modern historians though believe it was the year 625 BC. Early Rome was governed by kings but after on seven of them had ruled the Romans took power over their own city†¦show more content†¦Marcus Antonius was born in Rome in 83 B.C., the son of an ineffective praetor (military commander) and grandson of a noted consul and orator, both of whom shared his given name. After a largely misspent youth, he was sent east as a cavalry officer, where he won important victories in Palestine and Egypt. In 54 B.C., he went to Gaul to join his mother’s cousin Julius Cesar as a staff officer. In 49 B.C., he was elected a tribune and served as a staunch defender of Caesar against his rivals in the Senate. Allies Marcus Antonius is best known as the roman general who was a lover of Cleopatra. The two-committed suicide after their defeat by octave. Octavio’s power was based on his control of the army his financial resources and established however was designed to veil these fact by making important concession to republican sentiment. Mark Antony also was an alliance of Julius Caesar. Invasion The Invasion by Barbarian tribes. The roman spent the next several decades under constant threat before the. Eternal city was raided again in455 this time by the vandals. Finally, in 476 the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposited the emperor Romulus Augustus’s Overexpansion and military overspending at its height romans empire stretch from the Atlantic Ocean all theShow MoreRelatedAgrippina Strengths And Weaknesses996 Words   |  4 PagesMany of Agrippina’s strengths were also her greatest weaknesses. Her political ability and ambition were great strengths of character, as was her determination, but at times she aimed too high and was ultimately brought down by the very traits that had enabled her to achieve positions of power. Agrippina was able to become one of the most significant women of the Ancient Roman World, but at the same time she was considered manipulative, and was despised by many, including eventually her son - theRead MoreHow the Reformation Affected 16th Century Civilization Essay812 Words   |  4 PagesWittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517, Europe was plunged in political and social turmoil. 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