Summary of Acheiving Stop Tb Partnership Goals free essay sample

However, â€Å"In 2006, the TB pandemic continued to kill 2 million people annually and was growing by 1% each year, despite the World Health Organization also known as WHO having declared it a ‘Global Emergency’ over a decade earlier. † The United Nations has even stated that the goal is to cut the number of TB deaths in half by the year 2015. This is a goal not so easily achieved considering the fact that an estimated 2 billion people are latently infected with tuberculosis worldwide. (Kupferschmidt 1) Tuberculosis is caused from a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. M. uberculosis is an obligate aerobe that grows in tissues with a high oxygenated content, such as the lungs. It is a slow growing bacteria that takes anywhere from 12 to 20 hours to generate. The cells are hydrophobic and have high lipid content in the cell wall and tend to clump together. TB is an airborne disease that is spread from person to person by coughing, sneezing, or speaking. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Acheiving Stop Tb Partnership Goals or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Tuberculosis is diagnosed by a simple skin test that if positive will show a reaction to a small quantity of tuberculosis antigens. A positive confirmation can be made by a chest X-ray, and a microscopic examination of a sputum sample. A new significant development in TB diagnosis has been found in Xpert MTB/RIF assay. The Xpert MTB/RIF is made to detect DNA sequences specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance by polymerase chain reactions. The MTB/RIF test purifies concentrates and identifies targeted nucleic acid sequences in M. tuberculosis genomes which can take about 90 minutes to complete. MTB/RIF assay has met some of the minimum requirements of the governing groups, such as being easily administered by a low skilled technicians and operating in different temperatures with minimal requirement from the test operator. There has also been price reduction availability for countries with the pandemic. (Zumla 819) While MTB/RIF assay seemed to be the miracle answer for TB testing, it still falls short of the requirements set forth by the STOP TB Partnership. For example, the shelf life is half the expected 2 years, high cost of the machine and cartridges to run it and constant electricity make it difficult for key areas. Safe recycling of large amounts of cartridges also remains an environmental concern being that sputum and positive buffers are present in the used cartridges. (Zumla 822) There are 11 new TB drugs on the horizon. Hopefully, by 2015 at least 2 of them will be released for public consumption. The current drug-susceptible TB treatment is the medication called Isoniazid or INH. INH is available worldwide, is relatively inexpensive and is generally well tolerated. INH is used to for latent tuberculosis infection to help kill the dormant bacteria and to reduce the risk of the infection becoming active tuberculosis later in life. This medication is taken for 6-9 months; where as the new drugs that are still in clinical trials would shorten this to 4 months. However, these unfortunately are not available yet. What are really needed to eradicate this disease are TB vaccines. The present TB Vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin or BCG, is an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis which was introduced in 1922. It is used primarily in children in countries outside the US. Not all administered BCG vaccines have been effective either, only helping with severe childhood versions of TB (ex: disseminated and meningeal). As of 2011, at least 6 TB vaccine candidates were in preclinical trials, with 21 additional next generation candidates in the vaccine discovery phase. A more effective tool for the United States would be a post infection vaccine, due to the vast majority of cases being remote infections. This would nearly eradicate TB in the US. But, one has currently not been created. (Zumla 823) TB has plagued the human race for decades, only improving when social, economical, and general living conditions were bettered. Recent research continues to look for vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. However, no new trial based vaccine has been introduced since BCG in the 1950’s. The STOP TB Partnership’s goal of lessening the yearly cases of infection by one million is admirable, but so much more needs to be done to control the spread of infection. More people need to be tested and become aware of what a huge problem it currently still is. People know about the disease but many people are not educated about the disease and what the symptoms are until it is too late and have probably already spread it to other people. Despite the years of effort that has been dedicated to TB research, the end still seems to be decades away. Works Cited Alimuddin Zumla, et al. Achieving STOP TB Partnership Goals: Perspectives On Development Of New Diagnostics, Drugs And Vaccines For Tuberculosis. Tropical Medicine International Health 16. 7 (2011): 819-827. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. Alimuddin Zumla, et al. Immunological Biomarkers Of Tuberculosis. Nature Reviews. Immunology 11. 5 (2011): 343-354. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. Kupferschm idt, Kai. Taking A New Shot At A TB Vaccine. Science 334. 6062 (2011): 1488. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Tuberculosis† Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, 13 Mar. 2012 Web

To Be An American essays

To Be An American essays Ang Lees The Wedding Banquet depicts a Taiwanese man crossing cultural boundaries. He is caught between his parents traditional belief system and his own experience as an Asian-American man. The movie shows the struggle Wai-Tung undergoes to deal with his life as an assimilated man and the life that his parents in Taiwan have planned for him. This is a situation that many people who come to America have to deal with when trying to fit in. They try hard to retain some of their old cultural values and practices while also trying not to alienate themselves from the new world that they live in. The film illustrates that in order to become fully a part of American culture, one cannot retain all of his or her cultural values and practices. Immigrants must adopt the ways of the new world that they live in. This is true, but by giving up their cultural values to become part of American culture, immigrants realize that the cost to family life and to self outweigh the benefits of assi milation. In the movie, an example of Wai-Tungs assimilation into American culture is that he is in an intimate, interracial relationship. This is the equivalent of intermarriage in heterosexual relationships, which is a key indication of assimilation (e.g., Hwang and Saenz 1). Taiwan is a virtually homogenous country where inter-marriage is virtually impossible because not many other races reside in the country. The fact that he has chosen a white American man to be his lover is and sign that he has accepted American culture and strives to intermix with the culture. More explicit than his choosing a white lover is that he has a male lover at all. As stated in the movie, Wai-Tung had intimate relationships while he was in college. To seem normal and to fit in with his own culture while he was in Taiwan, Wai-Tung had to pretend that he was heterosexual. Asian parents usually raise their children to abide by social norms, wh...

Character Analysis of Hermia and Her Father

Character Analysis of Hermia and Her Father To deepen your understanding of William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, here is a character analysis of Hermia and her father. Hermia, Believer in True Love Hermia is a feisty young lady who knows what she wants and does whatever she can to get it. She is even prepared to give up her family and way of life to marry Lysander, agreeing to elope with him into the forest. However, she is still a lady and ensures that nothing untoward goes on between them. She keeps her integrity by asking him to sleep away from her: â€Å"But gentle friend, for love and courtesy/Lie further off in humane modesty† (Act 2, Scene 2). Hermia assures her best friend, Helena, that she is not interested in Demetrius, but Helena is insecure about her looks in comparison with her friend and this somewhat affects their friendship: â€Å"Through Athens, I am thought as fair as she./But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so?† (Act 1, Scene 1) Hermia wishes the best for her friend and wants Demetrius to love Helena: â€Å"As you on him, Demetrius dote on you† (Act 1, Scene 1). However, when the fairies have intervened and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with Helena, Hermia gets very upset and angry with her friend: â€Å"O me, you juggler, you canker blossom/You thief of love- what have you come by night/And stol’n my loves heart from him† (Act 3, Scene 2). Hermia is again compelled to fight for her love and is willing to fight her friend: â€Å"Let me come to her† (Act 3, Scene 2). Helena confirms that Hermia is a feisty character when she observes, â€Å"O, when she is angry she is keen and shrewd!/She was a vixen when she went to school./And though she is little, she is fierce† (Act 3, Scene 2). Hermia continues to defend Lysander even when he has told her that he no longer loves her. She is concerned that he and Demetrius will fight, and she says, â€Å"Heavens shield Lysander if they mean a fray† (Act 3, Scene 3). This demonstrates her unerring love for Lysander, which drives the plot forward. All ends happily for Hermia, but we do see aspects of her character that could be her downfall if the narrative were different. Hermia is determined, feisty, and occasionally aggressive, which reminds us that she is Egeus’ daughter, but we admire her steadfastness and faithfulness to Lysander. Headstrong Egeus Egeus father is domineering and overbearing to Hermia. He acts as a foil to the fair and even-handed Theseus. His proposal to bring the full force of the law on his daughter- the penalty of death for disobeying his orders- demonstrates this. â€Å"I beg the ancient privilege of Athens/As she is mine, I may dispose of her- /Which shall be either to this gentleman/Or to her death- according to our law/Immediately provided in that case† (Act 1, Scene 1). He has decided, for his own reasons, that he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius instead of her true love, Lysander. We are unsure of his motivation, as both men are presented as eligible; neither one has more prospects or money than the other, so we can only assume that Egeus simply wants his daughter to obey him so he can have his own way. Hermias happiness appears to be of little consequence to him. Theseus, Duke of Athens, placates Egeus and gives Hermia time to decide. Thus, the problem is resolved as the story unfolds, though this is no real comfort to Egeus. In the end, Hermia gets her way and Egeus has to go along with it; Theseus and the others happily accept the resolution, and Demetrius is no longer interested in his daughter. However, Egeus remains a difficult character, and  the story  ends happily only due to intervention by the fairies. Had they not been involved, its possible that Egeus would have gone ahead and executed his own daughter had she disobeyed him. Fortunately, the story is a comedy, not a tragedy.

HR Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

HR Plan - Research Paper Example The land acquired by the company is located at various locations all over the United States to take advantage of the geographical variation. The product line of Ritz ranges from organic spices to organic detergents. The company also produces cereals, processed foods, pulses, tea, rock salt, sweeteners and medicinal herbs which are all organic in nature. Ritz also hires officers who are highly experienced in field work and know how to deal with farm resources. The company has employee strength of around 500 skilled individuals. Ritz develops its products by efficiently identifying customer needs and then modifies product line accordingly. Maintaining customer satisfaction is an important goal that the company always tries to fulfill (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Ritz operates on the basis of a one person Human Resource (HR) department. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative to strategically design a HR plan that suffices to all the objectives and goals of the company. The design of the HR department must correspond to the various dimensions of the organization i.e. the HR needs to manage all the divisions of the company appropriately and strike a balance between all the divisions (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). An efficient HR plan requires that the various components and functioning areas that are vital for efficient HR management are strategically developed and given equal importance. The process should not be complicated. This would ensure that the organizational objectives are always in sync with the HR policies (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). The various components are given as follows: While designing plan about recruitment and selection of employees, the HR manager must keep in mind the appropriate skills necessary for the available job opportunities at the company. The company can design a recruitment system of its own or use other sources which help the company to identify prospective

Management Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management Seminar - Essay Example SOX ensure accurate financial statements by eliminating unethical acts in organizations hence increasing the public’s confidence in investment. Therefore, employees are required to report any wrongdoing for the organization to be punished by the federal government. The enforcement of the Act actually resulted to decline in financial scandals. However, 2008 financial crisis proved that any regulation is unable to reduce or control risks. Additionally, due to the cunning nature of organizations, the Act has been greatly challenged. A good number of companies have refused to go public in order, not to comply with the SOX Act. SOX are not necessary for companies because it just limits flexibility of financial management despite the stiff global competition. It also raises costs to organizations in the form of monetary expenses associated with SOX compliance. Since companies are more concerned with public image, they need no strict regulation for them to act ethically. They often have internal controls necessary to maintain the required ethical

Effect of Green and Black Teas Essay Example for Free

Effect of Green and Black Teas Essay Determining the efficiency of various types of teas and its components, and the binding of tea with lipoproteins as for prevention of the occurrence of coronary heart diseases, is the primary objective of the study. Based on established scientific researches, one of the components of tea called phenols, are responsible for producing the antioxidant attributes of tea. Further studies prove that both black and green teas have almost the same phenol content. Thus, their antioxidant strength is also the same, as gauged through the use of the phenol antioxidant index (PAOXI). Moreover, the study establishes the idea that a combination of tea catechins and lipoproteins produce stronger antioxidant qualities. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998a) To accomplish the objective of the study, teas that were used for samples were prepared using the same process. These samples were then compared to other types of antioxidants and other beverages with phenolic content. Moreover, the teas were studied in order to find out the threshold for the production of antioxidant properties, and also the binding of antioxidants with lipoproteins. Vinson Dabbagh, 1998a) The results of the study revealed that green tea produces higher antioxidant activity than the black tea, the green tea and black tea were stronger antioxidants than other beverage samples, the PAOXI of both green and black teas do not exhibit significant differences in terms of antioxidant strength, and the lipoprotein binding for both teas remain the same. Moreover, the catechins found in teas were more effective than vit amins C, E and beta-carotene in binding with lipoproteins to complete oxidation. Therefore, teas are more efficient in lowering the risks of coronary heart diseases. Green teas were found to bind efficiently with lipoproteins of high amounts, and on the contrary, black teas were said to bind efficiently with lipoproteins of low amounts. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998a) Secondary Source The discovery of the connection between oxidation and atherogenesis has incited research studies about the effects of antioxidants found in teas to lipoproteins. Moreover, studies conducted on flavonoids, which is one of the components of tea, and its contributory effects to the prevention of the occurrence of coronary heart disease, has led researchers to speculate that catechins that are found in tea might be instrumental in promoting health and wellness due to the antioxidant attributes produced by teas. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998b) This particular research study aims to identify the efficiency of teas as a source of antioxidants as compared to other beverages with the same phenolic content, and the maximum threshold of the production of antioxidant mechanisms in teas. Moreover, research was conducted on the effects of binding antioxidant with lipoproteins to an individual with low antioxidant intake. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998b) The results of the research reveal that catechins that are found in teas are more effective antioxidants as compared to other vitamins that claim to be a good source of antioxidants, such as vitamins E, C and beta-carotene. Moreover, the research also discovered that teas bore the most amount of phenolic content as compared with other beverages that were tested, and that among the tea samples that were tested, green tea bore the most amounts of phenolic content. In addition, antioxidant binding with lipoproteins was most efficient with black teas as compared to other teas, although there was not any significant difference as to the effect when comparing it to the results of other teas. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998b) In conclusion, the research study reaffirmed the fact that teas are a great source of antioxidant and that they are effective in producing high levels of antioxidants that are needed by the human body. Therefore, an individual’s regular intake of tea prevents the onset of lipoprotein oxidation within the body. (Vinson Dabbagh, 1998b) Personal Opinion about the Topic The results of the study has proved the effectiveness of teas as a source of antioxidant, therefore supporting previous studies conducted about the relationship between catechins and phenolic acid that are found in teas and its binding with lipoproteins as instrumental in the lowering of risks caused by coronary heart diseases. If this is the case, then regular intake of green and black teas should be recommended to people who are at risk for coronary heart disease and should be recommended as part of the average person’s diet in order to avoid the occurrence of the said disease. Although plants where tea comes from are widely grown all over the world, and according to the study, tea is the most popular drink in the world, people still do not realize the importance of its content and the regular intake of tea as a protective instrument against coronary heart disease. Moreover, people are not aware that the beverage that they enjoy the most has health benefits that might save them from suffering heart diseases. Promotion and recommendation of teas that are based on research study results and information dissemination might help in encouraging people to drink tea as part of their diet in order to stay fit and healthy. Aside from advertising and promotional activities, the government should support or fund the horticultural industry in order to produce more sources for green and black teas. Not only will the people benefit from this, but the government will also gain profit for the tea industry and agriculture. Moreover, the government should look into the processes of preparing teas. As the research study suggests, that the amount of phenols within the tea leaves, which are said to be the ones responsible for producing antioxidants, are dependent on the weather and climate, age of the tea leaves that will be used, and the horticultural processes that the leaves underwent. Therefore, the government should further look into the processes from which tea leaves are produced. Desirable and specialized horticultural processes should be employed in growing plants in order to ensure the quality of tea leaves that will be grown from it. In order to accomplish this aim, the government should be able to conduct research studies that would prove to be instrumental in the efficient and productive growth of plants. Moreover, with further studies and in depth research, the government should fund the inclusion of teas in the diet of patients in the public health care system, especially those who are suffering from coronary heart diseases, patients who are at risk, and even all the patients in order to keep strong and healthy. However, further studies should be done independently in order to avoid judgments of researches that are tainted by underlying motives such as advertising. In the research study conducted by Vinson Dabbagh, it was funded by the Lipton Tea Company. Since the Lipton Tea Company is a business organization, which produced tea all over the world, I cannot help but think of the politics between business and advertising that is concealed in the research. Most especially because the results of the research promoted the efficiency of green and black teas among other beverages and its importance as a prevention scheme against coronary heart diseases. In order to invalidate speculations that might arise from the influence of Lipton Tea Company and the research, independent studies should be conducted by professionals and scholars alike from different fields related to the issue such as representatives from the health care industry, agriculture, government, universities, and scientists alike.

Eastman Kodak analysis Essay -- essays research papers

At your request, I have compiled information on Eastman Kodak Co., so that you may come to an investment decision. The report will consider the company’s background (including Kodak’s areas of production), a past obstacle Kodak has had to face and overcome, and a financial snapshot of Kodak over the past five years. BACKGROUND Originally founded in 1880 by George Eastman, the Eastman Kodak company now stands as a leader in the infoimaging industry. Infoimaging is a $385 billion industry that consists of using traditional and digital film to allow people to capture and deliver images through cameras, computers, and the media. Currently under the direction of Chairman and CEO Daniel A. Carp, Eastman Kodak is divided into three major areas of production. 1. Kodak’s Digital and Film Imaging Systems section produces digital and traditional film cameras for consumers, professional photographers, and the entertainment industry. This segment accounts for 69% of revenues earned by Kodak in 2003. 2. Health Imaging caters to the health care market by creating health imaging products such as medical films, chemicals, and processing equipment. Health Imaging also places emphasis on radiology for dental, mammography, and oncology markets. Health Imaging accounts for 18% of revenues earned by Kodak in 2003. 3. The Commercial Imaging group produces aerial, industrial, graphic, and micrographic films, inkjet printers, scanners, and digital printing equipment to target commercial and ...