HIV Vaccine Progress and Challenges

Question: Describe about the HIV Vaccine Progress and Challenges. Answer: Human immunodeficiency virus is a deadly virus that has shaken the world of scientists since the time it was discovered among different citizens. This virus affects the immune system in a way that its interferes with the immune system create situations where other infections like tuberculosis, influenza and other opportunistic infections can easily invade the human being. The immunity system loses its capability to fight with the new infections due to the interruption in its activity by the already present HIV virus. Over decades, it has resulted in loss of huge number of lives and scientists have yet not been able to come out with effective vaccine against it. Various researches all over the world are still being conducted to make the world a safe place from this virus. The essay would therefore contain the various challenge and progresses in the field of the research of HIV vaccine in the present generation. It has been noted that over the decades, different medications have been proposed which has helped in stabilisation of the symptoms of aids but has not cured or protected an individual from such viruses (Kwong Mascola, 2012). Vaccines have therefore become necessary to protect an individual from acquiring the infection so that the concern of curing or treatment does not arise. The main challenge faced by the scientists while preparing the vaccine for HIV is that the proteins present on the viral envelope are quite different and do not match with the other viruses whose vaccine has been created. Therefore, preparations of primers that would match the antibodies occurring from adaptive immunity have not become successful. To explain clearly, a person suffering from HIV infection would develop antibodies against it and mimicking these antibodies to create a vaccine as a protective measure for normal healthy individuals to protect them from HIV, has not been possible yet. The victims ha ve not survived long enough after HIV infection to make this technique successful (Ensoli et al., 2014). Another challenge often faced by the scientists is that killed HIV virus becomes unresponsive and fail to act as antigen when administerd into an animal model to produce antibodies against it. Other virus when killed but administered into a healthy being evokes response and thereby helps in collecting antibodies from this individual to produce mimicked antibodies and use it as vaccine to other individuals. This is not possible by HIV viruses. Moreover live viruses cannot also be used to produce antibodies due to ethical issues and regulations. Therefore scientists often face challenges in creating a proper vaccine (Koff, 2012). There is another challenge faced by the scientists while preparing vaccine is the evolving nature of the HIV virus. HIV virus undergoes high rate of mutation within the body of infected individual. They are not affected the pressure imposed on them by the immune system of the body. They respond with high efficiency to the various selective pressure of the immune system and alters themselves through various mutation to remain unaffected by the both antibody mediated immunity and cellular immunity (Ensoli et al., 2014). Due to this evolving nature of the viruses, often scientists have found it difficult to cope up with the researches required to form an effective vaccine. Another challenge that is faced by the scientists during the preparation of the vaccine is the huge amount of genetic variance and genetic divergence that reside in the various isolates of the HIV virus. The ability of the HIV virus to be integrated into the DNA of the host and the error prone nature of the HIV reverse transcriptase lead to a wide genetic diversity in the HIV virus over time (Haynes McElrath, 2013). HIV virus is found to possess a large number of clades as well as subtypes. Therefore, creation of an effective vaccine would require the vaccine to evoke an immune response that would cover all the subtypes and clades of HIV. This implies that a vaccine of a broad spectrum is required to prevent a huge number of subtypes to cause infection. Therefore, efficacy of the vaccines produced till date has shown little success (Esparza, 2013). Therefore, the preparation of a vaccine depending upon the antibody response of an individual is not taken into account by the scientists. Rather, they have accepted the development of vaccine that would solely aim at the response evoked by the cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Broadly neutralizing antibodies called the bNAbs are mainly researched which are produced when scientists focus on the envelop based vaccines. These antibodies usually act by directly binding to the envelope protein of the HIV and prevent their further activities. However, they are very difficult to produce as it requires high somatic hyper mutation which is a prolonged process that ultimately fails to stop the rapid co evolution of the virus. High degree of sequence variability in the envelope gene in the virus makes this process a lengthy one (Martin Siliciano, 2016). After the 2009 trial of the RV144 phase 3 trial in Thailand, two international teams had been working extensively to increase the efficacy level of 31.2% found in the trial in Thailand. In 2012, researches conducted have shown that IgG antibodies to HIV-1 Env V1-V2 have shown that it can correlate inversely with infection risk and thereby supports the fact that antibodies, which bind to the V1V2 Env region, can take active part in the prevention of the enzyme. To carry forward with the research, four more V2 monoclonal antibodies were selected from the already established RvV144 vaccine but it was found that they could not neutralized the HIV-1 CRF01_AE tier 2 viruses. However, they were easily binding with the surface of CRF01_AE tier 2 virus-infected CD4+ T cells. This proved that they were efficient enough to cause antibody dependent cellular toxicity (Kim,Excler Michael, 2015). Just like the Anti-V1V2 BnAbs RV144 V2 mAbs, RV144 V2 mAbs were also found to bind the same V2 Env reg ion. A point that was found in the studies with RV144 V1 mAbs is that like Anti-V1V2 BnAbs they cannot bind glycans and also the V2 region where the mAbs can bind shows variation in their conformation. This is mainly due to the fact that Anti-V1V2 BnAbs have a beta strand but the mAbs have an alpha helix. However, it has raised the vaccine induced immune to near about 50 % showing a progress in the field of HIV vaccine. This has raised expectations that V2-antibody-mediated ADCC of infected CD4+ T cells can thereby act as a potential mechanism of protection against HIV. However, an aspect that has been found here is that in presence of the low tier anti Env IgA antibodies, the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) shows inverse correlation with infection risk in RV144 which thereby shows that anti-Env IgA antibodies reduces the protective effects of IgG antibodies and activities of CD4+ T cell helper responses (Streeck et al., 2013). To simplify, it states that IgA antibodies in serum can inturn block the ADCC activity of IgG anti-Env antibodies. These researches are still going on and has been planned to be conducted in South Africa on non human primates with the similar principles of RV144 but with a different HIV subtype this time (Watkins, 2012). A further progress was made when it was tested in South Africa that gave more insight into the modern attempts to develop a vaccination against HIV. Based on the RV144 vaccine model, the P5 vaccine regimen was prepared by the scientist, which used the application of the ALVAC prime as well as resulted in protein boost. This regimen was examined on the HIV Vaccine Trials Network 100 phase 1/2a study in South Africa. Depending upon the this regimen, another study was proposed to be set in the late 2016 with an aim to improve the results of RV144 vaccine (Russell Marovich, 2016) An important progress was also found in the preparation of mosaic vaccines against HIV. This research was conducted to handle the overcoming of HIV-1 virus diversity. The technique was mainly based on the induction criteria of the cross reactive Tcell responses to that of the HIV-1 virus. The vaccines were designed in silico and are known as the conserved and mosaic vaccines and were constructed with the aim of creating a broad coverage across both the CD4 and CD8 T cells epitopes. These were conducted on Nonhuman primates to prove the efficiency. Phase 1clinical trials began in the year 2014 and are going on to establish a vaccine that can tackle the HIV infection (Haynes et al., 2014). It can be concluded that even in spite of several difficulties and challenges, scientists all over the world have dedicated themselves in the creation of a vaccine that would relieve mankind from the burden of the infection. Scientists have taken out different ways to tackle the genetic divergence of the virus and create a vaccine that would be able to treat the virus and handle the genetic divergence with high efficacy. Due to the high rate of mutation that they can undergo, producing vaccines have become extremely complex (Fauci, Folkers Marston, 2014). However, as the scientists have already reached an efficacy level of 50%, the world can hope a day when the scientists can give us a 100% efficient vaccine that would relieve humankind from this dangerous virus thereby changing the face of the world with this scientific revolution. References: Ensoli, B., Cafaro, A., Monini, P., Marcotullio, S., Ensoli, F. (2014). Challenges in HIV vaccine research for treatment and prevention.Frontiers in immunology,5, 417. Esparza, J. (2013). A brief history of the global effort to develop a preventive HIV vaccine.Vaccine,31(35), 3502-3518. Fauci, A. S., Folkers, G. K., Marston, H. D. (2014). Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic: the critical role of an HIV vaccine.Clinical Infectious Diseases,59(suppl 2), S80-S84. Haynes, B. F., McElrath, M. J. (2013). Progress in HIV-1 vaccine development.Current opinion in HIV and AIDS,8(4), 326. Haynes, B. F., Moody, M. A., Alam, M., Bonsignori, M., Verkoczy, L., Ferrari, G., ... Kelsoe, G. (2014). Progress in HIV-1 vaccine development.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,134(1), 3-10. Kim, J. H., Excler, J. L., Michael, N. L. (2015). Lessons from the RV144 Thai phase III HIV-1 vaccine trial and the search for correlates of protection.Annual review of medicine,66, 423-437. Koff, W. C. (2012). HIV vaccine development: challenges and opportunities towards solving the HIV vaccine-neutralizing antibody problem.Vaccine,30(29), 4310-4315. Kwong, P. D., Mascola, J. R., Nabel, G. J. (2012). The changing face of HIV vaccine research.Journal of the International AIDS Society,15(2). Martin, A. R., Siliciano, R. F. (2016). Progress toward HIV eradication: case reports, current efforts, and the challenges associated with cure.Annual review of medicine,67, 215-228. Russell, N. D., Marovich, M. A. (2016). Pox-Protein Public Private Partnership program and upcoming HIV vaccine efficacy trials.Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS,11(6), 614-619. Streeck, H., D'Souza, M. P., Littman, D. R., Crotty, S. (2013). Harnessing CD4+ T cell responses in HIV vaccine development.Nature medicine,19(2), 143-149. Watkins, D. I. (2012). Update on progress in HIV vaccine development.Top Antivir Med,20(2), 30-1.

Psoriasis Research Paper Example

Psoriasis Paper Psoriasis is a disorder of the skin which is chronic and it is associated with development of red scales on the skin surface which are covered by a flaky surface which is silvery. The disease is caused by activities that occur on the epidermis that is the first five layers that form the topmost part of the skin. Development of this disease according to (Fortune 2000), starts at the bottom layer of the epidermis where the process of forming keratinocytes takes place. Keratinocytes are defined as cells of the hair which are immature and produce keratin a protein tough enough to form nails, hair and skin. In normal cases, keratinocytes grow at the bottom layer of the skin and then move to other layers. After getting to the top layers, they are shed and the process is not noticed. In people with psoriasis, the case is seen to be very different as the keratinocytes are formed rapidly and within four days they have already travelled from the basal layer to the top layer. They can therefore not be shed and end up piling up to form the plaques. The dermis is the underlying layer which contains blood, nerves and lymphatic system becomes swollen and red. We will write a custom essay sample on Psoriasis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Psoriasis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Psoriasis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to (Dr. Nicole 2000) patients with psoriasis disease also have issues with their nervous systems. The major reason for this is because most of them get so concerned about their skin and an unhealthy status which leaves them in so much worry so that even some become so angry easily. Doctor Nicole Ward also explains that, the spread of this disease could be facilitated by the nervous system. She explains that it facilitates the spread of plaque symmetrically on the skin and the increased number of neural fibers as well as their neuropeptides in psoriatic skin accelerates the rate of spread of the disease. Interactions with immunomodulatory networks by maybe the reflective of the nerve associated with peripheral sensory could also be a facilitating factor of the advancement and spread of this disease. Dr. Nicole concludes by saying that the most affected part of the nervous system is the psychology of a patient and with such stress about their risky life; the disease continues thriving in them. The integumentary system is comprised of parts that protect the body from damages caused by the external surrounding for example abrasion and loss of water. These parts include the skin as well as its appendages. Psoriasis (Lanigan, 1991) affects the skin and thus the body is not protected from external harm. It hence becomes a risk to the patient sine activities such as excretion, regulation of body temperatures and detecting pain, temperatures and pressure do not take place as supposed. This is a big problem as it may lead to more serious diseases. Patients with pustular psoriasis are said to experience muscle pains which are diffuse. This is mainly caused by reduced rates of metabolism in which case a patient is said to have a block in glycolysis. Doctors have also concluded that weaknesses of the skeletal muscle, is associated with psoriasis. This poses a great risk to these patients since their bodies normal functioning is hindered. Having a poor metabolic system weakens the body more and with a weak body, a patient could be in danger of contracting very many diseases in addition to psoriasis. Psoriasis is a disease that affects almost all the body systems though some are greatly affected than others. Since its cause is not yet discovered, it also means that its cure has not also been fully established and this thus makes it a dangerous disease that people should be very quick to report any symptom that is associated with it for preventive measures to be taken. References Farber, E.M., Rein, G., and Lanigan, S.W. (1991). Stress and Psoriasis. International Journal of Dermatology. 30(1): 8-12. Fortune, D.G., Richards, H.L., Main, C.J., and Griffiths, C.E.M. (2000). Pathological worrying, illness perceptions and disease severity in patients with psoriasis. British Journal of Health Psychology. 5(1): 71-82. Fortune, D.G., Richards, H.L., Main, C.J., and Griffiths, C.E.M. (2000). Pathological worrying, illness perceptions and disease severity in patients with psoriasis. British Journal of Health Psychology. 5(1): 71-82.

Colour composition and Polarised Light

Table of Contents Introduction Colour Light Relationship between Light and Colour Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Colour and light are two inseparable factors and especially for those in the field of photography. The ability to achieve a perfect composition of colour and strike a balance between colour and light always poses a challenge to many people. How well these two aspects balance largely determine the outcome of the process. This discussion looks at these two very important aspects and how once can achieve balance between them to get that perfect shot.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Colour composition and Polarised Light specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Colour While every aspect of photography is important, colour and light are the most fundamental (Verity 23). Colour plays a significant role in determining the content of any picture in terms of emotions. Just by looking at the colour com position of a photograph, it is possible to easily depict the mood that the photographer intends to create. Every colour has a meaning and depending on how much it has been emphasized, an onlooker can easily derive a message from it. Bright colours like orange and red for instance are a depiction of happiness and excitement. Dull colours on the other hand create a refreshing, relaxing and cool mood. Colour yellow does not create excitement like red does neither is it a colour of relaxation like blue and green are. Instead, yellow brings about a feeling of warmth Other than creation of moods, colours are also used to create certain desired effects. Depending on the angle of the camera together with the proper framing, it is easy for a photographer to draw great attention to a subject that though is brightly coloured. For example and Indian woman wearing beautifully coloured sari can have the right colours in the sari captured in such a way that the draw attention. One can also use co ntrasts of colours to create dynamic patterns and designs. Colour contrasts are always catchy to the eye so that it tends to explore the various colours contrasted. Light also influences colour composition by and large. For instance on sunny day you may want to concentrate on bright colours like red and orange. However, for a dull cloudy day a combination of saturated colours will work best. The amount of exposure that you give when taking a photograph also influences the colour composition and consequently the final product (Popular Mechanics 23). Therefore if you would like to have some colours subdues, then you may allow more light to pass. On the other hand, when intending to emphasize particular colours less light should be allowed so that such colours can stand out. Light Light is said to be an electromagnetic wave that moves through vibration that could be as long as 360 degrees. By definition, light is a radiation that is electromagnetic in nature, which the human eye is abl e to perceive. Light travels in the form of a wave. The different speeds at which these waves of light travel are perceived as different colours by the human eye. Polarization of light refers to the direction taken the wave of light when it is vibrating.Advertising Looking for research paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Usually, when the wave of light is undisturbed, it tends to move and vibrate randomly. The wave of light experience constant changes as it moves buy depending on the medium through which it is passing, it may be polarized in a number of ways. One way in which light is polarized is limiting the direction of vibration so that the wave is only able to vibrate in only on direction. The outcome of such polarization is that the light gets in through a medium is not the same as the one that comes out on the end side of the medium. Filters are responsible for polarization of light and they do son in varying ways. Some filters polarize by filtering particular colours so that they are no longer visible in the wave of light. Two filters placed together with one bring on top of the other have the effect of being opaque or transparent to light. If these filters were to be turned round, then the light passing through the filters can be sort of turned off and on. There are those filters that are made in such a way that they do not allow transmission of light. They are known as crossed polarizers. These filters are such that when one allows light form a horizontal angel, the other allows from a vertical angle and thus preventing transmission. Relationship between Light and Colour Having discussed colour composition and polarization as two independent concepts let us now shift focus on the relationship that cist between colour and light. It has been said that light has a nature that is considered triple. This is a common argument especially by photographers (Konnen 87). By this they mean that light has three very essential aspects that are the quality, the direction and the colour. How well one is able to master the three aspects will determine by and large the final images produced and whether ort not one will be able to achieve certain desired effects like the dilution of some colours for purposes of creating certain moods (Hirsh 78). According to the research and discovery of Isaac Newton, ordinary light as perceived by the human eye has seven rainbow colours namely, red, yellow, green, blue, indigo, orange and violet. Light is therefore a combination of different colours. What appears as pure white light as perceived by the eyes of a human being is light that has these colours well balanced. However, it is not always easy to have light with these balanced colours as the constantly get altered as they travel in form of waves. The colour of light has a great impact on the mood that an image taken has. It is of great importance therefore for any photographer t o understand the concept of lighting and colour composition to use them to his advantage and create the desired effect.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Colour composition and Polarised Light specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another very important aspect that must be looked at is what is known as saturation of colours. Simply put, this is the concentration of a given colour. This is also used to mean how intense a given colour is. This means that colours that tend to be very vivid or highly conspicuous are considered saturated. Colours that are somewhat dull on the other hand are considered unsaturated. Lighting affects saturation of colours so that polarized light may reduce saturation so that pretty much of the colour is diluted and the vice versa is true. Being aware of the existence of this concept, it then becomes important to for photographers to know how to control saturation and use it to their a dvantage in order to achieve the desired effects and moods. The time of the day by and large affects saturation of colours. This is because the sun being the source of light is at different intensities at different times of the day. When the sun is rising in the morning, the colours at that time tend to be saturated. This is also the case in the late afternoon. Colours however tend to be less saturated at midday. Therefore, if you were taking the photograph of a landscape, the best time to take the photo would be very early or late afternoon when the sun is about to set to achieve highly saturated colours. One may also use a filter to alter the saturation of colours. Polarizers are used to increase the intensity or saturation of colours. When light is polarised it has the effect of diluting colours. Thus use of polarisers will help reduce the amount of polarized light coming ion the surface of the image being photographed thus increasing the saturation. Conclusion It is indeed of gr eat importance that photographers grasp the concept of polarisation of light and colour composition really well. This is because it is the only way to achieve the best images possible. When one is not clear about either of these two aspects, then they may fail to achieve the desired results in their photographs. Any poor picture that is produced by a photographer is as a result of failure to balance these two aspects and this makes it all so vital. It is only through experience that one is bale top master these aspects properly. Photography is an art that is perfected over time through constant practice. Works Cited Hirsh, Robert. Exploring Colour Photography: From Films to Pixels. London: Focal Press, 2010. Print.Advertising Looking for research paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Konnen, Gary. Polarised Light in Nature. New York: CUP Archive, 1985. Print. Popular Mechanics. â€Å"Hearst Magazines.† Volume 76, No 3. New York. Sep 1941. Verity, Enid. Colour Observed. Michigan: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980. Print. This research paper on Colour composition and Polarised Light was written and submitted by user Rhett Snow to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Definition and Examples of Spin in Propaganda

Definition and Examples of Spin in Propaganda Spin is a contemporary term for a form of propaganda that relies on deceptive methods of persuasion. In politics, business, and elsewhere, spin is often characterized by exaggeration, euphemisms, inaccuracies, half-truths, and excessively emotional appeals. A person who composes and/or communicates spin is referred to as a spin doctor. Examples and Observations I would define spin as the shaping of events to make you look better than anybody else. I think it is . . . an art form now and it gets in the way of the truth.  Ã‚  (Benjamin Bradlee, executive editor of The Washington Post, quoted by Woody Klein in All the Presidents Spokesmen: Spinning the News, White House Press From Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Praeger Publishers, 2008) Manipulating Meaning Often associated with newspapers and politicians, to use spin is to manipulate meaning, to twist truth for particular endsusually with the aim of persuading readers or listeners that things are other than they are. As in idioms such as to put a ‘positive spin on something’or a ‘negative spin on something’one line of meaning is concealed, while anotherat least intentionallytakes its place. Spin is language which, for whatever reason, has designs on us...As the Oxford English Dictionary confirms, this sense of spin emerges only in the later 1970s, originally in the context of American politics.   (Lynda Mugglestone, A Journey Through Spin. OxfordWords Blog, September 12, 2011) Deception We live in a world of spin. It flies at us in the form of misleading commercials for products and political candidates and about public policy matters. It comes from businesses, political leaders, lobbying groups and political parties. Millions are deceived every day†¦all because of spin. ‘Spin’ is the polite word for deception. Spinners mislead by means that range from subtle omission to outright lies. Spin paints a false picture of reality, by bending facts, mischaracterizing the words of others, ignoring or denying evidence, or just spinning a yarnby making things up.  (Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation. Random House, 2007) Spin and Rhetoric The implicit sense of immorality attached to spin and rhetoric leads lawmakers and candidates to use these words to undermine the sincerity of the opposition. As then House Leader Dennis Hastert declared in a 2005 debate over the estate/death tax, You see, no matter what kind of spin our friends on the other side of the aisle try to use, the death tax simply isnt fair...All of this points to an atmosphere of moral ambivalence that surrounds the modern practice of spin and rhetoric. At the level of principle, rhetorical speech is most often seen as disingenuous, inauthentic, and even morally dangerous. Yet at the level of practice, it is often accepted as an inevitable and necessary part of competitive party politics.   (Nathaniel J. Klemp, The Morality of Spin: Virtue and Vice in Political Rhetoric and the Christian Right. Rowman Littlefield, 2012) Managing the News [One] way the government manages the news is by inserting into newscasts prepackaged reports that get their message out or put a positive spin on the news. (Note that the power of government to censor is much greater in many other countries than in the United States and in some other industrial democracies.)  (Nancy Cavender and Howard Kahane, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life, 11th ed. Wadsworth, 2010) Spin vs. Debate Democrats have been known to conduct their fair share of spin. During the presidential election campaign season of 2004, some liberal Democrats indulged in inflammatory and unsubstantiated attacks on the right by comparing the Bush administration to Nazi Germany, associating the Republican Party with a racist fringe candidate, and allegingwithout evidencethat Bush advisor Karl Rove was the mastermind behind the attacks on John Kerrys war record. These occurrences of manipulative rhetoric [led] one commentator on political spin to conclude that, in the heat of the campaign, reasonable debate is again falling by the wayside.  (Bruce C. Jansson, Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice, 6th ed. Brooks/Cole, 2011) Spin Doctors [In a 1998 interview that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott] gave to the Independent, . . . he said we need to get away from rhetoric and back on to the substance of government. That statement apparently constituted the basis for the Independents headline: Prescott bins the spin for real policies. The spin is an allusion to New Labours spin-doctors, the people responsible for the media presentation of the Government and for putting a media spin (or angle) on its policies and activities.  (Norm Fairclough, New Labour, New Language? Routledge, 2000) Etymology From Old English spinnan, draw, stretch, spin

The Impact of Food Allergies on Quality of Life Research Paper

The Impact of Food Allergies on Quality of Life - Research Paper Example When I have really bad allergies, I am absent from the classes, because I don’t want to disturb the classes. I asked my professors to excuse, but they didn’t accept my excuse. In this research paper, I want to let people know that allergies are not contagious to other people, and even if it may disturb my other classmates, it is just something beyond my control. The body has a natural or acquired immune mechanism of dealing with foreign materials which enter it or come into contact with it. This hypersensitive immune mechanism that often detects a harmless substance as a pathogen and develops a mechanism to fight it is called an allergy. Different people are allergic to different substances. These may include pollen, dust, food materials such as bee honey. The body’s immune system which is supposed to guard our bodies against pathogens (organisms or materials which cause ill health) reacts in a manner trying to destroy the material or substance that is harmless. The substances that cause hypersensitive allergic reactions are called allergens. Antibodies in the body are responsible for fighting any foreign material that the body detects as pathogenic. When the body reacts in a hypersensitive manner towards the harmless substance such as dust or honey, these antibodies are produced to fight it. Consequently, this leads to the production of histamine.  

Valencia and Tales of the City Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Valencia and Tales of the City - Essay Example Valencia and Tales of the City Lassister and say that I won’t be in on Monday† (Goupil and Josh 122), she tells her mother, indicating the impulsive nature of her decision. In Valencia, Michelle Tea is also impulsive, and self indulgent, especially with her job choices and quits many of her jobs then hops onto other jobs. She moves in confusion from one job to another. She falls in love with a succession of girls, going onto the next one as soon as she left the earlier girlfriend. At one point, she even turns to prostitution just for the fun of it. She attends gay marches and parties with regular abandon, usually at the slightest encouragement. Michelle also cannot keep a job and quits jobs at a moment’s notice. Both Mary-Ann Singleton and Michelle Tea have eccentric friends. Mary Ann has an eccentric collection of friends. Mona who describes herself as a fag hag helps her get a job. Mona’s best pal is a gay man called Mouse, who also becomes her friend and is in constant search for love in gay bars. Another of her acquaintances is her landlady Mrs. Madrigal whose past is as mysterious as her eccentric behavior and marijuana growing obsession. Her boss is Edgar Halcyon, whose miserable daughter is married to an adulterous man, Beauchamp. Beauchamp has an affair with Mrs. Madrigal. Norman, a vitamin hawking nerd, takes care of his pal’s young daughter and Mary befriends him, as he seems more left field than she is. Michelle Tea has similar eccentric friends. Petra is a revelation to Tea’s thrilling side as she is a knife brandishing bossy girl, who is a lesbian. Willa is depressive and refuses to strip her clothes of even when they are caught in the moment’s passion. Iris, on the other hand, is described is a scrumptious girl from Georgia who Michelle falls head over heels for before realizing that she is not what she had first deciphered of her. Michelle Tea and Mary-Ann Singleton both have dramatic relationships with girlfriends and family. Te a was in love with Iris, and all was going well for them. When she meets Willa, she tries to sleep with her despite the fact that she loves Iris and that she knew Willa deeply loved Ashley. When Laurel came in to the picture with claiming that she loved Iris, this made the main character confused with the situation. The main character had to get drunk to muster the necessary courage to tell Iris that they had to break up since Laurel was a friend to the main character; the main character is sacrificing her love for Iris for her friendship with Laurel. However, this does not go according to plan since the main character is moved by the love that Iris has for her, she cried her heart out to the main character telling her that she liked her and wanted to continue going out with her. â€Å"Laurel is in love with you. She’s my friend. What? Iris looked seriously confused. She had just started smoking again and pulled an American spirit from a mangled blue pack. But I don’t want not to go out with you, she said. I like you so much. Maybe she was crying now too, I like you more than anything.† When Laurel heard of this, she gave the main character a big shrug that signified her disgust at her. Laurel had a stable and responsible job working for a software company that was located in Berkeley while the main character was a poet (Goupil and Josh 124). Mary Ann Singleton’s relationships are no less dramatic. However, unlike Michele, she does not engage in errant sexual relationships with her acquaintances. She instead tries to get to know them better and

Mosquito- Shadow Animal Totem Essay Example for Free

Mosquito- Shadow Animal Totem Essay The mosquito is my shadow animal totem because it tests me to overcome small irritations. When a mosquito bites me, I’m usually not too happy about it. Even though it is just a small bump on me, it allows the mosquito to lay its eggs as the small amount of blood they suck is enough to last for a few days. After I have been bitten I need to find the patience to overcome the itchiness. Realistically, a mosquito bite is just a small inconvenience but I am afraid to stop worrying about it and move on to the bigger things that actually need my attention. The mosquito reminds you to listen to the lessons you are experiencing. It allows you recognize the attitudes of others and not only personal attitudes. Also, it makes you think about what that small irritation has done for the food chain or one animal in particular. Another thing the mosquito shows us we need to trust our bodies to take care of the bump or it will itch later on if we scratch it. The bump will be taken care of by our body so our job is to focus on the things that matter in life. Mosquitoes give us a chance to test ourselves and revitalize our spirits. I seem to fail this test a lot, which is why the mosquito appeared to me as my shadow animal totem. When I can overcome a bite from a mosquito, I will have learned to be more patient and trust my body to do its job. Mosquitoes live on still water until they reach adulthood and then they follow a trail of carbon dioxide which will be its blood source. They can suck blood from a lot of creatures but they choose mainly humans, herbivorous mammals, and birds. Only the female mosquito sucks blood because it needs the protein and iron in our blood to develop its eggs. Both females and males use plant nectar, fruit juices, and liquids that ooze from plants as another food source. A mosquito has a long, slim body with 6 legs, a mouthpiece called a proboscis designed to suck in food, and two antennae. Mosquitoes are nocturnal but they do rest in dense vegetation, caves, tree holes, chicken coops, stables, and basements during daytime. When a male mosquito wants to find a mate it will listen to the sound of the female’s wings as they reach a higher frequency than the male can get to. Even as they are mating, they will change the beat of the wings to different frequencies and create a â€Å"duetâ⠂¬ .