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A summary of Into The Wild Through reading Into The Wilds, I have resented a lot of emotions mostly anger. I have never thought that such person would stand in greater instance in relationship to the environmental movement like McCandless until causing his own death. What sense then can we make of this tragedy, and I do believe the death of Chris McCandless was tragic. It is tragic because he confused isolation with solitude. If one seeks escape for its own sake and runs away from the world only because it is intensely unpleasant, then one will not find peace and one will not find solitude. Chris McCandless seemed to be running away, away from people, friends, institutions, and most significantly from living in right relationship with others. He began to turn away from friendships and companions, to espouse unpopular causes and to speak out at every opportunity against oppression and government intervention. He set out on a journey of self-discovery and independence by traveling to the deserts of many states . He walked away from the comfortable surroundings of his home, his family, and his friends, intending to live a solitary life in the desert because he determined that mainstream society does not hold a place for him. And him who went "into the wild" on a journey of self-discovery and illumination, was particularly unique in the attempt to find himself in the wilderness because even he abandon everything such as money clothers and more he realized that he needed those in the deserts in order to survive. During his odyssey, McCandless met and lived with several people whom he considered to be friends. Although he rarely took their advice or accepted any material gifts from them, he seems to have left a lasting impression. To Ron he wrote the following: We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual life style and engage in unconventional living . . . you don't need me or anyone else around to bring this

Causes of the Great War :: World War I History

Causes of the Great War The impact of the First World War is still with us. In many respects the events of modern Europe are a direct result of what happened during World War I. Adolph Hitler himself was a product of the First World War. World War I also gave Russian communists opportunity to overthrow the government in Russia and proclaim communism. The events that took place in "No Mans Land" definetly had an impact on the wars to come. The First World War had many causes. The spark of the Great War was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, soon to be at the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian nationalist, while traveling through Sarajevo. The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after he was at the throne, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Austria-Hungary Empire. The Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand, had to carry out the assassination. The Arms Race is the second cause. Britain at that time was the largest empire in the world, and it also had the largest navy. The navy was so big and strong because the British needed to protect their empire and maintain the sea routes between the different colonies. Kaiser William of Germany hated and envied Britain for having a stronger navy than his. He increased the German navy and built many warships. Britain responded with building more ships and increasing its navy too. This started a race for building more and better warships and it created tension and competition between those two countries. The system of alliance were another major cause of the War. There was a feud between France and Germany about controlling the colonies, which leads to a greater conflict, the Great War. Europe at that time was divided into two rival alliance systems: Triple Entente that included Great Britain, France, and Russia and the Triple Alliance, which included the Central Powers of Austria- Hungary, Germany, and eventually the Turkish Empire. In order to balance the power, France and Russia signed an alliance. Russia saw itself as the 'protector of Slavs' in the war, and immediately mobilized. When the war began, the German decision that if they were going to have to fight Russia and France, they would strike at France first according to the Schlieffen Plan, and then turn West to Russia.

Meditation, attention and well-being of college students

Ask any college student today and they would probably say that being in college is one of the most difficult and consuming endeavor that they have had in their lifetime. College life is not only about going to classes, meeting deadlines, writing papers and completing courses. College life is also about developing analytical and critical minds, learning life-skills, building knowledge and applying it to real-life situations.College students need all the help they could get to make their academic lives a little lighter or more manageable. Many self-help books have advocated changing one’s attitude, thinking positively, time-management, building relationships and other methods that one gets a feeling that they do not really provide solutions but just state the obvious. One that has received less attention is in the area of meditation.Literature has found that meditation has positive effects in reducing stress as a relaxation technique. However, meditation has been associated with new age thinking and referred to as spooky stuff that the present generation of college students may not be aware of. Meditation have existed since man first begun creative thinking, it is often referred in religious and spiritual practices. In the early years of psychological investigation, meditation became a popular subject in terms of the experiences that people have when they meditated as well as how it can be an effective relaxation technique.Meditation is being able to become more attuned with one’s inner self and this takes a great deal of directed attention. Attention refers to the ability of the mind or consciousness to attend to a specific area, event, information or thing. Studies on attention have highlighted the detrimental effects of not being able to hold one’s attention, and of how fleeting and short a person’s attention span can be especially in a very complex and stimulus overloaded  environment we have. Directing attention to a single obje ct or thought can be relaxing since it allows the person to be present in the here and now, it was also espoused that training oneself to become more attentive can develop cognitive functioning and thus help in academic performance.College students can benefit in learning and being able to use meditation techniques to cope with the many stresses and anxiety of college life and developing attention skills to further enhance academic performance. It is therefore hypothesized that college students who practice meditation will have a longer attention span and will have higher grades and a more positive mental health and hence increased feelings of well-being.This study will determine if college students who practice meditation techniques on a regular basis have higher attention skills as measured by a behavioral experiment and whether they have more positive feelings of well-being as determined by a well-being inventory.A discussion of meditation and its application into the enhancement of attention, creativity and consciousness is presented to demonstrate the far reaching effects of meditation as a means of aiding college student’s performance in school and their mental health.MeditationMeditation has been defined as process wherein the person achieves an altered sate of consciousness by performing certain rituals and exercises. These exercises include controlling and regulating breathing, sharply restricting one’s field of attention, eliminating external stimuli,  assuming yogic body positions and forming mental images of an event or symbol. The result is a pleasant, mildly altered subjective state in which the individual feels mentally and physically relaxed.Some individuals after extensive meditation practice may have mystical experiences in which they lose self-awareness and gain a sense of being involved in a wider consciousness, however defined. That such meditative techniques may cause a change in consciousness goes back to the ancient time s and is represented in every major world religion. Buddhists, Hindus, Sufis, Jews and Christians all have literature describing rituals that induce meditative states (Arambula, Kawakami, Gibney, 2001).Traditional forms of meditation follow the practices of yoga, a system of thought based on the Hindu religion, or Zen which is derived from Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The two common techniques of meditation are an opening up meditation and concentrative meditation.  Ã‚   In opening-up meditation the subject clears his/her mind for receiving new experiences while in concentrative meditation the benefits are obtained through actively attending to some object, word, or idea.Experimental studies of meditation provide only limited insight into the alterations of consciousness that a person can achieve when meditative practice and training extend over many years. In his study of the Matramudra, a centuries old Tibetan Buddhist text, Brown (1977) has described the complex training requ ired to master the technique. He has shown that cognitive changes can be expected at different meditative levels. A somewhat commercialized and popular form of meditation has been promoted as transcendental meditation or TM ( Hanley & Spates, 1978) ).The technique is easily learned from a qualified teacher who gives the novice mediator a mantra and instructions on how to repeat it over and over to produce the deep rest and awareness  characteristic of TM. In TM a person develops a reduced state of physiological arousal; feelings such as peace of mind, a feeling of being at peace with the world and a sense of well-being are reported after engaging in TM. In a now classic study on the effect of TM to college students by Hanley & Spates (1978), it was reported that those who were practicing meditation had more positive personalities.In this study, meditation in the form of transcendental meditation (TM) will be used as the meditative process which will be given to college students wh o will participate in this study. The TM is much easier to learn and practice than the traditional forms of mediation and since it produces feelings of peace and well-being that it suits the purpose of this study. Meditation is categorized under altered states of consciousness and since consciousness is the most basic cognitive function that is closely related to attention, the second part of this study is to determine if meditation enhances attention span and accuracy and in effect would lead to greater academic performance.Meditation and AttentionMeditation and attention is unquestionably linked together, meditation is the process by which attention is narrowed and focused on one object or event, and without engaging one’s attention fully to the immediate task, and then nothing will come out of it. Attention must be acutely directed towards the mantra, the breathing of the individual and the experiences one will have during the meditative state. Meditation in effect enhance s the ability of the person to direct attention and when attention is more keen and developed, a person can have better concentration  and can better attend to the critical thinking skills needed in college education (Shear & Jevning, 1999).Attention has been the earliest subject of the study of psychology, cognitive science have provided evidence that attention is physiological, that it is limited but can be expanded to become more acute and enable the person to become more aware of his/her environment, more appreciative of nature and life and it causes a general feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.Several studies have tried to find evidence that meditation and attention has a relationship. In a study of the effects of opening-up and concentrative mediation to attention in terms of ignoring distractions and focusing attention (Chan, 2003) found that meditation was positively correlated with the ability to direct attention but it was shown that meditation minutes per day was p ositively correlated with decreased distractions and mistakes, the form of mediation used or how may years a person has been meditating did not have any significant relationship with the owner. In a similar study, concentrative and mindfulness motivation was measured in terms of how effective it contributed to the task of sustained attention.The study compared the sustained attention of students who had meditation training to those who did not (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). The study found that those who had meditation techniques scored better in the sustained attention task wherein those who practiced mindfulness meditation had better scores than the concentrative mediators. The practical applications of an enhanced attention that is not affected by distractions and sustained attention can be directed towards improved academic performance of students.Meditation, Attention and Well-being 7Meditation and CreativityA new concept put forward by Sarath (2006) advocated the use of meditation techniques to mainstream classroom instruction as it enriches the learning process and enhances the creative process and consciousness of students. Creativity is highly related to the issue of meditation because the experience associated with meditation is similar to the second person approach wherein the student actually creates and produces an output that would enable him/her to have a deeper understanding of the concepts raised in class (Sarath, 2006).The author had argued that education and learning should be focused on providing actual experience of the lesson, not just learning something in books and not being able to work with it. Creative expression of one’s talent and interests should be the main thrust of the school. At the same time, a more sustained attention and inability to be distracted by external stimuli are necessary steps in the practice of creative thinking.ConclusionMeditation is not just for the spiritual and magical but it is also a positive process to develop attention and induce students to relax and communicate with their bodies and their surroundings. College students have to deal with pressures and expectations that they sometimes feel cranky, anxious and fed up. Meditation as evidenced by the studies conducted showed that it could positively affect attitudes, attention span and resistance to distractions. Meditation also has been found to be a medium that could enhance the learning process and encourage creativity. As such, this study has found evidence to support the hypothesis mentioned in the first part.Meditation, Attention and Well-being 8ReferencesArambula, P., Kawakami, M., & Gibney, K.   (2001). The physiological correlates of KundaliniYoga meditation: A study of a yoga master. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 26; 2, pp. 47-53.Brown, D.P. (1977). A model for the levels of concentrative meditation. InternationalJournal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25; 4: 236-273.Chan, D.P. (2003). Effects of medi tation to attention, Unpublished dissertation. University ofCalifornia.Hanley, C. & Spates, J. (1978). Transcendental meditation and social psychological   attitudes.The Journal of Psychology, 99, p121-1127.Sarath, Ed. (2006). Meditation, Creativity and Consciousness: Charting Future Terrain withHigher Education. Teachers College Record, 108; 9, pp 1816-1841.Valentine, E. & Sweet, P. (1989). Meditation and Attention: A comparison of the effects ofconcentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 2; 1, pp 59 to 70.Shear, J. & Jevning, R. (1999). Pure consciousness: Scientific exploration of meditationtechniques. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6; 2, p. 3)

18 Steps That Will Help You Quit a Job That You Hate

18 Steps That Will Help You Quit a Job That You Hate Is your job awful? Or just profoundly unfulfilling, and not challenging or helping you to grow in the most important ways for your career? If you know you’re not really where you need to be but you’re plagued by the what ifs, consider taking these 18 steps to see whether it might be scarier to stay at your job than working up the courage to quit and moving on to another opportunity. 1.  Think long and hard about your life and your choices.Are you living the life you want, or used to dream of? Or are you letting your shots be called by what is expected of you, or what you perceive you should be doing? Take a step back and see where you stand. Are you working towards great things? Or are you mired in mediocrity? If you’re not living the life you desire, and you find yourself being passive in your choices, start taking active steps to change that. Live by design, not by default.2. Fear the â€Å"if only† more than the â€Å"what if.†As scary as it is to start over (at any point in your career), isn’t it scarier to think of yourself regretting having stayed put several years down the line? Regret rarely shows up until it’s too late. Try to fear failure less than dissatisfaction when your chances at another chance dry up.3. Think, What’s the worst that can happen?†Imagine the absolute worst case scenario. All your gravest what-ifs. What does that look like? Clearly define what your biggest fears coming true might look like. Then ask yourself, â€Å"So what?† Is it livable? Workable? Even, perhaps, preferable to your current situation?4. Trust your gut.If there’s a nagging little voice in you telling you to quit and go after something better? Chances are you’re right. Listen to yourself and act deliberately to affect the change you crave. Think of it as your inner GPS.5. Trust what you love.Have the confidence to know that you’ll be better off- and much happier- if you’ re doing what you love. Even if you’re doing something you just like more. If you can’t get to your dream job in one leap from your current one, try a stepping stone. Anything is better than stagnation, particularly when you aren’t happy where you are. Think of all the time and energy you’re putting into what you don’t love. Imagine how much better you could be and feel!6. Make decisions based on happiness.Studies actually suggest that happiness fuels success and good performance- rather than the other way around. Build a life and career around what makes you happy and the rest should follow, crazy as it sounds.7. Set a  good example for others.Visualize your little sister or your best friend’s kid in your shoes. Now imagine them copying your choices and your solutions. Does this make you cringe? Inspire future mentees by pursuing what you really want and need most out of life.8. Live in the current moment.It’s important to keep an eye on the future. But it’s just as important to stay grounded in reality. Be realistic about what you can and can’t accomplish from where you are right now. What can you actually do now? Start there.9. Don’t despair.You are not alone. What you feel is totally normal and human and a lot of people out there are going through the same exact thing. Take comfort in that fact.10. Get clear on your purpose.You want a change, but why? Get clear on why you are unhappy, why you are leaving, why you’re taking the risk. As long as you stay on message, you’ll stay focused and can trust that you’re moving in the right direction.11. Get to know your own gifts.We all have our own unique talents and strengths. Let your passions lead you to understand yours and then lead with that. Trust yourself and show the world what you have to offer.12. Build a web of support.Find people who support, inspire, and motivate you. Who think like you do and are open to the s ort of life you want to lead. Build a network of these people, both business and personal, in person and online.13. Realize you might have to take a risk to make a gain.A small risk now, or a small sacrifice even, can pay large dividends down the road. Bet on yourself and figure out how to be a winner when the chips are down.14. Aim to please†¦ yourself.Imagine yourself on your deathbed. Are you proud of current you? Try living in such a way that would put a smile on the face of your past selves. Make sure you end up fulfilled and content with what you’ve chosen.15. Remember timing can be everything.But that doesn’t mean you have to wait for the perfect conditions for a change or a leap of faith. Perfect conditions will never appear. You’ll never be 100% prepared to make a major switch. Align as many stars as you can, but remember that sometimes you have to accept that things may never be perfect. Neither can you. Do what you can in the moment that presents itself.16. Trust the path.You may not be able to see where all this leads, but if you’re following your gut and staying true to your purpose (and reality), you can trust that it will take you where you need to go. Focus only on the next step.17. Get comfy with uncomfortable.Change is scary and uncomfortable. New is hard and daunting. Make being uncomfortable your new comfortable. Make this part of your journey.18. Have faith, not fear.Both faith and fear are kinds of uncertainty. Focus on what you do want, rather than what you don’t. And take active steps to make that happen. Don’t just sit back and worry that it won’t be possible.You never have any guarantees of how anything will turn out. But if you listen to yourself and make mindful choices in your life, you won’t go too far wrong.

Discuss the pathogenesis of measles virus infection The WritePass Journal

Discuss the pathogenesis of measles virus infection Conclusion Discuss the pathogenesis of measles virus infection IntroductionInfection and SpreadSymptomsSubacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE)VaccinationConclusionRelated Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Introduction Measles virus (MV) is a member of the paramyxovirus family and has a single stranded RNA genome.   The viral genome encodes for six structural proteins: Haemagglutin (H), Fusion (F), Nucleoprotein (N), Phosphoprotein (P), Large (L) polymerase protein, and Matrix (M) protein and two non-structural proteins: C and V (Griffin,   2010). The structure of the virus is shown below.  Ã‚   Fig 1.   The structure of the Measles virus Ref:microbiologybytes.com/virology/Paramyxoviruses.html The majority of measles cases occur in children and in those who are fit and healthy, results in life long immunity without complications.   Measles virus has been eliminated in the western world since 2000 through an efficient vaccine programme, however, it is a different scenario in developing countries were deaths arise due to lack of vaccine administration and malnourishment of children (Fontana et al, 2008).  Ã‚   For example in 2008, 164 000 people died from measles virus of these 95% were in low-income countries (www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/).   Although infection with MV produces an efficient immune response that is maintained for the rest of the individuals life, it also results in a transient state of immunosuppression that can last for several weeks.   This leaves the patient susceptible to secondary infections by opportunistic pathogens which account for the majority of measles associated deaths (Sevet-Delprat   et al, 2000).  Ã‚   The exact me chanism of the immunosuppression is still unknown however many theories have been suggested. Infection and Spread The MV is spread through aerosol transmission in the cough or sneeze of an infected person.   The virus is extremely contagious and can remain in the air or on a surface for up to two hours (Stalkup, 2002).   The route of entry for the virus is through the respiratory tract and once infected, the virus will incubate for an average of 10-12 days before any symptoms are seen.   Infection is initiated by the attachment of the H protein to the host cell receptors, which results in the fusion of the envelope of the virus with the host cell membrane.   This fusion of membranes causes the release of viral RNA into the host cell cytoplasm.   After the RNA has replicated, using host cell machinery, new virus particles are assembled using the M protein and bud from the host cell membrane to infect other susceptible cells (Swart, 2008).   The host cell receptors for the measles virus are CD46, a complement regulatory protein that is found on all nucleated cells and the Signalling Ly mphocytic Activation Molecule (SLAM/CD150) which is found on the surface of both T and B lymphocytes as well as macrophages and mature Dendritic cells (DC) (Yanagi et al, 2006).   In vitro studies have found that vaccine strains of the measles virus use CD46 and SLAM as their receptor however wild-type MV only recognizes CD150 (Ferreira et al, 2010).   There has been some debate over the exact cell that is involved in the initial infection with MV.   It had previously been thought that the virus infected epithelial cells lining the nasopharynx (Stalkup   et al, 2002) however more recent studies have shown that these cells do not bear the MV receptors SLAM which facilitate wild-type viral infection therefore further studies are required to identify this unknown receptor .   It has been suggested that alveolar macrophages and DC lining the respiratory tract are the initial cells involved in measles infection.  Ã‚   This was demonstrated in a study using mice that expressed humanized SLAM.   These mice were infected intranasally with wild type measles virus expressing green fluorescent protein.   The nasal associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) was then extracted from these mice at different time points (1,2 or 3 days).   Results showed that alveolar macrophages were the first cells to be infected by the measles virus and not the epithelial cells (Ferreira et al, 2010). DC’s are the main antigen presenting cells of the immune system and are used by other viruses to infect lymphocytes for (example the HIV virus) (Witte et al, 2008).   Therefore DC may provide an important route of transport for MV to secondary lymphoid tissue.   The role of DCs in measles infection is further indicated by the identification of DC-SIGN which is an accessory receptor that has been identified on MV susceptible cells and is thought to assist MV infection of CD150 expressing DCs (Yanagi, 2006).   Furthermore, large numbers of DC-SIGN positive DCs have been found to be present in the epithelium of the respiratory tract which demonstrates their potential primary role in MV infection of (Ludlow et al, 2010 ; Witte et al, 2008). An alternative theory is that epithelial cells are infected in the latter stages of infection by lymphoid cells facilitating viral spread by the respiratory route.   This would mean that epithelial cells are infected at the basolateral cell surface rather than the apical surface.   This was demonstrated by a study that looked at mutated MV strains that could not bind to the as yet unidentified Epithelial Cell receptor (EpR) but could still recognise the SLAM receptor.   Results showed that the macaques developed the rash but could not shed the virus which suggests that the EpR is a basolaterally expressed protein that is important for the spread of the virus at the infective stage (Leonard, et al, 2008).   A study by Ludlow (2010) supported these findings by showing that wild type MV could not infect primary columnar epithelial cells by the apical surface further demonstrating the potential role of epithelial cells in latter stages of infection rather than initial stages as p reviously thought. In response to viral infection the innate immune system responds by producing inflammatory cytokines to protect cells from viral infection.   These cytokines include type 1 interferons (IFN) such as   IFNÃŽ ± and ÃŽ ² which are induced in response to RNA viruses.   IFNs induce an anti-viral state in neighbouring cells and increase the expression of class 1 Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules on the infected cell surface which will present the viral antigens to CD8+ T cells.   CD8+ T cells clear the infection by cytotoxic T cell mediated killing of the infected cell (Abbas Ltchtman, 2005).   To overcome these host cell defences, viruses have ways to evade the immune system.   MV virus protein V and C have been shown to downregulate IFN production in vitro and this includes both attenuated and wild type strains (Fontana et al, 2008).   Through the inhibition of the proinflammatory cytokines MV can infect more host cells.   MV may also use the innate immune system to enhance viral spread and pathogenesis by using Toll like receptors (TLRs) which are found on the surfaces of cells that activate the immune system by recognising bacterial and viral pathogens.   The binding of TRL2 on human monocytes by MV H protein has been shown to induce production of interleukin 6 (IL-6) which upregulates expression of SLAM the primary receptor for MV (Beiback et al, 2002). Once the virus is picked up by antigen presenting cells it is carried to the secondary lymphatic tissue were it can replicate in T cell, B cells and activated monocytes with lymphocytes being the main target cell of MV infection (de Swart et al, 2007).   These infected cells can be seen in the blood 7-9 days after infection (Griffin, 2010).   It is thought that through these infected lymphoid cells that the virus is able to infect epithelial and endothelial cells lining organs including the liver, brain and skin (Moench et al, 1988).   In order for MV to infect these organs it must overcome these endothelial cell barriers.  Ã‚   It has been shown in cell culture that wild type MV infection may infect endothelial cells by increasing the expression and activation of leukocyte integrins which bring infected T cells into close contact with these cells leading to their infection (Dittmar et al, 2008). Symptoms The initial symptoms of MV are very similar to those of the flu including runny nose, conjunctivitis and cough which is accompanied by a fever of 104-1050F that lasts up to 4 days (Stalkup, 2002).   The characteristic feature of MV is the red rash that appears beginning on the face and behind the ears, which spreads to the rest of the body (please see Fig 2 below).   During this time the person is highly contagious and remains so until the rash disappears (www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/download/meas.pdf). Fig 2 shows a child with an extensive rash caused by the Measles virus. Ref: vaccineinformation.org/measles/photos.asp Small white spots known as Koplik spots may also be seen in the inside the mouth which is a diagnostic indicator of measles and appear one day before the rash (Perry Halsey, 2004). The appearance of the rash is due to the immune systems attack of the systemic infection of epithelial cells and biopsies of the rash have shown infiltration of CD8+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes in the rhesus monkey (Permur et al, 2003). An individual who in infected with measles virus will recover within about 10-14 days but may remain vulnerable to secondary infections including pneumonia and diarrhoea for a few weeks.  Ã‚   This was first noted by von Pirquet who noticed that individuals recently infected with the MV failed to respond to the tuberculin skin test and this has led to many studies into the reasons for this immune suppression (Griffin et al, 1994). One reason for the immunosuppression seen after a measles infection is the switch from a T helper 1 (Th1) CD4 response to a T helper 2 (Th2) CD4 response.   Initial MV infection results in the production of a Th1 response which is necessary to eliminate the pathogen and is marked by increased production of IFNÃŽ ³ however as the rash is cleared this changes to a Th2 response which is important in the production of measles specific antibodies (Moss et al, 2004).   Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 have been shown to be elevated for weeks in those who have had MV (Moss et al, 2002).   IL-10 suppresses the immune system by inhibiting lymphocyte proliferation and macrophage activation therefore may have a key role in failure to generate a Th1 response after MV infection (Sato et al, 2008). IL-12 is primarily produced by activated macrophages and DCs and has a pivotal role in the generation of a cell mediated immune response as well as directing CD4+ T cells to differentiate into Th1 cells (Abbas Lichtman, 2005).   Studies have shown that MV infection of DCs inhibits IL-12 production which would lead to an environment favouring a Th2 cell response (Servert-Delprat et al, 2000).   Furthermore peripheral blood monocytic cells taken from patients with measles have been shown to have a prolonged decrease in IL-12 (Atabani et al, 2001).   Stimulation of DCs through TLR4 also results in inhibition of IL-12 in mice expressing human SLAM receptor (Hahm et al, 2007). As lymphocytes are the main targets for MV infection and replication the immunosuppression seen after infection may be due to as decrease in circulating lymphocytes.   However, studies have shown that lymphocyte numbers quickly return to normal levels and therefore cannot account for the immune suppression seen weeks after infection (Griffin, 2010). Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) SSPE is a rare neurological complication of MV infection that affects 1 in a million measles cases although there is an increased risk with children infected with the measles virus before age 2 and males more than females (Norrby Kristensson, 1997).   The characteristic symptoms of SSPE are deterioration of mental and motor functions as a result of destruction of brain tissue.   These symptoms typically begin to manifest 7-10 years after primary viral infection and ultimately result in death within 2 years (Stalkup, 2002).   Patients with SSPE have high levels of measles specific antibody circulating in their blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) yet the virus is not eliminated (Barrero et al, 2003).   It is thought that the virus mutates inside the neurons which allows it to evade the immune system however these mutations may alter the host cells leading to the generation of the immune response (Gutierrez et al, 2010).   However the mechanism by which neurons are infected i s still unknown as no receptors have been identified.   There is no cure for SSPE although treatment of individuals with Interferon ÃŽ ± and Isoprinosine has been shown to slow down the progression of symptoms in some individuals (Gascon et al, 1993). Vaccination The first MV vaccine was produced in the 1960s which was formalin-inactivated with alum.   This vaccine produced a condition known as atypical measles which resulted in some individuals experiencing symptoms which were often worse than wild-type measles, when they came into contact with someone who had measles (deSwart, 2008).   In 1963, Enders measles vaccine was developed which was a live attenuated vaccine (Stalkup, 2002).   This vaccine is grown in cell culture fibroblasts from chicken embryos and is unable to produce its full pathogenic effect but induces an adequate life long immune response (PÏ‹tz et al, 2003).   The measles vaccine has resulted in a 99% fall in the number of measles cases that were previously seen annually in the United States (Stalkup, 2002).   MV could potentially be irradicated but this is dependent on high vaccine coverage.   The World Health Organization (WHO) has a policy in place which has set a goal of reducing the death rate from MV in children under 5 by 2015 (who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286).   MV infection can also lead to blindness in children who are Vitamin A deficient and the WHO have recommended that all children with measles are given vitamin A supplementation to combat blindness (Semba and Bloem, 2004). The measles vaccine is part of the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine that is given in two doses.   The vaccine is administered intramuscularly and the first injection is given to children around 13 months (nhs.uk/conditions/mmr/Pages/Introduction.aspx).   The vaccine is not given before this age because these children will have maternal antibodies which would interfere with the vaccine and not generate an appropriately high enough immune response (Moss et al, 2004).   A second dose of the MMR vaccine is given to preschool children as a booster as 2-5% of individuals fail to produce an appropriate protective immunity to the first inoculation (cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/combo-vaccines/mmr/faqs-mmr-hcp.htm).   New methods of delivery of MMR vaccine have been investigated such as the use of aerosol vaccine which would mimic natural measles infection and the use of DNA vaccine administration.   Aerosol vaccine has been found to generate an effective immune response that is equal to that of the currently used vaccine and may also overcome the interference from maternal antibodies however clinical trials are still in progress (Heno-Restrepo et al, 2009). Furthermore, trials into the use of DNA vaccines have proposed a potential to vaccinate children as young as four months (Pasetti et al, 2009). The MMR vaccine has been in the public eye for many years as a result of a paper by Wakefield and colleagues in 1998 which claimed that there was a link between the administration of the MMR vaccine and the development of autism (Farrington et al, 2001).   Many studies have been carried out to either prove or disprove this study as these claims led to fear amongst parents regarding vaccination of their children and uptake fell to 80% between 2003 and 2004 as a result of this (Bedford Ellimen, 2010).   As stated in the introduction MV is so contagious even a minor drop in vaccine coverage can lead to a large number of cases.   In 2010 after an extensive investigation by the General Medical council it was finally confirmed that the paper by Wakefield was unfounded (Godlee et al, 2001). Conclusion Although cases of MV are rarely seen in this country it results in the death of many children in the developing countries.   Currently vaccination is given at 13 months of age however many studies are ongoing that could potentially provide a vaccine that could be administered earlier resulting in children being protected earlier and limiting hosts for the virus.   Furthermore, malnutrition is one of the major contributing factors in the deaths from measles virus, tackling this problem would also decrease the mortality rate.   As stated above MV poses a problem in that infection generates a life long immune response but also leaves the host susceptible to secondary infections. The exact mechanism for this is not yet known therefore more work is needed to answer this problem and potentially combat this immune suppression. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

ILLUSTRATION ESSAY

ILLUSTRATION ESSAY Illustration is a form of displayed visual picture like a painting, drawing or a photograph. When writing an illustration essay, the major focus point is to create visualization through words. To make it simple, you have to illustrate something. As you are provided with a specific subject for your illustration essay, gather interesting details and patterns that will help you to show your object. Additional details will help to clarify the point. Use a diversity method, and present various patterns that will make a certain unconscious appeal to the readers. This action will help readers to deeply understand the topic.   Another successful step is the use of brief short patterns that show ideas straightforward. Explore illustration examples. Illustration essay thesis statement must observe the subject and create a major point where you as an author will present your ideas. Keep in mind that the examples that are used in the illustration essay create a specific communication to the main point which leads to the successful illustration essay writing as well as the good college or university grade. ILLUSTRATION ESSAY Today, students are required to be able to write different types of essay and research projects. With a number of various writing types requested by colleges and universities instructors, it is hard to keep track of what is needed. But for all essay types’ requirements there is a specific list of requirement that must be explored and learnt in order to deliver the quality writing. Illustration essay has its own list of requirements as well, but our major goal is help you focus on the major points of this type of writing. Illustration essay usually would require you to illustrate a scene, event, or action and try to give the full presentation. You should use rich linguistic expressions and try to target your reader to imagine clearly the picture that is being illustrated. There is no necessity to show the eventual events continuation, but you can do a sort of illustrated ‘slide show’ with the help of the writing. If you require the illustration essay, we are able to deliver the custom quality essay within shortest deadline for you. If you have further questions, talk to our 24/7 customer support representative in order to receive full answers.

Nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Nutrition - Essay Example We must keep in mind that different types of fibers have different characteristics and these characteristics benefit us in different ways. Now the question remains, how exactly do fiber rich foods benefit us? The answer is simple. Fibers escape from the small intestine without getting digested. These then help in various bodily processes such as growth of healthy bacteria and nutrients absorption. The reason it is difficult to understand the benefits of fibers is because there are many types of fibers that have different characteristics. Barley, beans and oats decrease the level of cholesterol. Soluble fiber rich foods when mixed with water swell in volume and when passing through the small intestines, they trap bile acids from the gall bladder. These acids are made from cholesterol and when we eat fat, these are pushed into the small intestines. The fiber plus water material absorbs the acid out of the small intestines and eventually out of the body and hence reduces cholesterol. Fibers also help in slowing the entrance of sugar into the blood in the same cholesterol was trapped from the small intestines. Fibers also help in sustaining the normal healthy bacteria that maintain the intestines, prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, improves immune system and increases absorption of calcium. The article was very informative. It covered each point related to fiber and its benefits in detail and at the same time it was short enough to maintain the reader’s interest in the article. Concise and informative is the prefect combination that is needed in a good piece of writing. The language that was used through out the article was also very simple and easy to understand. No such jargons were used which makes the article comprehendible for anyone who is interested. Examples and facts were given which make the argument of the writer more concrete and strong. However,