Satirical techniques in Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down an Example of the Topic Literature Essays by

Satirical techniques in Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down The phrase Yellow Back refers to the culture of different fiction novels that created the myth of the Old West at the end of the nineteenth century. Although some people describe old west as just a state of mind, "one had to describe in one word the books that transformed not only series publishing but all publishing in the last half of the nineteenth century, it would be yellow-back'". (Harry Rusche). Radio is the culture that followed that era and after so many years, it became the TV culture; then cable TV; then MTV and now, the latest technology of cyberspace. Broke-down is a phrasal verb that means to stop functioning. However, in this paper, the terms are different in some ways. Radio "refers to the novel's oral, discontinuous form". (Carl Brucker). The term broke-down' means, "dismantling". Thus, the title of the novel means, "dismantling of a genre done in an oral way like radio". (Carl Brucker). "Yellow Back Radio" can also be read as symbolic of a media broadcasting traditi onal American values of capitalism and monotheism back in the 60's. That is how author Ishmael Reed defines it. Need essay sample on "Satirical techniques in Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Undergraduates Very Often Tell Us: I've procrastinated to write my film essays essay way too much today & I still don't wanna write it EssayLab professionals propose: Get Your Essay Before The Deadline How To Write A Term PaperHow To Write A 5 Paragraph EssayCheap EssaysPay For PapersCollege Papers For SalePay For EssayEssays For SaleBuy Essay Before proceeding to this paper's main theme, brief information on Reed is a must. Born 1938 in Tennessee, a state in the southern part of the USA, Ishmael Reed grew up in middle class neighborhoods in Buffalo, New York-the working class people. He attended the University of Buffalo. When Reed moved to New York City, he co-founded an underground newspaper called' East Village Other' in 1965. It achieved a national reputation. Also in 1965, he organized the American Festival of Negro Art. A novelist, poet, and essayist, a songwriter, television producer, publisher, magazine editor, playwright, and founder of the Before Columbus Foundation and There City Cinema, among his many hats, Reed has been a lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley. He now lives in Oakland, California. The purposes of this book review are, one: to find the political or social message in the text. Two: to see the larger `truth` being satirized. Three: the use of incongruity throughout the novel's powe r relationships between the Loop Garoo Kid and Drag. And four: the writers view for and against the novel's critical message. Above and beyond that, this novel will also define words like: satirical, incongruity, vodoun, hoodooism and houngan to name a few. In the novel "Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down", the study of it involves incongruity. In this novel, the term incongruity refers to the act of being inappropriate and unsuitable. For example, in the 60's, America still has not embraced the concept of accepting black people as part of their citizens. It was a time of transition for politics and new beliefs. It was "incongruent" at that time in a positive way because Reed was thinking ahead of his time. He saw that one day there would not only be equality among races in the USA but also a peaceful transfer of power from one white leader into another black leader as the case of today that there are now people-of-color policing different states across America. In Reed's time of writing this novel, there was already black cowboys way before his time. The old west was in fact, a history of two races-black and white people. According to history, "in 1513 thirty Africans with Balboa hacked their way through the lush vegetation of Panama and rea ched the Pacific. His men paused to build the first large European ships on the Pacific coast. Africans were with Ponce de Leon when he reached Florida" (William Katz). William Loren Katz stated that the explorers used Africans as interpreters in trading and exploratory ventures. This was first the idea of Portuguese conquistadors in the fifteenth century. Prince Henry actually ordered in 1435 that interpreters be used on all voyages to stabilize peace upon docking. Portuguese ships even brought Africans to Lisbon where they would be taught the language that could be used to interpret on subsequent voyages to Africa. As for the novel, it is filled with religious conflict on every page one will leaf through. The main character of the story is The Loop Garoo Kid-an African-American cowboy and Neohoodoo Houngan. Loop Garoo struggles to combat his nemesis in the person of Drag. Drag Gibson is an influential landowner who believes in Judeo-Christian Values. The United States, in all over the world, is the only country that defines itself as such. Judeo Christian, by the way is, "a belief in the biblical sense of Israel, in God's Ten Commandments and His biblical moral laws. It is a belief in universal, not relative, morality. It is a belief that America must answer morally to this God, not to the mortal, usually venal, governments of the world". (Dennis Prager). This means, in layman's terms, that it is a monotheistic religion that believes in God and corruption. In more words than usual, this novel by Ishmael Reed is more political than storytelling. Another character in the novel is Chief Showcase. Based on the story, he is the last surviving Native-American in the Yellow Back region. When Drag slaughtered all of Chief's people, the latter began writing prose against the sovereign of Drag in the town. This signifies the changes in USA when the white people eradicated the Native American tribes. Countless battles have been fought to relocate the Indians' into reservation camps. The 3 major characters showed most of the satirical humor of Reed. One, Drag killed a total of 7 wives in the entirety of the novel. This symbolizes failed marriages and divorce with failing amicable settlement on both parties. Two, the country's government's greed to take over lands that were once owned by capitalists is present in Chief Showcase's character of flying between two sides-landowners and the country's bureaucracy. The novel's minor characters also displayed satiric humor. Moustache Sal is the nymphomaniac mail-order bride of Drag. She does not have any racial discrimination at all in her persona. She even consorted with Loop Garoo and Chief. This signifies adultery and the trend of WASP's to order strangers from another country and marry them. Another character is Zozo Labrique. She is a Mambo. A Mambo is the female version of a Houngan. Killed by Drag's men, she reappeared as Loa-a spirit that guided Loop Garoo when summoned. This type of ritual signifies the idea that in Voduan, we are capable of calling forth the spirits that can gu ide us. Another character that best typifies human folly in the history of America is Pope Innocent. The Pope was just a very minor detail in the novel but the fact that he was invited by Drag meant that it is an epitome of how the Catholic Church suppressed the weaker cultures. The novel tells us how every now and then the Catholic Church will fight an insurgent small group. The next minor character is Reverend Boyd: the minister of a minor religion-Protestantism. This character satirizes the fact that church leaders have more skeletons in the closet than ordinary citizens. An example of this is the minister's resorting to drinking. It was very subtle of Reed to only state the drinking problem. In today's global news, leaders of religious sects have sex scandals already. The last minor character worth remembering in the novel is Field Marshall Theda Doompussy Blackwell. Upon reading the novel, one will have a vision that Blackwell is homosexual. Viewed as weak, and petulant, he is a symbol of the corrupt laws of the government in the early years of USA at the height of the Yellow back era. Poking fun at the image that men in uniform are often tough and rough, Reed made sure that this arm of the law is a non-conformist of the norms in his own right. The hidden truth in this novel is not a one item-one sentence description. There is the Loop Garoo who fights for his own beliefs; there is Drag Gibson who is the bully representative of the upper white class; there is Chief who, like a turncoat, flies between the eagle and the dove. Racial conflict is very much paramount in the novel too. The focus of the novel was the conflict between Loop Garoo and Drag Gibson: ebony versus ivory. Religious conflict: Neohoodooism against Judeo-Christianity. In the end, when Drag died because of Yellow Back's steel jawed hogs, it could well mean that the fatty foods of rich people with tender love for meat and heavy meals might kill them or it could mean another thing like broken promises of white leaders. In truth, the novel is one-sided it is old and was published back in the 60's. Leaders today, whether black or white, have failed promises as well. This novel could be a symbol of post war America but it does not speak of the American people's vo ice anymore than it used to do. The good: amazing description on symbolism; good choice of words; tremendous plot and uniquely named characters. The bad: quite outdated. This novel however, will always be a good read for satire and symbolism lovers. Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down makes fun of the Americans' eagerness to suspend civil rights in response to student protests of the Vietnam War. The novel is a talking novel because it has more dialogues than scenes and plots and is narrated by Loop Garoo-the post-war hero who brought new ideas and different concepts. Works Cited Brucker, Carl. "Ishmael Reed: Reedwritin' is a Contextual Query". 1987. June 23,2008 http://daphne.palomar.edu/rlatas/ho/100/reedwrittin.htm . Emick, Jennifer "Alternative Religions". 2008. June 22,2008 Gover, Robert. "Neohoodooism". JSTOR. June 23, 2008 http://www.jstor.org/pss/3041491 Katz, William. "The Black West". October 2005. June 23, 2008 http://www.randomhouse.com/broadway/blackink/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780767912310 Prager, Dennis. "What does Judeo-Christian mean? The Uniqueness of America". March 30,2004. June 23, 2008 http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0304/prager_2004_03_30_04.php3 Reed, Ishmael. "Yellow Back Radio broke down". 1969. Novel. Rusche, Harry. "Women's Genre Fiction Project: The yellow-back novel". June 23, 2008 http://womenwriters.library.emory.edu/genrefiction/doc-tgfwfw-hr_yellowbacks . Vodoun Culture. Vodoun official website. June 23, 2008http://www.geocities.com/athens/Delphi/5319/whatis.htm

Cellulose and Hemicellulose Essays

Cellulose and Hemicellulose Essays Cellulose and Hemicellulose Paper Cellulose and Hemicellulose Paper When A.niger has been starved for 6 hours, CreA repression is alleviated and it releases a subset of scouting enzymes to find a carbon source to breakdown [2]. From six to nine hours, the scouting enzymes (or degradative enzymes) look out for complex polysaccharides which will release inducing sugars (such as xylose). The release of xylose triggers a subsequent induction of hydrolases by XInR and from nine hours plus, degradation of complex polysaccharides takes place. Other bacterial and fungal models suggest that the induction of these enzymes is from a basal level of expression of degradative enzymes[16]. Transcriptional changes are seen in A.niger in association with growth on wheat straw compared to growth on simple sugars (e.g. glucose). With growth on wheat straw, it was observed that levels of free glucose increased indicating that degradation had begun on wheat straw polysaccharide. In addition, increases in xylose levels and arabinose in comparison to increase in glucose showed that hemicellulose degradation is the primary activity of A.niger at this point [2]. Degradation of Cellulose and Hemicellulose  The plant cell wall is composed of polysaccharides; cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin (in order of abundance) [17] and lignin.  The most famous and abundant polysaccharide is cellulose or ÃŽ ²-1,4-glucan, in both primary and secondary cell walls. The cellulose content in cell walls vary but can be up to 45% in particular primary cell walls[17]. It is a linear polymer made up ÃŽ ²-1,4-linked D-glucose residues, existing in four polymorphic crystalline forms and is closely linked to xylan (a hemicellulose). In the cell wall, monomers are ordered to become fibres to give rigidity to the cell wall. Additionally, there are two types of cellulose; the native type and regenerative type[18]. To breakdown cellulose through Trichoderma and Aspergillus species, three main classes of enzymes are involved: endoglucanases (EG), cellobiohydrolases (CBH) and ÃŽ ²-glucosidases (ÃŽ ²-GD). EG hydrolyses cellulose to glucooligosaccharides followed by CBH degrading crystalline cellulose to produce cellobiose. Finally, ÃŽ ²-glucosidase degrade the oligosaccharides to glucose[19]. However, as a results of different enzyme studies, exoglucanases have been seen to release glucose from cellulose and glucooligosaccharides however, it is not a clear distinction from the role of cellobiohydrolases[20]. Lastly, expression of cellulolytic genes in Aspergilli is observed in the presence of various monomeric and polymeric carbon sources. Hemicelluloses are heterogeneous polysaccharides. They are used as a flexible cell wall support for plants and are able to bond to cellulose microfibrils through hydrogen bonding[13, 21]. However, the composition of this polysaccharide is different between plants and between species. There are many types of hemicelluloses but predominant types are xylan (in cereals) and xyloglucan (in onions). Xylan is a polymer consisting of a ÃŽ ²-1,4-linked D-xylose backbone and a side group. In wheat straw, the side group to the xylose backbone are D-glucopyranosyluronic acid at position 2 and L-arabinofuranosyl and D-xylopyranosyl groups linked at position 3 on the backbone[22]. To degrade the xylan backbone, endoxylanses are used to cleave the backbone down to oligosaccharides and further degradation by ÃŽ ²-xylosidases produces xylose [20]. For the degradation of xyloglucan, EGs and ÃŽ ²-GD are used. Finally, pectins are a group of heteropolysaccharies. The backbone of pectin is compost of ÃŽ ±-1,4-linked D-galacturonic acid residues[20].  A non-polysaccharide component of the cell walls is lignin. In trees, lignin’s role in the cell wall is to support xylem cell and is covalently link to hemicellulose [23, 24]. However, in terms of advanced biofuel production, one of the key issues with the breakdown of wheat straw is lignin as it cannot be hydrolysed and monolignals are not involved to bioethanol production. Consequently, pre-treatment is a crucial step to allow access to cellulose and hemi-cellulose[25] which can be thermal, chemical or fungal. A chemical pre-treatment is to degrade lignin in wheat straw, is using a mixture of acetic acid–nitric acid or using white rot fungi [26, 27]. An aim for future biofuels is to reduce the amount of pre-treatments required since stronger pre-treatments reduce the availability of polysaccharides. Cellobiohydrolase (CBH) A and B are involved in the breakdown of ÃŽ ²-1,4-glucan down to glucose, particularly the breakdown of the crystalline cellulose. These two enzymes are encoded by the genes cbhA and cbhB respectively and belong to the fungal family CBH 7. The modular structure of cbhB contains a cellulose binding domain or carbohydrate binding module (CBM) domain which is linked to a catalytic domain by a Pro/Ser/Thr-rich linker peptide but cbhA has just the catalytic domain[28]. The modular structure of CbhB can be seen across a number of species and in T.reesei, over half of the protein secreted is cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) which has the exact same structure is seen cbhB[11]. It must be noted that the lack of a CBD in cbhA only affects its cellulase activities with insoluble cellulose but not with other soluble substrates[29]. The regulation of many cellulases is at the transcriptional level. Transcriptional repression of these genes can be seen in T.reesei in the presence of glucose by CreA whereas transcriptional activation is induced by XInR[30]. Furthermore, the expression of cbhA and cbhB are activated by XInR, xylanolytic transcriptional activator in the presence of D-xylose.[28]  Carbohydrate-Binding Module (CBM) Domain  The CBM domain catalyses the inefficient attack on glycosidic bonds of polysaccharides by GHs[31]. Glycosidic bonds do not always fit in the active site of GHs therefore to overcome this, many GHS use catalytic and non-catalytic CBMs to promote their association with their substrate.  CBMs are mainly involved in to the hydrolysis of plant structure polysaccharides such as cellulose and hemicellulose. They also contain protein domains within a carbohydrate-active enzyme which is separate from a catalytic domain with carbohydrate binding activity[32]. A.niger has a subtype of CBM called the starch binding domain (SBD) which is found at the many amylolytic enzymes. The CBM domain was previously defined as cellulose binding domain (CBD) because initial studies on these domains found these modules bound to cellulose [33, 34]. However, it can now be seen that modules appear to be bound to other carbohydrates. CBDs, in particular in T.reesei, are essential in cellulases performing the beginning steps of cellulose degradation as most of the substrate is still insoluble. However, not all cellobiohydrolase contain a CBD, such as cbhA in A.niger [28, 35]. Expression of Xylanolytic Enzymes Xylanolytic enzymes breakdown xylan into xylose and are produced on xylose (monosaccharide), xylan (polysaccharide) or substrates containing these sugars[20]. However, xylanolytic enzymes are not induced by other monomeric or polymeric substrates such as glucose and cellulose. Some are cellulases are induced by xylose suggesting the presence of xylose may activate transcription genes encoding cellulases[28]. There is a separate regulatory control of synthesis of cellulases and beta-xylanases. In certain species such as A.terreus, xylanolytic enzyme, ÃŽ ²-xylanase was induced by cellobiose and cellulose (which are structurally related to xylobiose and xylan) as well as a heterodissachride of glucose and xylose[36] [37]. Studies of the genes encoding xylanolytic enzymes (from A.niger and A.tubingensis) have shown that these enzymes are expressed in the presence of D-xylose, xylobiose, or xylan by XInR (transcriptional activator) however, when xylose concentration is too high or glucose is present, thee genes are repressed by CreA(catabolite repressor protein)[38-40].

The Golden Age of Piracy 1700-1725

The Golden Age of Piracy 1700-1725 Piracy, or thievery on the high seas, is a problem that has popped up on several different occasions in history, including the present. Certain conditions must be met for piracy to thrive, and these conditions were never more evident than during the so-called Golden Age of Piracy, which lasted roughly from 1700 to 1725. This era produced many of the most famous pirates of all time, including Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, Edward Low and Henry Avery. Conditions for Piracy to Thrive Conditions have to be just right for piracy to boom. First, there must be many able-bodied young men (preferably sailors) out of work and desperate to make a living. There must be shipping and commerce lanes nearby, full of ships that carry either wealthy passengers or valuable cargo. There must be little or no law or government control. The pirates must have access to weapons and ships. If these conditions are met, as they were in 1700 (and as they are in present-day Somalia), piracy may become common. Pirate or Privateer? A privateer is a ship or individual who is licensed by a government to attack enemy towns or shipping during times of war as a private enterprise. Perhaps the most famous privateer was Sir Henry Morgan, who was given a royal license to attack Spanish interests in the 1660s and 1670s. There was a great need for privateers from 1701 to 1713 during the War of Spanish Succession when Holland and Britain were at war with Spain and France. After the war, privateering commissions were no longer given out and hundreds of experienced sea rogues were suddenly put out of work. Many of these men turned to piracy as a way of life. Merchant and Navy Ships Sailors in the 18th century had a choice: they could join the navy, work on a merchant ship, or become a pirate or privateer. Conditions on board the naval and merchant vessels were abominable. The men were routinely underpaid or even cheated of their wages completely, the officers were strict and harsh, and the ships were often filthy or unsafe. Many served against their will. Navy press gangs roamed the streets when sailors were needed, beating able-bodied men into unconsciousness and putting them on board a ship until it sailed. Comparatively, life on board a pirate ship was more democratic and often more profitable. Pirates were extremely diligent about sharing the loot fairly, and although punishments could be severe, they were rarely needless or capricious. Perhaps Black Bart Roberts said it best, In an honest service there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labor; in this, plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power; and who would not balance creditor on this side, when all the hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a sour look or two at choking. No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto. (Johnson, 244) (Translation: In honest work, the food is bad, the wages are low and the work is hard. In piracy, there is plenty of loot, its fun and easy and we are free and powerful. Who, when presented with this choice, would not choose piracy? The worst that can happen is you can be hanged. No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto.) Safe Havens for Pirates For pirates to prosper there must be a safe haven where they can go to restock, sell their loot, repair their ships and recruit more men. In the early 1700s, the British Caribbean was just such a place. Towns like Port Royal and Nassau thrived as pirates brought in stolen goods to sell. There was no royal presence, in the form of governors or Royal Navy ships in the area. The pirates, possessed of weapons and men, essentially ruled the towns. Even on those occasions when the towns were off-limits to them, there are enough secluded bays and harbors in the Caribbean that finding a pirate who did not want to be found was nearly impossible. The End of the Golden Age Around 1717 or so, England decided to put an end to the pirate plague. More Royal Navy ships were sent and pirate hunters commissioned. Woodes Rogers, a tough former privateer, was made governor of Jamaica. The most effective weapon, however, was the pardon. A royal pardon was offered for pirates who wanted out of the life, and many pirates took it. Some, like Benjamin Hornigold, stayed legit, while others who took the pardon, like Blackbeard or Charles Vane, soon returned to piracy. Although piracy would continue, it was not nearly as bad a problem by 1725 or so. Sources: Cawthorne, Nigel. A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas. Edison: Chartwell Books, 2005.Cordingly, David. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996Defoe, Daniel (Captain Charles Johnson). A General History of the Pyrates. Edited by Manuel Schonhorn. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1972/1999.Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: The Lyons Press, 2009Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Mariner Books, 2008.

Unit 9 Project Social Problems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unit 9 Project Social Problems - Research Paper Example ‎ Causes of domestic violence may be many which include the high consumption of alcohol by the partner or some sort of mental illness. Since family violence is not limited to just physical or oral harassment, it may also consist acts such as unlawful imprisonment, stalking, endangerment etc. Family violence is illegal and can be claimed under the different acts imposed by laws. According to the government, family violence is applicable despite the race, religion, culture or sexual differences. It simply defines the acts under which one partner holds power and control over the other forcefully. There are many types of family violence and the ones that exceed a certain limit may go to the court under special orders (Wilson, 2005). The family violence is a social problem that may directly relate to two members of the family, one who is performing the violence and the other who is undergoing the violence. There may be more than two members of the family who are undergoing the violence, but generally there may be only two. Most of the cases show that family violence is done by the husband onto the wife, and sometimes the children. Women have long been the victims of family violence. However, there may also be violence against men yet rare. The perspective of the partner perpetrating the violent acts may be many, but may not be justified. There are many theories that explain the cause of family violence. Some of the general characteristics of the perpetrator that are recorded may be the psychological theories, the mental or the social theories. These theories may include the theories in a wide range like the external factors influencing the perpetrator as well. Psychological reasons explain the person’s state of mind or behaviors such as sudden burst of anger, poor self-esteem and many other factors. Jealousy also causes anger and uncontrollable urge of taking violent actions. Jealousy often develops

Lesson 14 discussions and assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson 14 discussions and assignment - Coursework Example Rock ‘n’ roll transformed teenagers into a marketing concept. On 13th October 1958, pop singer Jo Stafford commented that â€Å"Rock ‘n’ roll is an economic thing† (History-of-rock.com, n.d.). Teenagers were considered as the first generation to become a sufficient market for rock ‘n’ roll because they were given enough money by their parents to buy music in large quantities that can influence the music market. Rock ‘n’ roll music got the attention of youth since 1952. The economy had allowed them to owned radios and televisions. Because ‘n’ and roll was becoming popular, radios and televisions played it regularly (History-of-rock.com, n.d). The music was easy to dance to, appealing mainly to teenagers who saw fun in dancing. The music was therefore played for dance in the inner-city, especially black schools, and parties for white schools. The income channeled to music in 1950s also benefited the increasing range of advertisers targeting teenagers (Campbell and Brody, 1999). Teen-oriented radio stations and television programmes (e.g. American Bandstand) were also developed to meet the increasing teenage demand for rock ‘n’ roll music. Teenagers also purchased rock ‘n’ roll music records as a way of rebelling against adults in order to assert their generational identity. In the subsequent decades, the strategies for marketing rock music changed as technologies and recording studios became an avenue for marketing music in 1960s and 1970s (Campbell and Brody, 1999). New generation record producers such as Smokey Robinson and Brian Wilson had a commercial challenge to widen the concept of music beyond rock ‘n’ roll, and to target a wider sphere of teenage

Culture Clashes in Daisy Miller Essay Example for Free

Culture Clashes in Daisy Miller Essay Throughout the world people have differing ideas on what is good and bad based on whatever culture one visits one is sure to find major differences. In the period that this story takes place the US is trying to find its own identity and establish their own traditions. In the Europeans perspectives the Americans were deviant people because their culture was out of the norm. Winterbourne is stunned and intrigued immediately once he meets Daisy. He growing up with a more European lifestyle finds Daisy’s flirtatious and outgoing attitude very abnormal yet refreshing. Many of the older women in society, especially his mother, find her to be cheap and very unlady like due to her lack of classy behavior compared their idea of a proper high society woman should behave like. The book Daisy Miller, illustrates the American lifestyle, compared to the proper etiquette of European social standards. The novel Daisy Miller is the story of a girl who is on vacation with her mother and little brother. Along the way she meets Winterbourne and whom he immediately notices that she is different than other girls he has met in the past. She gives off an aura of wanting to become independent and a free spirit. Which all of the other women look down upon because they find it very trashy and very improper, especially for someone of such a high status also. Daisy’s family is of high society and normally girls like Daisy are quiet and respectful, never is it heard of to approach a man to which she is not acquainted with. Therefore, the idea that Daisy is flirtatious and so headstrong and direct with Winterbourne is just shocking to everyone who hears of her. She makes a great impact on those around her and unfortunately most do not like her because she is different and American. Henry James was born in New York on April 15, 1843 and died February 28, 1916 of edema following a series of strokes in London( â€Å"Henry James† par 1). He was the son of Henry, a minister, and Mary (â€Å"Henry James† par 1). He immigrated to England in 1910 and was naturalized in 1915(â€Å"Henry James† par 1). Since he was born in the US he had a similar outlook on perhaps what he wrote about. He moved to London for the latter part of his life, which caused him to see the extreme difference in the European perspective. This is what the novel Daisy Miller is all about. The differences and the controversy that occurs when two different cultures clash together. James had a very successful career that always involved writing. He was a well-known literary critic and novelist. He was a writer for Nation and art critic for The Atlantic in 1866-1869(â€Å" Henry James par 2). He was a writer for the New York Tribune while living in Paris for a year. Surprisingly though he was also a volunteer among the displaced and wounded during World War I (â€Å" Henry James par 2). He received many prestigious awards throughout his life including the Order of Merit in 1915 and he was commemorated with the James memorial stone (â€Å" Henry James par 4). Henry James lived from 1843 to 1916, which is around the same time that he set the period in the novel Daisy Miller. James lived the majority of his life in the US and was raised with the American culture. For the latter years of his life he moved to London were most people were still living in an old-fashioned setting as opposed to Americans who were exploring and expanding from the European way. James having experienced life in both areas causes him to not give quite a clear suggestion on which culture he prefers, â€Å" In late Victorian eyes, Daisy was likely to be either wholly innocent or guilty; James, either all for her or against her†( Ohmann par 1). Due to this the reader is never told which culture James ends up supporting, â€Å" James began writing with one attitude towards his heroine and concluded with a second and different attitude toward her(Ohmann par 1). In the novel Daisy is often regarded as an outsider or an unwelcome intruder in society. Her outgoing and free spirit causes people, specifically Europeans, to look down on her because her behavior does not conform with the norms of that particular society. She stands out but at the same time she does not really care that people are talking about her and looking down on her with distaste. She puts it in the back of her mind and just tells her self that she will do whatever she wants and she will not let anybody tell her that she is not able to. She does not let the fact that she is a woman restrain her from achieving what she wants. Yet at the same time she maintains her dignity and pride while still acting like a woman to a certain extent. She balances the fine line through the book of the quiet proper woman and the wild American. She maintains the free spirit of an American girl, but traditionally she is still a woman who has escorts and fine extravagant dinner parties for young high society people. She revolutionizes the idea that it would be alright to loosen up on occasion, â€Å" her conduct is without blemish, according to the rural American standard, and she knows no other†(Howells par 2). However in the perspective of other people they regard her as a nuisance and someone who is a threat to society because she could soil and corrupt the minds of their young daughters: â€Å" Daisy exemplifies those young girls who have fine social gifts to be sure but whose cleverness is too much for them and if allowed any influence their folly runs away with them, like horses with the bits between their teeth†(Montiero par 4). She stands out and people around her do not appreciate her trying to be different because they do not want to accept change or different cultures. They are all used to the regular routine and tradition that the generations before them have set up and carried out for hundreds of years before them. They expected to continue with tradition for hundreds until they saw things were changing and were scared to approach it so they tried to shut it out. The novel Daisy Miller represents a major problem that is still controversial to this day. Still in the world cultures clash and people are sometimes offended at others. However no one can be blamed because its all about the society’s norms and values. Every society is different and what may be important not one may not necessarily be as important to some one else. Many cultures differ but fortunately they find a common ground to agree upon on the basic rules of society. They may not agree completely but they are willing to acknowledge that its true. Works cited Deakin, Motley F. â€Å"Daisy Miller, Tradition, and the European Heroine. † Comparative Literature Studies. 6. 1(Mar. 1969): 45-59 Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale. Farragut High School. 26 oct. 2009 http://go. galegroup. com â€Å"Henry James. † Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Farragut High. 22 Oct. 2009 http://go. galegroup. com Howells, William Dean. â€Å" Defense of Daisy Miller. † Discovery of a Genius: William Dean Howells and Henry James. Ed. Albert Mordell Twayne Publishers, 1961. 88-91. Rpt in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 8. Detroit: gale Research, 1991. 88-91. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Farragut High School. 26 Oct. 2009 James, Henry. Daisy Miller. New York: Penguin Books,1995. Monteiro, George. â€Å"What’s in a Name? James’ Daisy Miller. † American Literary Realism. 39. 3 (Spring 2007): p. 252. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Farragut High School. 25 Oct. 2009 http:// go. galegroup. com Ohmann, Carol. â€Å" Daisy Miller: A study of Changing Intentions. † American Literature. 36. 1 (Mar. 1964):1-11 Rpt in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 32. Detroit: gale Group, 1999. 1-11. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Farragut High School. 22 Oct. 2009 http://go. galegroup. com Wardley,Lynn. â€Å"Reassembling Daisy Miller. † American Literary History. 3. 2(Summer 1991):232-254. Rpt in Short Story Criticism. Ed Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 32. Detroit: Gale Group,1999. 232-254. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Farragut High School. 23 Oct. 2009

Human Cloning is Wrong :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Human Cloning is Wrong I bet many of you have seen Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Multiplicity, or many of the other movies that describe cloning. Most of what you see in these movies is false. What you don't know if that cloning could be dangerous, to the clone and to our society as a whole. It's unethical to have a human clone. What about identity? Humans are guaranteed the right to their own personality. What would happen if we overrode those rights by giving them someone else's genetic identity? True, personality is not bounded in someone's genes, but the clone would share any physical appearance or genetic defect of the cloned. Also, there is a large power struggle here. Cloning involves a degree of power and control over another person's physical identity and that violates their rights and degrades their unique individuality. The person doing the cloning would have more power than any parent would have. Cloning would also deal with killing embryos. You might not have known, but Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996, was one of over 200 sheep embryos and hers was the only embryo that survived. The rest died or were thrown away. Imagine if the failure rate was that high when we started to clone humans. More than 200 embryos, the start of 200 human beings, would die for the sake of just one embryo that would have the same DNA as some one else. Cloning someone, at this present time, would be extremely dangerous to the birth mother and the clone. In studies done on cows, 4 out of 12 birth mothers died. There is also a very high abnormality rate for the clone. There is a very high failure rate, which is showed in the cloning of Dolly.

Mandatory Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients Essay

Thesis Statement Overall, mandatory drug testing initiatives have noble intentions such as: providing medical care to the abuser, preventing lifelong dependency, and saving taxpayer dollars, however, states should choose to not implement the intrusive testing because it is unconstitutional, costly, and ultimately detrimental to the child, not the parents. Through this presentation you will.. †¢ Learn about how widespread welfare usage is, and the history behind welfare reform. †¢ Understand why some legislators advocate for mandatory drug testing †¢ Look at the facts and realize that it is not only unconstitutional but also not an efficient means of spending allocated funds. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. Reasons Why Supporters Believe in Mandatory Drug Testing Overall good of youth dependents Zero tolerance policy Some buy drugs with welfare Tax payers have a right to know That their funds are spent well employed people must take drug tests Overall well being of invidual All reasoning lead to their overall stance, pro-testing. Reasons Why They Don’t Believe in Mandatory Drug Testing th amemmendment) Unconstiutional (4 Cost Prohibitative Embarassing and untimely Potential false positives or false negatives This is why CPS etc. exists Kid gets punished; not the adult All reasoning lead to their overall stance, against testing. Florida Welfare Drug Testing Graphic- DO THE MATH. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. Conclusion Mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients is unconstitutional, because no just-cause to search and seize. We must trust that although it isn’t constitutional or affordable to drug test all people, other agencies are other there to protect the children, if abuse or neglect is occurring Correlation does not imply causation. Work Cited Amundson, Kalynn, Anna M. Zajicek, and Valerie H. Hunt. â€Å"Pathologies Of The Poor: What Do The War On Drugs And Welfare Reform Have In Common?.† Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare 41.1 (2014): 5-28. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 May 2014 Gupta, Vanita. â€Å"Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested For Drugs?.† U.S. News Digital Weekly 3.46 (2011): 14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014. Lyle, Lindsey. â€Å"Florida’s Legislation Mandating Suspicionless Drug Testing Of TANF Beneficiaries: The Constitutionality And Efficacy Of Implementing Drug Testing Requirements On The Welfare Population.† Tennessee Journal Of Law & Policy 8.(2012): 68-85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014. Work Cited Rhodes, Tim, Sarah Bernays, and Kathrin Houmoller. â€Å"Parents Who Use Drugs: Accounting for Damage and Its Limitation.† Social Science & Medicine 71.8 (2010): 1489-497. Web. 6 May 2014. Vitter, David. â€Å"Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested For Drugs?.† U.S. News Digital Weekly 3.46 (2011): 14. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 May 2014. Vitter, David. â€Å"Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested For Drugs?.† U.S. News Digital Weekly 3.46 (2011): 14. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 May 2014. Wurman, Ilan. â€Å"Drug Testing Welfare Recipients As A Constitutional Condition.† Stanford Law Review 65.5 (2013): 1153-1193. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014.

Issues in Scottish Curriculum Design Essay

The way that any curricula is broken up into is two main ways; one being the curriculum in action, where the aims, content and experiences of the curriculum on paper are implemented in practice. The other is the curriculum on paper which is the ideology of what should be implemented in education across the board. The ideology in curriculum can be split up into four main categories. Most papers on this topic, agree to an extent what the four ideologies constitute of, but Schiro’s (2008) ideologies are the most commonly known. The ‘Scholar Academic’, the ‘Social Efficiency’, the ‘Learner Centred’ and the ‘Social Reconstruction’ ideologies are the four main categories explained in the Curriculum Theory that will be discussed in this paper in relation to The Curriculum for Excellence, the current curriculum in Scotland. The oldest of the four ideologies is the Scholar Academic ideology which focuses on the accumulation of knowled ge and understanding. The aim of this ideology is to pass on the knowledge of certain disciplines (subject areas), to allow there to be future scholars in that particular area and therefore, further develop understanding. The academic disciplines are the result of the culture’s compiled knowledge and understanding of each area, and with this in mind, the purpose of education is to assist pupils to learn this knowledge. The next ideology is Social Efficiency. This is pretty dominant in our curriculum today and means to prepare the learner for becoming an efficient and contributing member in society. The learner’s objective is to learn certain skills that will in turn achieve certain objectives that benefit society (Lorrie A. 2000). The individual will learn a mixture of knowledge and skills that can be put together, therefore making the skills more efficient and more beneficial to society. The learner centred ideology focuses more on the needs and interests of the individual rather than the c ontent they are to learn. The idea behind this theory is that learning will take place due to the interactions between the individual and their environment, therefore being more down to the experiences rather than the content. The newest of these ideologies is Social Reconstruction. This is where the social reconstructionists are aware of the problems in society and see the job of the educator to correct these problems in the classroom, hoping that it will reconstruct their society as it is (Groenke, S. 2009). The focus of the curriculum would not be based on knowledge but more of values and opinions that would benefit the society and make it attain the greatest satisfaction of its members. In ‘Building the Curriculum 3: A framework for learning and teaching’ it has examples of all four of the classifications of the curriculum ideology provided by Schiro (2008). It has examples of Academic ideology as it discusses the importance of knowledge and the ability and opportunity to increase the depth of knowledge already acquired as it states â€Å"Throughout a young person’s learning there will be increasing specialisation and greater depth, which will lead to subjects increasingly being the principal means of structuring learning and delivering outcomes.† (page 20, Building the Curriculum 3). From this quote we can relate the academic ideology through the concentration on developing knowledge further to specialisation in certain subjects, therefore being able to pass on the knowledge and allow it to grow from there. There are many examples of ‘The Social Efficiency Ideology’ in the paper as it focuses on health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes where the individual’s get the opportunity to gain skills that benefit the individual in life and work, but also the community around them. This is to help them become effective contributors in society: †¦support all children and young people in developing skills which they will use throughout their life and in their work, including the development of pre-vocational, enterprise and employability skills, personal skills, high levels of cognitive skills and the opportunity to put learning into a practical context. (page 15, Building the Curriculum 3) This example shows that the curriculum is aiming to encourage the learning of certain skills that will improve chances of employability and life skills that will help the young people settle into society and be able to play their part within it. The Curriculum for Excellence sees itself as being centred on the learner, and their individual needs. There are plenty examples throughout the paper of this ideology where the child is involved in what they are learning and setting themselves goals to achieve and having choice in what they learn within the curriculum, â€Å"All children and young people should experience personalisation and choice within their curriculum, including identifying and planning for opportunities for personal achievement in a range of different contexts† (page 17, Building the Curriculum 3). This quote shows that the idea of the curriculum is to give young people freedom to make their own decisions in what they are learning and at their own level. There are four capacities that make up the purpose of the curriculum that are described in this paper. ‘Successful learners’, ‘confident individuals’, ‘responsible citizens’ and ‘effective contributors’, are the capacities that the curriculum aims to enable young people to become. ‘Responsible citizens’ is a good example of The Social Reconstructive ideology as it explains how they will learn respect and about different cultures and how to behave responsibly within the community in all aspects (political, cultural or otherwise). As Building the curriculum states: †¦able to develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it, understand different beliefs and cultures make informed choices and decisions evaluate environmental, scientific and technological issues develop informed, ethical views of complex. (page 22, Building the Curriculum 3) Here in this example, it shows that the curriculum wants to provide young people with varied knowledge so that the decisions they make in the future will help to create a better society. The idea is to teach them about values and respect so that they may make better informed decisions as to what is best for the society around them. Building the Curriculum 3 contains examples of all four of the ideology categories, but there are two that are most prevalent, ‘Learner Centred’ and ‘Social Efficiency’. Upon examining the evidence in more depth it seems that the ‘Social Efficiency’ ideology is the most dominant within this paper. Its main focus is on preparing and equipping individuals for future endeavours. For instance, the skills needed for future work prospects upon which Kridel’s (ed.2010) summary, of David Sneddon’s idea of social efficiency, explains the curriculum as a way to make individuals efficient for work. As discussed by Arnoldy (online), social efficiency in education is more for the benefit of the social economy than for the individual, but contradicting that theory in this paper, are the examples of learner centred ideology that is dotted throughout. Though, combining these two theories, Valades’ (online) talks about the idea that to help out society, educating young people to learn and improve their skills and capabilities to help the community in the future, is the way forward. From Building the Curriculum 3 and having summarised that the main ideology behind it is focusing on preparing the individuals to become more efficient and productive for contributing to our society, we can see that there will be some implication for teachers. Teachers who have been teaching for years under the same curriculum will struggle to accept the new curriculum, if it is as completely different way to how they have been teaching before. Although the main focus of the curriculum in Scotland has been focused on preparing individuals for the future, it has not been focused on the more individual level. This may cause implication for teachers as they only have specific allocated times to be with classes and it will be hard to offer each individual, the time and attention they need to develop specific skills to the point of being efficient. The teacher will have to focus more on the experiences and outcomes the learners are objected to, to develop the skills needed for the real world. This causes some problems as it depends highly on what the school can afford to give in ways of experiences, as most of these will probably be met outside of school. So, teachers need to find a way of achieving the outcome of making the individual a more effective contributor to society by combining what they learn in and outside of the classroom. This would be a task for teachers, as the environment each individual they teach will be different and this therefore means that the teacher will have to find a way to combine these different environments or find a similarity and focus on that. Building the Curriculum 3 has some implication for teachers, but the focus being on social efficiency means that in some ways there are not so many changes from the past as at least for the last hundred years the school curriculum has been focused on making learners that will have skills that will help them achieve objectives that will make the society a more efficient place. A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies – Chapter 6 http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/47671_ch_6.pdf (visited 29th dec 2012) Critical Pedagogy and Teacher Education in the Neoliberal Era: Small Openings pp 3 Springer Netherlands, 2009 volume 6 Susan L. Groenke http://www.geocities.ws/rf_valades/index2.htm Social Efficiency Theory – SAVE SOMETHING TODAY Rodrigo Valades visited 29th dec 2012 The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture Lorrie A. Shepard Vol. 29, No. 7 (Oct., 2000), pp. 4 American Educational Research Association http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/47671_ch_6.pdf Chapter 6 – A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies visited 29th dec 2012 Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies edited by Craig Kridel SAGE Publications Inc 2010 Pg 4-7 Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns, Schiro, M. (2008a) SAGE Publications, Inc Pg 199-245 Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns Second Edition, Schiro, M. (2012b) SAGE Publications, Inc Building the Curriculum 3: A framework for learning and teaching, The Scottish Government, 2008

Free Essays on Vincent Price Gallery

Vincent Price Gallery As I am the one who loves the arts, I went to the Vincent Price Gallery. Actually, when I just passed by and saw the sign that said â€Å"To the Gallery†, I was automatically brought by my feet there. As soon as I set my feet on the porch, it attracted me a lot. It was really amazing. It is decorated by white color and used a lot of lights. White color makes it bright and more attractive. Its professionally equipped and maintained facilities are really good. Therefore, it looks like a recently decorated even though it was founded in 1951. The pictures are placed in order. I saw a lot of oil pictures and photograph there. They all attracted me a lot because there are many different style and varsities of interesting such as pictures and photographs. Later, I became to know that all the pictures in the Vincent Price Gallery have been donated by Vincent Price and numerous other contributors. All the art collectors must have a psyche of living in a home surrounded by beauty. In the gallery, I looked all the pieces with great interest. In there, I had a great interest in â€Å"Frankenstein At The Wheel†. It is only a silver gelatin photograph that is presented by Philippe Halsman. Even though it was just a photograph, it had a lot of interest and surprise because one gentleman was driving speedily without looking forwards. At one glance, I was really scary by it because the gentleman in the picture has two faces. One is at the back and it looks like turning backwards. The other is appeared at the front mirror. As I looked at it thoroughly, I found out the face at the back looks like the mask and the face in the mirror is his actual face. The presentation by the photographer successfully gave life to the photograph. I am sure that every one who looked at the photograph was felt the same feeling like me. In the gallery, all the pictures made me have interesting a lot. But the photograph I mentio... Free Essays on Vincent Price Gallery Free Essays on Vincent Price Gallery Vincent Price Gallery As I am the one who loves the arts, I went to the Vincent Price Gallery. Actually, when I just passed by and saw the sign that said â€Å"To the Gallery†, I was automatically brought by my feet there. As soon as I set my feet on the porch, it attracted me a lot. It was really amazing. It is decorated by white color and used a lot of lights. White color makes it bright and more attractive. Its professionally equipped and maintained facilities are really good. Therefore, it looks like a recently decorated even though it was founded in 1951. The pictures are placed in order. I saw a lot of oil pictures and photograph there. They all attracted me a lot because there are many different style and varsities of interesting such as pictures and photographs. Later, I became to know that all the pictures in the Vincent Price Gallery have been donated by Vincent Price and numerous other contributors. All the art collectors must have a psyche of living in a home surrounded by beauty. In the gallery, I looked all the pieces with great interest. In there, I had a great interest in â€Å"Frankenstein At The Wheel†. It is only a silver gelatin photograph that is presented by Philippe Halsman. Even though it was just a photograph, it had a lot of interest and surprise because one gentleman was driving speedily without looking forwards. At one glance, I was really scary by it because the gentleman in the picture has two faces. One is at the back and it looks like turning backwards. The other is appeared at the front mirror. As I looked at it thoroughly, I found out the face at the back looks like the mask and the face in the mirror is his actual face. The presentation by the photographer successfully gave life to the photograph. I am sure that every one who looked at the photograph was felt the same feeling like me. In the gallery, all the pictures made me have interesting a lot. But the photograph I mentio...

Bordetella pertussis (bacterium)

Bordetella pertussis (bacterium) Bordetella pertussis is the bacterium that causes pertussis, otherwise known asor whooping cough . Despite vaccination, incidence of pertussis cases have been growing over the last two decades. Current vaccines lack the ability to give long-lasting immunity and must be improved. Complement evasion molecules would make good candidates for vaccine components, because the complement system is essential in the killing of B. pertussis. The complement system is a first line of defense against colonization of bacteria in host tissue. Many bacteria employ complement inhibitors or attract human complement inhibitors to their surface. B. pertussis is no exception on this, however not much is known about the way B. pertussis evades the complement system . Prior to this study a few potential complement inhibitors of B. pertussis were identified. In this study we seek to characterize these proteins in a series of functional immune assays. Under these experimental conditions, we were not able to determine the function of the potential complement evasion molecules. BACKGROUND Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of pertussis, also called whooping cough. Pertussis is a human-restricted disease of the respiratory tract and highly contagious ( en is dit zo? REF). Regular bouts of coughing produce airborne droplets through which B. pertussis can be transmitted (Jongerius et al. 2014). The disease was on the verge of eradication due to worldwide vaccination, but has been re-emerging in the last two decades. In 2008 there were 16 million cases of pertussis globally as estimated by the World Health Organisation. Possible explanations for the re-emergence are waning of immunity – since in the 1990s a different vaccine was introduced giving less enduring protection – or bacterial strain adaption (Mooi et al. 2014). Like many pathogens B. pertussis developed strategies to evade or repress the host response for successful colonization (REF). Little is known about the mechanisms by which B. pertussis escapes clearanc e by the complement system, a first line of defense in the immune response. Identification and characterization of these immune evasion molecules may lead to the discovery of new targets for anti-inflammatory drugs or new components for vaccines. Here, we try to characterize several potential complement inhibitors of B. pertussis, identified by phage display and genome analysis. Bordetella pertussis virulence factors B. pertussis expresses a variety of virulence factors that enable the bacteria to colonize the upper respiratory tract. The transcription of the majority of these virulence factors are regulated by the activity of the proteins BvgA and BvgS. BvgAS is a two-component system that controls gene expression in response to changing environmental conditions, such as temperature (Fedele et al. 2014). After inhalation the bacteria adhere to the ciliated epithelial cells of the larynx, trachea and bronchi, where they produce secreted toxins and membrane-bound molecules that contribute to the adherence (REF). The toxins damage the mucous layer of the respiratory tract, contributing to the pathogenesis of pertussis. For example tracheal cytotoxin (TCT) is proposed to cause ciliostasis, impairment of ciliary movement, which may explain the intense coughing that characterizes pertussis, as a way to clear excessive mucus (Jongerius et al. 2014). Other secreted toxins include pertussis toxin (PT) an d adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT), which are toxic to host cells including neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes (Jongerius et al. 2014 ). Successful colonization is both dependent on the capacity to adhere to cells in the respiratory tract and the ability to ward off the immune response. PT and ACT both repress the immune response by targeting airway resident macrophages and neutrophil recruitment to the airways (Carbonetti et al. 2010). The membrane-bound adhesins include fimbriae (Fim), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and pertactin (PRN), which in addition to facilitating the first step of infection are also suggested to suppress the initial inflammatory response to the infection (Melvin et al. 2014). For example, FHA-deficient Bordetella strains were shown to induce an increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17, and increased recruitment of neutrophils to the site of infection when compared to wild-type bacteria (Henderson et al. 2012). In addition to the i mmunomodulating properties of B. pertussis virulence factors, direct binding to components of the immune system, such as the complement system, is accomplished in order to reduce or inhibit the host immune response. This essential step in bacterial pathogenesis is called immune evasion (Rooijakkers et al. 2005). B. pertussis is known to express a small variety of proteins that affect complement-mediated killing: tracheal colonization factor (Tcf), Bordetella resistance to killing A (BrkA) and the autotransporter Vag8 (Jongerius et al. 2014). The complement system The complement system is part of innate immunity and an important host defense mechanism against invading pathogens. The complement system consists of approximately 40 proteins and is present in blood and mucosal tissue, such as the lining of the lungs where they interfere with colonization of bacteria. The system can be initiated through three different pathways: the classical (CP), the lectin (LP) and the alternative pathway (AP). All pathways lead to a cascade of several protein-protein interactions and proteolytic steps leading to cleavage of C3 and C5 in biologically active components. C3a and C5a are able to attract inflammatory cells to the site of infection and activate them. C3b is another cleavage product of C3 and when deposited on the microbial surface stimulates bacterial uptake by phagocytes in a mechanism called opsonization. Besides opsonization and recruitment of phagocytes the complement system can also directly kill bacteria by forming pores into the microbial memb rane and inducing lysis. The pore-forming heteromer is called the membrane attack complex (MAC) and is composed of C5b, C6, C7, C8 and C9. The classical pathway gets activated with binding of antibodies to the microbial surface. IgM or IgG bind to the first complement component C1q, which results in activation of serine proteases that cleave C2 and C4 which in turn form C4b2a, a C3 convertase. The same C3 convertase is formed upon activation through the lectin pathway, in which mannose-binding lectin-associated serine proteases cleave C4 and C2 upon binding of lectin to mannose on the bacterial surface. No specific signal is needed for the alternative pathway to form another C3 convertase: C3bBb, comprising of spontaneously hydrolyzed C3, or C3b generated by the CP/LP, and factor B that is activated by factor D. The C3 convertases (C4b2a and C3bBb) switch to C5 convertases in response to high levels of C3b deposition on the bacterial surface (Jongerius et al. 2007). The complement s ystem does not only directly or indirectly kill bacteria but also has a role in regulating adaptive immunity. Besides regulating B-cell immunity, complement-mediated signaling directly stimulates and modulates T-cell responses (Jongerius et al. 2014) and promotes antigen processing by antigen-presenting cells (Serruto et al. 2010), indirectly influences T-cell activation. On the downside, over-activation or lack of down-regulation of the complement system can result in systemic inflammation during sepsis (Jongerius et al. 2007) and autoimmune diseases when host cells are recognized as non-self and damaged by complement activation (Meri et al. 2013). Complement evasion by Bordetella pertussis In order to survive and successfully colonize the host the bacteria must have strategies to evade the early immune response. It seems especially necessary for B. pertussis to prevent complement activation because it does not express antigen O (Marr et al. 2011). Antigen O is the chain of repetitive oligosaccharides of the lipopolysaccharides in the membrane of most Gram-negative bacteria and works as a protective shield. The Bordetella strains B. parapertussis and B. bronchoseptica express liposaccharide containing this O-antigen, but despite being more virulent B. pertussis lacks O-antigen in its cell wall. B. pertussis expresses a different kind of surface polysaccharide called Bps (Bordetella pertussis polysaccharide) which seems to provide serum resistance, since Bps mutant strains were more sensitive to complement-mediated killing then wild type bacteria (Ganguly et al. 2014). In addition to polysaccharides B. pertussis is known to express several other complement evasion molecu les. Mutants lacking Bordetella autotransporter protein-C (BapC) were less resistant to serum killing, although the mechanism of resistance is yet to be identified (Noofeli et al. 2011). Another autotransporter of B. pertussis, Bordetella resistance to killing A (BrkA) that promotes attachment of the bacteria to human cells, is involved in complement evasion as well (Jongerius et al. 2014). Studies have shown that BrkA reduces C3 and C4 deposition and inhibits formation of MAC (Barnes et al. 2001). BrkA did not affect C1 deposition levels, suggesting BrkA only inhibits the classical pathway however the precise mechanism remains unknown (Barnes et al. 2001). Besides binding to complement components and thereby inhibiting their action by proteolysis or inducing conformational changes, bacteria can also employ a different strategy: to recruit and activate human complement inhibitors. The main regulators of the classical pathway are C4b-binding protein (C4BP) that B. pertussis binds to its surface with filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) (Berggard et al. 2001), and C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-inh) recruited by B. pertussis autotransporter Vag8 (Marr et al. 2011). Factor H (fH) regulates the activity of the alternative pathway. The AP does not need a specific signal, making every unprotected surface vulnerable; therefore bacteria need to evade this pathway. Many bacteria do so by binding fH via a common binding site, forming a tripartite complex consisting of the microbial receptor, C3b and fH (Meri et al. 2013). This complex inhibits the opsonizing actions of C3b (Meri et al. 2013) and thereby protects the bacteria against phagocytosis. Recent studies show that B. pertussis binds fH at domain 20 (the common binding site) while fH remains its inhibiting properties (Amdahl et al. 2010), but a particular B. pertussis protein that binds fH has not been identified yet. Pertussis vaccines The whole cell pertussis (wP) vaccine was introduced in the 1950, efficiently lowering the cases of pertussis, which was the leading cause of child death before introduction of the vaccine. Unfortunately the vaccine was causing a lot of unwanted side effects in children. This had lead to introduction of an acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine, comprising of just several antigens. Although this vaccine provides a sufficient level of protection for infants to severe pertussis, the incidence of pertussis in adults has been increasing since the introduction of the aP vaccine in the 1990s (Mooi et al. 2013). More awareness and better diagnostics contribute to this increase in pertussis cases, but moreover the protection given by the aP is short-lived. Immunity generated by the wP vaccine is mediated largely by T-helper 1 cells (Th1), whereas aP vaccination results in antibodies that induce Th2 and Th17 responses. Natural immunity is associated with Th1 cells, and hence IFN- production, as is seen in children recovering from whooping cough (Higgs et al. 2012). The adaptive immunity provided by aP vaccination is mainly humoral, promoted by Th2 cells that seem to be less efficient than Th1 cells in clearing B. pertussis infections (Higgs et al. 2012). In addition the provided immunity by aP vaccination is not lasting as long as the wP (Mooi et al. 2014). This occurrence of waning immunity is proposed to be the main cause of re-emergence of infections with B. pertussis. In addition, there is evidence the bacteria have been genetically adapting to the aP vaccines, caused by antigenic variation and selection pressure. In The Netherlands, France, Finland and Japan there are strains circulating that do not express FHA, PT and PRN, components of the aP vaccine used in these countries (Mooi et al. 2014). Future vaccines should be improved by, for example, adding other antigen preparations to provide long-lasting immunity, and additionally to strengthen the immune response. By st rengthening innate immunity, the immune system will be able to directly eliminate the bacteria, preventing transmission and therefore also strain adaptation. The use of complement evasion molecules as vaccine targets would allow faster complement activation upon infection with B. pertussis. In this study we look to identify and characterize such attractive vaccine component candidates. Prior studies Prior to this characterization study a secretome phage display was constructed (Fevre et al. 2014). This phage display was used to identify potential immune evasion molecules. Phage display is the technique of expressing proteins on the surface of a bacteriophage. A phage library comprises of several phage clones that express different proteins, which retain their original shape and behavior. This allows selection of the displayed proteins based on affinity, with successive rounds of selection to identify proteins with high affinity for the selected targets. Secretome phage display, based on whole-genome phage display, is tailored for identification of immune evasion molecules with only secretome proteins being displayed. The bacterial secretome is the collection of all secreted and surface-bound proteins (Fevre et al. 2014). Phage display was performed for the secretome of Bordetella pertussis, with 3 rounds of selection and 7Ãâ€"107 phage clones. The phages were targeted on six co mponents of the complement system: alternative pathway regulating factor H (fH), the opsonin C3b and C3 together with C5 (the two mixed) and C8 together with C9. After the third round there were five hits: BP0069, BP3355, BP0173, BP1251 and fhaC. Supposedly BP1251 and fhaC seem to bind C8 and/or C9, BP0069 binds factor H and BP0173 and BP3355 are suggested to bind a mix of complement components. Analyzing information on chemical parameters (see table 1), gene alignment and genomic context (provided by NCBI Gene, NCBI Protein, BLAST and ExPASy ProtParam) might provide some clues of the functional properties of the proteins, but their complete function is yet unknown. BP0069 is a 43 kD protein which is 97% identical to ABC transporters from B. bronchispetica and around 30% identical to TRAP transporters from several bacteria species, both are transmembrane transporters for nutrients intake. BP3355 is a 18 kDa hypothetical protein, that has no evident homologues. BP0173 is a 24 kD hypothetical protein and BP1251 is a 26 kD putative toxin.

Political Consensus Decision-Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Consensus Decision-Making - Essay Example Perhaps the most notable instance this mode of political consensus has been implemented is in wartime situations. Within the United Kingdom the 20th century witnessed a major instance of wartime consensus proceeding World War II where it’s argued that consensus politics culminated in the Labour party’s victory. This essay considers that the idea of a wartime consensus culminating in Labour’s election victory fades the closer you get to it. The popular perspective had considered that following World War II the political situation in Britain was such that an overwhelming consensus resulted in the election of the Labour Party. Recognition of this perspective takes into account historical perspectives on the Labour Party. While the Labour Party has been in existence since the early years of the 20th century they assumed great control during the period surrounding World War II. In 1940 the Labour Party returned to government as a part of the wartime coalition; during this period Clement Attlee was appointed the Lord Privy Seal (Pimlott 1994, p. 225). Following the end of the war, the Labour Party contested the 1945 general election and won a large-scale victory. Clement Attlee then assumed control and one of the most radical government’s in British history was instituted. It is this victory that many have contested was the result of wartime consensus. ... mplements a number of notions within this spectrum of investigation, perhaps the central thorough-put of his argument is the contention that rather than constituting an actual consensus, this notion has been constructed by individuals attempting to establish a mythic ‘golden age’ of British history. As noted, this perspective has been embraced by a large number of theorists (Rollings 1994; Kelly 2002; Ellison 1994). The broad spectrums of these theoretical perspectives have considered a variety of ideological differences that occurred between the main political parties during this period. Rather than constituting a golden age of consensus politics, Pimlott (1994, p. 231) notes that there was considerable Conservative hostility towards universal welfare benefits. Kelly (2002, p. 21) considers that in 1956 Anthony Crosland made a large-scale plea for the left to oppose conservative ideas; this is believed to demonstrate a general lack of qualitative accord among political perspectives during this period. Pimlott has extended the situation through metaphorical notions. He states (1988, p. 232), â€Å"sandbagged in their electoral trenches, early postwar voters can be seen as the anonymous infantry of two implacably opposed armies in an era of adversarial politics, with the middle-way Liberals floundering in no man’s land.† To a large degree what Pimlott has established with these notions is a mode of myth-making that seemingly implements higher degrees of fact-based understanding. While Pimlott’s perspectives have gained widespread support there also exists a strong contingent of theorists who hold to the consensus perspective (Kavanagh 1994; Addison 1992). Paul Addison is the theorist perhaps most identified with consensus notions of post-war politics (Addison