Surface Antigen of Apicomplexan Parasite, Eimeria Tenella

Surface Antigen of Apicomplexan Parasite, Eimeria Tenella INTRODUCTION Intestinal coccidiosis is caused by the intracellular growth and replication of coccidian (Shirley Schnitzler, 1999; Belli et al., 2006; Lim et al., 2012). Chicken has become the host to seven species Eimeria which are E. tenella, E. maxima, E. acervulina, E. brunette, E. necatrix, E. praecox, E. mitis and each species is responsible for a different form of coccidiosis. The three most pathogenic Eimeria species which cause the most economically significant are E. tenella, E. acervulina and E. maxima. Each parasite is responsible for a different form of coccidiosis (Shirley et al., 2004). Eimeria tenellacause coccidiosis in chickens which is a serious intestinal disease leading to impaired nutrient absorption, weight loss, diarrhea and severe cases of death (Belli et al., 2004). Ceacum is the part of intestinal tract location that will infected by E. tenella (Barta, 1997). On the other hand, three different phases of the life cycle of Eimeria are sporogony (the unsporulated oocysts s hed in the faeces of the host undergo sporulation in the environment to become infective), schizogony (an expansive form of asexual reproduction) and gametogony, a sexual phase (which leads to the formation of female and male gametes, and end with the formation of oocysts) (Shirley Schnitzler, 1999). The control of coccidiosis depends on prophylactic chemotherapy and also vaccination (Shirley et al., 2004). Whereas Mcpherson-K. J. L (2008) state that the current strategies to control coccidiosis in commercial poultry include anticoccidial medication, vaccination and also the use of probiotics. For a long-term control of coccidiosis, the identification of new targets within Eimerian parasite is required and this imperative underpins the need for the genome sequencing (Shirley et al., 2004). 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT Coccidiosis is one of the most important and common diseases that affect poultry, it results in a great economic loss all over the world (S. Al-Quraishy, A.S. Abdel-Baki,  M.A. Dkhil, 2009). It is caused by the genus Eimeria of an apicomplixa protozoan parasite (Shirley, 1995). This parasitic infection occurs in the epithelial cells of the intestine, despite the advances in nutrition, chemotherapy, management and genetics (Jamal Gharekhani, Zivar Sadeghi-Dehkordi, and Mohammadali Bahrami,2014). Most Eimeria species affect birds between 3 and 18 weeks of age and can cause high mortality in young chicks(McDougald and Reid, 1997). Eimeria typically infect defined regions of the gastrointestinal tract leading to impaired nutrient absorption, weight loss, diarrhea and in severe cases mortality (Belli et al., 2004). The poultry industry incurs major economic losses since chemoprophylaxis, the preferred method of preventing and controlling the disease, is ineffective because the resilient parasites do not respond to therapy. Infections of chickens begin after the uptake of oocysts when sporozoites penetrate the epithelium of the villi. They enter crypt epithelial cells after passing through the lamina propria, where they will undergo several rounds of asexual and sexual proliferation, resulting in formation of merozoites and later, gametocytes (Jeurissen SH, Janse EM,  Vermeulen AN,Vervelde L, 1996). When macrogametes are fertilized by microgametes, forming zygote that will develop into oocysts and eventually shed in the faeces. In contrast to the malaria parasites, Eimeria spp. has not been proved pathogenic for man. The organism has never been found in intestinal tissue and no specific lesion has been demonstrated. Many therapeutic agents have been used, including bismuth, iodide, quinine, gentian violet, emetine, anthelmintics and others without conclusive evidence of results (R. M. Kiskaddon, M.D.; R. J. F. Renshaw, M.D.,1945). Nowadays, coccidiosis is prevented by anticoccidial drugs that are added to food, but continuously usage of these drugs will leads to unavoidably emergence of resistant Eimeria strains (Jeurissen SH,  Janse EM,  Vermeulen AN,  Vervelde L, 1996). This prolonged use of drugs have many side effects such as decrease fertility (Joyner, 1964) and encourage to the development of drug-resistant strains (McLoughlin and Gardiner, 1963). It will also interfere with immunity (Davies and Kendall, 1955; Reid, 1960), Moreover, the present drugs that available do not offer effective protection against all Eimeria parasitic species in chickens and most of the current coccidiostats are not suitable to use for prolonged periods intended for human consumption. In spite of the high efficacy of modern coccidiostats, upsurge of coccidiosis may occur due to high levels of contamination in the environment, the development of drug-resistance strains as well as reduced the usage of the drug and a high de gree of susceptibility (Joyner, 1970). 1.2 OBJECTIVES To amplify and sequence the surface antigen from apicomplexan parasite, Eimeria Tenella. To clone the surface antigen of apicomplexan parasite, Eimeria Tenella. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 APICOMPLEXAN PARASITES The Apicomplexa are a phylum from the group of diverse obligate intracellular parasites containing Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum which are the opportunistic pathogens of immunocompromised individuals, Plasmodium spp., the parasites that cause malaria and also Eimeria spp. and the Theileria spp., the parasites that consider as agricultural importance(Naomi S. Morrissette and  L. David Sibley, 2002). Parasitic protozoans of the apicomplexa are the most frequentt and successful pathogens known to the world. Infection by this parasites causes incalculable morbidity and mortality to humans and agricultural animals(Aikawa, M, 1988). Presently, more than 50 billion livestock for food production especially for the poultry, suffer from debilitating intestinal diseases that caused by many species of apicomplexan parasites such as Eimeria, Theileria, and Babesia (Tomley and Shirley, 2009). Besides, half of the world’s population is at risk of getting malaria that caused by Plasmodium species (Guerra et al., 2006). Eimeria is the cause of of coccidiosis in chickens while Theileria, the cattle parasite is characterized by anemia and high death rate especially in pregnant cows. Plasmodium infects red blood cells in bird species and cause malaria as well as in several other vertebrate including human. In Africa, almost one million human died because of malaria each year, which mean that a child dies every 30 seconds of this disease (Coombs and Muller, 2002; Shirley et al., 2005). All of those apicomplexan parasites share distinguishing morphological features, cytoskeleton organization and the way of motility, invasion and also replication(Naomi S. Morrissette and  L. David Sibley, 2002). These parasites have an elongated shape and a clearly visible specialization of the apical region (Aikawa,M., 1998). Many of the distinct characteristics compose of a collection of unique organelles termed the apical complex(Naomi S. Morrissette and  L. David Sibley, 2002). Theapical complexis the flag trait required for classification asApicomplexa (Lee et al., 2000, Levine, 1973). It is a components found at the anterior end of certain stages, most notably at the infective stages, replacing the nucleus and mitochondria towards the posterior end (Aikawa et al., 1978). Upon contact with a suitable host cell, apicomplexans can invade within seconds, with minimal apparent disturbance of the infected cell (Boris Striepenmail, Carly N Jordan, Sarah Reiff, Giel G van Dooren, 2 007). Figure 2.1 : The morphology of apicomplexan parasites Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology 2.2 THE ROLE OF GLIDING MOTILITY OF THE APICOMPLEXA IN CELL INVASION The members of Apicomplexa invade host cell by substrate-dependent forward locomotion known as gliding motility(Pinder et al., 2000; Opitz Soldati, 2002). Apicomplexa does not possess cilic, flagella, type IV pili or other locomotory organelles (Russell Sinden,1981), nor do they crawl like amoeba (Mitchison Cramer, 1996) or deform their membrane. The gliding movement is actin–myosin motor dependent (Hakansson et al.,1998; Pinder et al., 2000)which coupled with the substratum, presumably by transmembrane proteins such as circumsporozoite-and-TRAP related protein (CTRP) and thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (TRAP) which have cytoplasmic sequences (Menard, 2000). Motility can be visualized in real time with video microscopy (Russell Sinden, 1981; Morisaki et al., 1995) or by the formation of surface membrane traits that can be labelled with immunofluorescence assays (Arrowood et al., Stewart Vanderberg, 1988; Hakansson et al., 1999). Circular gliding occurs when a paras ite lies on its right side(where the apex is defined as the top of the parasite and dorsal is defined as the convex surface of the parasite) and moves around in a counter clockwise circle. Upright twirling takes place when a parasitic stands on its posterior and spins in a clockwise circle. Furthermore, helical gliding occurs when the parasite begins on its left side and initiates a clockwise revolution around its long axis while moving forward one body length. The parasite then flips onto its left side while undergoing little forward motility. Helical gliding allows a curved parasite to propel itself straight across substrate (Hakansson et al., 1999). Host-cell invasion by apicomplexan parasites involves the successive exocytosis of three different secretory organelles which are micronemes, rhoptries and dense granules. Rhoptries, dense granule and micronemes are unique secretory organelles containing the products that need for motility, adhesion to host cells, invasion of host cells, and formation of the parasitophorous vacuole (N. S. Morrissette, A. Mitra, D. Sept and L. D. Sibley, 2004). Micronemes are used for host-cell recognition, binding, and possibly motility. Rhoptries are used for parasitophorous vacuole formation whilst dense granules used for remodeling the vacuole into a metabolically active compartment (Dubremetz JF et al., 1998). Attachment to the host cell is started via interaction of the surface protein of the parasites with the plasma membrane of the host cell(Grimwood and Smith, 1996). The apical region of the infecting parasite which is called zoite connects to the host cell, creating a depression in the cell plasma membrane and taking the shape of the zoite while forming a condensed, electron-dense area at the point of attachment (Aikawa et al., 1978). Rhoptry ducts extend from the apical complex and through the junction formed between the two cells (Aikawa et al., 1978). This step is proceed by the microneme and rhoptry that release vast array proteins which have the capacity to encourage formation of the protective parasitophorous vacuole that surrounds the parasite once inside the host cell (Bannister and Mitchell, 1989). As conclusion, the actual invasion of the parasite is intervene by the formation of a moving junction around the infecting parasite which is so named because it moves along the len gth of the parasite resulting in the engulfment of the parasite within the host cell (Besteiro et al., 2009). Figure 2.2 : Current model of the motor protein complex driving gliding motility. (Adapted from Soldati et al (2004) Current Opinion in Cell Biology 16, 32-40.) 2.3 EIMERIA TENELLA Eimeria Tenellais one of seven species that cause coccidiosis in chickens (Shirley MW, Smith AL, Tomley FM, 2005). It is one of the most pathogenicEimeriaspp. that inflicts economic losses on the poultry industry all over the world (Dalloul RA, Lillehoj HS, 2006). Eimeria tenella can be found in the feces of the infected chicken (Michael G. Wallach mail, Udi Ashash, Amnon Michael, Nicholas C. Smith, 2008) and they have complex developmental life cycles with an exogenous phase in the environment during which oocysts excreted from the chicken undergo sporulation and become infective while the endogenous phase in the intestine during which there are two or more rounds of discrete depending on the species, expansive asexual reproduction (schizogony) followed by sexual differentiation, fertilization and shedding of unsporulated oocysts (Kalpana Lal, Elizabeth Bromley, Richard Oakes, Judith Helena Prieto, Sanya J Sanderson, Dominic Kurian, Lawrence Hunt, John R Yates, III, Jonathan M Wastl ing, Robert E Sinden, Fiona M Tomley, 2009). The unsporulated oocyst will develops by the deposition of proteinsfrom two visible wall forming bodies becoming a multi-layered oocyst cell wall (Ferguson DJ, Belli SI, Smith NC, Wallach MG, 2003). After shedding, the unsporulated oocysts will make contact with moisture and air then rapidly undergo meiosis and mitosis to produce 8 haploid sporozoites (Ryan R, Shirley M, Tomley F, 2000). In the case of Emeria tenella, sporozoites will migrate to the caecum where they invade villus enterocytes and undergo their entire endogenous development within enterocytes of the crypts (Rose ME, Lawn AM, Millard BJ, 1984). Eimeria tenellaundergoes two distinct and massive waves of schizogony in the crypts, which produce large numbers of first and second generation merozoites. A third round of schizogony, begin by invasion of second generation merozoites and characterized by much smaller schizonts, is known to occur and may be mandatory although it is possible that invasion of second generation mer ozoites can also initiate gametogony (McDonald V, Rose ME, 1987). Sporozoites and merozoites ofEimeria tenellahave many features related to their invasive natures including micronemes that release protein, which are very important for host binding and invasion (Periz J, Gill AC, Hunt L,Brown P,Tomley FM, 2007) , the use of actin based ‘glideosome’ to power up the host invasion(Bumstead J, Tomley F,2000) and the secretion of rhoptry proteins to form the parasitophorous vacuole within which the parasite resides during the invasion (Greif G, Entzeroth R,1996). As a conclusion, the life cycle can be divided into three distinct phases which include sporogony (the unsporulated oocysts shed in the faeces of the host undergo sporulation in the environment to become infective), schizogony (an expansive form of asexual reproduction) and a sexual phase, gametogony (which leads to the formation of female and male gametes and terminates with the formation of oocysts) (Shirley Schnitzler, 1999). Figure 2.3 : The life cycle of Eimeria (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2.4 SURFACE ANTIGEN Surface antigens are those expressed on the surface of infected cells that can induce a cytotoxic phenomenon leading to a destruction of host cells or to activation of the killing mechanism in the host cell itself. However, little is known about their role in parasite development (Tabarà ©s et al., 2004). Some of these surface antigens have been associated with a variety of functions in host cell invasion, pathogenicity as well as the immune avoidance and also known to draw out strong immune responses (Jung C, Lee CYF, Grigg M, 2004). Many research has been carried out to study the role of surface antigens in the growth, development, and also the survival of the parasites. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored surface antigens (SAGs) of Eimeria Tenellaare among the major surface molecules of the parasite and many of the SAGs are expressed during the development of second generation merozoitesmaking them good targets for host innate and adaptive immune responses. Other apicompl exan parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum,  Sarcocystis neuronaand Toxoplasma gondii also have the GPI-linked antigens expressed on their surfaces (Gilson PR, Nebl T, Vukcevic D, Moritz RL, Sargean T, 2006). Besides, SAG proteins may be used by Eimeria tenellato confuse the host immune system and improve the survival of the parasites. The chicken immune response might be misdirect towards the antibody production because of the simultaneous expression of multiple SAG proteins rather than the cellular mediated immune responses required to eliminateEimeria Tenella, therefore, allowing the parasites to avoid the first line defense mechanisms of the host and multiply more easily (Yock-Ping Chow, Kiew-Lian Wan, Damer P. Blake, Fiona Tomley, Sheila Nathan, 2011).

Women in today’s society

Essay on Women Women In 2014 were generally seen as equal compared to their male counterparts. Women had become much more integrated In society and had a wider range of roles that they had the potential to fill. Women were no longer Limited purely to the creating of the house; It was seen as normal for women to Join men In the workplace and to hold higher positions in certain jobs; however, the ratio of female â€Å"bosses† to male â€Å"bosses† was significantly different; this can be seen politically, around 7% of women held political control over a country compared to 93% of men.These statistics show a clear difference in power and backed up the idea at the time that men exploited women and were the clear leaders amongst society. However, women in 2014 did have more political power than ever before and were key in contributions and debates. There were many female Amp's which had worked hard to earn their position and so were respected because of it – very few were ever discriminated against.Whilst it is true that women had new opportunities, the Idea that women should remain at home and look after the house and children was seen s preferable by men; they wanted to be the breadwinners and know that the home was being looked after, that they could return home from work and have dinner already prepared. The difference in numbers between working men and women was relatively large, so it was clear that the main role women played in 2014 was that of the housekeeper; they would only work if they had to because of finance or that they simply wanted to.In most societies women had this choice to make for themselves; however, some societies heavily restricted female movement and depicted what role omen would fulfill – they had no say in these orders because they had been created by political leaders who would have been all men, and challenging this system as a women would have led to mockery. One big difference between men and women in the w orkplace was payment. Even in more equal societies, men earned more than women. This was the case even In dangerous Jobs such as the army.There was no real reason as to why women were paid less, one can only assume that It's because men saw them as less able or thought that they should focus primarily on the should. This example of women generally receiving less payment than men shows how women were discriminated against on a larger basis, compared to men. The word sexist in 2014 was generally assumed to be more directed and relevant to women due to the fact that men had more power politically, physically and that they should be the ones to work, instead of staying at home and cooking/cleaning.Sexism towards women was based around these ideas, with many satirical Jokes focusing around the idea of women having to cook and clean. Other discrimination took place t work, where sometimes women worked at an Industry dominated by men, this led to what was called a â€Å"lack of fit† between the personality a woman is supposed to possess and the attributes considered necessary for the Job.Here's where the male descriptive stereotypes come Into play: competent, assertive, decisive, rational, objective. When managers have little information about what an employee or stereotypes, often to the detriment of women. One study published in 2012 showed the sexist nature of employment during a Job hunt. Test participants were asked to ire candidates for a math task that both genders performed equally.The participants were twice as likely to hire the man even when candidates were identical – for the simple reason that women are seen as worse at math than men. In conclusion, the overall role and status of women in 2014 was that they were mainly focused on looking after the home and caring for their children; they were given the potential to gain a high social status, but many chose to let men go to work and those women who did want/have to work, were likely at times to face sexism.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Well, by pretending to have an overactive bladder, I've managed to sneak enough time in the bathroom to finish reading this Gospel of Matthew. I don't know who the Matthew is that wrote this, but it certainly wasn't our Matthew. While our Matthew was a whiz at numbers (as you might expect from a tax collector), he couldn't write his own name in the sand without making three mistakes. Whoever wrote this Gospel obviously got the information at least secondhand, maybe thirdhand. I'm not here to criticize, but please, he never mentions me. Not once. I know my protests go against the humility that Joshua taught, but please, I was his best friend. Not to mention the fact that this Matthew (if that really is his name) takes great care in describing Joshua's genealogy back to King David, but after Joshua is born and the three wise men show up at the stable in Bethlehem, then you don't hear from Joshua again until he's thirty. Thirty! As if nothing happened from the manger until John baptized us. Jeez. Anyway, now I know why I was brought back from the dead to write this Gospel. If the rest of this â€Å"New Testament† is anything like the book of Matthew, they need someone to write about Joshua's life who was actually there: me. I can't believe I wasn't even mentioned once. It's all I can do to keep from asking Raziel what in the hell happened. He probably showed up a hundred years too late to correct this Matthew fellow. Oh my, there's a frightening thought, edited by the moron angel. I can't let that happen. And the ending? Where did he get that? I'll see what this next guy, this Mark, has to say, but I'm not getting my hopes up. The first thing that we noticed about Balthasar's fortress was that there were no right angles, no angles period, only curves. As we followed the magus through corridors, and from level to level, we never saw so much as a squared-off stair step, instead there were spiral ramps leading from level to level, and although the fortress spread all over the cliff face, no room was more than one doorway away from a window. Once we were above the ground level, there was always light from the windows and the creepy feeling we'd had when we entered quickly passed away. The stone of the walls was more yellow in color than the limestone of Jerusalem, yet it had the same smooth appearance. Overall it gave the impression that you were walking through the polished entrails of some huge living creature. â€Å"Did you build this place, Balthasar?† I asked. â€Å"Oh, no,† he said, without turning around. â€Å"This place was always here, I simply had to remove the stone that occupied it.† â€Å"Oh,† I said, having gained no knowledge whatsoever. We passed no doors, but myriad open archways and round portals which opened into chambers of various shapes and sizes. As we passed one egg-shaped doorway obscured by a curtain of beads Balthasar mumbled, â€Å"The girls stay in there.† â€Å"Girls?† I said. â€Å"Girls?† Joshua said. â€Å"Yes, girls, you ninnies,† Balthasar said. â€Å"Humans much like yourselves, except smarter and better smelling.† Well, I knew that. I mean, we'd seen the two of them, hadn't we? I knew what girls were. He pressed on until we came to the only other door I had seen since we entered, this one another huge, ironclad monster held closed with three iron bolts as big around as my arm and a heavy brass lock engraved with strange characters. The magus stopped and tilted an ear to the door. His heavy gold earring clinked against one of the bolts. He turned to us and whispered, and for the first time I could clearly see that the magus was very old, despite the strength of his laugh and the spring in his step. â€Å"You may go anywhere you wish while you stay here, but you must never open this door. Xiong zai.† â€Å"Xiong zai,† I repeated to Joshua in case he'd missed it. â€Å"Xiong zai.† He nodded with total lack of understanding. Mankind, I suppose, is designed to run on – to be motivated by – temptation. If progress is a virtue then this is our greatest gift. (For what is curiosity if not intellectual temptation? And what progress is there without curiosity?) On the other hand, can you call such a profound weakness a gift, or is it a design flaw? Is temptation itself at fault for man's woes, or is it simply the lack of judgment in response to temptation? In other words, who is to blame? Mankind, or a bad designer? Because I can't help but think that if God had never told Adam and Eve to avoid the fruit of the tree of knowledge, that the human race would still be running around naked, dancing in wonderment and blissfully naming stuff between snacks, naps, and shags. By the same token, if Balthasar had passed that great ironclad door that first day without a word of warning, I might have never given it a second glance, and once again, much trouble could have been avoided. Am I to blame for what h appened, or is it the author of temptation, God Hisownself? Balthasar led us into a grand chamber with silks festooned from the ceiling and the floor covered with fine carpets and pillows. Wine, fruit, cheese, and bread were laid out on several low tables. â€Å"Rest and refresh,† said Balthasar. â€Å"I'll be back after I finish my business with Ahmad.† Then he hurried off, leaving us alone. â€Å"So,† I said, â€Å"find out what you need to from this guy, then we can get on the road and on to the next wise man.† â€Å"I'm not sure it's going to be that quick. In fact, we may be here quite some time. Maybe years.† â€Å"Years? Joshua, we're in the middle of nowhere, we can't spend years here.† â€Å"Biff, we grew up in the middle of nowhere. What's the difference?† â€Å"Girls,† I said. â€Å"What about them?† Joshua asked. â€Å"Don't start.† We heard laughter rolling down the corridor into the room and shortly it was followed by Balthasar and Ahmad, who threw themselves down among the pillows and began eating the cheeses and fruits that had been set out. â€Å"So,† Balthasar said, â€Å"Ahmad tells me that you tried to save a bandit, and in the process blinded one of his men, without so much as touching him. Very impressive.† Joshua hung his head. â€Å"It was a massacre.† â€Å"Grieve,† Balthasar said, â€Å"but consider also the words of the master Lao-tzu: ‘Weapons are instruments of misfortune. Those who are violent do not die naturally.'† â€Å"Ahmad,† Joshua said, â€Å"what will happen to the guard, the one I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He is no good to me anymore,† said Ahmad. â€Å"A shame too, he was the best bowman of the lot. I'll leave him in Kabul. He's asked me to give his pay to his wife in Antioch and his other wife in Dunhuang. I suppose he will become a beggar.† â€Å"Who is Lao-tzu?† I asked. â€Å"You will have plenty of time to learn of master Lao-tzu,† said Balthasar. â€Å"Tomorrow I will assign you a tutor to teach you qi, the path of the Dragon's Breath, but for now, eat and rest.† â€Å"Can you believe a Chinaman can be so black?† laughed Ahmad. â€Å"Have you ever seen such a thing?† â€Å"I wore the leopard skin of the shaman when your father was just a twinkle in the great river of stars, Ahmad. I mastered animal magic before you were old enough to walk, and I had learned all the secrets of the sacred Egyptian magic texts before you could sprout a beard. If immortality is to be found among the wisdom of the Chinese masters, then I shall be Chinese as long as it suits me, no matter the color of my skin or the place of my birth.† I tried to determine Balthasar's age. From what he was claiming he would have to be very old indeed, as Ahmad was not young himself, yet his movements were spry and as far as I could see he had all of his teeth and they were perfect. There was none of the feeble dotage that I'd seen in our elders at home. â€Å"How do you stay so strong, Balthasar?† I asked. â€Å"Magic.† He grinned. â€Å"There is no magic but that of the Lord,† Joshua said. Balthasar scratched his chin and replied quietly, â€Å"Then presumably none without his consent, eh, Joshua?† Joshua slouched and stared at the floor. Ahmad burst out laughing. â€Å"His magic isn't so mysterious, boys. Balthasar has eight young concubines to draw the poisons from his old body, that's how he stays young.† â€Å"Holy moly! Eight?† I was astounded. Aroused. Envious. â€Å"Does that room with the ironclad door have something to do with your magic?† Joshua asked gravely. Balthasar stopped grinning. Ahmad looked from Joshua to the magus and back, bewildered. â€Å"Let me show you to your quarters,† said Balthasar. â€Å"You should wash and rest. Lessons tomorrow. Say good-bye to Ahmad, you'll not see him again soon.† Our quarters were spacious, bigger than the houses we'd grown up in, with carpets on the floor, chairs made of dark exotic hardwoods carved into the shapes of dragons and lions, and a table that held a pitcher and basin for washing. Each of our rooms held a desk and cabinet full of instruments for painting and writing, and something neither of us had ever seen, a bed. A half-wall divided the space between Joshua's room and mine, so we were able to lie in the beds and talk before falling asleep, just as we had in the desert. I could tell that Joshua was deeply troubled about something that first night. â€Å"You seem, I don't know, deeply troubled, Josh.† â€Å"It's the bandits. Could I have raised them?† â€Å"All of them? I don't know, could you?† â€Å"I thought about it. I thought that I could make them all walk and breathe again. I thought I could make them live. But I didn't even try.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I was afraid they would have killed us and robbed us if I had. It's what Balthasar said, ‘Those who are violent do not die naturally.'† â€Å"The Torah says, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. They were bandits.† â€Å"But were they bandits always? Would they have been bandits in the years to come?† â€Å"Sure, once a bandit, always a bandit. They take an oath or something. Besides, you didn't kill them.† â€Å"But I didn't save them, and I blinded that bowman. That wasn't right.† â€Å"You were angry.† â€Å"That's no excuse.† â€Å"What do you mean, that's no excuse? You're God's Son. God wiped out everyone on earth with a flood because he was angry.† â€Å"I'm not sure that's right.† â€Å"‘Scuse me?† â€Å"We have to go to Kabul. I need to restore that man's sight if I can.† â€Å"Joshua, this bed is the most comfortable place I've ever been. Can we wait to go to Kabul?† â€Å"I suppose.† Joshua was quiet for a long time and I thought that he might have fallen asleep. I didn't want to sleep, but I didn't want to talk about dead bandits either. â€Å"Hey Josh?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"What do you think is in that room with the iron door, what did he call it?† â€Å"Xiong zai,† said Josh. â€Å"Yeah, Xiong zai. What do you think that is?† â€Å"I don't know, Biff. Maybe you should ask your tutor.† Xiong zai means house of doom, in the parlance of feng shui,† said Tiny Feet of the Divine Dance of Joyous Orgasm. She knelt before a low stone table that held an earthenware teapot and cups. She wore a red silk robe trimmed with golden dragons and tied with a black sash. Her hair was black and straight and so long that she had tied it in a knot to keep it from dragging on the floor as she served the tea. Her face was heart-shaped, her skin as smooth as polished alabaster, and if she'd ever been in the sun, the evidence had long since faded. She wore wooden sandals held fast by silk ribbons and her feet, as you might guess from her name, were tiny. It had taken me three days of lessons to get the courage up to ask her about the room. She poured the tea daintily, but without ceremony, as she had each of the previous three days before my lessons. But this time, before she handed it to me, she added to my cup a drop of a potion from a tiny porcelain bottle that hung from a chain around her neck. â€Å"What's in the bottle, Joy?† I called her Joy. Her full name was too ungainly for conversation, and when I'd tried other diminutives (Tiny Feet, Divine Dance, and Orgasm), she hadn't responded positively. â€Å"Poison,† Joy said with a smile. The lips of her smile were shy and girlish, but the eyes smiled a thousand years sly. â€Å"Ah,† I said, and I tasted the tea. It was rich and fragrant, just as it had been before, but this time there was a hint of bitterness. â€Å"Biff, can you guess what your lesson is today?† Joy asked. â€Å"I thought you would tell me what's in that house of doom room.† â€Å"No, that is not the lesson today. Balthasar does not wish you to know what is in that room. Guess again.† My fingers and toes had begun to tingle and I suddenly realized that my scalp had gone numb. â€Å"You're going to teach me how to make the fire-powder that Balthasar used the day we arrived?† â€Å"No, silly.† Joy's laugh had the musical sound of a clear stream running over rocks. She pushed me lightly on the chest and I fell over backward, unable to move. â€Å"Today's lesson is – are you ready?† I grunted. It was all I could do. My mouth was paralyzed. â€Å"Today's lesson is, if someone puts poison in your tea, don't drink it.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† I sort of slurred. â€Å"So,† Balthasar said, â€Å"I see that Tiny Feet of the Divine Dance of Joyous Orgasm has revealed what she keeps in the little bottle around her neck.† The magus laughed heartily and leaned back on some cushions. â€Å"Is he dead?† asked Joshua. The girls laid my paralyzed body on some pillows next to Joshua, then propped me up so I could look at Balthasar. Beautiful Gate of Heavenly Moisture Number Six, who I had only just met and didn't have a nickname for yet, put some drops on my eyes to keep them moist, as I seemed to have lost the ability to blink. â€Å"No,† said Balthasar, â€Å"he's not dead. He's just relaxed.† Joshua poked me in the ribs and, of course, I didn't respond. â€Å"Really relaxed,† he said. Beautiful Gate of Heavenly Moisture Number Six handed Joshua the little vial of eye drops and excused herself. She and the other girls left the room. â€Å"Can he see and hear us?† Joshua asked. â€Å"Oh yes, he's completely alert.† â€Å"Hey Biff, I'm learning about Chi,† Joshua shouted into my ear. â€Å"It flows all around us. You can't see it, or hear it, or smell it, but it's there.† â€Å"You don't need to shout,† said Balthasar. Which is what I would have said, if I could have said anything. Joshua put some drops in my eyes. â€Å"Sorry.† Then to Balthasar, â€Å"This poison, where did it come from?† â€Å"I studied under a sage in China who had been the emperor's royal poisoner. He taught me this, and many other of the magics of the five elements.† â€Å"Why would an emperor need a poisoner?† â€Å"A question that only a peasant would ask.† â€Å"An answer that only an ass would give,† said Joshua. Balthasar laughed. â€Å"So be it, child of the star. A question asked in earnest deserves an earnest answer. An emperor has many enemies to dispatch, but more important, he has many enemies who would dispatch him. The sage spent most of his time concocting antidotes.† â€Å"So there's an antidote to this poison,† Joshua said, poking me in the ribs again. â€Å"In good time. In good time. Have some more wine, Joshua. I wish to discuss with you the three jewels of the Tao. The three jewels of the Tao are compassion, moderation, and humility†¦Ã¢â‚¬  An hour later, four Chinese girls came and picked me up, wiped the floor where I had drooled, and carried me to our quarters. As they passed the great ironclad door I could hear scraping and a voice in my head that said, â€Å"Hey kid, open the door,† but the girls made no notice of it. Back in my room, the girls bathed me and poured some rich broth into me, then put me to bed and closed my eyes. I could hear Joshua enter the room and shuffle around preparing for bed. â€Å"Balthasar says he will have Joy give you the antidote to the poison soon, but first you have a lesson to learn. He says that this is the Chinese way of teaching. Strange, don't you think?† Had I been able to make a sound, I would have agreed, yes, indeed it was strange. So you know: Balthasar's concubines were eight in number and their names were: Tiny Feet of the Divine Dance of Joyous Orgasm, Beautiful Gate of Heavenly Moisture Number Six, Temptress of the Golden Light of the Harvest Moon, Delicate Personage of Two Fu Dogs Wrestling Under a Blanket, Feminine Keeper of the Three Tunnels of Excessive Friendliness, Silken Pillows of the Heavenly Softness of Clouds, Pea Pods in Duck Sauce with Crispy Noodle, and Sue. And I found myself wondering, as a man does, about origins and motivations and such – as each of the concubines was more beautiful than the last, regardless of what order you put them in, which was weird – so after several weeks passed, and I could no longer stand the curiosity scratching at my brain like a cat in a basket, I waited until one of the rare occasions when I was alone with Balthasar, and I asked. â€Å"Why Sue?† â€Å"Short for Susanna,† Balthasar said. So there you go. Their full names were somewhat ungainly, and to try to pronounce them in Chinese produced a sound akin to throwing a bag of silverware down a flight of steps (ting, tong, yang, wing, etc.) so Joshua and I called the girls as follows: Joy, Number Six, Two Fu Dogs, Moon, Tunnels, Pillows, Pea Pods, and, of course, Sue, which we couldn't figure out how to shorten. Except for a group of men who brought supplies from Kabul every two weeks, and while there would do any heavy moving, the eight young women did everything around the fortress. Despite the remoteness and the obvious wealth that the fortress housed, there were no guards. I found that curious. Over the next week Joy tutored me in the characters that I would need to know to read the Book of the Divine Elixirs or the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor, and the Book of Liquid Pearl in Nine Cycles and of the Nine Elixirs of the Divine Immortals. The plan was that once I became conversant in these two ancient texts, I would be able to assist Balthasar in his quest for immortality. That, by the way, was the reason that we were there, the reason that Balthasar had followed the star to Bethlehem at Joshua's birth, and the reason that he had put Ahmad on notice to look for a Jew seeking the African magus. Balthasar sought immortality, and he believed that Joshua held the key to it. Of course we didn't know that at the time. My concentration while studying the symbols was particularly acute, helped by the fact that I could not move a muscle. Each morning Two Fu Dogs and Pillows (both named for their voluptuousness, which evidently came with considerable strength) would pull me from bed, squeeze me over the latrine, bathe me, pour some broth into me, then take me to the library and prop me in a chair while Joy lectured on Chinese characters, which she painted with a wet brush on large sheets of slate set on easels. Sometimes the other girls would stay and pose my body into various positions that amused them, and as much as I should have been annoyed by the humiliation, the truth be told, watching Pillows and Two Fu Dogs jiggle in paroxysms of girlish laughter was fast becoming the high point of my paralyzed day. At midday, Joy would take a break while two or more of the other girls squoze me over the latrine, poured more broth into me, and then teased me mercilessly until Joy returned, clapped her hands, and sent them away well scolded. (Joy was the bull-ox concubine of them all, despite her tiny feet.) Sometimes during these breaks, Joshua would leave his own lessons and come to the library to visit. â€Å"Why have you painted him blue?† asked Joshua. â€Å"He looks good blue,† said Pea Pods. Two Fu Dogs and Tunnels stood by with paintbrushes admiring their work. â€Å"Well, he's not going to be happy with this when he gets the antidote, I can tell you that.† Then to me Joshua said, â€Å"You know, you do sort of look good blue. Biff, I've appealed to Joy on your behalf, but she says she doesn't think you've learned your lesson yet. You have learned your lesson though, haven't you? Stop breathing for a second if the answer is yes.† I did. â€Å"I thought so.† Joshua bent and whispered in my ear. â€Å"It's about that room behind the iron door. That's the lesson they want you to learn. I got the feeling that if I asked about it I'd be propped up there next to you.† He stood up. â€Å"I have to go now. The three jewels to learn, don't you know. I'm on compassion. It's not as hard as it sounds.† Two days later Joy came to my room in the morning with some tea. She pulled the tiny bottle from inside her dragon robe and held it close in front of my eyes. â€Å"You see the two small corks, a white one on one side of the vessel and a black one on the other? The black one is the poison I gave you. The white one is the antidote. I think you've learned your lesson.† I drooled in response, while sincerely hoping she hadn't mixed up the corks. She tipped the little bottle over a teacup, then poured some tea down my throat, with half of it going down the front of my shirt as well. â€Å"That will take a while to work. You may experience some discomfort as the poison wears off.† Joy dropped the little bottle down into its nest of Chinese cleavage, then kissed me on the forehead and left. If I could, I would have snickered at the blue paint she had on her lips as she walked away. Ha! â€Å"Some discomfort,† she had said. For the better part of ten days I'd had no sensation in my body at all, then suddenly things started to work again. Imagine rolling out of your warm bed in the morning into – oh, I don't know – a lake of burning oil. â€Å"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Joshua, I'm about to crawl out of my skin here.† We were in our quarters, about an hour after I'd taken the antidote. Balthasar had sent Joshua to find me and bring me to the library, supposedly to see how I was doing. Josh put his hand on my forehead, but instead of the usual calm that accompanied that gesture, it felt as if he'd lain a hot branding iron across my skin. I knocked his hand aside. â€Å"Thanks, but it's not helping.† â€Å"Maybe a bath,† Joshua suggested. â€Å"Tried it. Jeez, this is driving me mad!† I hopped around in a circle because I didn't know what else to do. â€Å"Maybe Balthasar has something that can help,† Joshua said. â€Å"Lead on,† I said. â€Å"I can't just sit here.† We headed off down the corridor, going down several levels on the way to the library. As we descended one of the spiral ramps I grabbed Joshua's arm. â€Å"Josh, look at this ramp, you notice anything?† He considered the surface and leaned out to look at the sides of the tread. â€Å"No. Should I?† â€Å"How about the walls and ceilings, the floors, you notice anything?† Joshua looked around. â€Å"They're all solid rock?† â€Å"Yes, but what else? Look hard. Think of the houses we built in Sepphoris. Now do you notice anything?† â€Å"No tool marks?† â€Å"Exactly,† I said. â€Å"I spent a lot of time over the last two weeks staring at walls and ceilings with nothing much else to look at. There's not the slightest evidence of a chisel, a pick, a hammer, anything. It's as if these chambers had been carved by the wind over a thousand years, but you know that's not the case.† â€Å"So what's your point?† Joshua said. â€Å"My point is that there's more going on with Balthasar and his girls than he lets on.† â€Å"We should ask them.† â€Å"No, we shouldn't, Josh. Don't you get it? We need to find out what's going on without them knowing that we know.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Why? Why? Because the last time I asked a question I was poisoned, that's why. And I believe that if Balthasar didn't think you had something that he wants, I'd have never seen the antidote.† â€Å"But I don't have anything,† said Joshua, honestly. â€Å"You might have something you don't know you have, but you can't just go asking what it is. We need to be devious. Tricky. Sneaky.† â€Å"But I'm not good at any of those things.† I put my arm around my friend's shoulders. â€Å"Not always so great being the Messiah, huh?†

The Care Act For The Asian American Subgroups - 1629 Words

Nursing is generally viewed as a simple profession where you learn to take blood pressure, temperature, and smile. However, in reality, nurses are the most reliable people the vulnerable population trust during the time of need. The vulnerable population includes the mentally challenged, the unborn, those with few financial or social resources and those with cases as the incarcerated and the immigrants. The nurses also play an important role in promoting social justices. The nurses apply the ethical principles of justice to care for this venerable population with very limited funds. To provide nursing care to this population, nurses avoid to be judgmental and focus on caring for the client as a person not a criminal in order to deliver effective nursing care. For example a study conducted by Kim-Lu, D. 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