Antibiotics - Discovery and Resistance

Antibiotics and antimicrobial agents are drugs or chemicals that are used to kill or hinder the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics specifically target bacteria for destruction while leaving other cells of the body unharmed. Under normal conditions, our immune system is capable of handling the germs that invade the body. Certain white blood cells known as lymphocytes protect the body against cancerous cells, pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites), and foreign matter. They produce antibodies which bind to a specific antigen (disease causing agent) and label the antigen for destruction by other white blood cells. When our immune system gets overwhelmed, antibiotics can be useful in assisting the bodys natural defenses in controlling bacterial infections. While antibiotics have proven to be powerful antibacterial agents, they are not effective against viruses. Viruses are not independent living organisms. They infect cells and rely on the hosts cellular machinery for viral replication. Antibiotics Discovery Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered. Penicillin is derived from a substance produced from molds of the Penicillium fungi. Penicillin works by disrupting bacterial cell wall assembly processes and interfering with bacterial reproduction. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, but it wasnt until the 1940s that antibiotic use revolutionized medical care and substantially reduced death rates and illnesses from bacterial infections. Today, other penicillin-related antibiotics including ampicillin, amoxicillin,  methicillin, and flucloxacillin are used to treat a variety of infections. Antibiotic Resistance Antibiotic resistance is becoming more and more common. Due to the prevalent use of antibiotics, resistant strains of bacteria are becoming much more difficult to treat. Antibiotic resistance has been observed in bacteria such as E.coli and MRSA. These super bugs represent a threat to public health since they are resistant to most commonly used antibiotics. Health officials warn that antibiotics should not be used to treat common colds, most sore throats, or the flu because these infections are caused by viruses. When used unnecessarily, antibiotics can lead to the spread of resistant bacteria. Some strains of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. These common bacteria infect about 30 percent of all people. In some people, S. aureus is a part of the normal group of bacteria that inhabit the body and may be found in areas such as the skin and the nasal cavities. While some staph strains are harmless, others pose serious health problems including foodborne illness, skin infections, heart disease, and meningitis. S. aureus bacteria favor the iron which is contained within the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin found within red blood cells. S. aureus bacteria break open blood cells to obtain the iron within the cells. Changes within some strains of S. aureus have helped them to survive antibiotic treatments. Current antibiotics work by disrupting so-called cell viability processes. Disruption of cell membrane assembly processes or DNA translation are common modes of operation for current generation antibiotics. To combat this, S. aureus have devel oped a single gene mutation that alters the organisms cell wall. This enables them to prevent breaches of the cell wall by antibiotic substances. Other antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, produce a protein called MurM. This protein counteracts the effects of antibiotics by helping to rebuild the bacterial cell wall. Fighting Antibiotic Resistance Scientists are taking various approaches to deal with the issue of antibiotic resistance. One method focuses on interrupting the cellular processes involved in the sharing of genes among bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. These bacteria share resistant genes among themselves and can even bind to DNA in their environment and transport the DNA across the bacterial cell membrane. The new DNA containing the resistant genes is then incorporated into the bacterial cells DNA. Using antibiotics to treat this type of infection can actually induce this transfer of genes. Researchers are focusing on ways to block certain bacterial proteins to prevent the transfer of genes between bacteria. Another approach to fighting antibiotic resistance actually focuses on keeping the bacteria alive. Instead of trying to kill the resistant bacteria, scientists are looking to disarm them and make them incapable of causing infection. The intent of this approach is to keep the bacteria alive, but harmle ss. It is thought that this will help prevent the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. As scientists better understand how bacteria gain resistance to antibiotics, improved methods for treating antibiotic resistance can be developed. Learn more about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance: Scientists Target Bacterial Transfer of Resistance GenesDisarming Disease-Causing BacteriaBacteria Discovery Could Lead to Antibiotics Alternatives Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work. Updated 05/01/12. http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/antibiotic-resistance-faqs.html

Forestry

Kozol’s Savage Inequalities Free Essays

Jonathan Kozol was born in 1936 in Massachusetts.   Throughout his life, he has been extremely active in public issues.   He spent several teaching in public schools, fighting against the inequalities there, but also fighting for the civil rights movement and equality for all, despite race or ethnicity. We will write a custom essay sample on Kozol’s Savage Inequalities or any similar topic only for you Order Now    Most of the schools Kozol taught at were inner-city schools, similar to the ones he writes about in his book (www.wikipedia.com). Kozol’s purpose in writing the book was to expose the vast inequalities that are present in today’s schools.   He provided a snapshot of many different ways schools are unequal: funding, teacher quality, school environment, materials, and more.   He profiled several different schools, in particular, inner-city Chicago schools and suburban Chicago schools (New Trier), to show the vast differences in every aspect of these schools, and the effects that these differences had on the students. Kozol also intended to show the multitude of different issues that went into creating the problem, such as lack of funding, lack of materials, lack of quality teacher, political laziness or outright disdain (towards inner-city schools), parent misinformation (or lack of information), lack of parental education and knowledge about the system, and more.   These differences all account for why the schools are so vastly different; money is not the only problem and simple solution. Kozol accomplished his purpose.   As one is reading the book, one is filled with shock, horror, and indignation at the vast inequities that exist in the schools.   One particularly telling section is his illustration of the kindergarten students, who Kozol describes as bright and eager to learn, even in the inner-city.   However, these kids – who have every ability to learn – are given few materials and poor teachers, and they fail to thrive. This failure, he explains, results from the education system failing them, and not from their own lack of anything.   He clearly illustrates the unfairness of the school system, and proposes some interesting solutions.   In the kindergarten class in one of Kozol’s examples, there are no pictures on the wall, there are ancient textbooks, there are few toys to play with, and there is a teacher who is almost too tired to care.   The teacher knows that whatever happens, many of these students will drop out of high school, and many of those will land in jail.   The teacher does not believe that she can make a difference, even though at this age, with the students eager and primarily well-behaved, she could. The purpose was well accomplished because of Kozol’s many examples.   The way he used the case studies was especially interesting.   In the case of New Trier, the parents were unwilling to tax themselves at a high rate, but their income and property values were so high that they will had plenty of money.   Therefore, the school had excellent class offerings, facilities, teachers, and students.   In poorer districts, like Lawndale, parents taxed themselves as much as they could, and they still couldn’t afford to have good school buildings, new materials, and good teachers.   This difference in personality and attitude of the people in the district further illustrates Kozol’s point. In addition, Kozol highlights the sheer environment differences in the schools.   In the suburban districts, teachers come in everyday, on time – or they are subject to discipline or being fired.   He quotes one principal in an inner-city school as saying â€Å"I take everything that comes through the door,† which means that teachers who are absent more often than not, or who show up a couple hours late everyday still have jobs.   These environments portray a complete lack of caring on the part of the teachers. This is at least in part because the teachers truly believe they cannot make a difference.   Many know that most of the students will drop out of school and end up in prison, illiterate, and with no job or a poor job.   Some teachers even see this effect as positive, stating that the kids who really care remain in school until graduation.   However, this is a terrible way to think about students, and only perpetuates the situation. Also, the suburban schools tend to be newer, brightly lit, with plenty of classrooms and bathrooms and decorations.   The urban schools are lucky to have one working bathroom that isn’t clean, dark windows, and a building that is falling apart around them.   In some cases, urban schools have extremely overcrowded classrooms, no working bathrooms, no libraries, no computers, no decorations, and are extremely depressing.   Students begin skipping school at a young age merely to avoid these circumstances. Kozol also discusses the attitudes of the law makers.   Many refuse to spend more money on these failing schools because it would, in their estimation, be like â€Å"pouring money into a black hole.† In other words, useless.   This goes to show that government officials are not doing anything to solve the problem; in fact, they often are the problem, by refusing to believe that anything could change.   Their lackadaisical attitude needs to turn around; rather than rewarding the students who are already succeeding, they should attempt to help the students who struggle, who will only turn around if the law makers choose to do their job and advocate for all students. The section on Corla Hawkins’s class was particular interesting.   In it, Kozol illustrates one of the â€Å"bright spots† in otherwise terrible inner-city schools.   Ms. Hawkins is a unique teacher who cares about her students, who makes sure they come to school, who forces them to respect her and each other.   She spends a lot of her own money on supplies for the classroom, including a set of encyclopedias.   She assigns homework everyday in order to promote responsibility. She sits the students in â€Å"teams† at groups of desks, and has them teach each other the lessons.   Her emphasis means that students in her class succeed much more than the average student in the school.   Ms. Hawkins also teaches the students important social skills.   She doesn’t give grades at all in the first quarter; she gives team grades in the second; she gives pair grades in the third; she gives individual grades in the fourth.   In this way, she teaches the kids to learn before being competitive about grades, and then to help one another and cooperate more than compete.   Later, she teaches the students to look out for themselves. One of the unfortunate problems with this is that these students will have one year of excellent teaching, and then will go back to the â€Å"typical† way that things are in inner-city schools, meaning that their chances of success are still fairly low overall.   It also gives the students as taste of what could have been, which means that overall, one good teacher doesn’t change anything. The best solution is to correct the problem by changing the way the schools are financed.   Instead of refusing to put money into the schools, politicians should be eager to put more money into them, enough to build new buildings (or improve the current ones) and to hire truly qualified teachers.   If that occurs, change will begin at the bottom levels, as students come in and find teachers with higher expectations, and materials to support learning.   People need to stop being completely hopeless about these schools and these students and start giving them what they need.   Without the proper materials and quality teachers, there is no way that students will care, or learn. In some states, school funding is done in an unconstitutional way.   In fact, in most states, schools are funded at least in part by property taxes.   This offers an immediate inequity, since poorer areas, like inner-city areas, will automatically have lower property values, and therefore, less money for schools.   A new funding plan that distributes money more equally, or based on need, is in order.   A suburban school with already current materials, computers, and new buildings does not need as much money as an inner-city school with old materials, no technology, and a crumbling building. Currently, the thinking in education is to give money to the students and districts who are already winners.   Money is allotted as a prize for success.   This value needs to change, so that money is given based on need, because the value is success and opportunity for everyone, not just for the privileged few. Reading this book changes one’s view on the way schools are handled in this country.   It seems perfectly fair to grow up in a privileged district, and to go into education as someone who wants to continue that tradition of excellence.   However, confronting the problems that face many schools today shows that education is not perfect, and not every school or student is nearly as lucky as some. This new realization will change the way a person looks at being an administrator.   Perhaps, instead of fighting for every dollar for a particular school’s excellent AP program, one would choose to distribute that money to districts who do not have things they need.   Or, instead of purchasing new textbooks frequently and getting rid of the old ones, one might choose to buy new textbooks for another school, or to donate older (but still fairly recent) ones to a school in need. Also, when it comes to making policies, one might choose to consider what is best for all students, rather than only a small group.   Many of the students in a poorer district do not have anyone to advocate for them.   Their teachers and politicians mostly will not, and their parents may not know how to.   Some people in their district, and some of the students themselves, may not even speak English.   An administrator from any district may be able to stand up and fight for them.   If enough administrators begin to value equality in education (and separate is not equal, whether it is separated by race or social class), changes will begin to occur. This book is a very eye-opening look at the reality of schools today.   It is an important thing to realize – not all schools are equal.   Many students are suffering because of the lack of opportunity their schools provide, ultimately setting them up for near certain failure.   The only way this will change is if educators stand up and fight for change, and an educator who has not learned about these inequalities will not be able to stand up and fight.   Every educator should know what is really going on. This book comes highly recommended.   Kozol goes into the schools and paints vivid pictures of what the schools are actually like.   He’s not writing from a high horse or a strictly academic perspective.   He is showing what the day to day realities are for so many students.   He is high-lighting the problems in a completely real-world way.   Kozol’s book is an important one in the field, and one that everyone should read. Bibliography Kozol, Jonathan.   Savage Inequalities. Jonathan Kozol.   Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.   Accessed November 10, 2006.   Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Kozol. How to cite Kozol’s Savage Inequalities, Essay examples

How Diversity of Faith is Effectively Used in Nursing Care free essay sample

Even though medical healing is mainly based upon scientific beliefs, one cannot discount the effect of religious beliefs in the healing of a patient. For many people with a strong religious conviction, the simple belief in the power of prayer is enough to create signs of healing even in the most critical of patients. Even though the effects of prayer are undocumented, there is a growing belief among many that faith plays a significant role in healing a patient when science has given him up for dead. In the medical field, nurses are slowly realizing that a diversity of faith among their patients has them in a bind. Not all nurses are religious, nor do they share the same religious traditions as the patient. In such instances, it is up to the nurse to find a middle ground where they can honor the religious beliefs of individual patients without losing sight of their own religion. Nursing is a highly technical occupation. This is why even though nurses realize that each patient has a spiritual need, the nurse may not always be trained to respond to it. So this job is usually relegated to the hospitals pastoral care workers even though nurses would be better placed to deliver such patient needs. It is not for a nurse to question the religious beliefs of her patients, but it is her job to insure that these beliefs are fully utilized in the process of helping a patient to heal both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Unfortunately, the nursing shortage in the country does not leave the nurses with much to connect on a personal basis with their patients. Patient care and comfort are forgone in lieu of time management and getting the job done. Though nurses have traditionally been viewed as both medical and spiritual healers because of the personal connection they have with their wards, the lack of time and instruction as to how to combine patient care and religion are sending our nurses off the original objectives of why they became nurses. Roberta Bube, RN, PHN currently works part time as nurse at the Marion Medical Center in Santa Maria, Calif. According to her interview in Nurseweek for the article You Gotta Have Fait, she realized that You have to address mind, body and spirit, I always found time to do it [in a hospital]. I did have to be cautious. Id have to do it quietly. Everybodys beliefs are different. So, how can a nurse integrate the religious aspect and its various differences in their daily dealings with their individual patients? Firstly, a nurse can typically start by incorporating the patients religious belief into her basic daily care routine for the patient. At the Saint Francis Medical Center in Santa Barbara, California, clinical coordinator Jan Ingram, RN, explains in the same article that Whether youre giving them a sponge bath or putting them on the commode, if youre really there with them-mindfully present-that is a spiritual action. Nurses have to realize that listening and communicating with their patient is of vital importance in helping a patient heal. This includes developing ways and means for the patient to be able to effectively practice their beliefs and be able to assist in the patients personal spiritual care. Once a nurse learns to approach a person holistically, the nurse will now be in a very good position to accept the various faiths of their patients and convert the same or varied belief amongst the patients she is in charge of. Secondly, the nurse must be willing to set aside her own personal spiritual beliefs and instead be open minded and willing to accept the faith of the patient while she is caring for him or her. A patient may request for a bible reading, a short prayer, or simply letting the patient talk with the nurse listening and prepared to reassure her at the end that God has not abandoned him or her. If need be, a nurse must not hesitate to accommodate a patients request to join him in a religious activity. Such activities tend to reassure a patient and keep him calm throughout the healing process. Lastly, it is highly imperative that nurses know and understand the religious beliefs of their patients as these beliefs can affect their medical decisions pertaining to procedures such as operations or end of life decisions. So, a nurse is encouraged to discuss and explore their patients religious beliefs if a patient is comfortable doing so with the nurse. This will allow a nurse to develop and gain the trust of the patient because the patient will be comfortable in the knowledge that the nurse in charge of her care understands her religious belief and will always respect its role in their lives. Such support systems between patient and nurse usually prove vital in the therapeutic alliance of the two parties. Â  It is also highly important that a nurse, even though not a devout practitioner of her religion, believes in God and knows how to pray. Even though a nurse is taught how to compartmentalize her feelings and not be affected by the events of the day at the hospital, one cannot help but be affected. There will be times in the course of performing her duty that she will call science into question and why it failed certain patients, or why it cannot seem to heal a patient who has no reason to be ill. During those situations, when science seems to fail her, the only thing she will find herself clinging to is her belief in god or her religion. It is this faith that she will take with her as she tries to heal her patient and help him cope with his medical situation. This will be the common denominator binding them. Faith in religion regardless of what the religion is commonly called. At the end of the day, nurses will have to learn to accept and integrate the diversified cultures and religious beliefs of their patients. The nurse will have to turn to her own personal faith for support as well. All of this because healing a patient is not all a matter of science. It is also a matter of spiritual belief in a Supreme Being who can heal us all of our aches and pains in any form or guise. Work Cited Hebert Randy S. Jenckes., Mollie W. Ford, Daniel E. OConnor, Debra R. $ Cooper, Lisa A. (2001). Patient Perspectives on Spirituality and the Patient-Physician Relationship. Journal of Internal General Medicine. Retrieved May 25, 2007 from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1495274 Hemilla, Donna. (2002). You Gotta Have Faith. Nurseweek. Retrieved May 20, 2007 from http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-09/faith.asp Mitchell, Joyce Haroun, Lee. (2005). Healthcare. Singapore. Thomson Delmar. Wensley, Michelle. Spirituality in Nursing. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from http://www.ciap.health.nsw.gov.au/hospolic/stvincents/1995/a04.html