The Rise of Antibiotics

The Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections by_ Ricki Lewis, Ph. D. _ When penicillin became widely available during the second world war, it was a medical miracle, rapidly vanquishing the biggest wartime killer–infected wounds. Discovered initially by a French medical student, Ernest Duchesne, in 1896, and then rediscovered by Scottish physician Alexander Fleming in 1928, the product of the soil mold Penicillium crippled many types of disease-causing bacteria. But just four years after drug companies began mass-producing penicillin in 1943, microbes began appearing that could resist it. The first bug to battle penicillin was Staphylococcus aureus. This bacterium is often a harmless passenger in the human body, but it can cause illness, such as pneumonia or toxic shock syndrome, when it overgrows or produces a toxin. In 1967, another type of penicillin-resistant pneumonia, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and called pneumococcus, surfaced in a remote village in Papua New Guinea. At about the same time, American military personnel in southeast Asia were acquiring penicillin-resistant gonorrhea from prostitutes. By 1976, when the soldiers had come home, they brought the new strain of gonorrhea with them, and physicians had to find new drugs to treat it. In 1983, a hospital-acquired intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Enterococcus faecium joined the list of bugs that outwit penicillin. Antibiotic resistance spreads fast. Between 1979 and 1987, for example, only 0. 02 percent of pneumococcus strains infecting a large number of patients surveyed by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were penicillin-resistant. CDC's survey included 13 hospitals in 12 states. Today, 6. 6 percent of pneumococcus strains are resistant, according to a report in the June 15, 1994, Journal of the American Medical Association by Robert F. Breiman, M. D. , and colleagues at CDC. The agency also reports that in 1992, 13,300 hospital patients died of bacterial infections that were resistant to antibiotic treatment. Why has this happened? â€Å"There was complacency in the 1980s. The perception was that we had licked the bacterial infection problem. Drug companies weren't working on new agents. They were concentrating on other areas, such as viral infections,† says Michael Blum, M. D. , medical officer in the Food and Drug Administration's division of anti-infective drug products. â€Å"In the meantime, resistance increased to a number of commonly used antibiotics, possibly related to overuse of antibiotics. In the 1990s, we've come to a point for certain infections that we don't have agents available. † According to a report in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have identified bacteria in patient samples that resist all currently available antibiotic drugs. Survival of the Fittest The increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is an outcome of evolution. Any population of organisms, bacteria included, naturally includes variants with unusual traits–in this case, the ability to withstand an antibiotic's attack on a microbe. When a person takes an antibiotic, the drug kills the defenseless bacteria, leaving behind–or â€Å"selecting,† in biological terms–those that can resist it. These renegade bacteria then multiply, increasing their numbers a millionfold in a day, becoming the predominant microorganism. The antibiotic does not technically cause the resistance, but allows it to happen by creating a situation where an already existing variant can flourish. â€Å"Whenever antibiotics are used, there is selective pressure for resistance to occur. It builds upon itself. More and more organisms develop resistance to more and more drugs,† says Joe Cranston, Ph. D. , director of the department of drug policy and standards at the American Medical Association in Chicago. A patient can develop a drug-resistant infection either by contracting a resistant bug to begin with, or by having a resistant microbe emerge in the body once antibiotic treatment begins. Drug-resistant infections increase risk of death, and are often associated with prolonged hospital stays, and sometimes complications. These might necessitate removing part of a ravaged lung, or replacing a damaged heart valve. Bacterial Weaponry Disease-causing microbes thwart antibiotics by interfering with their mechanism of action. For example, penicillin kills bacteria by attaching to their cell walls, then destroying a key part of the wall. The wall falls apart, and the bacterium dies. Resistant microbes, however, either alter their cell walls so penicillin can't bind or produce enzymes that dismantle the antibiotic. In another scenario, erythromycin attacks ribosomes, structures within a cell that enable it to make proteins. Resistant bacteria have slightly altered ribosomes to which the drug cannot bind. The ribosomal route is also how bacteria become resistant to the antibiotics tetracycline, streptomycin and gentamicin. How Antibiotic Resistance Happens Antibiotic resistance results from gene action. Bacteria acquire genes conferring resistance in any of three ways. In spontaneous DNA mutation, bacterial DNA (genetic material) may mutate (change) spontaneously (indicated by starburst). Drug-resistant tuberculosis arises this way. In a form of microbial sex called transformation, one bacterium may take up DNA from another bacterium. Pencillin-resistant gonorrhea results from transformation. Most frightening, however, is resistance acquired from a small circle of DNA called a plasmid, that can flit from one type of bacterium to another. A single plasmid can provide a slew of different resistances. In 1968, 12,500 people in Guatemala died in an epidemic of Shigella diarrhea. The microbe harbored a plasmid carrying resistances to four antibiotics! A Vicious Cycle: More Infections and Antibiotic Overuse Though bacterial antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon, societal factors also contribute to the problem. These factors include increased infection transmission, coupled with inappropriate antibiotic use. More people are contracting infections. Sinusitis among adults is on the rise, as are ear infections in children. A report by CDC's Linda F. McCaig and James M. Hughes, M. D. , in the Jan. 18, 1995, Journal of the American Medical Association, tracks antibiotic use in treating common illnesses. The report cites nearly 6 million antibiotic prescriptions for sinusitis in 1985, and nearly 13 million in 1992. Similarly, for middle ear infections, the numbers are 15 million prescriptions in 1985, and 23. 6 million in 1992. Causes for the increase in reported infections are diverse. Some studies correlate the doubling in doctor's office visits for ear infections for preschoolers between 1975 and 1990 to increased use of day-care facilities. Homelessness contributes to the spread of infection. Ironically, advances in modern medicine have made more people predisposed to infection. People on chemotherapy and transplant recipients taking drugs to suppress their immune function are at greater risk of infection. â€Å"There are the number of immunocompromised patients, who wouldn't have survived in earlier times,† says Cranston. â€Å"Radical procedures produce patients who are in difficult shape in the hospital, and are prone to nosocomial [hospital-acquired] infections. Also, the general aging of patients who live longer, get sicker, and die slower contributes to the problem,† he adds. Though some people clearly need to be treated with antibiotics, many experts are concerned about the inappropriate use of these powerful drugs. â€Å"Many consumers have an expectation that when they're ill, antibiotics are the answer. They put pressure on the physician to prescribe them. Most of the time the illness is viral, and antibiotics are not the answer. This large burden of antibiotics is certainly selecting resistant bacteria,† says Blum. Another much-publicized concern is use of antibiotics in livestock, where the drugs are used in well animals to prevent disease, and the animals are later slaughtered for food. â€Å"If an animal gets a bacterial infection, growth is slowed and it doesn't put on weight as fast,† says Joe Madden, Ph. D. , strategic manager of microbiology at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. In addition, antibiotics are sometimes administered at low levels in feed for long durations to increase the rate of weight gain and improve the efficiency of converting animal feed to units of animal production. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine limits the amount of antibiotic residue in poultry and other meats, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture monitors meats for drug residues. According to Margaret Miller, Ph. D. , deputy division director at the Center for Veterinary Medicine, the residue limits for antimicrobial animal drugs are set low enough to ensure that the residues themselves do not select resistant bacteria in (human) gut flora. FDA is investigating whether bacteria resistant to quinolone antibiotics can emerge in food animals and cause disease in humans. Although thorough cooking sharply reduces the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant bacteria surviving in a meat meal to infect a human, it could happen. Pathogens resistant to drugs other than fluoroquinolones have sporadically been reported to survive in a meat meal to infect a human. In 1983, for example, 18 people in four midwestern states developed multi-drug-resistant Salmonella food poisoning after eating beef from cows fed antibiotics. Eleven of the people were hospitalized, and one died. A study conducted by Alain Cometta, M. D. , and his colleagues at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland, and reported in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine, showed that increase in antibiotic resistance parallels increase in antibiotic use in humans. They examined a large group of cancer patients given antibiotics called fluoroquinolones to prevent infection. The patients' white blood cell counts were very low as a result of their cancer treatment, leaving them open to infection. Between 1983 and 1993, the percentage of such patients receiving antibiotics rose from 1. 4 to 45. During those years, the researchers isolated Escherichia coli bacteria annually from the patients, and tested the microbes for resistance to five types of fluoroquinolones. Between 1983 and 1990, all 92 E. coli strains tested were easily killed by the antibiotics. But from 1991 to 1993, 11 of 40 tested strains (28 percent) were resistant to all five drugs. Towards Solving the Problem Antibiotic resistance is inevitable, say scientists, but there are measures we can take to slow it. Efforts are under way on several fronts–improving infection control, developing new antibiotics, and using drugs more appropriately. Barbara E. Murray, M. D. , of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston writes in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine that simple improvements in public health measures can go a long way towards preventing infection. Such approaches include more frequent hand washing by health-care workers, quick identification and isolation of patients with drug-resistant infections, and improving sewage systems and water purity in developing nations. Drug manufacturers are once again becoming interested in developing new antibiotics. These efforts have been spurred both by the appearance of new bacterial illnesses, such as Lyme disease and Legionnaire's disease, and resurgences of old foes, such as tuberculosis, due to drug resistance. FDA is doing all it can to speed development and availability of new antibiotic drugs. â€Å"We can't identify new agents–that's the job of the pharmaceutical industry. But once they have identified a promising new drug for resistant infections, what we can do is to meet with the company very early and help design the development plan and clinical trials,† says Blum. In addition, drugs in development can be used for patients with multi-drug-resistant infections on an â€Å"emergency IND (compassionate use)† basis, if the physician requests this of FDA, Blum adds. This is done for people with AIDS or cancer, for example. No one really has a good idea of the extent of antibiotic resistance, because it hasn't been monitored in a coordinated fashion. â€Å"Each hospital monitors its own resistance, but there is no good national system to test for antibiotic resistance,† says Blum. This may soon change. CDC is encouraging local health officials to track resistance data, and the World Health Organization has initiated a global computer database for physicians to report outbreaks of drug-resistant bacterial infections. Experts agree that antibiotics should be restricted to patients who can truly benefit from them–that is, people with bacterial infections. Already this is being done in the hospital setting, where the routine use of antibiotics to prevent infection in certain surgical patients is being reexamined. We have known since way back in the antibiotic era that these drugs have been used inappropriately in surgical prophylaxis [preventing infections in surgical patients]. But there is more success [in limiting antibiotic use] in hospital settings, where guidelines are established, than in the more typical outpatient settings,† says Cranston. Murray points out an example of antibiotic prophylaxis in the outpatient setting–children with recurrent ear infections given extended antibiotic prescriptions to prevent future infections. (See â€Å"Protecting Little Pitchers' Ears† in the December 1994 FDA Consumer. Another problem with antibiotic use is that patients often stop taking the drug too soon, because symptoms improve. However, this merely encourages resistant microbes to proliferate. The infection returns a few weeks later, and this time a different drug must be used to treat it. Targeting TB Stephen Weis and colleagues at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth reported in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine on research they conducted in Tarrant County, Texas, that vividly illustrates how helping patients to take the full course of their medication can actually lower resistance rates. The subject–tuberculosis. TB is an infection that has experienced spectacular ups and downs. Drugs were developed to treat it, complacency set in that it was beaten, and the disease resurged because patients stopped their medication too soon and infected others. Today, one in seven new TB cases is resistant to the two drugs most commonly used to treat it (isoniazid and rifampin), and 5 percent of these patients die. In the Texas study, 407 patients from 1980 to 1986 were allowed to take their medication on their own. From 1986 until the end of 1992, 581 patients were closely followed, with nurses observing them take their pills. By the end of the study, the relapse rate–which reflects antibiotic resistance–fell from 20. 9 to 5. 5 percent. This trend is especially significant, the researchers note, because it occurred as risk factors for spreading TB–including AIDS, intravenous drug use, and homelessness–were increasing. The conclusion: Resistance can be slowed if patients take medications correctly. Narrowing the Spectrum Appropriate prescribing also means that physicians use â€Å"narrow spectrum† antibiotics–those that target only a few bacterial types–whenever possible, so that resistances can be restricted. The only national survey of antibiotic prescribing practices of office physicians, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, finds that the number of prescriptions has not risen appreciably from 1980 to 1992, but there has been a shift to using costlier, broader spectrum agents. This prescribing trend heightens the resistance problem, write McCaig and Hughes, because more diverse bacteria are being exposed to antibiotics. One way FDA can help physicians choose narrower spectrum antibiotics is to ensure that labeling keeps up with evolving bacterial resistances. Blum hopes that the surveillance information on emerging antibiotic resistances from CDC will enable FDA to require that product labels be updated with the most current surveillance information. Many of us have come to take antibiotics for granted. A child develops strep throat or an ear infection, and soon a bottle of â€Å"pink medicine† makes everything better. An adult suffers a sinus headache, and antibiotic pills quickly control it. But infections can and do still kill. Because of a complex combination of factors, serious infections may be on the rise. While awaiting the next â€Å"wonder drug,† we must appreciate, and use correctly, the ones that we already have. {draw:rect} Big Difference If this bacterium could be shown four times bigger, it would be the right relative size to the virus beneath it. Both are microscopic and are shown many times larger than life. ) Although bacteria are single-celled organisms, viruses are far simpler, consisting of one type of biochemical (a nucleic acid, such as DNA or RNA) wrapped in another (protein). Most biologists do not consider viruses to be living things, but instead, infectious particles. Antibiotic drugs attack bacteria, not viruses. {draw:rect} *The Greatest Fe ar–Vancomycin* Resistance When microbes began resisting penicillin, medical researchers fought back with chemical cousins, such as methicillin and oxacillin. By 1953, the antibiotic armamentarium included chloramphenicol, neomycin, terramycin, tetracycline, and cephalosporins. But today, researchers fear that we may be nearing an end to the seemingly endless flow of antimicrobial drugs. At the center of current concern is the antibiotic vancomycin, which for many infections is literally the drug of â€Å"last resort,† says Michael Blum, M. D. , medical officer in FDA's division of anti-infective drug products. Some hospital-acquired staph infections are resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. Now vancomycin resistance has turned up in another common hospital bug, enterococcus. And since bacteria swap resistance genes like teenagers swap T-shirts, it is only a matter of time, many microbiologists believe, until vancomycin-resistant staph infections appear. â€Å"Staph aureus may pick up vancomycin resistance from enterococci, which are found in the normal human gut,† says Madden. And the speed with which vancomycin resistance has spread through enterococci has prompted researchers to use the word â€Å"crisis† when discussing the possibility of vancomycin-resistant staph. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci were first reported in England and France in 1987, and appeared in one New York City hospital in 1989. By 1991, 38 hospitals in the United States reported the bug. By 1993, 14 percent of patients with enterococcus in intensive-care units in some hospitals had vancomycin-resistant strains, a 20-fold increase from 1987. A frightening report came in 1992, when a British researcher observed a transfer of a vancomycin-resistant gene from enterococcus to Staph aureus in the laboratory. Alarmed, the researcher immediately destroyed the bacteria. Ricki_ Lewis is a geneticist and textbook author. _ {draw:rect} FDA Consumer magazine (September 1995)

Disadvantage of Facebook Essay

Now it’s time to talk about some disadvantages of Facebook. There are some Disadvantages of Facebook beside these many advantages. Some of these disadvantages are : –Â  Facebook is Addicting! Facebook is too much addicting! Facebook is too too addicting! Yes it is indeed addicting which often kills your valuable time. Using Facebook for your need is not bad but when you waste most of your valuable time than it becomes bad. The biggest disadvantages of Facebook is it’s addiction which causes many problems. –Â  Fake profile and ID! Fake profile is one of the biggest disadvantage of Facebook. Now it has become easier to create fake profile. People often uses fake profile to insults or harassing someone. It is more common against girls where people simply makes a fake profile and start harassing them. In my country i have got news that some girls died y suicide when someone abused her by making a fake profile of her. –Â  There are plenty of groups and Fan pages out there which is being created to abuse or violate other religion , personalities , nation etc. This kind of racist disgusting activities decreasing some popularity. Facebook administrator should take necessary steps against all these abusing groups & pages. –Â  Facebook often brings bad effects on students results. Students who are Facebook addicted does a bad result on his or her exams. –Â  Beside students, people who works in offices wastes their time in browsing Facebook. That’s why many offices has decided to block Facebook completely. –Â  False report! Many people lost their precious Facebook ID because of false report. Facebook administrator should be careful on that.

Hiv/Aids and Social Support Essay

HIV/AIDS and Social Support Essay The role of social Support in coping in HIV/AIDS As South Africa has a very high rate of HIV infections. The government has increased the availability of antiretrovirals to the individuals who have been diagnosed with this disease. Whereas the availability of the treatment increases there is a great amount of stressors that come with the diagnosis of this virus. Therefor there are other aspects that play a role in the treatment of HIV/AIDS such as environmental factors, stigmazation and social support.This essay will be discussing the role that social support plays in people with HIV/AIDS, the effects of social support and the theories on social support. This essay will also be discussing the role of social support after an individual has been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The related health decline and the stigma attached to this diagnosis. The diagnosis of HIV/AIDS leads to enormous amounts of stress to the individual that has been diagnosed with this c hronic illness.Solomon (1987) as citied in Green (1993) hypnotizes that stress, psychological and social support can influence the pace at which HIV replicates and progresses to AIDS; therefor there is an indirect link between HIV/AIDS and social support. According to Carver (1989) as cited in Koopman, Gore-Felton, Marouf Butler, Field, Gill, Chen, Israelski & Spiegel(2000) the lack of expression of motions, the withdrawal of one’s behaviour and the mental detachment to the world are the three most used coping tactics that are associated with the increasing levels of stress among people living with HIV.There are a lot of stigmas associated with HIV such as that it infects only certain kinds of people. Stigma refers to be bias, negative attitudes, abuse and mistreatment directed at people living with  HIV  and  AIDS. The consequences of stigma are widespread: being rejected by family, friends and even the community. â€Å"Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action. It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they have the disease, or to seek treatment if so.It helps make AIDS the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it, or taking easily available precautions. Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world. † (Moon, 2010). HIV/AIDS is a life-threatening illness, and therefore people react to it in strong ways. HIV infection is connected with actions (such as homosexuality, drug addiction, prostitution) that are already stigmatised in many communities many of this stigmatisation is caused by not being informed and the misconceptions that go along with HIV.The effects of the ARVs may cause individual to change appearance which may lead to discrimination based on appearance. HIV/AIDS is a very stressful life event with due to the diagnosis of the chronic event therefore one needs stable social s upport. According to Friedland, Renwick and McColl (1996) social support reflects on the following types of supports: The kind of support in which  the individual is provided with adequate services and goods and financial stability.The second support is where the individual who has HIV/AIDS is provided with all the information she needs regarding the condition she has, the third one is emotional support which is according to House (1981) the feeling that the individual is being cared for. Emotional support strengthens the feeling of self-worth and belonging and is also regarded as the most important one in terms of social support. Friedland et al. (1996) suggests that health professionals could meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS more by developing semi-formal social support so that the burden from friends and family can be decreased.People with HIV/AIDS can be encouraged to attend counselling sessions provided by health professionals. Many communities prove that support provid ed by AIDS survivors, buddy-systems, support centres have decreased the gap between formal and informal social support significantly. Even if these kind of semi-formal support does not provide the closeness that friends provides, it provides a higher level of trust for the individuals with HIV/AIDS. Schreurs and Ridder (1997) emphasizes that close relationships are unique therefor they cannot be replaced.According to Broadhead et al. (1983) in Green (1993) there is a positive association between social support and psychological assets which helps the individual who has HIV/AIDS cope with the illness and also promotes recovery. Green(1993) argues that the is no proof that show the concrete proof that show social support has an effect in the development of HIV. Riello (1990) states that it is more likely for death to occur in an individual who has been diagnosed with HIV in the past 12 months with no social support.When the diagnosis is in its initial stages it is where the rate of it s progression is the fastest and the individual who is being diagnosed is at his/her most vulnerable stage because they are still coming to terms with themselves having the disease. Based on these statements social support plays a big role in the physical health of an individual with HIV. Constructed on the research done by Persson (1991) there is an association between social support and an HIV positive individual’s low CD4 count.There are also symptoms during the duration of the illness that are linked to weak social support. Social support is divided into two categories. The kind that is beneficial for the individuals who are experiencing stress. According to the buffering theory, social support protects people from the unhealthy effects of traumatic events by influencing how people think about and  handle these kinds of events. According to stress and coping theory,  events are stre ssful to the extent that individuals have negative thoughts about the events and cope unproductively.This theory is called the buffering hypothesis. Willis (1985). The main theory is the one that is health improving to everyone. This theory is found when social support is intellectualized. Apparently this is not due to better coping actions but it promotes self-worth and the feeling of stability. In conclusion, it is debatable that there is a link between social support and the health improvement status in individuals living with HIV/AIDS even if it is minimal. As discussed above social support can have a negative effect when it comes to coping strategies.Even if social support help people with HIV deal with the illness it does not play a significant role in the physical well-being of the individuals but it has a big considerable emotional impact. It can be concluded that social support increases the quality of life and self-esteem in people living with HIV/AIDS. Therefor it can be concluded that more research needs to be conducted to prove the definite correlate bet ween social support and the diagnosis of HIV. References Green, G. (1993). Editorial review: Social support and HIV. AIDS Care, 5(1), 87. Koopman, C. C. , Gore-Felton, C. C. Marouf, F. F. , Butler, L. D. , Field, N. N. , Gill, M. M. , & †¦ Spiegel, D. D. (2000). Relationships of perceived stress to coping, attachment and social support among HIV-positive persons. AIDS Care, 12(5), 663-672. Friedland, J. J. , Renwick, R. R. , & Mccoll, M. M. (1996). Coping and social support as determinants of quality of life in HIV/AIDS. AIDS Care, 8(1), 15-32. Schreurs, K. M. G. , de Ridders, D. T. D. (1997). Integration of coping and social support perspectives: Implications for the study of adaptation to chronic diseases. Clinical Psychology Review, 17(1), 89-112. .

The Wrestler by Dudley Talcott

Originally created in 1929 by Connecticut-born sculptor Dudley Talcott, The Wrestler is a testament to the power of the modern age. Nearly a century after its creation, its imposing presence is potent enough to earn itself the position as the symbol for the Florida International University Wolfsonian Art Museum. At nearly seven feet tall, the aluminum sculpture is oddly comforting. Its blend of a few key human features and a featureless facade gives it a quality of quiet strength, softening its powerful bulk. It seems only fitting that such an ominous figure of peaceful might would be displayed at the Olympic games in Los Angeles three years after its creation. This piece of art is one of subtle meaning, leaving it open to a variety of apt interpretations. Dudley Vail Talcott was born in 1899 into an artistic and encouraging family. He was supported in his artistic endeavors instead of being pushed to adopt a more commercial career. Talcott studied briefly at Yale University but never earned a degree. He opted instead to travel, attending open classes at Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris before traveling to Norway. Alcott spent his time in Norway exploring Norwegian fjords by canoe and working on a North Sea fishing boat. He later published two books documenting his experiences replete with his own drawings and photographs. By 1927, Talcott was exhibiting his work in New York and Chicago. He quickly gained repute as America’s premier sculpture, creating works in his own distinct style but still showing signs of more traditional approaches. By this point, Talcott was being commissioned for large-scale installations such as fountains while working on smaller pieces of a more personal nature. The Wrestler, one of his earlier works, already showed distinct signs of Talcott's style. The 1920s saw American artists being presented with competing mediums in which to express visual modernity. Modern applied arts of French influence were the modes of choice for architects and interior designers. Many sculptors chose to create works based on pre-classical Greek figures; this refers to the rendition of the human form in expressionless poses and facial features. Being born on the heels of the industrial revolution, Talcott was caught up with the rest of the country in the wave of awe and wonderment that came with experiencing such a radical change in the cultural and economic landscape. The advent of the automobile and the plane physically changed the American landscape. Jazz, considered to be one of the truly American art forms, was born shortly followed by the invention of the radio. Home refrigeration as well as penicillin, a cure-all antibiotic, was changing the way of life on the home front. Modernism, an artistic philosophy founded on the breaking of traditions and the abandonment of convention, was increasingly becoming less of a philosophy and more of a reality. Modernist art is characterized by sleek, minimalist design. It forgoes extravagance and ostentatious splendor for subtle elegance. A bloom in popularity of science fiction, introduced by films such as Metropolis, had introduced robots into popular culture and fueled an already rampant wonder of new technology. Talcott fused all these modernist ideas into The Wrestler. His faceless visage and geometric musculature are reminiscent of an automaton, yet the inclusion of ears, nipples, and male genitalia humanize what might have been an otherwise cold form. This humanization of his sculpture is evocative of nude Greek figures in the pre-classical eras. The use of aluminum as a medium allows Talcott to express a sense of futurism through material alone. Though it is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, it did not become commercially available until the early nineteenth century. It was initially isolated in 1845 but until the early 1900s was only used for small applications, most notably jewelry. Once techniques were developed to produce aluminum in industrial quantities, it becomes something of a wonder material for engineers. Its durability, relatively low density, and resistance to corrosion made aluminum ideal for architectural and aviation applications. Its resistance to corrosion and ductility in particular made it apt for public sculptures and architectural ornaments. Frank Lloyd Wright, acclaimed architect and modernist, is credited by some sources as being the first to use aluminum as a decorative medium in architecture in his design of the walkway of the Polk County Science Building of the Florida Southern College. The esplanade features tapered aluminum columns that give the appearance of mechanical function. Each column is divided into three sections that give the illusion that they can retract and extend. This esplanade reflects modernist appreciation for the aesthetic appeal of the machine. Combined with its robotic form that is only vaguely human, The Wrestler is a tribute to the power of progress. Talcott entered The Wrestler in the Sculpture division in the arts portion of the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Arts competitions based on sports-themed works were a part of the Olympic games from 1912 to 1948. This portion of the Games was discontinued due to concerns about amateurism and professionalism. The competition had divisions for music, literature, painting, architecture, and sculpture. In context of the Olympic games, The Wrestler can take on meaning in addition to the modernist ideals it embodies. It can be argued that in removing some of the distinguishing features of the form, this statue transcends humanity. In spirit with the Olympics, it is free from some of the unavoidable evils of the human experience such as political, religious, and racial prejudice. The choice of athletic event depicted also adds another layer of meaning. Wrestling is classically a sport of control, as opposed to outright dominance. This sense of control refers to more than just control over one’s opponent; it also refers to control oneself. An effective wrestler is equal parts brute and master strategist. A match can be said to resemble a game of chess played with the limbs. Many eastern cultures and the predecessors of our own western culture, the Greeks, valued wrestling as a means of transcendence and self-discovery. The Greek philosopher Plato, a wrestler himself, saw the sport as a means to keep the balance between intellect and brawn while simultaneously experiencing a microcosm of human existence. American anthropologist Clifford James Geertz noted in his study of Indian culture that they view wrestling as â€Å"a story they tell themselves about themselves†¦. When in the competitive pit, a wrestler stands alone as the distilled essence of his way of life. He stands alone with his own background, his own unique history of success and failure, his own strength and skill, and his own style and technique. † Indians collectively believed being a wrestler was as much a description as a title. They revere not only the competitor as a champion but as one who has â€Å"lived up to the ideals of a rigorous life,† implying that wrestling goes beyond the barrier of recreation and ventures into creed. It can be said it is viewed as a religion without a formal doctrine, something existent in all cultures in some form or another. Dr. Jospeh S. Alter, sociocultural anthropologist and professor of medical anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, stated in a similar study focusing on the symbolic meaning of the body in the practice of North Indian wrestling, â€Å"When in the competitive pit, a wrestler stands alone as the distilled essence of his way of life. He stands alone with his own background, his own unique history of success and failure, his own strength and skill, and his own style and technique. We find the paradoxical nature of life mirrored in wrestling: despite requiring the presence of an opponent and being a custom that spans across every culture, wrestling is a solitary practice. In light of this new meaning, The Wrestler can be seen as representing humankind’s control over its future through the balance of intellectual progress and unbridled force. Furthe rmore, The Wrestler is an icon of the solidarity of the modernist movement. Without centuries of precedence and influence to rely on, a subculture of artists devoted to testing preconceptions had charged themselves with creating things that until then had never been. One could argue that modernists influenced the establishment of existential philosophy for the very reason that they were the first to strip themselves of their preconceived notions and were completely free to create as they saw fit. The Wrestler can serve as an allegorical figure for the modernist movement as a whole. Modernists stand alone in the proverbial ring, alone with their opponent (convention and classical conformity) with nothing but their own skill, style, and technique. A similar ideal is embodied by the sculpture that took the silver that year. Wrestling, by Hungarian sculptor Miltiades Manno, depicts two wrestlers in the heat of combat. While The Wrestler is more of a stoic figure of progress and strength, Wrestling is extremely detailed. Each facial feature is carved into an expression of exertion and each muscle is anatomically accurate. This sculpture is an example of a neo-classical Greek figure. Historically, these figures are more expressive and much more anatomically correct due to a better understanding of the human body; the increasing realism of the sculptures coincide with medical advancements of the era. In contrast to Talcott’s piece, Manno’s statue is a more literal depiction of the sport it is based on. A portrayal that is more analogous in meaning to that of The Wrestler is the portrayal of Jacob’s wrestling match with God. In this rendering, the match is an allegory for the triumph of man (in this case) over a higher power. He is left permanently handicapped from the match implying that, though it is possible to prevail, there are severe consequences in wresting command from those above us; we are to allow ourselves to be controlled as opposed to taking control of our lives ourselves. The sentiment behind The Wrestler is that humankind is in control of itself. Though similar in the use of wrestling as a metaphor for control, the two depictions differ in their ultimate meaning. Another work of Talcott’s, his monument to renaissance astronomer Copernicus, is also closely related in significance to The Wrestler. The monument features a modernist representation of the heliocentric model, the sun symbolized by three interlocking discs and the Earth’s orbit symbolized by a sixteen-foot ring. At its time, Copernicus’ heliocentric model was innovative. It was a widely held belief that the Earth was the center of this solar system. It seems fitting that a modernist would be the one to commemorate Copernicus’ revolutionary concept. As with all things, ways of seeing The Wrestler have changed with time. Aluminum is no longer a new and futuristic material. Robots and advanced technology are now commonplace. Most people do not even leave their houses without a cell phone, a device that would have been more science fiction than nonfiction to people of the 1920s. Without the novelty of a new material and style, this statue is still a poignant testament to the enduring character of the human spirit. The Wrestler stands proud and resolute; his broad shoulders and intimidating musculature are symbolic of the force of willpower. It is this willpower that fueled the scientific and cultural progress that was so idolized by early nineteenth century modernists and subsequent artistic movement such as post-modernism. In regards to my personal reaction to this piece, to say that I was moved by this piece is a severe understatement. As a wrestler myself I have always found competition to be a exercise in both physical and mental faculties far surpassing the development of body and mind separately. In fact, I’m a firm believer that the most valuable gains from a life spent wrestling have nothing to do with athleticism. Once my body loses its ability to handle the demands of this sport, I will not miss it. When that day comes my mind will still retain its ability to strategize at the capacity I have trained it to do so. I will still have the iron will to turn my goals and aspirations into inevitabilities. I will still be able to grapple with the foes of peace and tranquility in my life and overcome them with ease. I will still be a wrestler. This is a sentiment shared by anyone that has ever defined him or herself through this sport. The fact that this piece uses wrestling to convey such a complex and layered message stirred up these emotions in me; I have been on a hiatus from actively competing due to several orthopedic injuries so these feelings have lay dormant until recently. Tascott’s use of wrestling to convey his point struck a chord in me, allowing me to relate to the concepts presented in his despite my birth being over sixty years after these ideas were relevant. I think it is his appeal to basic constituents of the human condition, though, that arrests the attention of what would be an otherwise oblivious passerby. I believe this is the reason it was selected to be the symbol of the Wolfsonian museum. It is intimidating yet approachable; it is simple yet alluring, cold yet inviting. To borrow a line form Winston Churchill, The Wrestler is â€Å"a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. †

Meanings of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior Essay

Meanings of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior - Essay Example Shapiro, E. S. (2011) pointed out that, in assessing the students, the teacher requires combining, intelligence and adaptive behavior that causes them fall behind in their school achievement. This cannot be caused by a sensory impairment, a specific learning disability or a behavioral disorder and the onset must be prior to being school aged. For those with milder cognitive impairment, this would look like a broad form of a learning disability that is not specific to any one area. Those with specific learning disabilities and many with autism will have performance valleys and spikes, where they may be proficient in one area while being very weak in another. Cognitive impairment cuts across all learning, which is intelligence and adaptive behavior together, are important. Shapiro, E. S. (2011) asked a question on how one would assess a student with a cognitive disability fairly and accurately. The answer to that is that it will take more than one tool to do it and over some span of time. It will not be easy or cheap. First, you can use standardized intelligence tests provided they do not floor out. You can also use adaptive behavior assessments and questionnaires. The questionnaires should be given to parents as well as teachers. Next, do some real-time observations of the student in the actual environment. Then look at actual work products and compare them with same-aged peers. All of these last measures should be done in several settings and across time in order to assess the rate of progress. Assessment should always inform instruction, but in practice most of what passes as â€Å"accountability† and â€Å"performance† nowadays does not (Shaw, 2008). Shapiro, E. S. (2011) added that, eligibility for special education services requires two findings: first, the student must meet the criteria for at least one of the thirteen disabilities recognized in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the counterparts thereof in state law, 1, 2. Second, special education and/or related services must be required for the student to receive an appropriate education 2, 3. It is true that some students are eligible for

Man Killed in Sydney Shooting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Man Killed in Sydney Shooting - Essay Example Local people are strictly prohibited to get into the area until the investigation process is in progress and police advice the people for not to come across the street and try to avoid it. However, even after several primary investigation process police is still unable to identify any criminals or suspects. As the shootout was held in the evening the police have decided to close the road from late evening. Even though the investigation is taking place still the criminals are still free and no one is yet arrested by the police. The case is in progress and the murderer is still undetected. Moreover, the increasing number of crime in Australia is affecting its social and political stability to a large extent. Thus, the local people are getting affected by the increasing criminal activities in Australia (The Australian, 2014). The Social Structure Theory mainly implies the relationship between various attributes of the society. The social structure theory is mainly based on the three modules those are a strain, cultural deviance theory, and social disorganization theory. The objective of these components of the theory is to provide support for understanding individual behavior towards the criminal behavior. In this context, the cultural deviance fits appropriately for the case. The cultural deviance theory is a combination of the social disorganization and strain theory. The criminal activities taking place within the society, which is mainly witnessed amid the lower grade people with a poor mentality. From the above case, it is found that the crime has taken place in a roadside area. Police, however, suspects that there might be some involvement of the mafia gang who are experts in this kind of activity as referred to in the case. The cultural deviance theory signifies that the upbringing or the family cu lture of a person can lead them towards the crime.  

Democracy and Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Democracy and Economy - Essay Example ( Reginald Chua (2000)) .Democracy do have its cons which hinders the path of development in one way or another for example in the country where literacy rates are very low , where the cast system are very much prevalent , people are emotional there the very basic foundation of democracy, the right of people to elect their representative to govern them is massively distorted , the people there usually are unaware of their own rights and their usage so in those countries only corrupt people come in democracy and use it only for their own self interest and people's development is totally ignored. Well if any authoritarian country's administration make sure the right of people are well protected and assure their personal , professional and economical growth, maintain good standard of living for its inhabitants, provide them with basic facilities of life, provide them with employment then the development of the country is inveterate. The living example of it is China and Singapore. Hans F.Sennholz (2007) stated "The most startling progress over the last two decades has been in China which labors under and authoritarian regime". The world poorest democratic states are also as much democratic as the wealthier states but the difference lies in governance (Hans 2007). The key point of this statement is that development is not correlated to democracy that much than it is related to the governance of the country. Some of the countries which has been liberated in early twentieth century like Australia in 1901and New Zealand in 1947 they had government institutes running previously with much of an ideology and legal methods so after freedom they didn't have to work from scratch but those countries which were deprive of such institutions and... The researcher of this essay states that if we look to the meaning of development then according to American heritage Dictionary of English Language (2006) it is define as â€Å"A progression from simpler or lower to a more advance, mature or complex form of state or stage† it is also define as â€Å"act of developing â€Å". Development also have some key indicators which help the economist to access the development rate of the country some of them are per capita income, literacy rate, unemployment rate, standard of living, availability of basic facilities like electricity and gas etc. Democracy in this dictionary is define as â€Å"government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system†. The researcher then focuses on the analysis of the Asia’s democracies, such as India and Philippines, that are less progressive than the other au thoritarian government, such as China or North Korea. Summing up the discussion the researcher can say one thing with utmost authentication and that is the factor that matter much more than democracy or no democracy is the leader, along with his/her leadership qualities, social culture and pressure economic policies and rule of law, if these factors and may other major and minor factors of economy are being effectively implemented and foster into positive direction then the development is 100% bound to come else nothing can guarantee development what so ever.