HIV Pandemic Essay Example for Free

HIV Pandemic Essay We are entering the third decade of what may be the most devastating epidemic in human history: HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS Pandemic is a large-scale epidemic affecting more than one country. AIDS was first clinically diagnosed in the early 1980s but retrospective diagnosis suggests it existed well before this date. AIDS is a syndrome, which develops from an impaired ability to fight diseases. It undermines the body’s defenses against viruses, infections and malignancies. Here, we describe the origins and evolution of these viruses, and the circumstances that led to the AIDS pandemic. Pandemic Assignment Since scientists identified the HIV as the cause of AIDS in 1983, it has spread insistently, causing one of the most harmful pandemics ever recorded in human history. However, concerted global efforts to fight the pandemic are making a significant difference. More than nine million people living with HIV in low and middle-income countries now have access to life-saving antiretroviral treatments. Overview Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) invades the body through the exchange of certain body fluids. The virus invades cells such as T helper cells and begins to replicate itself in the human body. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) of humans is caused by two lentiviruses, â€Å"HIV-1 and HIV-2; HIV-1 accounts for the majority of infections in the world, and has at least 10 genetic subtypes† (Lamptey, Wigley, Carr, Collymore, 2002). Both HIVs are the result of multiple cross-species transmissions of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) naturally infecting African primates. However, as according to Sharp Hahn (2011), one transmission event, involving SIVcpz from chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon, gave rise to HIV-1 group M—the principal cause of the AIDS pandemic† and noted that by â€Å"tracing the genetic changes that occurred as SIVs crossed from monkeys to apes and from apes to humans†. AIDS Pandemic and the Efforts to Stop HIV/AIDS According to Merson â€Å"on June 5, 1981, few suspected a pandemic of AIDS when the Centers for Disease Control reported five cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in young homosexual men in Los Angeles† (2006). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reported that all the men had other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems were not working; two had already died by the time the report was published. In a timeline created by AIDS. com, â€Å"this edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will become known as the AIDS epidemic† (2014). Although â€Å"after pandemic HIV-1 first emerged in colonial west central Africa, it spread for some 50 to 70 years before it was recognized† (Sharp Hahn, 2011) because phylogenetic and statistical analyses have dated the last common ancestor of HIV-1 to around 1910 to 1930. For a while the American government completely ignored the emerging AIDS pandemic. The first attempt to treat HIV was in â€Å"September 1986, when early results from clinical trials involving AZT (zidovudine) – a drug that was first investigated as a cancer treatment – showed that it might slow the attack of HIV† (AVERT, 2013). Although AZT could slow progression to AIDS in HIV positive individuals with no symptoms, a year’s supply for each person would cost around seven-thousand dollars and many did not have adequate health insurance to cover the cost. In 1995, â€Å"FDA announced that the drug 3TC (lamivudine) had been approved for use in combination with AZT in treating AIDS and HIV† (AVERT, 2013) after a number of studies had shown that HIV could quickly become resistant to AZT and that the drug had no benefit for those in the early stages of the disease. On April 5th 1990 Ryan White, schoolboy who had become infected with HIV via a blood transfusion for his haemophilia, died. He was known for his fight to return to public school after he was banned due to fears of spreading of AIDS to other children. â€Å"Following Ryan’s death, the American government implemented a new programme named after him – the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act† (AVERT, 2013). Its aim was to improve the quality and availability of care for low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals and families affected by HIV. In 2000, the government funded programs such as needle exchange services and abstinence-only education and in 2001 the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) set a goal to halve the number of people infected with HIV each year in the USA to 20,000 by the end of 2005 but by 2003 it was already clear that the CDC’s goal would be missed, the number of new infections had shown no sign of declining. In 2006, President Bush signed the reauthorisation of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, â€Å"since its creation in 1990 the program had provided federal funding for thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS unable to pay for their treatment themselves† (AVERT, 2013). In 2007, raltegravir – was approved by the FDA which according to AVERT â€Å"Raltegravir was the first of a new class called integrase inhibitors† and â€Å"the significant progress in treatment proved to be particularly important to thousands of HIV positive Americans whose treatment had been failing due to drug resistance (2013). It was believed to provide extended years of meaningful survival to patients. In July 2010, â€Å"the USAs first HIV/AIDS Strategy was released† (The White House Office of National AIDS Policy, 2010) and reducing new HIV infections was included as one of the Strategys three core aims. According to AVERT (2013), â€Å"in order to reduce new infections without an increase in funding, the Strategy recommended that HIV prevention efforts be intensified in the communities where HIV is the most heavily concentrated†. MedlinePlus concluded that â€Å"there is no cure or vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS, but early detection through HIV testing and treatment can frequently turn this fatal disease into a manageable chronic disease† (2009). The HIV-1 pandemic is a complex mix of diverse epidemics within and between countries and regions of the world. â€Å"AIDS remains the fourth leading cause of death in low-income countries† (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, 2014). While there will never be a solution to HIV and AIDS, a preventive vaccine would do a great deal to curb the pandemic. But unfortunately, the problem with developing a vaccine is that the HIV genome mutates very quickly. Stowell (2006) explains that all organisms vary a little throughout the centuries. The HIV genome mutates around 1000 times more quickly than the human genome around 1000 times more mutations accumulate in a single year, relative to the length of the genome. Antiretroviral treatment has transformed AIDS from an inevitably fatal condition to a chronic, manageable disease in some settings.  Johannesburg (2010) cited The Lancet medical journal, which published a study that predicts that by 2031 – about 50 years into the HIV epidemic – annual new HIV infections will be roughly halved to about 1. 2 million.

Electrical Engineering :: essays research papers

Electrical Engineering Work Performed Electrical Engineers research, develop, design, and test electronic components, products, and systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, and scientific applications (Cosgrove 749). They are concerned with devices that use small amounts of electricity that make up electronic components such as integrated circuits and microprocessors. By applying principles and techniques of electronic engineering they design, develop, and manufacture products such as computers, telephones, radios, and stereo systems (EGOE, 121). Electrical engineers touch everyone lives through the things they have designed or created. Electrical engineers have invented the lights in your house, the television, the stereo, the telephone, computers, and even your doctor’s blood pressure gauge (Stine 300). History The history of engineering goes back into the 19th century when Alexander Volta (1745-1827) made a remarkable discover regarding the nature of electricity (Cosgrove 749). He discovered that electrical current could be controlled and could flow from one point to another. By the time the mid-19th century came about the rules for electricity were being established. During this time electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday who lived from 1791 to 1867 (749). Also during this time Samuel Morris invented the telegraph in 1837 which relies on the principles of electromagnetic induction (749). Alexander Graham Bell, who lived from 1847 to 1922, created the telephone which also uses electricity in order to operate (749). Through the success of the telephone, Bell Telephone Company was established. In 1878, the light bulb was finally invented by Thomas Edison who lived from 1847 to 1931 (749). Off the principles of Faraday’s electric motor from 1821, Nicholas Tesla inve nted a more efficient and powerful electric motor in 1888 (749). To make these inventions be more significant, effort was expended to make better motors and transformers and to enhance the power needed to make them function. Through these inventions during the middle 19th century, it led to the capability of lighting homes and cities through the use of electricity, and it also led to the creation of the telephone communication system (750).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Into The 20th Century By the time the 20th century arrived, vacuum tubes were invented that could transmit weak electrical signals which led to the formation of electromagnetic waves that led to the invention of the radio broadcast system (750). These vacuum tubes were discovered to be able to transmit currents through solid material, which led to the creation of transistors in the 1960’s (750).

The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship

In order to completely understand the relation, it is Important to define what Is meant by each of the terms before Identifying any links between them. Joseph Schumacher defined entrepreneurship as â€Å"whatever the type, everyone is entrepreneur only when he actually carries out a new combination and loses that character as soon as he has built up his business, when he settles to running it as other people run their 1934, p. 78) I agree with most of this definition as this basically means that a person is only an entrepreneur when something new Is created.After this point, they are not considered entrepreneurs as whatever they have created Is no longer new. Schumacher also said that Innovation Is the creation of a new product, new method of production, new markets or new ways of directing resources. It is also important to distinguish between incremental and radical Innovation. Incremental innovation refers to a small change whereas radical change means a revolutionary change, For example, the Invention of the first mobile phone was a radical innovation. The release of Apple's latest phone is an incremental innovation.Firstly, I will examine the correlation between Just entrepreneurship and innovation. In my opinion, it is impossible to be an entrepreneur without being innovative. Summerset's definition supports this belief. The person needs to create something incrementally or radically new in order to be an entrepreneur. A good example of this would be Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple. His Innovation towards portable music was radical In the sense that his product was compact. However, since then, he has made more products such as phones and computers.Schumacher also argued that innovation allows firms to generate abnormal profits which are required as they encourage research and development. However, I believe that this research and development often leads to incremental change rather than radical change. This can be seen by looking at Apple as we ll. Apple constantly makes incremental changes to FIFO However, incremental change is essential for economic development. Economic development is defined as the rise in the general standards of living and quality of life. It is measured by the Human Developmental Index (HID).The HID is a â€Å"way of measuring development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income† (UNDO, 2011). Economic development can only be achieved if there is economic growth. Economic growth is the rise in a nation's real gross domestic product (GAP). Considering that â€Å"Development requires the removal of major sources of unfounded: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or overcapacity of oppressive states. (Mammary Seen, 1999, p. 3), I firmly believe that economic growth can lead to economic development. Entrepreneurship and innovation fuels economic gr owth as it makes demand rise. An entrepreneur innovates and creates something to meet a pre-existing yet unfulfilled demand. As a result, people buy that product, allowing the entrepreneur to earn profits. These profits can be invested back into the business. The process then starts again and causes the economy to grow. A growing economy results in increasing expenditure.This means that unemployment falls and incomes rise. This means that consumption of necessity goods increases. The provision and consumption of services such as health care and education can also increase. Governments can also generate more revenue from tax as incomes and expenditure rises. This means the provision of public goods such as clean drinking water, sanitation and law and order increases. A rise in the supply of public goods causes a reduction in inequality gap and improves income distribution.All of these constitute to economic development as the standard of living has now been improved and this can be p roven by calculating the values for the HID indicators. Furthermore, economic growth is also an incentive for more innovation as it signals to the potential entrepreneurs that the economic conditions are suitable for making profits. It is due to all these conditions that I believe that the ‘uninformed' mentioned in Ken's definition are removed and aptly addressed during a period of economic growth, thus, resulting in economic development.An example, from Kenya, of the process above supports my argument. According to an article published by The Guardian, a Kenya telecommunications company, Safari, started providing a mobile banking service called ‘M-Peas' in 2003. This service permitted its users to store money on their phones and pay for items or transfer money via SMS. This provided people with an alternative source of banking that was better than the traditional method because it was portable and did not impose heavy charges for transactions. As a result, demand for mo bile phones went up.A study done by the London Business School showed that for every 10 extra mobile phones per 100 people, GAP in a developing nation went up by 0. 5%. Mobile phones also aided in economic development because they â€Å"can also be used to spread vital information about farming and healthcare to isolated rural areas send symptoms of a disease to a doctor via text and receive a diagnosis. Farmers could find the market price of the crops to ensure that they are not cheated. Mobile banking is not a radical innovation however; incremental change can be more beneficial for less developed countries.This service helps improve the quality of life for people in remote, rural areas that are hard to get to due to poor infrastructure. Although, entrepreneurship and innovation can cause economic growth, it isn't the only way. Economic growth can also be found in situations from which entrepreneurship is completely absent. A prime example of this would be the Russia during the s ass. During this time, Russia was a centrally planned economy. By definition this means that all decisions were made by the state rather than individuals. â€Å"The decade of sass was thus the â€Å"golden period† of Soviet economic Roth.The patterns of Soviet growth of the sass in terms of growth accounting were very similar to the Japanese growth of the sass-ass and to Korean and Taiwanese growth in the 1960-ass – fast increases in labor productivity counterweighted the decline in capital productivity' (Vladimir Pop, 2010) These nations saw an increase in their GAP even during a lack of entrepreneurship due to increased labor productivity. However, the rise in GAP only lasted a decade. As it can be inferred by inspecting the current economic conditions in the former Soviet states, the growth was not sustainable.Sustainability looks at the level of self-sufficiency a product or notion has. It is related to entrepreneurship and innovation in the sense that if a produc t, idea or procedure is not sustainable, the likelihood of its existence is low. It's obvious to me that an entrepreneur is less likely to follow through with an idea that cannot continuously generate profits. Conversely, the concept of sustainable development has to be discussed while trying to understand the relationship between economic development and sustainability.Sustainable development is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the resent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. † (NUANCED, 1987)This means that entrepreneurs have to be innovative in a manner that satisfies the current demand but does not harm the future generation's capacity to innovate and satisfy their demands. Sustainable entrepreneurship can help achieve economic development. For example, the invention of the catalytic converter by Eugene Hydro was a radical innovation that was meant to reduce the air pollution created by exhausts from chimneys a nd automobiles.This kind of radical innovation benefits the developed nations more as they have a higher rate of institution and more factories and automobiles that create emissions. In this case, sustainable entrepreneurship increases economic development because impact on health, one of the factors measured by the HID, is reduced. In conclusion, the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development is a bilateral one. I think it is impossible to be an entrepreneur without causes economic growth which is required for economic development.However, economic growth does not equate to economic development, as shown by the report on Soviet growth rates. Even though there was economic growth, there was a very insignificant, if any, rise in the standards of living. For me, this highlights the importance of entrepreneurship in achieving economic development. Even though I think radical innovation is a better reflection of entrepreneurship, I think that incremental innovation is of greater importance for the purposes of promoting economic development in less developed countries.The incremental innovations done by entrepreneurs in less developed nations, such as Safari in Kenya, are vital for economic development due to the nature of the infrastructure in these countries. Radical innovations such as the creation of the catalytic converter and whiney scrubbers that reduce emissions are significant for improving the standards of living in developed nations due to the opulence and levels of consumption. Sustainability and sustainable development play a noteworthy role in this relationship.

Greek Mythology A Polytheistic Text And The Book Of Genesis

Since the time of great antiquity, human beings desired power; yet ironically the term power is defined differently from person to person. Linguistics has shown that power is closely related to the Latin word imperium, which also means the ability to command. For the purpose of this essay, consequently, power is related to neither physical nor mental strength, but the ability to command, govern, keep order, and maintain obedience. This term and its definition is intensively explored in Hesiod’s Theogony – a polytheistic text – and The Book of Genesis – a monotheistic text. The two readings explain the beginning of two different cultures; Theogony elaborates the beginning of Greek mythology while Genesis centers around the beginning of†¦show more content†¦Zeus viewed his children as a threat to his power, hoping that â€Å"no other god than Zeus would get/ The royal power over all the gods/ Who live forever† (Hesiod, 52). Perhaps because of fear and anxiety, â€Å"Zeus, forestalling danger, put her down/ Into his belly,† and ultimately forbade the birth of his many descendants. In the study of politics, it seems fair to suggest that the majority and the most powerful is usually not permanent, but Zeus is attempting to disprove this generalization, by limiting the number of gods and goddesses under his command. The monotheistic Judeo-Christian theology, however, has opposed idea about power. In The Book of Genesis, God encourages reproductions among humans to increase his power; he believes that the more humans there are, the more power he has, which contradicts with the ideology of a polytheistic culture thereof. After the creation of the first humans, he ordered them to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth† (1:26). 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