Sunday, December 29, 2019

HIV Uses Trojan Horse Method to Infect Cells

Like all viruses, HIV is not able to reproduce or express its genes without the help of a living cell. First, the virus must be able to successfully infect a cell. To do so, HIV uses a veil of human proteins in a Trojan horse manner to infect immune cells. To go from cell to cell, HIV is packaged in an envelope or capsid made from viral proteins and proteins from human cell membranes. Like the Ebola virus, HIV relies on proteins from human cell membranes to gain entrance into a cell. In fact, Johns Hopkins scientists have identified 25 human proteins that have been incorporated into the HIV-1 virus and aid its ability to infect other body cells. Once inside a cell, HIV uses the cells ribosomes and other components to make viral proteins and to replicate. When new virus particles are formed, they emerge from the infected cell cloaked in a membrane and proteins from the infected cell. This helps the virus particles avoid immune system detection. What Is HIV? HIV is the virus that causes the disease known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. HIV destroys cells of the immune system, making an individual infected with the virus less equipped to fight off infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), this virus may be transmitted when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected persons broken skin or mucous membranes. There are two types of HIV, HIV-1, and HIV-2. HIV-1 infections have mostly occurred in the United States and Europe, while HIV-2 infections are more prominent in West Africa. How HIV Destroys Immune Cells While HIV may infect different cells throughout the body, it attacks white blood cells called T cell lymphocytes and macrophages in particular. HIV destroys T cells by triggering a signal that results in T cell death. When HIV replicates within a cell, viral genes get inserted into the genes of the host cell. Once HIV integrates its genes into T cell DNA, an enzyme (DNA-PK) uncharacteristically sets off a sequence that leads to the death of the T cell. The virus thereby destroys the cells that play a major role in the bodys defense against infectious agents. Unlike T cell infection, HIV infection of macrophages is less likely to lead to macrophage cell death. As a result, infected macrophages produce HIV particles for a longer period of time. Since macrophages are found in every organ system, they can transport the virus to various sites in the body. HIV-infected macrophages may also destroy T cells by releasing toxins that cause nearby T cells to undergo apoptosis or programmed cell death. Engineering HIV-Resistant Cells Scientists are attempting to develop new methods for fighting HIV and AIDS. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers has genetically engineered T cells to be resistant to HIV infection. They accomplished this by inserting HIV-resistant genes into the T-cell genome. These genes successfully blocked the entry of the virus into the altered T cells. According to researcher Matthew Porteus, We inactivated one of the receptors that HIV uses to gain entry and added new genes to protect against HIV, so we have multiple layers of protection -- what we call stacking. We can use this strategy to make cells that are resistant to both major types of HIV. If it is shown that this approach to treating HIV infection could be used as a new type of gene therapy, this method could potentially replace current drug therapy treatment. This type of gene therapy would not cure HIV infection  but would provide a source of resistant T cells that could stabilize the immune system and prevent the de velopment of AIDS. Sources: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Scientists discover how HIV kills immune cells; Findings have implications for HIV treatment. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 June 2013. (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130605144435.htm).Herbein G. and Kumar A. The macrophage: a therapeutic target in HIV-1 infection. Molecular and Cellular Therapies. Published 2 April 2014. (http://www.molcelltherapies.com/content/2/1/10).Stanford University Medical Center. Immune cells engineered in lab to resist HIV infection, study shows. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 January 2013. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130122101903.htm).

Friday, December 20, 2019

Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 919 Words

To Kill A MockingBird Some lessons can t be taught, simply lessons have to learned. The exceptional novel of a small town in the south, To Kill A MockingBird, written by Harper Lee goes into the lives of children in the early 1900’s. Love and hate, curiosity, innocence and experience can relate to the lives of three children; siblings, Jeremy Atticus Finch, (Jem) and Jean Louise Finch (Scout), and their summer friend Charles Baker Harris or for short, Dill. With the children s mother passing as young children their father, a well known neighbor and lawyer in Maycomb County, Atticus Finch fathers the children as they grow up. The town s old legend of the Radley s House, the home of the Radley Family, with town rumors that what lives†¦show more content†¦With Boo unable to leave the house he s isolated from the world. With rumors of maycomb county people do not understand that Boo can t go out and live his own life, instead despise the radley place and fear to go near. These rumors of the R adley Place cause Boo to look like a horrible person but in reality, Boo wants to be happy again. The children of Maycomb also see Boo as a dangerous person. Dill, Jem and Scouts neighbor friend, bet Jem that he can t get any farther than the Radley Place gate. â€Å"You re scared† Dill said, the first day. â€Å"Aint scared just respectful,† Jem said. â€Å"I hope you ve got it through your head that he ll kill us each and every one..† said Jem while thinking about the dare. The kids show fright about the Radleys House and amuse themselves by making a game of it, which they think is dangerous because of the unknown creature inside. Boo can be left alone without any childhood intruders invading his front porch for a game of dare. The children wanted Boo to come out of his house by using a fishing pole and bribing him with ice cream. Their childish attempt failed for, they were caught red handed by Atticus. â€Å"Putting his (Boo Radley) life s history on display for the edification of neighborhood† Atticus said to Jem after being caught, showing tha t the children are making fun of Boo . What Mr. Radley did was his own business, if he wanted to come out he would. If he wanted to stay inside his own house he had the right to stay inside

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Leadership in Business for Occupational Health - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theLeadership in Business for Occupational Health Psychology. Answer: Introduction In the current scenario, leadership skills are one of the essential tools that is extremely as well as valuable for both the personal and the professional development (Northouse, 2015). Leadership is one of the important functions of the management, which helps an individual or the business to amplify the efficiency or achieve the objectives (Bolman Deal, 2017). This essay deals, with the critical analysis of the two leadership styles as defined by the current leadership theories. This essay also cites about two current business leaders who match to the leadership styles as portrayed in the essay. This essay also deals with the analysis of their effectiveness in terms of the theories and the principles. This essay also includes a leadership plan to develop individual leadership qualities. The purpose of this essay is to understand and explain the different styles of leadership and specifically focusing on two of the important leadership styles as well incorporate these styles with relevance to two current effective leaders. This essay also effectively helps understand and analyze the methods to develop individual leadership styles and qualities with the help of a leadership development plan. Leadership is the method with the help of which a person, a leader in this instance, influences a group of individuals towards the realization of any predefined and common goal (Antonakis, 2017). The efficiency of an effective leader is dependent on the style of performance and execution of the strategies (Giltinane, 2013). Thus, an effective leader is considered to know the strategies and the approaches in which others can be effectively guided or led. In addition to the effective leadership qualities, the leadership approaches are instrumental in defining the personal leadership styles which an individual can possibly implement to develop the skills (Du et al., 2013). The two main leadership styles that is specifically discussed in this essay are autocratic and democratic style of leadership (Arnold et al., 2015). The autocratic style of leadership as the name suggests is the style of leadership where the leader has the total control and the authority In this style of leadership the entire power or authority can be vested upon executing and imposing of crucial leadership actions such as the decision making process. The autocratic style of leadership is based and relevant with the transactional theory of leadership (Chemers, 2014). This theory lays more effort and emphasis on the vitality of the relationships that exists between a leader and the followers. This theory prime believes in the fundamental proposition where the leaders would be leading the group whereas the followers would be following and obeying them without any hindrance. On further addition, this kind of leadership style lacks the participative nature since the staffs or the employees are not consulted under any condition. This style of leadership is driven by the using of structured outline of rewards and penalty, in terms of failure to comply with the directives from the leader (Chemers, 2014). The Autocratic leadership is normally effective in instances where supervision is needed in urgency for getting the things to be done with efficiency. It is also beneficial and effective in cases where the time for making crucial decisio ns is comparatively less. However, this style of leadership is ineffective in terms of resentful and immoral followers. The second style of leadership that has been adopted is the democratic style, which is also known as the participatory or participative style of leadership which is based on the transformational theory of leadership. In this theory the core concept of leadership mainly focuses on the change and the visionary leadership with the objective of enhancing both the individual as well as the organizational performance. The democratic style of leadership usually involves the methods where the followers are also given the fair chance to develop their leadership skills through the process of shared leadership and participative decision-making. The employees are also involved with the process of problem solving and the decision-making, thus helping them understand the essence and the qualities of an effective leader. Democratic style of leadership is especially effective in the instances where the followers are in need of motivation and the urgency in the need to develop the an individuals lead ership abilities (Val Kemp, 2012). One famous example of autocratic style of leadership can be found with the leadership style of Raymond Albert Ray Kroc, an American business man who was instrumental in the global recognition of Mc Donalds, as one of the quickest expanding fast-food restaurant chains in the world. Ray Kroc believed the fact that people go to restaurants with high anticipations. He believed that be it a fast-food chain or an upscale establishment, customers always expect reliable service, well-mannered hosts and efficient servers. No matter what kind of meals they order, customers expect their food and the service to be good. Dining establishments need an autocratic leadership style to meet these expectations. However, even the most cheerful and lively restaurant runs on lean margins that can tolerate minimal mistakes. This perception and vision of an autocratic leadership as well as style well fits with Ray Kroc, which made Mc Donalds one of the popular food chains, even in till the present day (Chho kar, Brodbeck House, 2013). One significant example of democratic style of leadership can be with the leadership style of Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com. Initially Amazon was known to sell only books. The company prospered under the theories of Lewin Leadership models. It began the implementation of the Laissez-Faire theory with Jeff Bezos as the final arbitrator of all the prime and crucial decisions, recruited many highly professional programmers, and implied the democratic or participatory style of leadership. In the current situation, Amazon sells almost anything and everything. Since Amazon is an online retail shopping portal sometimes the situations demands the autocratic style of leadership due to the commitment to its customers and service, however the company has retained and maintained its democratic values amongst the employees, executives, division heads and the project directors (Bhatti et al., 2012). Exhibit A An efficient leader should plan for the personal as well as professional growth. This section devises a leadership development plan to highlight on the strengths, weakness including the personal goals and objectives for the future reference. Personal analysis An effective leader should be able to draw his/her strengths to lead the subordinates in a better way. The first key strength is Organization, which would be helpful to manage the daily activities as well as manage the chaos to help the subordinates to work under determination and help them structure their goals as well. The other strengths that can be included are being responsible, articulated, structured, task oriented, determined, confident, and visionary and effectively management of resources. Combining these skills can effectively help assemble followers to embark on a journey to help the organization achieve its goals. The areas, which can be subjected to change or improvement, are considerably the possible weaknesses. The acknowledgement and improving of these weaknesses can be helpful in the subjugating of crisis. The areas, which possibly need improvement, are expansion of the administrative skills, laying emphasis on the interpersonal skills, improving self-confidence. The other areas of improvements are communication skills, interpersonal skills, confidently handling of relationships and technical competence. Mitigation and improvements in the cited areas can help a leader to strengthen his unique propositions (Rast III, Hogg Giessner, 2013). Setting personal Goals With the identification of the strengths and the weaknesses, the primary goal that can be set for oneself is the improvement of the strengths and the weakness. Apart from this te other five goals that can be stated are improving of the communications skills, improving of the interpersonal skills, improving of the technical knowledge as well as competence, improving of the confidence, focusing more on the relationships. These goals are primarily set based on the weaknesses that needs to be improved (Gonos Gallo, 2013). Personal objectives There are certain leadership skills that need to be established from within to ensure the efficiency of a leader. Based on this certain skills needs to be cultivated, helps understand the significance and the values of being a good leader. With reference to the personal objectives, certain skills can are to be implemented. The implementation of these skills are supposedly the personal objectives, which includes the managing the team, leading the team towards a definite goal or success. Improving the self analyzed strengths and weaknesses, managing people and relationships as well as help the team gather and understand its full potential to perform under pressure. Understanding and incorporating these skills, which are perceived as the personal objectives can in turn help the organization achieve its own objectives on personal terms (Gonos Gallo, 2013). Conclusion With the help of this essay, it can be concluded that all the theories of leadership style has certain relevance to the actual practice and the implementation of the leadership styles in business. With the help of this essay, the two relationship styles proved that they are different from each other in practice, however they have similar objectives that are considered for the implementation of the same. The autocratic and the democratic style of leadership are different in theories yet, they both are crucial in the governance of the organization as well as managing the internal sectors of the organization. References Antonakis, J. (2017).The nature of leadership. Sage publications. Arnold, K. A., Connelly, C. E., Walsh, M. M., Martin Ginis, K. A. (2015). Leadership styles, emotion regulation, and burnout.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,20(4), 481. Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G. M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M. A., Shaikh, F. M. (2012). The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction.International Business Research,5(2), 192. Bolman, L. G., Deal, T. E. (2017).Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley Sons. Chemers, M. (2014).An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press. Chhokar, J. S., Brodbeck, F. C., House, R. J. (Eds.). (2013).Culture and leadership across the world: The GLOBE book of in-depth studies of 25 societies. Routledge. Du, S., Swaen, V., Lindgreen, A., Sen, S. (2013). The roles of leadership styles in corporate social responsibility.Journal of business ethics,114(1), 155-169. Giltinane, C. L. (2013). Leadership styles and theories.Nursing Standard (through 2013),27(41), 35. Gonos, J., Gallo, P. (2013). Model for leadership style evaluation.Management: journal of contemporary management issues,18(2), 157-168. Northouse, P. G. (2015).Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. Rast III, D. E., Hogg, M. A., Giessner, S. R. (2013). Self-uncertainty and support for autocratic leadership.Self and Identity,12(6), 635-649. Val, C., Kemp, J. (2012). Leadership Styles.Pathways: The Ontario Journal Of Outdoor Education,24(3), 28-31.