An Analysis of the Watergate Crisis Essay

The Watergate crisis or scandal shrouded America with an attitude of pessimism. From the people involved and the meaning of the controversy then and now, the Watergate crisis rocked the world with political conflicts and power abuse. It also involved crimes such as obstruction of justice, conspiracy, cover up, lying under oath, espionage, burglary, and concealment of evidence. The scandal was named after the Watergate hotel complex in Washington that housed the rival of President Nixon’s Republican Party, the Democratic Party. The crisis was so powerful that it resulted in the resignation of President Nixon, indictment of the President and his men, and significant media and political effects. The scandal started out with classified documents, clumsy thefts, and a trail of crimes pointing directly to Nixon’s re-election committee. Thereafter, the crisis did not stop at the tactless White House personnel or the famous President’s men. It continued all the way to Nixon himself which caused him his Oval Office. It was perceived as a political crisis created by a leader’s greed, cruelty and paranoia. Ultimately, history accounted that Nixon’s own evil foe was not his political opponents but himself. It was chronicled by several books, articles, and official and federal documents, as well as a Redford-Hoffman movie in 1976. The Watergate scandal served not only as previous catalysts of American political, social and moral changes but now more as reminders or guiding principles of American lives. Historical Summary In the history of American presidential politics, the Watergate incident was taken as the most grave and peculiar crisis or scandal. This is because of the apparent direct involvement in several crimes of the president himself and his men. In his book, â€Å"The Watergate Crisis,† Genovese (1999) described the scandal as unusual and Nixon as an unusual kind of President of the United States (Genovese, 1999). According to Genovese (1999), the cause of the Watergate scandal can be traced from the negative impacts, such as the factions, of the Vietnam War. Nixon had difficulty getting out from the said divisive war and was eventually faced with various protests. Genovese (1999) added that with pressures to stop the protests and get out of the Vietnam war with respect and dignity intact, Nixon unfortunately created a route filled with â€Å"leak plugging, wiretapping, a secret war in Cambodia, and a series of criminal acts that in the end led to his downfall and fed the already significant erosion of public trust in government† (p. 3). The same Genovese book further said that what used to be a general term that referred to the burglary of the offices of the Democratic National Committee in a Washington hotel complex resulted into various linking terminologies and included beneath it are several crimes. The crisis caused the downfall of Nixon while several highest-ranking government officials were made to serve jail terms, hurting the nation as a result (Genovese, 1999). The Watergate Break-in The Watergate break-in or burglary happened on June 17, 1972 (Sirica, 1979). During his round, a security officer of the Watergate Hotel Complex in Washington D. C. identified as Frank Willis saw a tape covering various locks of different doors in the area. Willis discreetly reported the matter to the police and thereafter, five burglars were arrested. The five men were suspected of illegally wiretapping and stealing classified documents inside the office of the Democratic National Committee or DNC (Sirica, 1979). The suspects were identified in the book of Dickinson, Cross and Polsky (1973) as â€Å"Virgilio Gonzales, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr. , Eugenio Martinez and Frank Sturgis. † The suspects, later uncovered as former CIA and FBI agents, were â€Å"charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications† (Dickinson, Cross & Polsky, 1973). Five men and two other suspects, identified as E. Howard Hunt, Jr. and Gordon Liddy, were accused by a grand jury of â€Å"conspiracy, burglary and violation of federal wiretapping laws† on September 15, 1972. It was also discovered after investigation that the suspects’ goal was to plant a bug in the office of DNC Chairman, Larry O’Brien (Lewis, 1972). A multi-investigation conducted by the U. S. Congress, FBI and media revealed that the direct or indirect connection of the seven suspects to Nixon’s Re-election committee. Nixon initially said that his aides were not involved in the case. The cover-up was later disclosed and exposed irregularities and illegal activities of the Nixon Re-election committee. The results of the investigation concluded that the re-election committee â€Å"received covert campaign funds from big companies, played dirty tricks on Democratic candidates during the 1972 election campaign, attempted to use the FBI and other government agencies against political enemies, and set up a secret group to carry out unlawful activities against political enemies† (cited in Scholastic, 1989). In view of this, America and the world were then convinced of a conspiracy linking the President and his men. The suspects who broke into O’Brien’s office and the President’s men involved were tried and eventually convicted in 1973. The following year, the bungled break-in eventually caused Nixon his position as he resigned as the President of the United States on August 9, 1974 (Scholastic, 1989). The Washington Post Investigation The Watergate scandal was publicized by The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein through a confidential but reliable source whom they named â€Å"Deep Throat. † An initial headline of â€Å"Five Held in Plot to Bug Democratic Offices Here,† that appeared at the bottom of the newspaper’s page one on Sunday, June 18, 1972, signaled the Washington Post’s investigation. The two young reporters wrote the arrest of a group of former FBI and CIA agents who â€Å"broke into, illegally wiretapped and stole classified documents from the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington† (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). Bernstein and Woodward were intrigued with the details of the story and the turn of events. Citing police sources, Woodward wrote that the burglars â€Å"came from Miami, wore surgical gloves and carried thousands of dollars in cash† (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). The break-in appeared to be â€Å"a professional type operation,† added Woodward (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). As told by the Washington post and its reporters, the intriguing yet interesting developments of the story shook Washington for two years, resulted into the resignation of Nixon and eventually created political impacts (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). According to an online compilation of the Watergate events posted at the Washington Post’s site, Woodward and Bernstein became part of the various revelatory articles that the said newspaper published. Thereafter, the succeeding Washington Post coverage of the Watergate scandal further exposed the involvement of several of the President’s men and the ultimate link of Nixon and his campaign funds to the various crimes. The newspaper’s account of the scandal also ran the grand jury investigation that identified and indicted â€Å"All the President’s Men† for their respective involvement in the crimes (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). A significant mark of the Washington Post and â€Å"Bernstein† reporting of the Watergate scandal was â€Å"Deep Throat. † A confidential source by Woodward, â€Å"Deep Throat† was identified only in 2005 or 33 years later as Mark Felt. He was the second highest-ranking FBI official who at the height of the scandal, confirmed or denied information to the two reporters and guided them to pursue specific leads (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 1,† 2008). A string of exclusives by Woodward and Bernstein and the determination of Post publisher Katherine Graham to expose the truth made the FBI finally penetrated the White House denials and the conduct of the grand jury investigation. This momentum led to the loss of job, prosecution and conviction of the involved officials of the Nixon administration and ultimately the impeachment against the President and his eventual resignation on August 8, 1974. Nixon’s successor, President Ford, granted the former â€Å"full, free and absolute pardon† one month later (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). The Government Investigation The Watergate probe called for the courts, the Congress, and a special prosecutor to investigate its top-to-bottom connections to the White House. According to the same Washington Post online source, the investigation involved Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin and the FBI. Woodward and Bernstein stories reported the eventual breaking out of Nixon’s men from his administration and the disclosure of events that were linked to the scandal. One example was the revelation of secret tapes that further exposed Nixon’s involvement. The deep connection of Nixon resulted into a firestorm of firings called â€Å"the Saturday Night Massacre. † Amid impeachment against the President, he still denied accusations and stayed in his office (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 2,† 2008). The Watergate Scandal and Nixon In his book, Genovese (1999) noted that Nixon was a â€Å"complex, multidimensional figure, a man of many contradictions. † (p. 57). Genovese (1999) said that these characteristics of Nixon and the Watergate crisis were manifestations of â€Å"a period of presidential lawlessness unprecedented in American history† (p. 57). Nixon was an example of a president who initially took an oath to â€Å"faithfully execute† the law but eventually went beyond and broke it (Genovese, 1999, p. 69). As a result, the Watergate scandal created several questions about the American constitution and democracy (Genovese, 1999). Nixon’s initial show of defense rooted from the solid support of his men eventually cracked down and led to his televised resignation. During his televised speech, Nixon states, by taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. I deeply regret any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision. Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). Ford was sworn into office the next day but pardoned Nixon a month after. The events did not stop there as the influence of the scandal continued. The interconnecting controversies ignited a fresh and lasting doubt about American politics. It created new American political words and made the Congress approve laws concerning campaign finance reforms as well as investigation on the functions of CIA and several agencies of the government. Woodward and Bernstein’s coverage was turned into a book and a hit movie entitled â€Å"All the President’s Men† which instilled American media with a fresh harmful advantage. The scandal brought lasting and immeasurable effects on American politics (â€Å"The Watergate Story Part 3,† 2008). American Politics and Media Genovese (1999) affirmed the impression of Washington Post mentioned previously and stated that the Watergate scandal changed American politics and the issue of presidential corruption (Genovese, 1999). He added that, because of the crisis, the media became more interfering and subjective, the public became more distrustful and indifferent about its government, the relation between the executive and legislative branches of the government became unpleasant and factious and partisan conflicts became more intense (Genovese, 1999). Conclusion The Watergate crisis left profound and detrimental effects on American politics and history in general. It has resulted into distrust among the government officials and a wider gap between the branches of the government. Another effect of the scandal was that it made the succeeding Presidents more susceptible to the criticisms and suggestions of the public. The Nixon presidency has left a mark on the American politics which harmed the present list of presidents. The scandal has undeniably affected the political agenda of the succeeding presidents who were subjected to the scrutiny of the public. Nonetheless, the scandal also has its positive points to remember. These included the upholding of the freedom and power of the press as well as the effectivity of the justice system. By themselves, Nixon and the Watergate Crisis did not cause the degradation of American politics and decline of trust to the government. Incontestably, however, the fallen President and his scandal did remold the public’s view of the American story from one of presumed good goals to one of outstanding hostility. References Dickinson, W. B. & Mercer Cross, B. P. (1973). Watergate: Chronology of a crisis. Washington D. C: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Genovese, M. A. (1999). The Watergate Crisis.London: Greenwood Press. Lewis, A. E. (1972, June 18). 5 held in plot to bug Democrats’ office here. The Washington Post, A01. Retrieved from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/05/31/AR2005111001227_pf. html Scholastic, Inc. (1989). The Case of Watergate. The Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Retrieved April 19, 2008, from Scholastic database. Sirica, J. J. (1979). To set the record straight: The Break-in, the tapes, the conspirators, the pardon. New York: Norton. The Watergate Story Part 1. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part1. html The Watergate Story Part 2. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part2. html The Watergate Story Part 3. (2008). The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part3. html

Islam and the West essays

Islam and the West essays One of the most significant ways the world has changed since the terrible crime of September 11 has been a new rise of an ugly strain of Islamophobia throughout the Western world. Amid the terrible agony of the recent terror attack in Bali, it is easy to be tempted, once again, by angry thoughts. The pattern is there: from the horror of 9/11, to the suicide/homicide bombings in Israel, to the flaming frontiers of Albania, Bosnia, Chechnya or Kashmir, all the way down to the recent brutal hostage-taking and killings in a Moscow theater, it is in the name of Islam that innocent people have fallen victim to hideous terrorism and unthinkable cruelty. It is, therefore, well within reason to raise questions as to the very nature of Islam, and almost plausible to see everything in terms of an inevitable clash between "our" world and "theirs." It is plausible, but ultimately wrong. According to Karen Armstrong , the Western world has always had a very unbalanced and negative view of Islam, dating back as early as the twelfth century. At that time Europeans knew very little about Muslims, and began to cultivate a highly distorted portrait of Islam. The reality was very different, in fact Islam began with a very positive message, where respect and freedom were some of the fundamental principles. It was only many years later that the religion was hijacked by old patriarchal attitudes, but the Koran still condemns violence and aggressive warfare, and Muslims are commanded by God to respect everyone, since we all share the same beliefs and the same God. To understand the terrorist attacks we have witnessed recently in many places, we have to bear in mind that what we see is not so much "Islam" mobilized to fight against "the West," but a civilization in severe internal crisis. There are rising movements in Islam, the so-called "fundamentalists, but they do not represent Islam, or even the majority of Muslims. Isl ...

Research paper-Chinese housing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research paper-Chinese housing - Essay Example What was once conventional and sustainable way of housing is being replaced with better housing systems that can handle and accommodate better population size. China is struggling with huge population and as such the problem of housing comes naturally. As such it is as if the country is on building steroids. Everywhere across major towns and cities there are constructions taking place. One commentator notes that, china has evolved to become a colossal construction site. Old dwelling structures are being substituted for better dwellings. Even the dwellings that were considered better are also being made to pave way for even better dwellings. All this activity is in favor of producing homes for millions of Chinese citizens in the country. To get a magnitude of the construction taking place, it is an estimated figure that the country will construct in the 20 years more than 50000 sky crappers. With such impressive housing figures, questions are bound to arise on the effects of this constructions. While china has the biggest populace on earth, it also has the oldest medieval Chinese tradition on earth too. The population in the country has always been enormous since the ancient times and hence ancient generations had ways of solving the housing problems. Why then is the country changing housing formulae to a lot of sky crappers and generally high rise buildings. China had traditional Chinese dwelling that promoted neighborliness and good social progress. In dare need of solving human housing problems in china, the government is doing away with such dwellings and each time this is happening one more traditional culture is being killed. In this research paper hence, I have noted with keen interest that there is a short charge on the whole issue of solving housing problems in china. The country is building high rise buildings as a way of mass housing and quick solution to an enormous problem of housing. With that, there might be on comprise

Healthcare Model Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Healthcare Model Presentation - Essay Example The inequality in the Mexican healthcare is being felt in two folds. The first aspect of the inequality is the urban-to-rural inequality, where the population in the urban areas of the country has a better healthcare access, compared to those living in the rural areas (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). The other aspect of the inequality in the Mexican healthcare system occurs in the form of the rich-to-poor healthcare access inequality, where the rich are better placed to access both high quality and also affordable healthcare services, compared to the poor, whose access to healthcare is hindered by both cost and distance to healthcare service facilities (Ruelas, 2002). Therefore, in addressing the inequality in the Mexican healthcare, both aspects of the rural-urban coverage as well as the rich-poor healthcare disparity are the core issues that must be resolved. Problem statement Healthcare services provision has greatly advanced over the decades in Mexico. Consequently, statistics ha ve shown that the mortality rate has declined, while the birth rate and the life expectancy rates have greatly improved, from a mere life expectancy of 42 years in 1940, to the current 73 years by 2012 (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). While this is a notable achievement of the healthcare system in Mexico, further statistics have emerged to the effect that, 52% of the Mexican population finances their healthcare services out of their pocket (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). This notwithstanding, even the very poor population, especially in the rural areas and the informal settlements around the city prefers to go for the private healthcare provider services, not because the quality of the healthcare is poor, but because the accessibility of such healthcare facilities, especially regarding their locations have left the poor without a choice, but to go for the private services (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). This scenario is in sharp contrast with the situation in the urban areas, which are populated by the middle-and the high-class population, where the access to public healthcare services is easily accessible, owing to strategic locations of such facilities within the urban rich regions. Therefore, while the government is striving towards ensuring that the whole of its population is either covered by the public or the private healthcare practice, it has not been able to address the issues of urban-rural, and the rich-poor health inequalities (Ruelas, 2002). Purpose statement Effective assessment of the success of the healthcare system should be based on both the quality of the healthcare services provided, as well as on the burden of paying for such services that is borne by the patients (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). The healthcare system in Mexico is especially problematic in some of the employment sectors, where some employees are covered by a duo-system of both private and public healthcare services, while the other category is uncovered. Further, the distribution of the public

The Al Qaeda Manual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Al Qaeda Manual - Essay Example The manual demonstrates that Al Qaeda is more than just a religious militant terrorist group set on destroying western interests and attacking western values, it also highlights the difficult task that law enforcement is faced with in the modern war on terror. There is little doubt that the Al Qaeda manual asks its followers to be specifically anti-Western and anti-US. The manual proclaims that "Colonialism and its followers, the apostate rulers, then started to openly erect crusader centers, societies, and organizations like Masonic Lodges, Lions and Rotary clubs, and foreign schools" (Al Qaeda Manual, n.d., p.8). These are the symbols that they perceive as American. The manual further radicalizes its readers by tying these activities to religion. "The bitter situation that the nation has reached is a result of its divergence from Allah's course and his righteous law for all places and times" (Al Qaeda Manual, n.d., p.9). By casting the Western symbols as anti-Islamic they are able to exploit the centuries old religious fears and furors that have historically pitted Islam against Christianity. 1 Along with being an extremist religious organization, the manual indoctrinates the reader to the military arm of Al Qaeda. The document professes its need for illegal documents and counterfeit currency. These resources are then to be used to commit violence against the US and their interests anywhere around the world. There is no doubt about their propensity for violence when the state that their goals are "Kidnaping enemy personnel, assassinating enemy personnel as well as foreign tourists, blasting and destroying the places of amusement, the embassies and attacking vital economic centers, [and] bridges leading into and out of the cities" (Al Qaeda Manual, n.d., p.13). The manual is also quite detailed in the requirements for forged documents. It explains what type of documents are needed, how many to possess, and requires that members' documents have a picture without a beard (Al Qaeda Manual, n.d., p.23). While this non-dated document may be more difficult to implement in today 's world of heightened security, it demonstrates their organizational commitment to doing anything necessary to subvert US interests around the world. 2 There is the question as to whether or not the possession of this document could identify someone as a terrorist and subject them to arrest under the current US Law. The professing of violence against specific targets, advocating illegal activity, and the ties to an organization labeled by the State Department as a terrorist group, would place the person who posses this document at some risk of being suspected of being a terrorist. This brings into question whether I will be at risk since I have downloaded a copy to my computer and I do not have the technology to eradicate it from the disc drive. While I would like to think that justice would win out and an explanation of "used for academic purposes" would be enough, the headlines are full of the innocent people who are still in obscure prisons for terrorist activities. This could be further complicated if I was an Islamic student that was studying in America. This manual not only illustrates the depth of commitment that Al Qaeda h as to its goals, it also shows the difficulty that law enforcement has in regards to its ability to evaluate motivation, intent, and

Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing - Research Paper Example Global challenge 1 One of the challenges that an organization is most likely to face in developing and launching its products in the international market is its management efficiency with respect to the production process. This challenge was particularly identified in the development of Hexopater. Management of the production process of a product, whether a locally marketed product or one that targets the international market, has many impacts on the quality of the product to be produced as well as the reliability in the continuous flow of the product into its market. An effective management of a production process begins with development of aims of the production as well as the features of the product, a stage that is crucial and defines the destiny of the product. Inability to develop focused goals that can yield a successful production as well as failure to identify captivating features that will attract customers therefore forms a significant challenge to product launch in the gl obal market. This is because a challenged set of development goals, coupled with poor specification may lead to poor standards that may not be acceptable for clearance across borders (Kumar and Addie, 2006). ... This is because the human resource competence level is reflected in the production process, quality and the image that consumers and even regulatory bodies develop over a product. The overall plan of the production process as well as sales initiatives also determines the extent of challenges that a product can experience in penetrating an international market. Management of the production process is therefore a significant challenge in any product development as it applied to Hexopater (Kumar and Addie, 2006). Global challenge 2 Another challenge facing development of products in global markets is the level of regulations that are instituted by different territories. Though most regulatory measures are meant to check on safety of products to be allowed from other economies, some regulatory measures are done on economic grounds. The impact however remains the same, that regulations undermines the ability to develop and market a product in the international market. An example of such r egulation is the European union’s move to regulate â€Å"tissue related products† (Dodin, 2010, p. 1). This particular regulatory initiative was meant to harmonize laws in the region and to ensure that the developments in scientific processes are monitored and regulated effectively. While the regulations ensured common application of rules in the region, it influenced original regulations in each countries in either way. It either lowered standards for the countries that were highly regulated and raised standards for countries that were poorly regulated. The greatest challenge to new product development in the region would therefore be significant in the countries that were previously less strictly regulated. A firm

Formulation and Characterization of Microemulsion System

Formulation and Characterization of Microemulsion System Abstract Formulation of a new oil-in-water (o/w) microemulsion composed of Castor oil/Tween 80/Ethanol/Phosphate buffer for enhancing the loading capacity of an anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam has been accomplished. The pseudo-ternary phase diagram has been delineated at constant surfactant/cosurfactant ratio (1:2). The internal structure of so created four-component system was elucidated by means of an analysis of isotropic area magnitudes in the phase diagram. Conductivity (?), kinematic viscosity (kh) and surface tension (g) studies with the variation in ?w (weight fraction of aqueous phase) show the occurrence of structural changes from water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion to oil-in-water (o/w). Along with the solubility and partition studies of piroxicam in microemulsion components, the changes in the microstructure of the microemulsion after incorporation of drug have been evaluated using pH, ?, g, kh and density studies. Piroxicam, a poorly water soluble drug, displayed high solubility (1 .0%) in an optimum microemulsion formulation using Ethanol (55.0%), Tween 80 (26.5%), Castor oil (7.5%), and Phosphate buffer (11.0%). The results have shown that the microemulsion remained stable after the incorporation of piroxicam. Fluorescence spectra analysis taking pyrene as fluorescent probe was performed and the results showed that pyrene was completely solubilized in the oil phases of the bicontinuous microemulsions. The fluorescence spectrum of model drug piroxicam was used to probe the intramicellar region of nonionic microemulsion. The results showed that the piroxicam was localized in the interfacial film of microemulsion systems more deeply in the palisade layer with ethanol as the co-surfactant. Keywords: Microemulsion; Piroxicam; Isotropic area; Spectroscopy; Structural changes Introduction Piroxicam is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory compound with analgesic and antipyretic effects, used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and traumatic contusions. However, it has been associated with gastrointestinal side effects. It is possible to minimize these problems by developing drug carriers to prevent the direct contact of drug with gastric mucosal or that allow the topical administration of drug (1, 2). Microemulsions are optically isotropic, transparent and thermodynamically stable homogeneous solutions of oil and water, stabilized by addition of a surfactant and usually a cosurfactant (3, 4). These structures have been considerably investigated as drug delivery and carrier system for a wide range of drugs including analgesics and anti-inflammatory and also used to dissolve lipophilic drugs in aqueous medium or hydrophilic drugs in lipophilic medium (4, 5). Oil in water microemulsions have been described as a reservoir system that can inhibit drug release, increasing the topical effect (6). Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the advantages of microemulsion or the transdermal delivery of drugs (7). First, a large amount of drug can be incorporated in the formulation due to the high solubilizing capacity, with increased thermodynamic activity towards the skin. Second, the permeation rate of a drug from microemulsion may be increased, since the affinity of the drug to th e internal phase in microemulsion can be easily modified, to favor partitioning, using different internal phases and changing the composition of the microemulsion. Third, the surfactant and cosurfactant used in the microemulsion may reduce the various diffusional barrier by acting as penetration enhancers (8, 9). For the selection of components of a biocompatible microemulsion system, the use of non-ionic surfactants has been widely accepted, since these are compatible and retain its utility over a broad range of pH values and may affect the skin barrier function (10-12). Microemulsion comprises different structures (water-in-oil (w/o), oil-in-water (o/w) and bicontinuous) and these help in releasing the drug (13, 14). It is necessary to characterize the microstructure of pure and drug-loaded microemulsion. The changes in the internal structure of a microemulsion can be monitored by analyzing conductivity, viscosity, density, surface tension and the fluorescence probe studies, etc. (15-17). The incorporated drug may or may not influence the microstructure. o/w and w/o microemulsions may show different behavior for the release of both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. In the present work, an attempt has been made to construct a microemulsion system, for poorly water soluble non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam, comprising castor oil, a non-ionic surfactant Tween 80, a short chain alkanol cosurfactant (ethanol) and phosphate buffer (PB) pH 7.4. The pseudo-ternary phase diagram has been constructed for the chosen system at a constant surfactant:cosurfactant ratio (1:2). The reason for the selection of the particular oil chosen was that the castor oil has a hydroxyl group in addition to unsaturation, making it more polar. Ricinoleic acid is the main component of castor oil and it exerts anti-inflammatory effects (18). Polyoxyethylene fatty acid, stearic acid, oleic acid are used in emulsifiers in oil/water type creams and lotions. Conductivity, viscosity, surface tension and the fluorescence behavior of the pyrene is employed to investigate the gradual changes occurring in the microstructure of microemulsion. Pyrene is popular fluorescent probe which is used to study the microheterogeneous media. The fluorescence spectrum of Pyrene was used to sense the micropolarity of the o/w microemulsion. In this study, it is analyzed that how stability, optical texture and microstructure of microemulsion formulation, is influenced by piroxicam. To improve the solubility of piroxicam, an effort has been made to develop an optimum o/w microemulsion. It is therefore expected that the use of microemulsion formulation may enhance the solubility of piroxicam and prevent its degradation. Materials and Methods Materials Tween 80 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate), absolute ethanol (99.8 ? %) and castor oil were purchased from Fluka. Pyrene (98 %) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Piroxicam was generously provided by Amson Vaccines Pharma (PVT) Ltd and used without further purification. Phosphate buffer (0.01 M, pH 7.4) was used as the hydrophilic phase. Buffers were prepared using NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4. 0.1M NaOH and HCl were used to maintain the pH of the solution. Methods Microemulsion Preparation The pseudo-ternary phase diagram was mapped (as shown in Fig. 1) using oil (castor oil), surfactant (Tween 80; HLB = 15), cosurfactant (ethanol) and aqueous phase PB (pH 7.4) at 25 ±0.01 ?C with constant surfactant:cosurfactant mass ratio (1:2). The temperature was kept at 25 ±0.01 ?C and was maintained by a Lauda M-20 thermostat. Castor oil was first mixed with Tween 80/ethanol mixture; PB was then added to obtain the desired microemulsion compositions. Transparent, single-phase mixtures were designated as microemulsions. All the samples were stable for over 10 months, remaining clear and transparent. Drug incorporation in Microemulsion Eight microemulsions differing from each other by Fw, were selected from the single-phase region of phase diagram (Fig. 2) with compositions mentioned in table I, to study their potential as drug delivery system. All of them show stability over 10 months and remain clear and transparent. Piroxicam was dissolved into the pre-weight oil component of the system at a concentration of 1% (w/w) under stirring followed by addition of remaining components. Microemulsion Characterization Optical Transparency The homogeneity and optical isotropy of pure and drug loaded microemulsions were examined by a Polarimeter (ATAGO, AP-100 Automatic Polarimeter) and visual examination at room temperature. Centrifugation Thermodynamic stability of pure and drug-loaded microemulsions was tested by carrying out centrifugation at 5500 rpm for 20 min using (Hermle Z200) centrifuge. Surface Tension Surface Tension measurements were made at 25  ±0.010C under atmospheric pressure by Torsion Balance (White Elec. Inst. Co. Ltd.) equipped with a ring having circumference of 4.0 cm. The experimental error was about  ±0.05 mNm-1. Density and Specific Gravity Densities and Specific Gravity of pure and drug loaded microemulsions were measured by making use of an Anton Paar (Model DMA 5000) density meter at 25  ±0.01 ?C. The density meter was calibrated before and after each set of density measurement using the density of air and pure water. Refractive Index The refractive indices of the formulations were determined using a refractometer (ATAGO, RX-5000) by placing 1 drop of solution on the slide. pH The apparent pH of all the selected microemulsions and the drug loaded microemulsion was determined using a pH Meter (WTW 82362 Weilheim) fitted with a pH electrode (WTW A061414035). The temperature was maintained at 25 ±0.01 ?C by a Lauda M-20 thermostat. Conductivity Measurements The effect of the amount of water phase of microemulsion was monitored quantitatively by measuring the electrical conductivity. The electric conductivity (?) was measured by means of a Microprocessor Conductivity Meter (WTW 82362 Weilheim) fitted with an electrode (WTW 06140418) having a cell constant of 1.0 cm-1. The temperature was kept at 25 ±0.01 ?C and was maintained by a Lauda M-20 thermostat. Conductivity measurements were carried out by titration of oil and surfactant/cosurfactant mixture with buffer (along the dilution line AB in Fig. 1). Further the conductivity of selected and drug loaded microemulsions was also measured. The error limit of conductance measurements was  ±0.02 ?scm-1. Viscosity Measurements Viscosities were measured with calibrated Ubbelhode viscometer at 25 ±0.1 ?C. For each measurement, the viscometer was washed, rinsed and vacuum dried. To follow the viscous behavior of the microemulsions, flow time was measured for all the selected and drug-loaded microemulsions (1 wt% drug). The error limit of viscosities measurements was  ±3%. Absorption and Steady-State Emission Measurements The absorption and steady-state fluorescence spectra were recorded using a Perkin Elmer Lambda 20 spectrophotometer and a Perkin Elmer LS 55 luminescence spectrometer, respectively, both with an external temperature controlled cell holder at a temperature of 25.0 ±0.1 °C. The fluorescence emission spectrum of pyrene (excitation at 340 nm) was used to obtain the ratio of intensities of the first to the third vibronic peaks (I1/I3). Good resolution of the bands was obtained at the slit width (ex. 5.0nm, em. 5.0 nm). The scan range used was from 350-500 nm. The Photo Multiplier tube voltage was kept at 665V. The concentration of pyrene was 1.0 ?M. The intensities for I1 and I3 are taken at 373 and 384 nm, respectively. The fluorescence emission spectrum of piroxicam at ?exc 370 nm was obtained where the emission and excitation slits were fixed at. 7.0 nm. The scan range used was from 390-650 nm. The concentration of piroxicam was 10.0 ?M. To quantify the solubilization of piroxicam in micellar media of Tween 80-Ethanol system, differential absorbance measurements were made in such a way that drug (piroxicam) solution of a particular concentration (1.0-10-5M) was kept on reference side and the Tween 80-Ethanol-Piroxicam solution on the sample side in the spectrophotometer. Partition Coefficients Oil/buffer partition coefficient was determined by dissolving 20 mg piroxicam in 2ml Castor Oil. Buffer was added in 1:1 ratio (v/v). The mixture was shaken for 10 min and centrifuged for 2 hours. The two layers were separated and the content of piroxicam in aqueous layer (PB) was assayed by UV-Visible spectrophotometer at 371 nm. The final content of drug in the lipophilic phase was calculated by subtracting the content of piroxicam in aqueous phase from initial loaded content of drug in the lipophilic phase. Further, the effect of presence of Tween 80 and ethanol on the partition of piroxicam in oil/buffer was studied by adding 5% (w/v) of each Tween 80 and ethanol. Results and Discussion In the present system, microemulsion was prepared using Castor oil (fatty acid), which induces highly permeable pathways in the stratum corneum (18-20). Tween-80 is a widely accepted non-ionic surfactant, used in many pharmaceutical formulations (21-23). The cosurfactant (ethanol) is used to study the one phase microemulsion region. The presence of alcohol overcomes the need for any additional input of energy. These properties make the components useful as vehicles for drug delivery (24-26). In the absence of aqueous phase, a solution-like oily phase consisting only of surfactant, oil, and ethanol exists. Ethanol interacts with the ethoxylated head groups of the Tween 80 by hydrogen bonding and affects its critical packing parameter (CPP). When water is progressively added to the concentrate it facilitates the organization of the hydrated head groups of the surfactant into a polar core while the fatty acid tails are immersed in the oil continuous phase. The ethanol suppresses formation of lyotropic liquid crystals. Any free aqueous phase is entrapped in the microstructures. Thus, w/o microstructures are formed. Upon further dilution, the reversed nanostructures grow and convert into a bicontinuous phase and finally invert into o/w microstructures without phase separation. Phase Studies Fig. 1 shows the pseudo-ternary phase diagram and area of existence of microemulsion for Tween-80/ethanol/castor oil/phosphate buffer. Microemulsion in the present study formed spontaneously at ambient temperature when their components were brought in contact. Phase behavior investigations of this system demonstrated the suitable approach of determining the water phase, oil phase, surfactant concentration, and cosurfactant concentration with which the transparent, 1-phase low-viscous microemulsion system was formed. The phase behavior, as shown by figure 1, manifests a two-phase region, a three-phase region and a large single-phase region which gradually and continuously transformed from buffer rich side of binary solution (buffer/surfactant micellar phase) of pseudo-ternary phase diagram towards the oil rich region. This stresses a continuous transition from a water rich compositions to oil swollen micelles. The phase study revealed that the maximum proportion of oil was incorporated in microemulsion systems when the surfactant-to-cosurfactant ratio was 1:2. From a formulation viewpoint, the increased oil content in microemulsions may provide a greater opportunity for the solubilization of piroxicam. Eight microemulsions (1-8) were selected from the single-phase isotropic region (Fig. 2), with compositions mentioned in table I. Selected Microemulsion (ME) was further analyzed by conductivity, viscosity, density, surface tension, refractive index and pH. The values of measured parameters have been presented in table II. Conductivity Measurements Conductometry is a useful tool to assess microemulsion structure. Conductivity studies have explained the existence of a characteristic zone with an isotropic microemulsion domain in a continuum. Determination of electric conductivity (s) as a function of weight fraction of aqueous component Fw (% wt) for the oil, surfactant/cosurfactant mixture along the dilution line AB (shown in Fig. 2) has been carried out. The results of variation of s vs Fw (% wt) are shown in Fig. 3 (a). The behavior exhibits profile characteristic of percolative conductivity (27-29). The conductivity is initially low in an oil-surfactant mixture but increases with increase in aqueous phase. As the volume fraction of water increases, the electrical conductivity of the system slightly increases as well, until the critical Fw is reached. At this stage, a sudden increase in conductivity is observed. This phenomenon is known as percolation, and the critical Fw at which it occurs is known as percolation threshold Fp (27). The value of conductivity below Fp suggests that the reverse droplets are discrete (forming w/o microemulsion) and have little interaction. Above Fp the value of s increases linearly and steeply till it touches the value of Kb. The interaction between the aqueous domains becomes progressively more important and forms a network of conductive channel (bicontinuous microemulsion) (30). Rapid increase in conductivity beyond the percolation threshold (Fp ? 6%) up to approximate value of 20% of Fw indicates the existence of network of conductive channels, which corresponds to the formation of water cylinders or channels in an oil phase due to the attractive interactions between the spherical micro-droplets of water phase in the w/o microemulsion. Increasing water content above Fb (Fw > 20%), the s shows a dip in the measured values which may be due to strong attractive forces as system becomes more viscous (16, 30).Fig. 3 (b) depicts the variation of log s vs weight fraction of water (Fw). The change in the slope of log s can be attributed to the structural transition to bicontinuous from w/o (23), nearly at Fw = 6%. The transition takes place once the aqueous phase becomes continuous phase i.e. at Fb. This is in line with the observation made in phase study. Figure 3(a) illustrates occurrence of three different structures (namely w/o, bicontinuous, o/w). The conductivity of the microemulsions containing more than 20 wt% water decreased significantly, probably due to the higher viscosity. The percolation threshold can be determined from the plot (ds/dFw), as a function of the water weight fraction, Fw (% wt) (30). A maximum in the first derivative of conductance Fw at ~12wt % water is observed (Fig. 4) confirming the presence of percolation behavior (bicontinuous microstructure) in this region (31). The electric conductivity of pure selected and drug loaded microemulsion (1.0%) is given in table II. A comparison of two systems shows that drug incorporation does not affect the microstructure of the microemulsion. Viscosity Measurements To avoid the ambiguity of non-Newtonian flow behavior of microemulsion the flow time has been used as an index of viscosity (32). Flow time of oil, surfactant/cosurfactant mixture along the dilution line AB (shown in Fig. 2), was measured as a function of weight fraction of water Fw (wt %) and is shown in Fig. 5. Similar trend has been observed for the viscosity of oil, surfactant/cosurfactant mixture as a function of Fw (Fig. 6). The rapid change in the viscosity is probably due to the change in the microstructure of the microemulsion. The change in the internal structure could be due to either the change in the shape of droplets or may be due to the transition from w/o to bicontinuous microemulsion. It is well known that increase of volume fraction of dispersed phase in microemulsion increases viscosity of the system (33). For the system studied viscosity increases with increase in Fw (wt% of aqueous phase). Difference in the viscosities is more profound for lower water content values in comparison to the dilute system. The microemulsion system is turning to be more viscous with addition of water and thus may help in the slow diffusing of drug at infinite dilution. The microemulsion system thus, shows a structural change from oil continuous system to water continuous, which has higher viscosities than the former (34). The plots of hk (kinematic viscosity), d2?/d2Fw and 1/? d?/dFw versus Fw reflect that the transition occurs at ~11% weight fraction of aqueous phase (Fig. 6). The transition point of surface tension, conductivity and viscosity plots coincides well at ~11% weight fraction of aqueous phase and confirms the presence of percolative behavior. Surface Tension The surface tension increases linearly over the same range of water content (Fig. 7), but two breaks (at ~7.0 and ~20 wt% water) suggest that structure changes occur at these compositions. The surface tension measurements showed increment, when measured as a function of weight fraction of aqueous component, except for the ~12% weight fraction where the value suddenly decreased and thereafter a regular increase was observed. This low surface tension value showed the presence of bicontinuous microemulsion between oil and water rich system, which is because of presence of self-assembled organize microstructure in it (14, 35). The results coincide well with the electric conductivity and viscosity measurements. It can be assumed that the added alcohol (ethanol) is incorporated in the interfacial structure in such a way that more water is on the outside of the oil drops, causing the increase in surface tension. Incorporation of drug showed a negligible change in the surface tension measure ments, therefore indicting the possibility of piroxicam molecules into the palisade layer on the inner side of microemulsion. Fluorescence Measurements In the case of oil-in-water microemulsions, the steady-state fluorescence technique was successfully applied (36). Fluorescence measurements of the hydrophobic probe mainly depend on the polarity of the medium and hence in bicontinuous microemulsions it is a good indication of the polarity of the microenvironment in the microemulsion structure (37). The fluorescence spectra for pyrene molecule in water, individual oil phase, in alcohols, in ethanol/oil and in all the selected microemulsions are shown in Figure 8. There are four principal vibronic bands in the fluorescence spectrum (Fig. 8a), labeled I to IV. The peak intensity ratio I1/I3 in the steady-state fluorescence spectra is a measurement of the relative polarity of pyrenes environment (17). Since pyrene reactant is substantially more soluble in oil phases, I1/I3 is expected to be lower in these phases (38). In the present work, for oil phase, the I1/I3 value is 0.68. In relatively polar methanol and ethanol media, I1/I3 values were found to be 1.20 and 1.09 respectively. Water is a highly polar solvent; the solubility of pyrene in this solvent is less than 2 ?M. Hence the possibility of formation of excimer leading to I3 signal is extremely low in water. Experimentally I1/I3 value is 1.70 was obtained for this medium. Plot of I1/I3 versus weight fraction of aqueous component composition in microemulsion is shown in Figure 9. The value of I1/I3 varies between 0.85 and 0.91, which is comparable to a change from oil to water (0.68 and 1.70, respectively). The I1/I3 fluorescence ratios of pyrene strongly suggest that this probe resides in microenvironments of polarity much lower (oil phase) than that of water or alcohol (39). The polarities of these microphases are similar to those of cosurfactant/oil mixtures (0.94). The following generalizations may be made regarding the fluorescence probe behavior in bicontinuous microemulsions. The I1/I3 values obtained by fluorescence measurements for all the stable bicontinuous microemulsions are closer to 0.88. These results suggest that pyrene is efficiently segregated from the water phase (40). The I1/I3 values in bicontinuous microemulsions systems are closer to the respective pure oil phase. This is due to complete solubility of pyrene in oil phases of the bicontinuous microemulsions. We conclude that all the microemulsions have separate oil microphases, in which pyrene resides. Fluorescence Behavior of Piroxicam The fluorescence spectra for piroxicam molecule in water, individual oil phases, in surfactant/cosurfactant mixture (1:2) and in the optimum microemulsion system are shown in Figure 10. For oil phase the emission maxima (lem) is 465nm. In S/CoS (1:2) system lem is 451nm. Water is a highly polar solvent; the solubility of piroxicam in this solvent is low than 10 ?M. The lem of piroxicam in water is 442nm. The emission maximum in bicontinuous microemulsion system is (462nm) closer to the respective pure oil phase. The results showed that the piroxicam was localized in the interfacial film of microemulsion systems more deeply in the palisade layer. Partition Coefficient Partition coefficients influence drug transport characteristics which involve drug absorption, retention, distribution and elimination. Since drugs are distributed by the blood, they must penetrate and traverse many cells to reach the site of action. Hence, partition coefficients will determine what tissues a given compound can reach. Oil/buffer Partition Coefficients The partition coefficient (log p) of piroxicam in oil/buffer is 5.03 ±0.20. The presence of ethanol (5% in buffer) does not affect the partition coefficient (data shown in table III) whereas Tween 80 (5% in buffer) reduces the log p. The presence of surfactant reduces the concentration of drug in oil. Thus, solubility and partition studies indicate that piroxicam may be present at interface. The drug is entering into the palisade layer on the inner side of droplet which may help to increase the solubility of piroxicam. The partition coefficients were calculated using equation 1 (41); where A(org) is the absorbance of the organic layer, A(aq) is the absorbance of the aqueous layer, Vf(org) is the final volume of the sample from the organic layer, V(org) is the volume of the aliquot from the organic layer, Vf(aq) is the final volume of the sample from the aqueous layer, V(aq) is the volume of the aliquot of the aqueous layer. Micelle/buffer Partition Coefficient Figure 11 shows the differential absorption spectra of drug (piroxicam) in presence of various concentrations of Tween 80 having constant S/CoS ratio (1:2). The buffer-micelle partition coefficient Kc (dm3 mol-1), a useful parameter to quantify the solubilization of piroxicam in micellar media of Tween 80-Ethanol system, can be calculated by using equation 2 (42). Here Ca is the drug concentration (1.0-10-5M), Csmo represents Cs-CMC0 (CMC0 is the CMC of Tween 80 in water i.e. 11.0mM), ?A? is the differential absorbance at the infinity of Cs. Kc can be obtained through intercept and slope values of the straight line plot of 1/?A against 1/ (Ca+ Csmo), as shown in Figure 12. The value of Kc is given in table IV. The dimensionless partition coefficient p is related to Kc as p = Kc.nw, where nw is the number of moles of water per dm3 (55.5 mol dm-3), and is reported in table IV. The standard free energy change of the transfer of additive, from bulk water to micelle can be calculated using the following relation (equation 3): Here T is absolute temperature and R is the gas constant. The value of ?G °p for the piroxicam, using p is reported in table IV. High negative value of indicates the ease of penetration of drug inside the micelles. This is clearly exhibited by the higher values of p and more negative for piroxicam, as shown in table IV. Tween 80 is nonionic surfactant and there is no electrostatic interaction, the hydrogen bonding between the polyoxyethylene groups of Tween 80 and piroxicam makes the complex (Tween 80-piroxicam) more hydrophobic, which corresponds to high ?G °p value. Conclusion The pseudo-ternary phase diagram and area of existence of microemulsion for Tween 80/ethanol/castor oil/buffer was delineated. The conductivity and viscosity studies along the dilution line (in phase diagram) depict the structural transition from w/o to o/w via bicontinuous phase at ~11% ?w (wt% fraction of aqueous phase). Among the eight selected microemulsions, ME was found to be optimum for the incorporation of piroxicam. After the incorporation of the drug, microemulsion remained stable and optically clears with no phase separation. The surface tension and fluorescence studies indicated that the drug may reside at the interface of oil and aqueous phase. The drug is entering into the palisade layer on the inner side of the droplet, resulting in controlled release of drug. Thus, we can conclude that this microemulsion system helps in increasing the solubility of a highly hydrophobic drug, with the help of hydrophobic component of microemulsion and lipophilic part of surfactant. In addition, the formulation can be explored with high concentration of drug. Pharmaceutically usable microemulsion system was prepared from water and castor oil with a constant amount of Tween-80 and ethanol at a mass ratio of 1:2. Its type and structure was examined by measuring surface tension, viscosity, electric conductivity, and the fluorescence techniques were assessed. 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