Sunday, May 24, 2020
Personal Narrative Of My Life - 956 Words
Personal Narrative Life has always been the opposite of predictable. Twists and turns are abundant during a personââ¬â¢s time on this earth. It has often been compared to a rollercoaster, and I believe that there is validity in that. At one point, when it seems like the ride can only continue in the upwards direction, it goes spiraling down faster than one can register. In that moment, it seems as though every good thing in oneââ¬â¢s life comes crashing down in a domino-like fashion. Each great piece of your life is replaced with difficulties and concerns that can easily drive you insane. At times, we all want to get off of this rollercoaster called life, but the only way out is one that shouldnââ¬â¢t be taken lightly. Unfortunately, children arenââ¬â¢t spared from the effects of hard times, either, and one of the hardest things that a child can go through is watching their parents to get a divorce. Living in a broken family for so many years is a funny thing to look back on. Behind closed doors, the yelling and arguments can continue for hours, days, or even weeks. However, the moment that a guest steps through that door, or the family must venture out into the public light, troubles hidden within the house are quietly swept into the closet for the time being. In public, they are the ideal family unit, smiling and laughing and acting as though there are no troubles in this world which can touch them. If that family is well versed in posturing, no one outside of the unit can possiblyShow MoreRelatedPersonal Narrative : My Life885 Words à |à 4 PagesPersonal Narrative Have you ever had something happen to you that changed your life forever? Something that you will never forget. Itââ¬â¢s something that makes you who you are whether it is good or bad to makes you special. I know itââ¬â¢s hard to believe that one event could change your whole life but I promise you it can. A major life changing event happened to me on July 20th, 2011. This is the day that my youngest sister Carly was born. On this day my whole life was changed and it will never be theRead MorePersonal Narrative Of My Life1098 Words à |à 5 Pages Personal Narrative There stood the school that I would go to for the next three years of my life. From what I could see on the map, the school was prodigious.There were two-story buildings around me, and I stood by one. I felt like a mouse compared to the vast school. Cool air brushed against my face as I analyzed the school.I was standing near eight planters, with my schedule and a school map in my hand.Up ahead of me, I could see cars passing by, dropping kids off to school.A lot of studentsRead MorePersonal Narrative Of My Life961 Words à |à 4 PagesPersonal Narrative One day in mid-November, I thought that one of the worst days in my life had come. I walked into my parentââ¬â¢s room, and I found my mother rushing to gather things to go somewhere. Curiously, I asked my mom where she was going, and why she was in such a rush. My mom said, ââ¬Å"Julia was in a bad car accident on the way home from school and is headed to the hospital. Iââ¬â¢m going up there to see if there is anything I can do to help.â⬠Immediately many questions came to my mind, but I knewRead MorePersonal Narrative In My Life1322 Words à |à 6 PagesPersonal Narrative à à à Where do we go when we have nothing on our minds? Where do we go when we go quiet? I can not be the one to tell you. My mind is always focused on the next and can never stay put. My mind is like Hong Kong (most densely populated place on Earth) during a rush hour. Itââ¬â¢s a room full of commotion and noise that canââ¬â¢t find the escape door. Itââ¬â¢s fun at times, but unbearable when all you want to do is shut yourself out from the world and relax. I canââ¬â¢t pay attention in my classesRead MoreMy Personal Narrative Of My Life1261 Words à |à 6 PagesThis will be a long personal narrative about my current stressful life. Before, I came down to the University of Georgia to work with the football team my life back in East Lansing, Michigan was quite peaceful. However, I will admit I was still overly stressed with the endless amount of coursework I had, but I still had time to relax or had time to be bored and question what I should do with my time. Now tak ing all of my credits online and working 12-15 hour days, then traveling to the games on SaturdayRead MoreMy Personal Narrative Of My Life1530 Words à |à 7 PagesMy Personal Narrative à à à One event from my life that I always remember is when I was first starting school. I was wearing a Bright Blue Basketball Shirt and a pair of Bright Blue Basketball Shorts. I woke up very early that day. When my sisters finally woke up they got ready and we went outside to wait for the bus. When the bus came my mom wanted to get pictures of us. So when we arrived at school I went to class. I was extremely nervous but when my teacher told us her name I laughed. She told usRead MoreMy Personal Narrative Of My Life1286 Words à |à 6 PagesMy personal Narrative The date was October 8, 2014, 2 days after my birthday. One of the realest quotes I heard was ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t trust a soulâ⬠and i should have listened. It started out as any other day, mom was mad me for one reason or another, dad was sitting on the couch like always playing the ââ¬Å"Call of Dutyâ⬠. I was a Saturday so of course I tried to sleep in but my dad love playing his game with the sound on high it really out under my skin. Think about it you re sleeping in your bed and all of aRead MorePersonal Narrative : My Life And Life2126 Words à |à 9 Pagessit in my back yard looking at the fireworks, my brothers and sister all outside with me were having fun. It had me thinking about my life and thinking why I couldnââ¬â¢t be happy and why my parents couldnââ¬â¢t just be there for me when I needed them the mostâ⬠¦things were about to get very bad and hard for me. I can just feel my life is about to go through a downfall and I just wonder will I be able to get through it. To being with, the first time is when I was only 14 years old I had gone to my friendââ¬â¢sRead MorePersonal Narrative : My Life And Life2126 Words à |à 9 Pagessit in my back yard looking at the fireworks, my brothers and sister all outside with me were having fun. It had me thinking about my life and thinking why I couldnââ¬â¢t be happy and why my parents couldnââ¬â¢t just be there for me when I needed them the mostâ⬠¦things were about to get very bad and hard for me. I can just feel my life is about to go through a downfall and I just wonder will I be able to get through it. To being with, the first time is when I was only 14 years old I had gone to my friendââ¬â¢sRead MorePersonal Narrative My Life Essay578 Words à |à 3 PagesPersonal Narrative My Life I never really thought about where my life was going. I always believed life took me where I wanted to go, I never thought that I was the one who took myself were I wanted to go. Once I entered high school I changed the way I thought. This is why I chose to go to college. I believe that college will give me the keys to unlock the doors of life. This way I can choose for myself where I go instead of someone choosing for me. I have chosen to go to the local community
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Essay on Political Correctness Has Gone Too Far - 1134 Words
Political Correctness has Gone Too Far The ââ¬Å"Politically Correctâ⬠movementââ¬â¢s purpose is to bring historically condescending terms, offensive music and art, and controversial educational content to an end and replace them with more positive and less-offending references. Offensive and demoralizing efforts are wrong, but the censorship and deletion of words and phrases that do not contain the intention to demoralize are taking political correctness too far. Politically correct (or ââ¬Å"PCâ⬠) antics have created a social decline that is growing worse with each generation, specifically regarding areas of art, education, language, and our right to freedom of speech; the degradation they have brought to the American psyche has even led toâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The word snowman is not offensive by any means. It was not created with an intension to offend, demean, or label any group. But the new term for snowman is snowperson. Frosty the Snowman, the childrenââ¬â¢s tale that familiarized Americ a with the term snowman, was originally created as a Christmas song. (ââ¬Å"Frosty the Snowman was a Tin Pan Alley novelty created by Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins in 1950.â⬠Wikipedia online Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowman ) . It was not a story of a snow-woman. It was a story of a snowman. The name snowperson suggests that it is unisex, and to consider Frosty as unisex would numb the creative aspects of our holiday song and childrenââ¬â¢s stories of Frosty the Snowman. This is an overly sensitive effort to stop a word that has no offensive connotation and kill its creative and historical meaning. However, many groups claim that political correctness in society is justified in its efforts to sanitize offensive material created though years of oppressing minorities. What was originally a noble idea, to remove blatant words of offensive meaning, has turned into an ââ¬Å"over the topâ⬠effort to rid any words of possible controversy. We are regulating our ways of plain speaking, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. Laws of restrictions on slander and public decency should be decided on the common law methodology and not by the interests of the liberal ââ¬Å"mobâ⬠. If plain speaking is not allowed, clear thinking isShow MoreRelatedPolitical Correctness Has Gone Too Far1156 Words à |à 5 PagesPolitical correctness has gone too far The Politically Correct movements purpose is to bring historically condescending terms, offensive music and art, and controversial educational content to an end and replace them with more positive and less-offending references. Offensive and demoralizing efforts are wrong, but the censorship and deletion of words and phrases that do not contain the intention to demoralize are taking political correctness too far. Politically correct (or PC) antics haveRead MoreSpeech On Political Correctness1620 Words à |à 7 PagesGood morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being present with us today. Me and my fellow group members are on the opposition team and strongly believe that Political Correctness has NOT gone too far and that in fact it is much needed in today s society. à Political Correctness is defined in the dictionary as ââ¬Å"the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantagedRead MorePersuasive Essay On Freedom Of Speech758 Words à |à 4 Pages We as United States citizens have become too sensitive to the negativity that has been put upon us. In todays world people are going to be offended and there are things that should offend us. My point is not that itââ¬â¢s alright to offend people; offending someone on purpose is just wrong. However to seek to ban the offensive opinions of others is an assault on freedom of speech and freedom of thought. This belief has disrupted our education process, made us lose our sense of security, and itââ¬â¢s killingRead MoreFinding The Middle Ground : Freedom Of Expression Versus Political Correctness Essay2120 Words à |à 9 PagesFinding the Middle Ground: Freedom of Expression versus Political Correctness ââ¬Å"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,â⬠(ââ¬Å"The Bill of Rights: A Transcription). Arguably one of the most important amendments, the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United StatesRead MoreMy First Time Hearing About The People s Mind1642 Words à |à 7 Pagesthe other personââ¬â¢s mind, and that can go two ways in peopleââ¬â¢s mind, either they can laugh it off and act like they donââ¬â¢t care or it can hurt them bad and make them want to cry. Most of the time if people hold it in they really care but their pride is too high for them to say anything to the person. So that can end up messing up their mind by causing them to have bad thoughts about every little thing somebody says to them. When people let out how th e microaggression hurt them, I believe they get a senseRead More Is Charles Perraultââ¬â¢s Little Red Riding Hood Relevant to the Modern World?1470 Words à |à 6 Pagesother choiceâ⬠¦and lastly, various oppressed social groups, recognizing that they would also like a seat on their starship to salvation, have fought for their civil rights and equality through various social reform movements. A side effect, political correctness, is the attempt to rid the English language of any terms, phrases, or expressions that would encourage our society to remain rooted in its biased theories of the past. Thus, we are now at an age where a maxim is placed upon the empowermentRead MoreAnalysis Of Donald Trump s View On Political Issues And Lack Of Experience Essay938 Words à |à 4 Pagesof strength in free speech. This is his only trait that carries him despite his blatant lack of knowledge on political issues and lack of experience. Donald Trumpââ¬â¢s supporters follow him because he speaks his mind, but any sane individual should be vehemently opposed to Donald Trump being president. Donald Trump lies with such ease and tramples on free press and free speech, even going as far as stating he will change the laws that we already have in place. We cannot accept Donald Trump to become aRead MoreComparing Orwells 1984 to Todays Government Essay1599 Words à |à 7 Pages 1984 has come and gone. The cold war is over. The collapse of oppressive totalitarian regimes leads to the conclusion that these governments by their nature generate resistance and are doomed to failure. The fictional world of George Orwells novel, 1984, is best described as hopeless; a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and ruthless punishment. In the aftermath of the fallRead MoreWhy Doesn t A Stock Exchange Trade Ebola?940 Words à |à 4 Pagesultimately the concept could leaving the conventional banks wondering whether they can grab a pizza slice of the action - hungry for success; trying to get rid of their obsolete currencies giving away hundred of thousands of pounds to anyone who has pizzas. One of the issues is the possibility of fraud; I say this earnestly because I ve had unpalatable pizzas, made by spotty teenagers who did it for pocket money. Goodness what the pizza would taste like if pizzas were made by suited corporates;Read MoreShould Women Be Allowed During Combat The Us Armed Forces?1561 Words à |à 7 PagesCombat in the US Armed Forces? Women have be in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, and at least 88 of our mothers, daughter and sister have been brutally killed. (Ashley Fantz, CNN) Society has gone overboard when it comes to politically correctness. Men and women are not equal, equal means to be the same, identical. Men and women are totally not equal. I believe women should have equal pay for equal work, but to send our women to fight other men on the battlefield is
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Social Science Study Guide Free Essays
Study Guide: Intro to Social Sciences Anthropology: * How culture contributes to the make-up of humanity * Science of people (origin, classification, distribution, races, physical character, culture) * Emphasis on cultural relativity, in-depth examination of context and cross-cultural comparisons * Anthropologists: Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead * Both quantitative and qualitative methods of research * Fields: Biological/physical anthropology, Sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, anthropological linguistics Sociology: Studies the actions of members within a specific society * How people organize themselves in groups, institutions and associations * Fields: Demography, criminology, gender studies, social stratification * Sociologists: Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, George H. Mead * Both quantitative and qualitative research methods Psychology: * Science of mental processes of a group/individual * Used in counselling to business * Fields: Developmental psychology, abnorm al psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, organization psychology, cognitive psychology, personality, neuroscience. Psychologists: Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov, B. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Science Study Guide or any similar topic only for you Order Now F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, John B Watson Sociology * One area of society affects another directly or indirectly * Ideology of society influences marriage, economics, love, freedom, politics * Sociologists seek to make sense of the beliefs and values of the personalities interacting within the complex society that is continually being recreated. KARL MARX (1818-1883) * Study society using a scientific method to try to predict social outcomes (Marxist theory) * Production is essential for the advancement of society A few individuals will control the majority of the resources and production * Conflict in his theory: division of social class one personââ¬â¢s status is elevated while other workers are forced to make money. * Labour Theory of Value: human productive power will be exploited in order to maximize profits for the bourgeois. * Proletariat produces goods valued at more than they are being paid rich getting richer. * Money is the driving force in our society * Businesses are exploiters, cannot see positive nature of the bourgeois TALCOTT PARSONS (Structural Functionalism) * As much as things change they stay the same Believed society will create structures within itself that will help with its basic functioning requirements * Our society will work to achieve a homeostasis where equilibrium is achieved * Every aspect of society contributes to the successful function of another aspect. (Relies on each other) * When a system breaks down, it is necessary for other components in society to take over or assist the malfunctioning social structure. * Ex: Legal system * Structural functionalism: Does NOT look at social change; deals with the maintenance of a society (seeks normality, equilibrium). GEORGE H. MEAD (Symbolic Interactionism) * Symbolic interactionism: Focuses on how humans interpret (define) each otherââ¬â¢s actions. Their response is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions (not the actions directly). * Individuals learn and react from interactions within a society. * People influence their surroundings and shape the development of a society. * Society shapes the individual as he/she is shaping the society. * Analyses from the ââ¬Å"standpoint of communication as essential to the social orderâ⬠, not individual psychology. FEMINISM Liberal Feminists: Examine social institutions, equal access to increase womenââ¬â¢s influence on society. * Radical Feminists: Focus on the exploitation of women. Seek to change the patriarchal social structure through complete structural changes. * Marxist Feminists: Focus on womenââ¬â¢s labour being underpaid. * Social Feminists: Focus on the overthrow of the capitalism; believe it is the root problem of inequality of sexes. Fields Demography * Demography is the scientific study of human populations-their size, composition and distribution across an area. * Fertility, mortality, and migration. These three processes influence how people inhabit the earth, form nations and societies, and how they develop culture. Criminology * Criminology is the study of the criminal justice system and the law enforcement from a social and individual perspective. * Focuses on the behaviour which may have caused the criminal to violate a law, and seeks its influences, whether it is psychological, social or cultural. Gender Studies * Gender studies seeks to analyse gender identity and gendered representation in the fields of psychology, political science, sociology, media studies, human development etc. Gender studies investigates the physical and biological gender differences between sexes, nationality etc. Psychology * Study of human behaviour. * Examines actions, responses, how someone reacts under specific conditions, how this individual affects society. SIGMUND FREUD * Creator of psychoanalysis * Human behaviour is driven by desires and the suppression of these desires. * Mind has three a reas: Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious * Personality is motived by drives= Id (part of the unconscious mind) * Superego= socially conscious of all decisions Ego= mediator between Id and Superego * Too much Id= not worry about social responsibilities; engage in dangers, breaking social rules. * Too much Superego= too uptight, too worried about social expectations and rules * Freud view human development as progressing through stages of development where the main conflict deals with an erogenous zone of the body. * Human development is understood in terms of changing focuses of sexual desire. B. F SKINNER (Operant Conditioning) * Interested in outward behaviour; believed that our personality develops because of external events. He used a rat experiment to show the idea of positive reinforcement; praise for good behaviour has the highest chance for producing long-term behaviour change. * Humans develop their behaviours due to a set of rewards that promote activities being repeated and reinforced. * Skinner believes that Operant Conditioning is good tool to promote an individual to make changes in their behaviour. IVAN PAVLOV (Classical Conditioning) * He wanted to see how the mind could be conditioned to make the body respond to the possibility of an event occurring. * Ex: Salivation reaction of a dog to a meat powder ERIK ERIKSON (development stages table) Believed that at a certain stage of someoneââ¬â¢s life there are tasks (milestones) to achieve in order to have a healthy development. * Unlike Freud, he believed that a person can pass through a stage and not get ââ¬Å"stuckâ⬠at a certain level of psychological development. Fields Developmental psychology: Developmental psychology is the science of studying developmental growth in humans over the course of their life span-from conception until death. Neuroscience: Neuroscience psychology is an interdisciplinary field which applies the knowledge and study of the nervous system, including the brai n, spinal cord and networks of sensory nerve cells. Abnormal psychology (deviance): Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies deviant (unusual) behaviour, emotion and thought. Personality psychology: Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that strives to determine how different personality traits and tendencies influence our thoughts, behaviour and actions and makes each human unique. Clinical psychology: Clinical psychology is a branch of psychology which applies scientific, theoretic and clinical knowledge in order to assess, prevent, predict and to treat abnormal behaviour, ysfunction or mental disorders in order to improve the individualââ¬â¢s well-being and personal growth. Social psychology: Social psychology is the study of individualsââ¬â¢ thoughts, feelings and behaviour and how they perceive and influence others. Organizational psychology: Organizational psychology is the scientific study of employees, workplaces and businesses. Cognitive psychology: Cognitive psychology is a branch of psyc hology which studies the mental processes including how people learn, remember, think, perceive and solve problems. Anthropology * Science of studying people and their culture. Anthropologists pose important questions concerning the continuation of poverty, racism, violence, and social inequality around the world. FUNCTIONALISM (Margaret Mead) * Understanding how social institutions fill social needs. * Every custom or practice in society provides a form of stability for the entire system. * All aspects of a societyââ¬âinstitutions, roles, norms, etc. ââ¬âserve a purpose and that all are indispensable for the long-term survival of the society. * Having established laws, customs, and agreed upon practices provides a sense of predictability and stability within a society. In order to understand a society, researchers must understand the function of social institutions and their respective contributions to the stability to their society. * A critique of functionalism is that al l institutions are considered to provide stability, when this is not the case. * Ex: The presence of family violence produces instability in the culture with a difference in power among the different sexes. STRUCTURALISM * Reinforcement of a norm or a value increases the acceptance of the practice within a given society. * Cultures, viewed as systems, are analyzed in terms of the structural relations among their elements. Structuralists believe that meaning is produced and reproduced within a culture through activities and various practices that show their significance. * For example, North American society values the concept of romantic love and close friendship. This social idea is reinforced through media and national celebrations. Ex Valentineââ¬â¢s Day. * Different societiesââ¬â¢ institutions reinforce different values. Fields Biological/physical anthropology: Biological anthropologists seek to understand how humans have evolved and what affect that has had on our behavio ur. Sociocultural anthropology: Sociocultural anthropology examines social patterns and practices by studying and comparing human societies across the world. Archaeology: Archaeology is the study of past people, cultures, and civilizations through the analysis of material remain, ranging from artefacts and evidence of past environments to architecture. Linguistic Anthropology: Linguistics is the study of languages; how they are formed, evolved, and how it has interacted and contributed to a culture. How to cite Social Science Study Guide, Essay examples
Monday, May 4, 2020
Elevated Risk for HIV Infection â⬠Free Samples to Students
Question: Discuss about the Elevated Risk for HIV Infection. Answer: Introduction: The HIV is a retrovirus which infects the cells inside the immune systems thus altering or damaging their ability to function. Sub Saharan Arica still continues to bear the largest burden of HIV burden. Some of the most common routes of HIV transmission include heterosexual intercourse, female sex worker, injection drug use, and mother to child transmission (Awoleye, Thron, 2015). There is a growing need to shift the perception of HIV risk to be in a way that an individual person views HIV as being influenced by politics, culture, social, and economic determinants (Ho Holloway, 2016). There are very many social as well as economic factors like education, marital status and wealth accumulation which are known to affect the rate of managing HIV infections. Considering the numerous effects that HIV infection causes, it is crucial for the government and other stakeholders to come up with programs which aim at communication, change of behaviors and seeking of medical care services. It i s clear that the effectiveness s of HIV awareness program sis that there is other factor like poor coordination, politics and poor political will (Dube, et al., 2016). Even when considering the people with formal employment, there is stigma as well as fear which causes late disease presentation (Dijkstra et al., 2016). This means that the there are other problems which results from this and includes low survival rates, and more infection rates. Generally, HIV is a viral infection which make the host immune system to be weak. It is among the highest contributor of morbidity, and it is considered to be the sixth cause if mortalities globally. In fact, the life expectancy of an HIV infected people has significant process. This is true because of the effectiveness conferred by the antiretroviral drugs which has enabled many people to cope with HIV infections following the advancement to chronic infections (Barskey et al., 2016). The initial efforts in HIV managements mainly focused on prevention strategies as well as the treatment of symptomatic illnesses. The count of CD4 indicate that there is a high level of immunosuppression. It is therefore evident that early diagnosis of people with HIV leads to an improvement of the effectiveness on the ARVs. Human immunodeficiency virus infects humans and chimpanzees and two thirds of global HIV infection is found in Sub Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, 2006). Generally, HIV infections are life threatening and chronic illnesses which increases the risks of mortality among the infected people. When left untreated, HIV destroys the numbers of white blood cells to a level whereby the infected body cannot fight any type of infections, indicating that any opportunistic infections like cancer, malaria and flue can easily lead to the death of the victim. In most cases, when a person is unable to fight opportunistic infections, there are high chances that the white blood cells count is usually at very low a concentration (Serrano-Villar et al., 2014) It is characterized by acute viremia in excess of five million viral particles per milliliter of serum. It has also been found that HIV among IDUs is transmitted through sharing of needles (Baral et al., 2007). Mortality rates have recently decreased due to the improved effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy. In the year 2013, Kenya had 88,620 new HIV infections among adults and 12,940 among children (NASCOP 2014). In 2012, Mombasa county had an adult HIV prevalence of 11.1 % (NASCOP 2014). Since injection drug use is a common global phenomenon (Dore et al., 2010), infection and transmission of HIV occurs through sharing of contaminated drug injection equipments to either inject or split drugs. Others include risky sexual behaviors like homosexuality, prostitution, unprotected sex and engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of drugs or in exchange of drugs (Chu et al., 2013). Sub-Saharan Africa contains only 10% of the worlds population and remains the global epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (UNAIDS, 2006). This is because in 2005, an estimated 24.5 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in this region, whereby 2.7 million people had new viral infections, 930,000 died of AIDS. The report further indicates that in Kenya, 38.7% (278/719) of drug users reached through community outreach were reported to be sharing needles, cookers, filters, rinse water and injection solution. Adoption of a high risk injection practice called flash blood is common among male and female drug users in Tanzania. This is a practice in which an IDU who cannot afford to purchase heroin injects the blood of another IDU who recently injected, in the belief that the blood contains heroin and can prevent withdrawal. In Mombasa, of the 1000 drug users referred through community outreach to HIV counseling and testing, 31.2% (43/138) of IDUs and 6.3% (352/1546) of non-injection drug u sers were HIV positive (Deveau et al., 2006). Some of the abused drugs in this county are heroin, morphine, cocaine and cannabis. Various classes of drugs are used for HIV management. In the class of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, lamivudine, entecavir and emitricitabine are examples. Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are tenofovir, and adefovir. The class of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors includes etravirine, rilpivirine, nevirapine, interferons and efiverenz (Zhan and Liu, 2011). Out of the approximately 16 million IDUs worldwide, 3 million are infected with HIV-1. A study to show the incidence of HIV-1 in a cohort of IDUs in central Sydney showed an HIV-1 incidence of 0.17% per 100 people among 426 initially seronegative IDUs. HIV-1 has two surface proteins (Gp 41 and Gp 120) for viral entry, enzymes (integrase, reverse transcriptase and protease), and two non-covalently linked single stranded RNA genome. It is 9,800 base pairs long and has nine genes: vif, pol, gag, env, tat, rev, bif, vpr and either vpu or vpx. HIV-1 is transmitted via sex with infected persons, mother-to-child, sharing of sharp infected objects, injection drug use, breastfeeding, and blood transfusion. In 2005, of the 820,000 newly HIV-1 infected infants, 360,000 o f them were through breastfeeding by infected mothers. HIV in the United States Dallas, a city in the United States is among the many cities which have a high prevalence for HIV infections. For instance, in the year 2014, Dallas city had more than 16,000 people who were living with HIV, which was a 124% increase since the year 2004 (Dallas County Health and Human Services (2017). The American Africans are the class of people who have recorded the highest cases of HIV infections between the ages of twenty-five to fifty-four years. In the United States for instance, the HIV spread so fast because it was linked too social stigma. Moreover, this pandemic did not receive any support from the government in terms of research funding and treatments by the CDC. Francis, 2012 reports that when the disease begun escalating, there were more than 10,000 cases in the United States. In the year 1990, the United States congress passed an act (Ryan White comprehensive AIDS resource emergency). This act provided more than 220.5 million dollars to support all programs related to c ontrol, research and management of HIV among its people (HRSA 2011). As Holtgrave et al., 2012 reports, the most recent progress in HIV management was the introduction of the national HIV/AIDS strategy during the reign of president Obama. However, it is worth noting that the HIV programs are still not given the necessary support in form of funding that they actually need. All the prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a remarkable decrease in the cases of this disease in the United States although there are still some problems in terms of program implementation. Acute HIV-1 infection is characterized by appearance of the viral markers and antibodies in blood (Cohen et al., 2011). If left untreated, HIV-1 leads to hyper activation of CD8 and CD4 cells resulting in progression to AID. HIV attacks the white blood cells which are important in fighting infections, and more specifically, the virus attacks the CD4+ cells. The virus attacks these cells and destroys them such that the body can no longer fight infections. At this point when the CD4+ count is very low, the AIDS begins to develop, though this can take varied periods of time. This is the prime reason as to why a person can live with HIV for many years without having developed to AIDS. Chronic HIV-1 infection results in development of several AIDS related cancers associated with human papilloma virus, HBV, hepatitis C virus and herpes simplex virus due to immunosuppression (Guiguet et al., 2009). Kaposis sarcoma (caused by herpes simplex virus) is a cancer that affects the skin due to imm unosuppression in HIV-1 patients. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma consists of lymphoproliferative diseases which affects the brain, lungs and spinal fluid. The most common HIV testing methods are laboratory and rapid tests especially on the fingerprint derived blood sample. The first and the most recommended test is the rapid test which uses the HIV p24 antigens against HIV antibodies (Cohen et al., 2016). For the HIV positive patients, primary care is very crucial role in terms of HIV diagnosis. Therefore, primary care has a role to play in increasing the uptake of HIV diagnostic testing. Dried blood spots for PCR are used in HIV-1 diagnosis in infants to prevent mother to child transmission (Sherman et al., 2005). Screening in children and adults is done using rapid HIV-1 whole blood diagnostic kits such as determine and ungodly which rely on antigen- antibody reactions. HIV-1 viral load determination helps clinicians in making decisions on whether to switch to second line treatment or to prolong the duration of first line treatment regimen. PCR is used to quantify HIV-1 RNA in plasma and it is useful in assessing the antiviral effect s early in infection. Flow cytometry is also used to determine the CD4+ cells count because these cells are involved in viral load decline during primary infection. Nucleotide analogs They are for HIV-1 management and are taken orally (Sung et al., 2008) and they suppress HIV replication by inhibiting DNA polymerase/ reverse transcriptase. Trials of NUCs in HIV patients demonstrate a decrease in viral load, ALT (alanine aminotransferase) levels, and hepatocellular carcinoma incidence. They are more convenient to take than IFN but the eventual development of resistance to these drugs limits their long-term utility. Side effects, which vary by drug, include myopathy and peripheral neuropathy (telbivudine), kidney toxicity and dysfunction (tenofovir and adefovir), decreased bone mineral density (tenofovir), and lactic acidosis in patients with liver disease (entecavir). Lamivudine for example is a synthetic cytosine nucleoside nucleoside analogue with activity against HIV-1, HIV-2 and hepatitis B virus (Sheldon et al., 2005). It is administered for 12 months, that is, 150 milligrams daily. With time, the HBeAg disappears and HBE antibodies appear. Intracellulary, lamivudine is phosphorylates to its active 5-triphosphate metabolite, lamivudine triphosphate (L-TP). L-TP competes with cytosine triphosphates for incorporation into the new DNA strand thereby inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcriptase by DNA chain termination after incorporation of the nucleoside analogue into viral DNA. The HAARTs used to manage HIV-1 are: nucleo(t)side reverse transcriptase inhibitors (lamivudine, efavirenz, combivir, trizivir, truvada, abacavir, zidovudine and emtricitabine), no nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (efavirenz, etravirine, nevirapine) and oral combination pills (atripla and eviplera), (Sidibe et al., 2014). HIV vaccine is in the process of development. This process is facing challenges such as lack of validated animal model, varied HIV-1 structure and lack of natural protective immune against HIV-1 (Koff et al., 2013). Current vaccine development focuses on chrystallographic structure of HIV-1 envelope, such that the vaccine will effectively present the viral epitope to the immune system. Even though the United States government has been distributing the ARV drugs to the people, these drugs might not be of much help especially if the patients do not understand on how to use them well. Lack of treatment adherence is a consequence stigma and long incubation period thus making treatment to be difficult. Although the ARVs have contributed to the management of the disease, the long incubation period allows people to live with the virus for so long without any symptoms. Moreover, there is none of the drugs which is made to cure, but they contain the condition. As such, the people are advised to take care of their sexual behaviors and dietary needs. Despite the fact that HIV is considered to be a global pandemic, there are some prevention programs and strategies which have been implemented and for sure they are achieving significant results in terms of reducing the infection and transmission rates. According to the UNAIDS 2010 report, within the last ten years, there has been a remarkable decline in the number of new HIV infections (World Health Organization, 2016). Although there are several prevention programs which have been put in place, these programs suffer from several weaknesses. Basically, the main aims of these prevention programs are lowering the rates of individual infections, and to monitor and bring to controls the various factors that are associated with HIV such as social, political, legal, and economical factors which make some groups of people to be more vulnerable to HIV infection than others in the same community or population. When such programs have weak investments in terms of planning, evaluation and moni toring, then they might not achieve the set out objectives. Combination prevention programs This method provides good prospects that are useful in addressing some common weaknesses reported in HIV prevention programs. This combination method has been useful in reducing the incidences of HIV infections and spread in varied settings. However, this program depends heavily on the evidence, strategic, and informed use of structural, behavioral and biomedical methodologies (Jones et al., 2014). The combinational approaches are able to achieve effectiveness among individuals, communities and the general society because it is able to address diverse needs of the people with respect to HIV. The success rate of the combination prevention programs is based on the inclusive, transparent, and open programs which are able to engage various stakeholders like the communities, individuals, and governments in making analysis of the risk factors that make people vulnerable to HIV infections. It is also worth noting that the combinational approach helps in building common sense as well as a fe eling of being accountable as far as HIV infections prevention is concerned. It is therefore important that the National AIDS authorities use all the available sources of data to come up with a geographical distribution of new infections and the prevalence of existing infections so as to help in formulating useful priorities. During the process of planning for the HIV programs, the affected communities should be actively involved so as to determine the underlying risk factors and make them active participant in the prevention processes. In some regions especially the developing countries, gender plays a big role in in terms of discrimination, unequal wealth distribution, and violation of human rights of the people vulnerable to HIV infections (Anderson et al., 2014). Moreover, the health program facilitators involved in HIV prevention programs need to use a common language to organize their schedule and from time to time, they need to carry out program evaluation based on well-defined procedures. Most adults suffering from HIV live in isolation and hence lack social support. Therefore, such people score little on social networks as well as the level of social support that they get from friends and family members (Volk et al..2015). Most HIV positive patients lack social support because they fear stigma, adopt disclosure and aim at being self-reliant. However, these factors in older HIV positive patients may be affected by gender, races, route of exposure and the duration of infection. Another humiliated cause of HIV is that it causes loss of friends by the victims due to low social networks. It is important to note also that the loneliness and self-perceived support that the HIV patients face affects their health outcomes especially among the older adults who are on treatment. On the other hand, social support among people infected with HIV are associated with adherence to medication, moods and wellbeing (Weiler, 2016). When such patients are offered nonpharmacologic support, this can help them lower the levels of depression. Prevention and healthcare maintenance In order to prevent the increased HIV spread, it is recommended that primary care screening is performed based on age consideration (Probst et al., 2017). The patients should also be asked to refrain from dangerous practices like smoking, and use of alcohol through guidance and counselling. It is however recommended that top level caution is taken during the process of screening especially old patients who might have eco-morbidities and polypharmacies. This is because there could arise some complications during the treatment of these comorbidities and hence the patient may get more harm than the expected benefits. The HIV infected patients can also manage their depression and possible development of opportunistic diseases by use of an alarm clock, urging them to seek social support services and educating patients on the diet and nutrition. The patients can also be counselled so that they can effectively attend the follow ups at the health facilities nearer them so that they can raise their adherence levels. When HIV is being treated at early, late or chronic stages, the health care professionals, need to make discussions that take note of the student preferences of medications as directed by the law. However, for patients who are in the advanced stages of care, there is a need to avoid prolonged hospitalizations and maintenance of patient dependence. The transmission of HIV virus from one person to another especially from a terminal disease to a chronic and manageable disease is a clear indication that there is significant increase in HIV treatment. In fact, the most identified problem associated with HIV infection is the management of the aging patients. Although there are many similarities between the HIV infected and negative patients, there distinct properties and problems such as polypharmacy, social isolation, care integration and end of life plans. Although big and commendable advances have been made concerning the treatment and management of the people suffering from HIV, there has been a common observation that there is a large proportion of women who are still living with this health condition (Shisana et al., 2015). This means that gender and stereotypes need to be evaluated to determine why some of these conditions predispose a certain proportion of people in the sane community as compared to others (Probst et al., 2017). As a result, it is crucial if the stakeholders and health care givers develop a holistic understanding of the impacts of HIV to the society. As such, the research and management program funders are required to raise their funds while scientific and health research is advanced. This would lead to development in the markers and coming up with policies and health services to take care if the women who are infected with HIV. This will in turn reduce the rate of stigmatization thus enhancing the patients healt h outcomes. References Anderson, S. J., Cherutich, P., Kilonzo, N., Cremin, I., Fecht, D., Kimanga, D., ... Dybul, M. (2014). Maximising the effect of combination HIV prevention through prioritisation of the people and places in greatest need: a modelling study. The Lancet, 384(9939), 249-256. Awoleye, O. J., Thron, C. (2015). Determinants of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Nigeria: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of AIDS and HIV Research, 7(9), 117-129. Baral, S., Sifakis, F., Cleghorn, F., and Beyrer, C. (2007). Elevated risk for HIV infection among men who have sex with men in low-and middle-income countries 20002006: a systematic review. Journal of Public Library of Science medicine, 4(12), e339. Barskey, A. E., Surendera Babu, A., Hernandez, A., Espinoza, L. (2016). Patterns and trends of newly diagnosed HIV infections among adults and adolescents in correctional and noncorrectional facilities, United States, 20082011. American journal of public health, 106(1), 103-109. Chu, J. J, Wrmann, T., Popp, J., Ptzelt, G., Akmatov, M. K., Krmer, A., and Reintjes, R. (2013). Changing epidemiology of Hepatitis B and migrationa comparison of six Northern and North-Western European countries. The European Journal of Public Health, 23(4), 642-647. Cohen, M. S., Chen, Y. Q., McCauley, M., Gamble, T., Hosseinipour, M. C., Kumarasamy, N., ... Godbole, S. V. (2016). Antiretroviral therapy for the prevention of HIV-1 transmission. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(9), 830-839. Cohen, S., Shaw, M., McMichael, J., and Haynes, F. (2011). Acute HIV-1 infection. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(20), 1943-1954. Consequences, and Feasibility of Strategies for Achieving the Goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy in the United States: A Closing Window for Success? Report. Dallas County Health and Human Services (2017). HIV and STI statistics. Retrieved from https://www.dallascounty.org/department/hhs/stdstats.html Deveau, C., Levine, B., and Beckerleg, S. (2006). Heroin Use in Kenya and Findings from a Community Based Outreach Programme to Reduce the Spread of HIV/AIDS. African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies, 5(2), 95-106. Dijkstra, M., Bruisten, S., Hoornenborg, E., Hogewoning, A., de Vries, H., van der Loeff, M. S., ... de Bree, G. (2016). Implementation of a rapid HIV-1 RNA test in diagnosing acute HIV infections among visitors of the Amsterdam clinic of sexually transmitted infections. Journal of Clinical Virology, 82, S7-S8. Dore, J., Hellard, M., Matthews,V., Grebely, J., Haber, S., Petoumenos, K., and Kaldor, M. (2010). Effective treatment of injecting drug users with recently acquired hepatitis C virus infection. Gastroenterology, 138(1), 123-135. Dube, B. N. R., Marshall, T. P., Ryan, R. P. (2016). Predictors of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in primary care: a systematic review protocol. Systematic reviews, 5(1), 158. Francis, Donald P. (2012). "Deadly AIDS Policy Failure by the Highest Levels of the US Government: A Personal Look Back 30 Years Later for Lessons to Respond Better to Future Epidemics."Journal of Public Health Policy33: 290-300. Guiguet, M., Bou, F., Cadranel, J., Lang, M., Rosenthal, E., and Costagliola, D. (2009). Effect of immunodeficiency, HIV viral load, and antiretroviral therapy on the risk of individual malignancies. The lancet oncology, 10(12), 1152-1159. Haddad, R., Martinelli, A., Uyemura, S., and Yokosawa, J. (2010). Hepatitis B virus genotyping among chronic hepatitis B patients with resistance to treatment with lamivudine in the City of Ribeiro Preto, State of So Paulo. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, 43(3), 224-228. Ho, S. S., Holloway, A. (2016). The impact of HIV?related stigma on the lives of HIV?positive women: an integrated literature review. Journal of clinical nursing, 25(1-2), 8-19. Holtgrave, David R., Irene Hall, Laura Wehrmeyer, and Cathy Maulsby. (2012). Costs, HRSA, (2011). HRSA 200 press releases. Retrieved from https://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/press-releases/2011/index.html Jones, A., Cremin, I., Abdullah, F., Idoko, J., Cherutich, P., Kilonzo, N., ... Schwartlander, B. (2014). Transformation of HIV from pandemic to low-endemic levels: a public health approach to combination prevention. The Lancet, 384(9939), 272-279. Koff, C., Russell, D., Walport, M., Feinberg, B., Shiver, W., Karim, A., and Nabel, J. (2013). Accelerating the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine: HIV vaccine case study for the Decade of Vaccines. Vaccine, 31, B204-B208. NASCOP 2014. Kenya AIDS progress report. Probst, C., Simbayi, L. C., Parry, C. D., Shuper, P. A., Rehm, J. (2017). Alcohol use, socioeconomic status and risk of HIV infections. AIDS and Behavior, 21(7), 1926-1937. Serrano-Villar, S., Prez-Elas, M. J., Dronda, F., Casado, J. L., Moreno, A., Royuela, A., ... Quereda, C. (2014). Increased risk of serious non-AIDS-related events in HIV-infected subjects on antiretroviral therapy associated with a low CD4/CD8 ratio. PloS one, 9(1), e85798. Sheldon, J., Camino, N., Rods, B., Bartholomeusz, A., Kuiper, M., Tacke, F., and Soriano, V. (2005). Selection of hepatitis B virus polymerase mutations in HIV-coinfected patients treated with tenofovir. Journal of Antiviral Therapy, 10(6), 727. Sherman, G., Stevens, G., Jones, A., Horsfield, P., and Stevens, S. (2005). Dried blood spots improve access to HIV diagnosis and care for infants in low-resource settings. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 38(5), 615-617. Shisana, O., Rehle, T. M., Zuma, K., Hallett, T. B., Carrara, H., Jooste, S., Pillay-van Wyk, V. (2015). A decline in new HIV infections in South Africa: estimating HIV incidence from three national HIV surveys in 2002, 2005 and 2008. Sidib, M., Zuniga, M., and Montaner, J. (2014). Leveraging HIV treatment to end AIDS, stop new HIV infections, and avoid the cost of inaction. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 59(suppl 1), S3-S6. Sung, J., Tsoi, K., Wong, V., Li, K., and Chan, H. (2008). Meta?analysis: treatment of hepatitis B infection reduces risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Journal of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 28(9), 1067-1077. UNAIDS. (2006). Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. Accessed from www.unaids.org. Volk, J. E., Marcus, J. L., Phengrasamy, T., Blechinger, D., Nguyen, D. P., Follansbee, S., Hare, C. B. (2015). No new HIV infections with increasing use of HIV preexposure prophylaxis in a clinical practice setting. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 61(10), 1601-1603. Weiler, G. (2013). Global update on HIV treatment 2013: results, impact and opportunities. World Health Organization. (2016). Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection: recommendations for a public health approach. World Health Organization. Zhan, P., and Liu, X. (2011). Novel HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors: a patent review (2005-2010). Expert opinion on therapeutic patents, 21(5), 717-796.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)