Ebola Virus Essays (717 words) - Ebola, Biological Weapons

Ebola Virus The Ebola virus, also know as Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by viruses from four different families of viruses: 1)filoviruses, 2)arenavirus, 3)flavavirus, 4)bunyaviruses. The usual host for most of these viruses are rodents or anthropoids (such as ticks and mosquitoes). In some cases, such as the Ebola virus, the natural host for the virus is unknown. All forms of viral hemorrhagic fever begin with a fever and muscle aches. Depending on the particular virus, the disease can progress until the patient becomes very ill with repiratory problems, severe bleeding internally and externally, kidney problems and shock. The severity of viral hemorrhagic fever can range from relatively mild illness to death. The Ebola virus is one of the deadliest diseases known to man. When magnified several thousand times by an electron microscope, these viruses have the appearance of long filaments or threads. Ebola virus was discovered in 1976 and was named for a river in Zaire, Africa where it was first detected. The first case appeared from nowhere, it killed 340 people. The disease is spread to health care workers in contact with body fluids, and also from patient to the person who cares for him or her in the home .The disease is also spread among those who prepare the corpses for burial. The disease is not as yet to be thought airborne .The only way to contract this disease is from a vector or contact with infected body fluids. Illness occurs 2 - 21 days after infection but generally within 7 - 14 days, beginning with much the same symptoms of that of the common cold or flu. . The virus causes an unusual combination of clots and hemorrhages. The clots lodge throughout the body, King 2 filling capillaries and shutting off blood to parts of the internal organs, especially to the brain, liver, and spleen. This causes the affected organs to begin to decay. Blood begins to leak through the capillaries and into the tissues, but by this point the blood will not clot. The connective tissues lose their elasticity and become mushy. The body's internal cavities fill with blood, and blood leaks from all orifices and through the skin, which becomes easily ripped. As the disease progresses, both humans and monkeys develop a fixed and expressionless face, probably as a result of hemorrhages within the brain. Usually during this stage there is rectal bleeding and the patient finally goes into convulsions and dies. As of yet, no treatment exists outside of supportive care. Mortality ranges from 50% to 90%. Upon necropsy (examination of the dead body to find cause of death), the internal organs of the dead are barely recognizable. the internal organs are liquefied and it looks like a big thick red milkshake. This unstoppable virus is a member of RNA viruses known as filoviruses. . Filoviruses form bricklike structures in animal cells. These structures, called inclusion bodies, will often fill the cell completely. The inclusion bodies then come apart as they move toward the cell's outer membrane. The virus threads grow through the cell walls, bud off, and travel to neighboring cells or to other sites throughout the host organism's body, where the cycle is repeated. Filoviruses seem to overwhelm the body's immune system, either by reproducing too rapidly for the body to react or perhaps by creating substances that suppress the normal immune response. The most recent outbreak was that of the one that was reported in Gabon Africa this particular Epidemic claimed the lives of 45 people out of the 60 cases that were King 3 reported. This outbreak was declared official in November of 1997 and declared official over in early 1997. While I find no recent reports of any outbreaks I have found much information on the research for the cure of this horrible disease. There has been much success with a plant which seems to stop the Ebola virus dead in its tracks. Scientists have yet to locate the resivior of this disease and therefore making it harder to track down the source or exact cause of the virus. So the discovery that the same forest that this disease thrives in also holds the potential cure is quite exciting for all those involved in this study. They have found that a compound from the Garcinia kola plant a plant which is commonly eaten in West Africa has stopped the virus in its tracks in laboratory tests. If this anti-Ebola compound proves successful in animal and human tests it will be the first medicine to successfully

Free Essays on Themes From Lord Of The Flies

There are several themes in Lord of the Flies that can be related to everyday government. Everyone is fighting. There is a particular group that opposes other’s beliefs. This group feels that their way is the best way to get things accomplished. Some things that are brought to attention in this film are unity, democracy, liberty and freedom, and individualism. The boys in the film thought that they had to work together as one in order to get off the island. Others did not care if they got off the island and back to their families. First, the group tried working together by gathering food, building shelters to sleep under, and keeping a fire aflame at all times so that maybe they would be spotted by someone flying over or passing by. Some form of government had to be established to keep everyone unified. The group decided they needed a leader. Some thought that Jack should be the leader since he was the oldest in the group. Others thought that Ralph should be the leader since he was already the colonel. Ralph was elected leader since he was the leader at the military school where they were all enrolled. Jack believed that everyone should have the liberty to do what he or she wanted without being reprimanded for it. He decided to be a rebel against what Ralph stood and what he was trying to accomplish. Jack started up what he called â€Å"his gang† and he had several people following him. This is very much like today’s government. There is a leader and followers. Others got tired of Ralph and all of his rules and decided to join Jack’s gang. Piggy was the only one who remained loyal to Ralph and all of his ideas. They shared the same morals and beliefs. They all had their own ideas on how things should be done. Some were too shy to voice their opinions. Jack voiced his feeling and followed up on it by doing whatever he wanted. Ralph let his opinion be known as well. The others just took sides with w... Free Essays on Themes From Lord Of The Flies Free Essays on Themes From Lord Of The Flies There are several themes in Lord of the Flies that can be related to everyday government. Everyone is fighting. There is a particular group that opposes other’s beliefs. This group feels that their way is the best way to get things accomplished. Some things that are brought to attention in this film are unity, democracy, liberty and freedom, and individualism. The boys in the film thought that they had to work together as one in order to get off the island. Others did not care if they got off the island and back to their families. First, the group tried working together by gathering food, building shelters to sleep under, and keeping a fire aflame at all times so that maybe they would be spotted by someone flying over or passing by. Some form of government had to be established to keep everyone unified. The group decided they needed a leader. Some thought that Jack should be the leader since he was the oldest in the group. Others thought that Ralph should be the leader since he was already the colonel. Ralph was elected leader since he was the leader at the military school where they were all enrolled. Jack believed that everyone should have the liberty to do what he or she wanted without being reprimanded for it. He decided to be a rebel against what Ralph stood and what he was trying to accomplish. Jack started up what he called â€Å"his gang† and he had several people following him. This is very much like today’s government. There is a leader and followers. Others got tired of Ralph and all of his rules and decided to join Jack’s gang. Piggy was the only one who remained loyal to Ralph and all of his ideas. They shared the same morals and beliefs. They all had their own ideas on how things should be done. Some were too shy to voice their opinions. Jack voiced his feeling and followed up on it by doing whatever he wanted. Ralph let his opinion be known as well. The others just took sides with w...

Crime Prevention in Criminal Justice System Research Paper

Crime Prevention in Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example There are a variety of methods that authorities use to deal with and prevent crime, the common one being incarceration of criminals in jails and other rehabilitation centers, which has not proved effective in Springfield. Therefore, to deal with crime on the long term, a risk-focused approach offers better results in that the method deals with possible factors that would lead to crime. Crime rates in Springfield, IL Springfield is one of the areas that lead in crime rates across US and has been ranked as the third most dangerous area in the entire country (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012). Springfield has a population of 206, 601 residents, one of the less populated metropolitan areas that have surpassed many areas in the level of reported crimes. In 2010, there were reported 855 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in Springfield IL, which made the metropolitan the third highest dangerous city in the US after Detroit and Memphis. Giuoffo noted that Springfield has an unemploym ent rate of less than the country’s average of 7% as of July 2011, implying that unlike other areas, economy in the city may not be blamed for the high crime rate as the city is above average compared to many other cities. The metropolitan has a young population, that 66% of all residents are 44 years old or younger, which has been perceived as a contributing factor to the high crime rate (Giuffo, 2011). In addition, the city has high usage of methamphetamine, a prevalent drug across the area. All the same, a law was passed in the last few years that made it difficult to buy the drugs, which according to FBI has considerably reduced the crime rates (FBI, 2012). In addition to drug use, Springfield has a much poorer neighborhood in the city’s suburbs that has been blamed for the high rate of crime in the metropolitan. Consequently, indications are that crime rates in Springfield have soared due to a young population, use of hard drugs and a poor neighborhood. Generally, Springfield, IL in 2011 had a total population of 210,802 residents with a crime rate of 711.6 per 100, 000 residents. The city had a lower murder rate at 4.3, with property crime rates, burglary and larceny theft recorded at 4,290.8, 1,118.1 and 3,034.1 per 100,000 residents respectively (FBI, 2012 Abilene in Texas has a population of 168,729 slightly less than Springfield with the rate of violent crimes recorded at 297.5 per 100,000 residents. Property crime in this area is highest at 3,029.7 per 100,000 residents with murder being the lowest at 3.0 per 100,000 residents (FBI, 2012). On the contrary, Alexandria, LA has a population of 155,330 residents with a crime rate of 662 per 100,000 residents. The highest crime in this area is property crimes at 4.050.7 and the lowest crime being murder at 5.0 per 100,000 residents. On the same note, Appleton in Wisconsin has a total population of 226,649 residents with the crime rate being 509.5 per 100,000 residents. The highest crime in the area is property crime at 4,271.3 with the lowest crime being murder at a relatively higher rate of 11.8 per 100,000 residents. Comparing this data to the national statistics, the national violent crime rate was at 386.3 per