Pertussis or Whooping Cough Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pertussis or Whooping Cough - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that there are two types of pertussis: severe and mild. Severe pertussis occurs in the infants and young children. Severe pertussis is more complicated and may lead even to death, whereas, mild pertussis is hard to diagnose and it is mostly misunderstood for the common cold. Bordetella pertussis  was first isolated in pure culture in 1906 by Bordet and Gengou. B.pertussis is a small, gram-negative, aerobic coccobacillus of 0.8 ?m by 0.4 ?m. It is arranged singly or in small groups. They also have pili-like filaments and are non-motile. B.pertussis is the most fastidious bacteria. It is transmitted from a person – to – person through aerosolized droplets. B.pertussis causes respiratory tract infection in humans and warm-blooded animals. The incubation period of this bacterium is 7-10 days. The bacterial cells â€Å"colonize only the ciliated cells of the respiratory mucosa.† After the onset of the infection, the cells colonize in the mucosal membrane of the respiratory tract. The attachment of the B.pertussis occurs with the help of a pertussis toxin produced by the bacterium. The filaments those are present in the bacteria acts as a bridge between the bacterium and the ciliary receptor This pertussis toxin is highly toxic and has a number of virulent factors. The adjuvant effect of pertussis toxin on the human body results in lymphocytosis and hypoglycemia within 3 hours in the ciliated epithelial cells and also causes ciliostasis. The adenylate cyclase toxin and tracheal cytotoxin combine with pertussis toxin to cause ciliostasis. The same toxins inhibit the phagocytic activities of the host. The phagocytic activities include chemotaxis, engulfment, the oxidative burst, and bactericidal killing. The adenylate cyclase is a hemolysin that causes lysis of the red blood cells. The tracheal cytotoxin stops the beating mechanism of the ciliated cells. This toxin then kills the ciliated cells and extrudes it from the mucosa. It also stimulates the release of the Interleukin – I, thus causing fever. The first stage symptoms of pertussis are a cough, low –grade fever, running nose, sneezing, etc. After 7 – 10 days, the nasal discharge gets thickened and the cough also gets severe. This leads to severe upper respiratory congestion in infants. This is the second stage. It lasts for 1-2 weeks. The third stage is the more complicated stage. The coughing increases very heavily that the child will cough more than 5 times during a single respiration and have a sudden intake of air, causing a whooping sound. The sound is caused due to the narrowed glottis. At this stage vomiting, weight loss, tongue protruding, eyes bulging are most common. Pneumonia, the serious complication of pertussis, results in the 90% of the deaths in children under the age of 3. The infection of the bacterium causes substantial immunity. This substantial immunity lasts for many years. The second infec tions are more frequent in adults and are usually not severe. The infants and children are highly prone to the lethality of this disease. The children who are suffering from a whooping cough are prone to pneumonia.

Critically discuss the positive and negative effects which 'The Essay

Critically discuss the positive and negative effects which 'The Private Life of Henry VIII had upon the British film industry of - Essay Example Quotas and Quickies in British Film Industry Hollywood has begun to overrule all other filming industries around the world, making the competition of international and local cinemas rise. In England, 1930’s â€Å"were turbulent years† for the British filming industry, as the import of Hollywood films became more popular than the locally produced films (Aldred, 1996.). As an action from the government, a legislation was passed ordering all movie houses to showcase British products. Although it was a good act to make, the unexpected result happened as the mediocre, low-budget British films were made so as to fulfill the legislation and avoid any legal impediments. The Cinematograph Film Act of 1927, instead of successfully addressing the problems of British movie’s audience share, produced a line of â€Å"quota quickies† or movies made for the sake of following the legislation. In other words, a large number of British movies of that time period were based o n quantity, not quality and consequently failed to reach the minimum profit of each movie shown. This Act of Parliament, although considered a failure, brought British film making into a more active state compared to the period before the law was enacted (Richards, 2001, p. 57). The Film Act of 1927 became known throughout Europe, and some countries like Germany did the same legislation in order to enhance their own locally-produced films (Richards, 2001, p. 59). Quota quickies were born out of the legislation from the Parliament to enhance the production of British films, and not to bombard the cinemas with mediocre outputs. Realizing the inability and less use of the Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 to the proliferation of quality British films, another Act of Parliament was made to amend the flaws of the previous legislation. Cinematograph Films Act of 1938 ordered the raise of British film quotas from 5 per cent to 15 per cent and required all British films to be worthy of passin g the international standards, thus, debunking the typical perception of the British movies in the 1930’s. Following the decline of the U.S. market on the period of the Great Depression, local movie producers were given the â€Å"space [to create] new and unusual films† (Ashby & Higson, 2000, p. 57). This also served as the first manifestation of the American presence in the British-made films. Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), an American film production company was the first one to make British-inspired films, which were huge successes for both British and American audience. Consequently, America’s great depression forced American producers to seek refuge in the British lands. British setting is not unusual for the American audience, with the British history as mandatory subject in schools. According to Reynolds (n.d.), the appreciation of British-set movies by American movie goers stems from the interest of the Americans of â€Å"British traditions and institutions especially of the class system† (cited in Ashby & Higson, 2000, p. 58). Ashby and Higson’s (2000) claim about the class system as marketable topics in