AIDS Essays (1545 words) - HIVAIDS, HIV, Herpes Simplex, Virus

AIDS Essays (1545 words) - HIVAIDS, HIV, Herpes Simplex, Virus AIDS Gonzales 1 The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first discovered in 1981 as a unique and newly recognized infection of the bodys immune system (Mellors 3). The name AIDS was formally know as GRIDS (Gay Related Immune Defiance Syndrome). The first case of AIDS was discovered in Los Angeles, where scientists from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) were called in on a half dozen cases. The CDC was convinced what they were seeing was a new strand of virus. None of the staff members had ever seen a strand of virus that could do so much destruction to the immune system like this one did. Many theories about this disease were in question. Many scientists believed it originated in Africa. Many thought the virus existed in humans in South Central Africa for hundreds and thousands of years, causing only minor symptoms in isolated groups until it spread more widely. AIDS could also be traced back to 1959, where a blood sample was taken from a man from Zaire and then frozen. Labs later indicated that the blood sample had the AIDS virus strand in it. Some weird theories also arose in the science arena, where some scientists believed that the virus was caused by a mutation of an existing virus. Others thought it was a creation of God to punish sinful people. A former government worker claimed it was a plot by the CIA to eliminate the population. One scientist thought the virus was brought here from outer space. One more theory about this virus was this was natures way of telling us we have to many people. Gonzales 2 The AIDS rate was known to be very high in homosexual men. It was believed that the AIDS virus was carried from Africa to Haiti. Haiti was known as gay paradise, because it was a popular vacation spot for homosexuals. Bathhouses were the hang out for many homosexual men and a place where prostitution flourished. Some bathhouses reported that more than 1000 men would visit each year. Since many men from all over the world visited these bathhouses, researchers believed the spread of AIDS could be linked to this type of behavior. There are many symptoms that are associated with the AIDS virus, such as HIV (Human Immundodeficiency Virus). HIV is subdivided into two related types, HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is individuals at high risk for developing the AIDS virus. HIV-2 is among people in West Africa and a few other cities that have the strand of the virus called SIV (Simian Immundefienciency Virus) which is found in wild African monkeys. The pattern of the HIV virus usually lasts up to ten years before any symptoms are detected. The first stage is the Primary HIV infection stage. This is where the disease is first detected. Following 3-6 weeks after the initial detection, the Acute HIV Syndrome stage kicks in. Some symptoms to look for in this stage are fever, headaches, sore throat, rashes, and diarrhea. The next stage is the Clinical Latency stage. This stage usually lasts for several years. Some symptoms to look for in this stag e are fever, weight loss, fatigue, night Gonzales 3 sweats, and diarrhea. Some infections to look for in this stage are Herpes Zoster (Shingles), Herpes simplex, and lesions on the body. Following the pain and suffering that comes with all these symptoms; death finally takes its toll on another victim. The death toll that AIDS has inflicted on America today is unbelievably high. Within the past decade, the pandemic of HIV and AIDS infections has spread all across the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that by mid 1996 approximately 28 million people worldwide would had been infected with the HIV virus, of whom 8 million have developed the AIDS and nearly 6 million, including 1.3 million children had died (Mellors 4). It is estimated that about 22 million adults and children are infected worldwide from the HIV virus, and of the 22 million people, about 1 million are in the United States, 5 million in Asia, and about 14 million people in Africa. By the year 2000, the number of AIDS infections will reach about 40 million people across the

Centeotl - The Aztec God (or Goddess) of Maize

Centeotl - The Aztec God (or Goddess) of Maize Centeotl (sometimes spelled Cinteotl or Tzinteotl and sometimes called Xochipilli or Flower Prince) was the main Aztec god of American corn, known as maize. Centeotls name (pronounced something like Zin-tay-AH-tul) means â€Å"Maize Cob Lord† or â€Å"the Dried Ear of the Maize God†. Other Aztec gods associated with this all-important crop included the goddess of sweet corn and tamales Xilonen (Tender Maize), the goddess of seed corn Chicomecotl (Seven Serpent), and Xipe Totec, the fierce god of fertility and agriculture. Centeotl represents the Aztec version of a more ancient, pan-Mesoamerican deity. Earlier Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec and Maya, worshiped the maize god as one of the most important sources of life and reproduction. Several figurines found at Teotihuacn were representations of a maize goddess, with a coiffure resembling a tasseled ear of maize. In many Mesoamerican cultures, the idea of kingship was associated with the maize god. Origin of the Maize God Centeotl was the son of Tlazolteotl or Toci, the goddess of fertility and childbirth, and as Xochipilli he was the husband of Xochiquetzal, the first woman to give birth. Like many Aztec deities, the maize god had a dual aspect, both masculine and feminine. Many Nahua (Aztec language) sources report that the Maize god was born a goddess, and only in later times became a male god named Centeotl, with a feminine counterpart, the goddess Chicomecotl. Centeotl and Chicomecotl oversaw different stages in maize growth and maturation. Aztec mythology holds that the god Quetzalcoatl gave maize to humans. The myth reports that during the 5th Sun, Quetzalcoatl spotted a red ant carrying a maize kernel. He followed the ant and reached the place where maize grew, the â€Å"Mountain of Sustenance†, or Tonacatepetl (Ton-ah-cah-TEP-eh-tel) in Nahua. There Quetzalcoatl turned himself into a black ant and stole a kernel of corn to bring back to the humans to plant. According to a story collected by the Spanish colonial period Franciscan friar and scholar Bernardino de  Sahagà ºn, Centeotl made a journey into the underworld and returned with cotton, sweet potatoes, huauzontle (chenopodium), and the intoxicating drink made from agave called octli or pulque, all of which he gave to humans. For this resurrection story, Centeotl is sometimes associated with Venus, the morning star. According to Sahagun, there was a temple dedicated to Centeotl in the sacred precinct of Tenochtitln. Maize God Festivities The fourth month of the Aztec calendar is called Huei Tozoztli (The Big Sleep), and it was dedicated to the maize gods Centeotl and Chicomecotl. Different ceremonies dedicated to green maize and grass took place in this month, which began around April 30th. To honor the maize gods, people carried out self-sacrifices, performing blood-letting rituals, and sprinkling the blood throughout their houses. Young women adorned themselves with necklaces of corn seeds. Maize ears and seeds were brought back from the field, the former placed in front of the gods images, whereas the latter were stored for planting in the next season. The cult of Centeotl overlapped that of Tlaloc and embraced various deities of solar warmth, flowers, feasting, and pleasure. As the son of the earth goddess Toci, Centeotl was worshipped alongside Chicomecoati and Xilonen during the 11th month of Ochpaniztli, which begins September 27th on our calendar. During this month, a woman was sacrificed and her skin was used to make a mask for Centeotls priest. Maize God Images Centeotl is often represented in Aztec codices as a young man, with maize cobs and ears sprouting from his head, handling a scepter with green cob’s ears. In the Florentine Codex, Centeotl is illustrated as the god of harvest and crop production. As Xochipilli Centeotl, the god is sometimes represented as the monkey god Oà §omtli, the god of sports, dancing, amusements and good luck in games. A carved paddle-shaped palmate stone in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts (Cavallo 1949) may illustrate Centeotl receiving or attending a human sacrifice. The head of the deity resembles a monkey and he has a tail; the figure is standing on or floating above the chest of a prone figure. A large headdress accounting for over half of the length of the  stone  rises above Centeotls head and is made up of either maize plants or possibly agave. Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Aridjis, Homero. Deidades Del Panteà ³n Mexica Del Maà ­z. Artes de Mà ©xico 79 (2006): 16–17. Print.Berdan, Frances F. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.Carrasco, David. Central Mexican Religion. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 102–08. Print.Cavallo, A. S. A Totonac Palmate Stone. Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 29.3 (1949): 56–58. Print.de Durand-Forest, Jacqueline, and Michel Graulich. On Paradise Lost in Central Mexico. Current Anthropology 25.1 (1984): 134–35. Print.Long, Richard C. E. 167. A Dated Statuette of Centeotl. Man 38 (1938): 143–43. Print.Là ³pez Luhan, Leonardo. Tenochtitln: Ceremonial Center. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 712 –17. Print.Menà ©ndez, Élisabeth. Maà ¯s Et Divinites Du Maà ¯s Daprà ¨s Les Sources Anciennes. Journal de la Socià ©tà © des Amà ©ricanistes 64 (1977): 19–27. Print. Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.Taube, Karl A. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.Taube, Karl. Teotihuacn: Religion and Deities. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. Eds. Evans, Susan Toby and David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 731–34. Print.Von Tuerenhout, Dirk R. The Aztecs: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc., 2005. Print.