Specific Humoral Immunity B Cells Biology Essay

Specific Humoral Immunity B Cells Biology Essay The immune system is also known as the human defence system; it is made up different cells, tissues, proteins and organs which come together to play different roles in protecting the body from pathogens which are brought about by microorganisms such as: bacteria, parasites and viruses. The main cells which support the immune system include: phagocytes (white blood cells) and lymphocytes. In this section of the assignment, I will highlight the main functions of the immune system; looking specifically at how the cells of the immune system deal with infections after injuries and how this immunity is maintained in the bodys system. How the immune system responds to an infection after a cut in the finger: The human immune system responds to an infection after a cut by the process of inflammation. Inflammation is a non-specific defence response where blood and white blood cells called phagocytes are delivered to the hurt area in order to take immediate action against all kinds of pathogens which have invaded the body. After microbes and other external substances have entered the open cut, a blood clot will be produced to seal the wound in order to prevent other microbes from entering. After this barrier is placed forward, the process of inflammation can then take place effectively: Infected cells such as: mast cells and basophils start to produce chemical mediators such as: histamine. When the histamine is released, it helps increase the blood flow by widening the capillaries and arterioles which in turn increase the amount of oxygen and nutrients needed for inflammation to take place effectively. Increased blood flow also means that there will be more tissue fluid due to the pressure; this formation will not only carry the dead tissue and cells, but will allow them to drain away into the lymphatic vessels. Likewise, the increased permeability of the capillary walls allows the antibodies, white blood cells and plasma fluid to break through the walls and into the swelling tissues (tissue oedema). To finalise the healing process, the histamine attracts the white blood cells (phagocytes) sending them to the injured area where they engulf the microbes; some phagocytes, such as the neutrophils will consume them before dying to form a liquid like substance called: pus. In order to clear the area for new growth, the macrophages will also consume and absorb the microbes. How this immunity is maintained: Immunity is maintained by the adaptive response system (specific), where specialised white blood cells (lymphocytes) work with the phagocytes in order to identify specific antigens on the surface of microbes before they have a chance of invading the body. The two types of lymphocytes that play a part in maintaining immunity are: B-cells and T-cells. Just like B-cells, T-cells are generated in the bone marrow, but the only difference is that they develop in the thymus. Being cell-mediated, these cells will detect antigens both outside the blood and inside the cells before eliminating them. Whether on the outside or inside the cell, the macrophage will present the antigen directly to the T-cells as its surface receptor for stimulation. Following this stimulation, the T-cell will differentiate into four specialised cells which all work differently to maintain immunity: Memory T-cells= these act in the same manner as the memory B-cells to ensure that when the same antigen comes around it is dealt with quickly. Helper T-cells= these work with B-cells to make antibodies and produce a chemical called: cytokines which enables killer T-cells and macrophages to do their job properly. Killer T-cells= these attach to the antigen and demolish it. Suppressor T-cells= these turn off the whole process to prevent damaging effects of the immune system. Likewise, the B-cells are made and grown in the bone marrow and being antibody-mediated (humoral), they will secrete antibodies as surface receptors to help detect antigens in the blood and outside cells. When the antigens have been detected, the T-helper cells will work with the B-cells to expand into other functional cells known as: plasma cells and memory B-cells. The plasma cells will secrete antibodies which will in turn attach to the antigens making them targets for the macrophages as antigen presenters to take to the T- killer cells in order to be demolished. For memory and recognition, the B memory cells will ensure that when the same antigen pops up it is dealt with quickly. For example, once someone has recovered from chicken pox, next time this antigen wants to attack the memory B-cells will recognise the antigen and will instruct the bodys defence mechanisms to attack the antigen with the required amounts of T-killer cells; therefore the body would have a fast and effective way of dealing with the chicken pox to maintain immunity. Task 3 (D2) In order to protect the body against pathogens, the immune system responds in two different ways: non-specific (innate) and specific (adaptive). This section examines and contrasts the dexterity and adeptness of the role of each defence mechanism. The innate (normal) defences are known as immediate because they act quickly to help prevent any type of microbe from invading the body. Whereas adaptive (adjusted) defences only target specific pathogens and due to their delayed response they have to first examine the pathogens before taking action. Non-specific defences: Firstly, the non-specific defence mechanism fall into two categories the first and second line of defence. The first line of defence is made up of physical and chemical barriers; the second line comes under cellular defences such as: inflammation and phagocytosis. The first line of defence also known as external, can be split up into: skin, mucous membranes, secretions and natural substances such as: lysozymes and saliva. The skin and mucous membranes have different characteristics which allow them to keep the microbes away from the surfaces of the body. The skin consists of a strong outer layer which is made of different cells in particular cells covered in a protein substance called: keratin and tissues such as: connective and epithelial tissues which all come together to prevent any microbe from breaking into the skin. This process is aided by the secreted antibacterial sweat and sebum on the surface of the skin. In the same way, mucous membranes which contain ciliated tissues secrete a thick substance called: mucus. The mucus found in areas such as: the nose and throat (respiratory system) helps manoeuvre the microbes and other un-wanted substances away from external and internal areas of the body. Also, the natural chemical barriers such as: tears and saliva consist of an antibacterial enzyme called: lysozome which chemically destroys the bacteria. If this first line of defence fails to work, the now internal second line of defence will act immediately to prevent further invasion. The process which responds to tissue damage (inflammation) will release chemicals such as: histamine, which is designed to promote (phagocytosis) by attracting macrophages and neutrophils to the surface of inflammation in order to enhance healing by engulfing the microbes. Although, these lines of defence are ideal for the body, the pain, swelling and heat brought about each time can cause discomfort after the microbes have entered the body. Specific defences: In contrast to this, adaptive defences hold the third line of defence to help maintain immunity. These are categorised as specific: cell-mediated and humoral (antibody-mediated) defences. After the non-specific defence has completed its job, the specific immune system takes on the role of finishing it off; the two types of lymphocytes involved in the neutralising and then killing of the invading microbes are: B-cells and T-cells. Both cells mature in the bone marrow, but T-cells normally activate in the thymus gland. With the help of T-cells (T-helper cells), B-cells will automatically identify the invaders and respond by producing two functioning cells: plasma cells and memory B-cells. The plasma cells will make the antibodies which attach to the antigen, encouraging the T-killer cells to come along and cause destruction. These cells secrete a chemical called: cytotoxic which immediately kills the antigen. As a result, the T-suppressor cells which have differentiated from the T-cells will turn off the whole immune response, clearing away the mess to get ready for the next attack. After this, due to their ability to remember the B-memory and T-memory cells will be able to prepare for the next antigen that comes to attack. Despite all the advantages of this defence system, the time it takes to react against the invaders is longer than that of the non-specific defence system which enhances the chances of infection in the body for example: if the body cant fight that specific virus quick enough it might lead to certain symptoms such as: flu. Also the fact that the pathogens are specific gives a delayed reaction against other pathogens. Conclusion: In conclusion, each defence system works in its own unique way. However, in my opinion the effectiveness of non-specific defence mechanisms over weighs that of specific defences. Although the processes involved in non-specific defences cause discomfort to the body, the immediate reaction against invaders is easily stimulated to protect the body against further infection. The fact that this defence system is constantly fighting external attacks from different pathogens shows how strong and effective it is. Whereas specific defences take longer to act and can only react to specific invaders which might lead to a weakened immunity system due to multiple infections in the body.

Tenure at NU Essay -- Education Teaching Essays

Tenure at NU *Please note: Portions of this article and some information appeared in the Northeastern News, in the issue of December 3, 2003, Vol. LXXVII, No. 45. The respective text and information was extracted, solely, from the student reporter’s own writing and news-gathering. Appealing an Administration: A Professor’s Struggle to Remain at NU Six years ago, Northeastern’s Modern Languages Department asked an incoming professor, Harry Kuoshu, to build a Chinese Studies program. With minimal faculty support, he did just that, providing integral courses for the uprising interest in Asian Studies at the university. So when Kuoshu applied for tenure last March, the process seemed a mere formality. With unanimous support from both the Modern Language Department and the College of Arts and Sciences committees on tenure, his dossier was sent to the office of the Provost Ahmed Abdelal—who then rejected Kuoshu’s request. â€Å"I was very shocked,† said Kuoshu, from his office in the Modern Languages Department. â€Å"I try to forget about it. I focus on my work and on my research.† An author of three books, Kuoshu believes his rejection stemmed from criticism of his scholarship by external reviewers—experts from other institutions that evaluate the research of tenure-track professors. Recently nominated and named to â€Å"Who’s Who Among American Professors,† Kuoshu teaches virtually all classes in the Chinese Studies program. As a result, his tenure rejection has brought forth a wave of protest from his students, who have been actively writing to President Richard Freeland. Upon the provost’s decision, Kuoshu sent his dossier to an appeals board on tenure—comprised of 13 members—who voted 7-6 to uphold Abdelal’s prerogative. Un... ...rn. Now well-established in the Suffolk community, Haughton believes that his tenure rejection from Northeastern worked out for the betterment of his career. Having spent the majority of his teaching career in the greater Boston area, earning his Ph.D. in 1983 from Harvard—where he taught briefly before arriving at Northeastern—he has become a senior analyst at the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy, a place he juggles his time with along with teaching at Suffolk. â€Å"It’s funny the way things work,† he said. â€Å"But you know, life goes on. I teach at Suffolk now and I’m very happy.† In terms of his tenure rejection at Northeastern, Haughton said that while the incident caused some stress, he remembered that such episodes are common. â€Å"Everyone is academia realizes that’s the game,† he said. â€Å"If you have solid skills, you’ll land on your feet somewhere.†

World War Z: Movie vs Novel

Movies based on books usually sway away from the unique story the book tells and focuses on the target audiences that easily fall prey to horrible movie adaptations and World War Z is no exception. Hollywood movies are all about action and captivating visual effects in order to catch the simple minded viewer. There are many similarities and differences between the book and the movie. However, there are more differences than similarities because the movie is drastically different from the book.It is so different that some individuals would say the only similarity between the book written by Max Brooks and the movie directed by Marc Foster is the title, World War Z. Some key similarities and differences is how the US is portrayed, how society changes, and how the story is told. Paramount Pictures, a film distribution and producing studio, is an American business. How is this relevant? An American company wouldn’t go out of their way to make a movie degrading their country and in the book, they do just that.In the book, America is first portrayed as an overconfident country that could take care of the zombie apocalypse. Eventually, when the infected started over running cities, America decided to put a stop to it by taking defense. The US had state of the art military technology set up to fight off the horde however; the infected still was able to overrun the military. This event was called the Battle of Yonkers because it took place in Yonkers, New York (Brooks 92). After this, America is in shambles and public confidence in the government was completely eliminated.This resulted in the Great Panic, which was when the world realized the real threat of the infected. However, in the movie, America is the hero and the savior of the world. Gerry Lane, the UN interviewer in the book, who happens to be American, finds out how to save them-selves from the zombies. He analyzes that people with terminal illnesses are ignored by the infected and determines that injec ting himself with a deadly pathogen would be the best â€Å"vaccine† they had. The movie then shows how the American â€Å"hero† finds a â€Å"vaccine† and how the humans now can fight back.That is a truly stupid idea and was never even mentioned in the book. The only thing the book got close to mentioning a vaccine was when Breckenridge â€Å"Breck† Scott created the drug called Phalanx which was nicknamed â€Å"the African Rabies Vaccine†(Brooks 54). However, it turned out to be nothing but a hoax that was used to scare people into buying the drug in order to make quick and easy money. Despite the many greedy and arrogant things America did in the book, they still contributed to the world.They were able to create the Redeker plan which told people to go north (Brooks 121). Going north caused the infected to freeze and become immobile until the spring. They also eventually bounced back in the book but only to have a harsher environment such as mor e primitive punishments, a much more powerful president, and refugee camps. The United States in the book is powerless and broken but in the movie they are heroes of the zombie apocalypse. The infected changed so many aspects of society, some good ways and some bad.Zombie apocalypse or not, people will always take advantage of chaos and do greedy things. People looted, stole, and even killed in a greedy manner to ensure their own survival, ignoring others around them. However, there are people in the story determined to rebuild society that have good hearts. Roy Elliot is a good example of this. He was a very successful movie director before the war and people thought his skills were useless during the war.However, he was determined to find a way to help out humanity. A. D.  S, or Asymptomatic Demise Syndrome, was a syndrome that caused people to lose their will to live on because they thought it was hopeless to fight and Roy Elliot wanted to help people that had or was developing A. D. S by filming humanity fighting against the infected and winning (Brooks 159). He distributed those films around camps and the A. D. S cases were dropping fast. He was successful in helping society even though he had skills that no one thought would be useful. However, in the film, neither Roy Elliot nor A. D. S was mentioned.The only people that put effort into rebuilding are Gerry Lane, the UN, and all the conveniently placed characters that happened to cross Gerry Lane’s path. However, the film only took place within the Great Panic where the people had no information except that the dead rise and kill the living and Gerry Lane and his family are actually portrayed as people who have no idea what is going on and have to survive, just like others shown in the movie. In the film, there is a scene where Gerry Lane and his family go to the super market because his kid has asthma and they needed medicine.This scene really did show how society can break down in a matter of hours. A police officer is shown in the scene but was there for selfish reasons and the men that tried to take advantage of Gerry Lane’s wife through the chaos. However, through the chaos, Gerry Lane meets an armed teenager that looks he is hoarding the drugs but he actually is protecting the pharmacy from others that would use it for recreational purposes. By the end of the scene, Gerry Lane is able to get his medicine but the vehicle they took to the store had been stolen so they had to get to a highpoint in order to get rescued by the UN.He is then greeted by a Latino family that takes them in and gives them aid.. Even though all the selfishness shown in the movie the viewer gets to see news reports that show people cooperating and working together to get past the zombie apocalypse. Even though the movie showed it in a cliche way, both the book and the movie showed the good and the bad people of society. A huge thing the movie completely overlooked was how the book presen ted the story. The book is a series of interviews. Each chapter is an interview and is told in a first person perspective of the person being interviewed with some interjections by the interviewer (Brooks 1).The people that are interviewed are people from all around the world from different ethnicities to show the whole spectrum of the zombie apocalypse. On the other hand, the movie is all about one man and his journey to find the vaccine to fight against the infected. The movie watcher has a narrower perspective of the apocalypse because it shows the event through one man’s eyes rather than a range of people. The book shows how devastating the apocalypse really is and how all the different people reacted and dealt with the problems.The movie might’ve not been able to incorporate every single interview from the book but they could’ve easily included the significant interviews. Instead, the movie decided to use just one man to tell the story of the apocalypse. Th e movie kind of stretched it a little too far when they sent one man all over the world to show the state of the Great Panic in other countries because they could have easily done what the book did which was using different people from different areas and see how they experienced the apocalypse in their homes rather than a foreigner.Many people on web forums say the movie is a good movie if you don’t think of it as the book because Gerry Lane’s adventures provide the viewers with plenty of action. However, if the movie were to have most of even just some of the significant interviews the movie could have been more explosive and action packed than the movie could have ever been. People that go to see the movies expecting a great adaption of the book may leave the movie angry and betrayed.The movie completely butchered a book that had so much potential. The movie was trying to appeal to both readers and non-readers of the book but only appealed to the non-readers. The mo vie adaptation is a decent summer movie if you watch it either keeping the book out of your mind or you haven’t read the book. If one wanted to enjoy the experience of World War Z they should read the book and forget a movie ever existed.

The Euthanasia Is The Act Of Ending One s Own Life

Euthanasia is the act of ending one’s own life in order to stop the pain and suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition. Euthanasia is different from physician assisted suicide in that with euthanasia, the doctor is the one who provides and administers the life ending drugs, and in physician assisted suicide, the doctor can only provide the drugs. A big difference between the two is that euthanasia is illegal in all states; while, physician assisted suicide is legal in only five states in America. Having the option to end one’s own life when the pain and suffering is too much to handle is an option that needs to be available in all fifty states. It is not the right of the people to determine if someone has the right to die, it is the right of the person. This legalization would allow the terminally and suffering to die in peace, instead of agony. Physician assisted suicide has received a lot of attention in the past few years because of the countless stories that have pulled at the heartstrings of countless Americans. This attention is well deserved because physician assisted suicide is a topic that needs to have a light shined on it. All over the country, there are men and women, boys and girls that are suffering from terminal illnesses. The fact of the matter is that miracles almost never occur. Miracles like the ones in the movies are not an often occurrence when involved with terminal illness. The truth of the matter is that many people with terminalShow MoreRelatedThe Dilemma Of Euthanasi Whose Life Is It?1165 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dilemma of Euthanasia The Dilemma of Euthanasia: Whose Life Is It? Andrea R Burroughs Ethics for the Health Care Professionals Dr. Ferhat Zengul November 8, 2014 Abstract The practice of euthanasia is one of the most debatable topics in many countries today. 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