History of Bacteria, Penicillin and Germ Theories

History of Bacteria, Penicillin and Germ Theories Mursal Malekzadeh THE GERM THEORY How this all began was before the germ theory was developed. Edward Jenner who was a doctor came up with vaccination. Smallpox was popular in the 18th century and so many people died due to the smallpox. Girls who would milk cows didn’t catch smallpox but instead caught cowpox. There was no research into disease and infections in the 18th century. Edward Jenner thought of an idea. He thought that people could be protected from smallpox if he would inject them with cowpox so therefore in 1794 he tried this idea which proved his prediction right. Also to provide clear evidence he injected a smallpox victim into the same person he injected cowpox with 2 months after. This caused the person to show no signs of smallpox because he had been injected with cowpox previously. Jenner’s idea became widely accepted as it cured a lot of smallpox victims. Jenner’s technique of injected cowpox into smallpox victims is now called vaccination. In the 1980s the world health organi sation suggested that the disease didn’t exist anymore due to an international vaccination programme. This got rid of smallpox. Although Edward Jenner’s theory was correct and there’s evidence to prove it but his technique would not be permitted today because its considered unethical to use healthy participants and inject them. In the 18th and 19th century many women who just gave birth were dying within 5 days of their delivery. There were clear symptoms such as vomiting and inflammation of the womb however no one knew why this was happening. Ignaz Semmelweiss was a doctor who worked in the maternity wards. Semmelweiss found out that his medical students would straight away dissect a dead body to delivering a baby without washing their hands. This made him think if they had the cause of the disease on their hands from the dead patients previously to their pregnant patients. Semmelweiss knew that the deaths were caused by an infectious agent so therefore he told all his medical students to wash their hands in soap before they went to the maternity ward. This was effect because the death rates dropped to 1% after 2 years. On the other hand other doctors wouldn’t agree with Semmelweiss idea because they thought the pain women received after childbirth was due to god punishing them. Washing hands in the 19th century was hard because there wasn’t always running warm water and the soap made of chlorinated lime would damage the hands but today everyone washes before and after they do anything. Later in the 1920s Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin. He noticed a lot of mould on his plates after he came back from holiday. One day he used mould juice which he called penicillin but the problem was that he couldn’t get a lot of mould juice because it would go bad so this made him stop doing experiments to prove if penicillin would kill bacteria. In 1938 Howard Florey and Ernst Chain did further research into penicillin. One of their experiments were based on 8 mice which they injected 4 of them with bacteria that would kill them and 4 with penicillin. The results showed that the 4 injected with penicillin survived whereas the other remaining 4 died. They could prove that penicillin destroyed bacteria. The next problem was making enough of it for everyone so they went to USA with their mould and the big chemical companies helped them make penicillin. Penicillin is very popular today as it has been used by many to destroy bacterial infections. All these past events influenced Pasteur to come up with the germ theory. The germ theory of disease is thought that infectious diseases are caused by a germ. Louis Pasteur who was a chemist and biologist did a lot of research into the germ theory. In order to help him with his experiments people such as Robert Koch developed the microscope so that microorganisms were visible. Pasteur had an idea that growths that developed like mould on food, were from microscopic organisms which were in the air. Pasteur did some experiments to see if his prediction was correct so he boiled broth and closed the container and it would be clear however when he added other things that were exposed to the air, he saw that microorganisms developed in the broth which caused it to be cloudy. He repeated many more experiments until he came up with a series of experiments which used swan necked flasks because this proved that microorganisms that appear in boiled broth come from the air. In 1845 a disease destroyed silkworms. Pasteur again knew this was due to microorganisms because it was found in the tissues of diseased silkworms, moths and eggs which were possible to see by using a microscope. Pasteur tried to get rid of the disease by identifying the eggs which were infected. This helped to save the silk industry and there was clear evidence of microorganisms causing disease. Many people died of infectious diseases but Pasteur did a lot of investigation on these diseases so therefore he developed vaccines against these diseases. Many of Pasteur’s investigations and experiments influenced Joseph Lister who was a scientist. Pasteur came up with the idea of pasteurisation which is that boiling liquid can effectively remove bacteria or germs. People thought that small organisms as germs couldn’t destroy larger ones such as humans. Pasteur did further investigation in order to explain the causes of many diseases such as smallpox, anthrax, TB and cholera. He found out that these diseases could be eliminated by vaccination and eventually will leave the body. Pasteur became very successful when he developed vaccinations for Rabies. Joseph Lister was influenced by Pasteur’s work. He was a surgeon and used Pasteur’s ideology’s to make the process of surgery more hygienic which eventually prevented many people from dying When Lister found out about Pasteurs experiments on wine going bad due to microorganisms in the air, he knew that microorganisms present in the air were causing his patients to die after they had survived surgery. This was due to the infection as the open wounds made it easier for the germs to transfer into the body. People would use carbolic acid to get rid of cattle parasite in fields so Lister thought it could stop wounds from getting infected by cleaning the patients wounds with carbolic acid as well as soaking the dressings in antiseptic liquid. Listers antiseptic surgery caused the death rate to fall to 15% but before Lister came up with his antiseptic surgery the death rate was high due to the bacteria in the air and the lack of using any antiseptic when doing surgery. Recent events that happened include the discovery of Methiciliin in 1960 in order to treat infections caused by bacteria resistant to penicillin. In 2008 the cervical cancer vaccination programme was developed and introduced in UK. It was suggested to vaccinate girls aged 12 against HPV. 3 vaccinations are given every six months. This vaccination helps to protect against types of HPV. In conclusion all these events tell us that vaccination is very effective so therefore ever since vaccination was first discovered it has been successful. References http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/infectiousdiseases_timeline/index.cfm?coSiteNavigation_allTopic=1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pasteur_louis.shtml

Edgar Degas, man the myth the artist :: essays research papers fc

It is in his concepts of man versus himself, his studying of light, capturing a moment and use of large shapes to flatten space that makes Edgar Degas an impressionist. In comparison to his peers, Degas has a tight style of painting and defined, characterized, figures; yet, it is not style that defines impressionism: â€Å"Unlike realism, impressionism rarely responded to politics†¦ impressionist painters preferred genre subjects, especially scenes of leisure activities, entertainment and landscape, and impressionism was more influenced by Japanese prints and new developments in photograph†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Adams, 805) Laurie Schneider Adams defines the impressionist movement, being careful not to describe the use of paint and its thick application. She does this to clarify that impressionism is a concept not a style. While most impressionist do coat their canvas, style is second to the idea that the observed properties of light and color. It is in this understanding that Edgar Degas’ Ballet Dancer with Arms Crossed is an impressionistic painting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With an asymmetrical composition, Edgar Degas’ 1872 painting, Ballet Dancer with Arms Crossed is 24 1/8 x 19 7/8 inches large. Large graphic shapes, mostly red or yellow in tone, form a brooding dancer. A sensation of three dimensionality is achieved with two light sources, one bring and the other dim. The front of her body is dimly lit, allowing soft light to give great detail to the collarbone and face. Although never confirmed, this painting is most likely one of Degas numerous sketches. A notorious perfectionist, Degas would often bring his original charcoal drawings to finish in order to prepare for a future piece. Before impressionism, during the realist movement, there was an underlining message of man versus nature. With the industrial revolution, a new message arrived: man versus himself. This message was most evident in Degas’ many equestrian paintings; Laurie Schneider Adams states, â€Å"In At the Races, Degas’ figures are in a state of restlessness†¦ At the left, a single horse gallops into the picture plane as his jockey reins him. The arrested movement of the galloping horse draws attention to the distant train that continues on†¦ Degas refers to the contrast between mechanized and natural movement and to the changing modes of transportation created by the industrial revolution.† (Adams, 821) The industrial Revolution continued mans affair with himself: the ambition to always perfect, refine, and move forward. Degas often composes natural and unnatural forms juxtapose, in Ballet Dancer with Arms Crossed the comparison is in light.

Different between secondary school and university Essay

I used to say that I could not wait until I finished secondary school and have a greater say in what do. In reflection I can say that my experience in secondary school was more fulfilling for me than the university currently is for me. As I commenced my secondary school life, I was registered. Although I registered at the beginning of my university life, I have to register every semester for the courses that I would be pursuing. In addition, at secondary school level everything was handed out to me; while at the university I have to collect my information for different courses. I believe that secondary school was easier because if I did not understand a topic, teachers were easily accessed. If I do not understand a topic at university I have to wait until the tutorial or office hours. I easily interacted with my teachers while at the university some of my lectors are not approachable. In secondary school I had three sets of vacations while at university I only have two sets of vacations. In addition, secondary school had two set of three weeks’ vacation and a ten weeks summer while university have one month in the Christmas vacation and four months for summer vacation. I found that at secondary school I was taught the fundamentals of learning, while the university teaches me the advance structure of learning. I learned subject and verb agreement and not how to write essay but at university I learn additional fundamental of English like topic sentence use of punctuation marks and structure different types of essays. I also learned basic United Kingdom accounting principle for Caribbean Examination Council level. United State accounting is taught at the university level. In addition, secondary school I did internal exam and was promoted to the year level while I do exams to earn credits towards my degree at the university. I did external exam and gain Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) certificate in several subjects but the university does an increment of courses and receive one degree. The secondary school structure is rigid while the university structure is flexible. The School year is divided into three terms while the university has semesters. In addition at secondary school the children have a long summer vacation while university students have the option of attending summer school. School class times were scheduled for a school year while at the university classes would be chosen by me and changes every semester. I remember having one break time and a fixed hour for lunch whereas for university I can have lunch at time where there is free period. There were many rules at school which were enforced. However, there are some at the university which student are not acquainted with and no one enforces them. For example, if I did not attended classes regularly, the principal would call my parents. However at university there is not anyone who checks up and realized when I am missing from lectures or tutorial sessions. Furthermore, there was a uniform at school that I wore; in fact, the principal and teachers made sure we wore our uniforms correctly. However, at university I can wear my own clothes, which my mother provide for me. I remember the principal sent me back home a last day for having on braids. Now I can wear braids, weave and even colour my hair at the university. Secondary School was small and had limited classrooms but university is bigger and have many different rooms. When I was at school I had a form room where I could eat my lunch and talk to my friends. On the other hand at the university I do not have any fixed room that I can be in. There was also small number of children in the class in contrast to the large number of students at university. Most of the teaching was done in our form room whereas I have to go different places for lectures and tutorials. I knew everyone in my class because they came from first to fifth form, and some of the other children throughout the school. However, I am unable to know everyone in the lectures and I only know a few in the tutorial since my courses changes ever semester. I was able to have a face to face teaching at school whereas I am taught different ways at the university such as lecture, tutorials and online learning. The work load at university is much heavier than at secondary school although I did eight subject at CXC level and I am only doing four course a semester. I conclude although secondary school was structure and rigid I thoroughly enjoyed my life there and those memories would remain with me forever. Even though, my university life is flexible and I have a greater say on my activities, I can now say that I prefer the structure of secondary school life.

Personal Narrative My Miracle From God - 1519 Words

My Miracle from God It was January 18, 2009. The day I had to get an emergency C-section, I was 37 weeks pregnant and the doctors found out I had a condition called preeclampsia, which had turned into eclampsia. I was quite sick and the only cure for eclampsia is to deliver the baby. My beautiful baby boy Isaiah was born on January 18, 2009. He was six pounds, eleven ounces and nineteen inches long. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. All was well, my doctor said that Isaiah was healthy and that he was going to be just fine. It was the perfect day, but what I didn’t know was my son was in for the fight of his life, he was sick and no one would believe me. Three days later Isaiah and I were released from Women’s and Children’s Hospital, my husband Shawn, and his mother Ann drove us home from the hospital. When we reached the house all my family was there to meet Isaiah. My father and mother Scott and Debbie, My grandfather and grandmother Harold and Juanita and my brother Davie and his wife Sherry and their three children. Everyone was so thrilled to see and hold Isaiah. As it got later everyone decided to leave and allow us to rest, however my mother Debbie stayed behind to help me with Isaiah. One week had gone by and Isaiah wasn’t sleeping well at all, my mother Debbie was only supposed to stay one night, but she stayed to assist us for the week. Mother was exhausted so she went home after seven days. Three weeks had gone by and Isaiah was getting worse, heShow MoreRelatedThe Movie Bruce Almighty 906 Words   |  4 PagesThe movie â€Å"Bruce Almighty† is an exemplary and metaphorical depiction of the idea of who God is, how God can be interpreted throughout the movie through scenes and characters, and how is God seen in relation to His creation. The central point of the story revolves around the theme of reminding viewers to â€Å"be the miracle.† From a personal point of view, the characters are symbolic and bear theological significance. The movie is didactic in quality and carries some tinge of comedy with apparent glimpsesRead MoreBiblical Discourse : The Peaceable Kingdom By Stanley Hauerwas936 Words   |  4 Pages In the biblical discourse found in the first verses of John 6 (King James Version), Jesus ministers and teaches throngs of people. After teaching, He performed a miracle so that the crowd. After all had eaten Jesus advised his disciples with these words, â€Å"When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost (Bible Hub).† It was Jesus’ desire that the fragments of the meal be collected and not wasted. Jesus wants the same for his childrenRead MoreWorship Is Our Response By The Things We Live1329 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Worship is†¦ our response, both personal and corporate, to God – for who He is! And what He has done! Expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.† There are many definitions of worship out there. I have found that this one seems to best fit my heart when praying through the topic of worship. Worship is something that begins in the heart, privately, and then flows out during times of public and corporate gathering. Worship however, is something far deeper than music, dance, art, orRead MoreThe, The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living1744 Words   |  7 Pagesfeel as if my life has evolved full circle. I finally understand the meaning and purpose of my life – the myth I believe and know I should be living. This course has put a lot of things into perspective for me by putting my thoughts, experiences, and feelings into words and statements that prior to I could not fully explain. I have awareness – this presence around me that has opened a door that has me thirsting for more knowledge. I have always been on a quest from a little child to find my place inRead More Epic of Beowulf Essay - A True Literary Epic1700 Words   |  7 Pagesperform the deeds of a hero or I have passed my last day in this mead hall.† Even Grendel recognizes the hero’s superior strength: â€Å"The criminal knew he had not met in this middle-earth another with such a grip.† Other warriors when thinking of Beowulf â€Å"would quickly compose a skillful tale in words.† Hrothgar refers to Beowulf as â€Å"the best of warriors.†Ã‚   The Danish queen Wealhtheow compliments after Grendel’s defeat, â€Å"You have earned forever the praise of men from near and far.† Hrothgar expounds on goodRead MoreStudy Of The Gospel Of Matthew Essay1729 Words   |  7 Pagesoverview of the Gospel of Matthew, followed by a more elaborated narrative summarizing the gospel, and he finished with brief closing remarks. Throughout this enthusiastic presentation, Dr. Dunaway made reference to remarks by multiple prominent commentators, which added substance to his narrative, even though none were explicitly stated upfront. In this summary, I will follow the same general outline he used in his presentation, followed by my own conclusion. Overview of Matthew: After he briefly introducedRead MoreGospel Essentials : Similarities Between The Catholic And Christian Worldview Of God1018 Words   |  5 Pages Gospel Essentials God In this composition, we will talk about Gospel Essentials, it will focus on the defining Christian worldview of God In addition we will explore viewpoints of humanity, Jesus, restoration and study of Christianity. We will conclude with a review of my reflection on the similarities between the Catholic and Christian worldview. The Christian worldview, unlike others, is not only completely clear but consistent when breaking down theological questions such as what is our purposeRead More Comparison of Miracle on St. Davids Day by Gillian Clarke and Daffodils by William Wordsworth1989 Words   |  8 PagesComparison of Miracle on St. Davids Day by Gillian Clarke and Daffodils by William Wordsworth Daffodils was written by William Wordsworth approximately a century before Miracle on St. Davids Day was written by Gillian Clarke. Due to this, the poems differ greatly in their style and language. Observing the poems at first glance, it is obvious that they also contrast in content, however at greater depth, the connections between them are made obvious. In this essay, I will be discussingRead MoreFoundations of Mythology Essays1378 Words   |  6 Pagesevil and the inevitable triumph of good. Reading the recommended materials for this class however, has brought me to a new, yet not formed direction of thinking. Playing in the woods as a young boy with my two older sisters they would employ the boogey man scare, I would run home scared out of my wits, cry to mommy to save me and she would tell me â€Å"It’s just a myth, there is no such thing as the Boogey man† so I learned that a myth was what we called the story liars told. I live in this world ofRead MoreThe Story By Naigub Mahfouz1727 Words   |  7 Pagesone’s roots and seeking a reconnection with the earlier forms of existence. It takes personal conviction from an individual in order to pursue their greater self and realization. On one perspective, the narrator (an ill man who desperately searches for a miracle worker to cure him) is in pursuit to achieve the mystical Islamic Zaabalawi. On the other perspective, the narrator’s pursuit appears as a search for piety, God, and mystical experience. One of the two perspectives depicts the search for inner

Throughout history, racial profiling has become a...

Throughout history, racial profiling has become a prevalent issue within humanity. From slavery, segregation, and to world wars, furthermore ongoing issues of terrorism, these examples have led to the profound effects of racial profiling. Racial Profiling can be defined as the action of law enforcers and society, which specifically targets people based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin and not by actual behavior. Although, many people may believe that racial profiling is non-existent, the fact of the matter is history and statistics prove otherwise. Since the 16th Century, racial profiling was practiced and was considered the norm. Some of these acts contained discrimination against African, Jewish, Japanese, and Muslim†¦show more content†¦Slowly, African Americans were given more rights but were still looked down upon by many Caucasian Americans. Although they were free, they were still given minimal rights and kept fighting for their freedom. Racial profili ng still remained and transpired into the segregation of black and whites. Jim Crow Laws were laws that were used to mandate racial segregation. The segregation consisted of places such as schools, restaurants, bathrooms, housing, public places and also the United States Military. This has impacted African Americans both mentally and physically. In the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was aimed to put an end to the Jim Crow Laws, which were later repealed. Racial Profiling continued to survive. As stated above, the Civil Rights Movement was an act directed towards equality. The importance of this involved many prestigious leaders who all contributed to the reform of society, which later led to the integration of all races. Some very well known leaders were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa parks. Each one of them helped achieve civil rights for all African Americans. This was a very momentous time in history being that racial profiling was at an intense level. The i ntensity led to what we know as extreme violence and the establishment of a hatred group known as the Ku Klux Klan. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights Activist who was known for winning The Noble Peace Prize. He helped fight forShow MoreRelatedWe Understand Race And Ethnicity1886 Words   |  8 Pagesa society has become more accepting and less racist. But how realistic is that idea? Many minorities still face racism and constant oppression every day of their lives. As our culture is constantly forming and changing, there emerge issues with how we understand race and ethnicity. While the concept of race is simply a social construct, with no real science behind it, its societal repercussions are entirely real due to the challenges that comes with it. This system of classification has progressedRead More Bigger Thomas, of Native Son and Tupac Shakur Essay6110 Words   |  25 Pagesof his lyrics sensationalized gang violence and ghetto politics, dramatizing the murder of fello w African Americans and, especially, police officers, he also labored over trying to come to grips with African American self-realization, breaking free from imposed societal chains. Unfortunately, as Barry Glassner muses in his book The Culture of Fear (1999), ï ¿ ½it seems to me at once sad, inexcusable, and entirely symptomatic of the culture of fear that the only version of Tupac Shakur many Americans knewRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 PagesRastafari This page intentionally left blank Rastafari From Outcasts to Culture Bearers Ennis Barrington Edmonds 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata KualaRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 PagesINTRODUCTION: The apex body in United States of America for the Marketing functions, American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as â€Å"Marketing consists of those activities involved in the flow of goods and services from the point of production to the point of consumption. The AMA has since amended its definition to read as: â€Å"Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways

To Kill a Mockingbird Motiff Essay - 779 Words

All humans are born innocent. Innocence is a time when a person has never done something, it is the first step of a human beings existence. The second step is experience. This step happens after a person has done something he or she has never done before or learns something he or she has never know before. The motif of innocence and experience occurs many times in Harper Lee’s â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†. The process of this growth is especially obvious in Jem and Scout’s journey through out the book. The first part of to â€Å"kill a mockingbirdâ€Å", while experience is there, innocence is the primary theme. Both Jem and scout are just beginning to experience things. In â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbirdâ€Å", by Harper Lee, there are many great examples of Jem†¦show more content†¦Every situation on the Finch’s life is a way for them to grow and experience things. Innocence and experience are two big occurrences in Harper Lee’s â€Å"to kill a mockingbird†. And those are also big occurrences in life. In my life I have also gone through many situations that have taken me across the threshold of innocence to experience. Everyone has had or will have many times in life when their innocence will be taken away. No one retains innocence forever. Jem and Scout were two of the people that Lee details through their journey of both innocence and experience. The theme of innocence and experience runs through all things including books stories and in

Russian Gulag free essay sample

The Gulags were called many things by the Soviet government, but when boiled down, they were essentially three things: Prison camps, labor camps, and extermination camps. Most prisoners were sent to a labor camp when their sentences were issued, but under certain conditions such as an illness that crippled a worker, work related accidents that cost limbs and organ function, or even bad behavior at work, convicts could be sent to prison camps or extermination camps. The Gulags were created to make use of convict labor to stimulate the Soviet economy and instill corrective behavior in those convicts. The economy of the Soviet Union greatly improved and the rapid industrialization and collectivization of the cities and countryside pushed the Soviets into the modern world. The Soviets were slower than most of the world in respect to industrialization due to World War I and the following October Revolution. However, with the money gained from the surplus of materials harvested by Gulag prisoners, the Soviets were able to push the Union into a period of rapid economic growth. The Gulag inmates mined coal, gold, and other minerals, farmed, cut down trees for lumber, and so forth. On paper, the Gulag was a great idea. In reality, despite its economical effectiveness, it was the cruelest thing a person could have done to another human being. Humans have a natural desire for money, especially those who have power. Gulag personnel fed convicts very little to save money on food and forced them to work long hours to make more money. Scores of prisoners died on a daily basis due to starvation and exhaustion alone. There were many Gulag camps, with more than 2,000 colonies branching off of the 476 discovered camps. There are likely many more that lie undiscovered and buried in the snow of the Siberian tundra today. The total number of prisoners that were in the Gulags is heavily disputed, but the most reliable number would be about twenty million. Gulag records are incomplete, however, so this estimate may be false. Most of these prisoners died horrible deaths. Although most of the convicts had committed actual crimes, far too many were convicted of counter-revolutionary activities, which in today’s society would generally be accepted as a form of free speech, excluding those that used violent methods to protest. According to Gulag records, all of them were criminals. However, it is generally accepted that most Mensheviks were imprisoned due to â€Å"Counter-revolutionary activities,† and are not counted in the criminal count. Those charged with this crime thus have a section of their own. About one-third of all inmates were Mensheviks and imprisoned to be silenced. The other two-thirds were convicted of legitimate crimes. However, because the government was so corrupt, falsification of evidence ran rampant. With this in mind, a sizeable number of these convicts may have been innocent. The death toll of the convicts was staggering. The beginning of Gulag life started at home. If a person was suspected of illegal activities, the local authorities were contacted. Soon, an investigator was sent to the suspect’s house to look for any incriminating evidence, usually in a book or pamphlet. The investigator’s job was to take this person to the Gulag, under specification of NKVD Order No. 00447. The purpose of the Order was to get the suspect in front of a military tribunal to be separated into one of two categories. Category One convicts were sentenced to be shot, while Category Two convicts were to be sentenced to hard labor in the Gulags. In addition to this, in the mindset of the day, if someone was suspected of anti-Bolshevik activities, they were automatically guilty. The investigator would look for anything he could find that could possibly make the person guilty at all. Sometimes the investigator would take up a random piece of literature, say it was bad, and have the suspect shipped off, even if the â€Å"incriminating† evidence was something as benign as the children’s story Goodnight Moon. The investigator would not be the one to tell the suspect what he was even accused of; he would just take the â€Å"evidence† and people would soon kidnap the suspect and toss him in a cattle car to Siberia, which was cramped with a mass of other convicts. When the prisoners reached the Gulag, an official there would take everyone’s valuables and toss the convicts into cramped cells. The interrogation could start at any time. For some the interrogations were that day, and for others it never came and their lives were lived out in the dirty cells. When and if the interrogator got a confession out of someone, a prison sentence was read out and the convict was sent off to the actual Gulag. Interrogation was possibly the most terrifying part of the early Gulag prison term. The interrogator could be anyone with any type of personality, but he or she always had a myriad of torture methods to extract false or true confessions from a suspect. At first the interrogator was usually nice and patient and calmly told their victim what they were being accused of. If the suspect denied their charges, the interrogator would tell them something like, â€Å"It doesn’t really matter. My job is to get a confession from you, and I’m going to do it. If you confess, you can save yourself a lot of pain, and you can save both of us plenty of time. † This was one of the few things in the Gulag that was completely true. If the accusation was still denied, the interrogator could do anything to the prisoner. They could do anything as small as using foul language to something as sadistic as sticking the prisoner in a cage with bedbugs that had been left to procreate for weeks. Either way, the confession would be made, and the convict was taken off to the Gulag to work. Work in the Gulag was grueling. The prisoners were forced to work every hour of the day with little food and sleep. They would be forced to lay train tracks, work in the mines, or fell trees in the thick snow. By performing these tasks, the prisoners ran the risk of illness, freezing to death, or in the case of forestry, being crushed by a falling tree. There were ways for prisoners to get off of work, however. A popular practice in the Gulag was to commit Samorub. Samorub translates from Russian to â€Å"Self-inflicted wound. † Usually, a prisoner committing Samorub would do something that would impair their movement and stop their ability to work. Most ‘dropped’ an ax on their foot so they could not walk or ‘accidentally’ put a nail through their hands. Some were caught and immediately killed, but others got away with it. A more legitimate health concern that could get them leave from work was a serious illness such as typhoid, pneumonia, or severe frostbite. There was very little medicine available in the Gulags, so most convicts who got ill died soon after. Sometimes, after a few years of good behavior and completing their workload, the prisoners could be promoted to a position known as the â€Å"Trusty. † Trusties did not do work in the forests or mines, instead, they had easier jobs, like doctoring or delivering firewood. Some Trustees were given a pass which allowed them to walk through the Gulag unaccompanied by a guard. Gulags were often not separated by gender, so there were always children being born. When a child was born in a Gulag, it was an automatic death sentence; the child would not last for a year. The mother and child were taken to the Mothers’ Camp, where they were separated in only a few months. The mother did work while the children were either trained to work, or they were simply stuck in an ill-run day-care center. Wake-up time for children varied from place to place, but it was always early. They were forced from their beds with kicks and shoves, and soon after came bath time. Children were doused with ice-water for their bath and then force-fed some kind of hot gruel. At first, they cried, but they soon learned to be silent. If they cried, the nurses would beat them into silence. The only ones treated with any semblance of care were the children of the nurses themselves, and even they would often die at a young age. Punishment in the Gulag was often cruel and unusual. In addition to the sadistic interrogation tactics, prisoners were often subject to being stuck in the cooler, pinned naked to a tree during mosquito season, having their already meager bread ration decreased, or they were flat out shot. Occasionally the guards would stage something called the Hunt. The Hunt occurred for no reason other than the sadistic guards wanted to shoot their guns around and not get fired. It often took place in an open field or the woods. If a prisoner crossed the border line for any reason, they would be classified as Runners, and thus open to be shot. This title stood if it was a mistake, or even if a guard told them to. After the first step over the line, the prisoner would be shot. The guard who shot the Runner would get a promotion, home leave, a pay bonus, or a medal. The cooler was another form of punishment. It was a hallway of prison cells that varied in size. Some were for solitary confinement, some for two, three, five, twenty, and even thirty or forty people in a single cell. The bunks were short and bare, with not even a mattress on them. The beds were so small that the average prisoner could lay flat on them and then bend his knees so that his feet flatly touched the floor. The prisoners would stay there until their sentences in the cooler were served. The origin of the Gulag was etched in Soviet politics. On June 27, 1929, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, also referred to as the Politburo, replaced the prison system with a network of self-supporting camps and colonies that would have little to no contact with the outside world. The labor camps were to house inmates whose sentences exceeded three years, and the industrial and agricultural colonies were to house inmates whose sentences were under three years. Thus the project, called the Chief Administration of Camps of the OGPU-NKVD, or GULAG, was created. The targets of the Gulag were usually people who had committed actual crimes like theft and murder, but a startling amount had been convicted of â€Å"Anti-Bolshevik activities†. Bolsheviks were the ruling Communist party in the Soviet Union. They identified these supposed anti-Bolsheviks as enemies of the people, Rightists, suspicious persons, saboteurs, enemies of Soviet power, and many other things. Although there was always starvation, the famine of 1932 has been named the Great Famine. The grain harvest of 1932 was very poor, so there was very, very little bread to go around, mostly affecting the Ukraine, North Caucasus, Volga, and Central Black Soil regions. Before the Famine, bread was their most abundant food. With very little bread and no increased rations in other foods to make up for the loss, six to seven million people died in 1932 alone. Of all the prison camp systems, the Kolyma system was possibly the deadliest. The labor in Kolyma was a form of work called Katorga, the severest form of forced labor. Prisoners worked in the dangerous Siberian mines and served twenty to twenty-five year sentences. They had no names, only numbers on their backs. They were transported to Kolyma in chains. When they slept, there were no blankets, and not even a mattress. They slept only on wooden boards and were given blankets after three years with all good behavior. This was rare, as Gulag personnel almost always found a reason to punish prisoners. There was one camp in Kolyma that was particularly terrible, called the Maxim-Gorky camp. In 1944 alone, the estimated delivery amount of prisoners was three thousand. Maxim-Gorky was a gold mine camp where sickness was abundant. Along with the standard dangers of mining for gold and the dangers of starving, dying of thirst, and dangers of the mine shaft collapsing came the dangers of the sadistic guards. Contact with the outside world was strictly forbidden. If a prisoner wrote a letter and was caught, they were sent to a super-isolated mine-camp within the Kolyma system called Laso. The prisoners received food rations that were meager at best. Their most abundant food was bread. Below is a chart on bread rationing in the Kolyma camp system. Fulfillment of Labor Quota| Women| Men | 100 90%| 21 oz| 28. 5-32 oz| 70 89%| 17. 5 oz| 25 oz| 50 69%| 14 oz| 17. 5 oz| Disciplinary Ration| 10. 5 oz| 10. 5 oz| Their supply of bread could not be lived off of. The amount they received that was the rest of their food was even more pathetic. Sugar| Herbal Tea| Boiled Cabbage Leaves| Salted Fish| Cereals| Starch| Vegetable Oil| 0. 34 oz| 0. 106 oz | 10. oz | 3. 5 oz | 2. 1 oz| 0. 17 oz| 0. 5 oz | Disease ran rampant in the Gulags. The two most prominent diseases were scurvy, caused by lack of vitamin C, and pellagra, caused by a lack of vitamin B. The cure for scurvy was pure pine extract, said to be the vilest tasting thing in the Gulag. The cure for pellagra was a mixture of flour and yeast, but the punishment was losing 1. 75 ounces of bread. The most frequent cause of dea th, ironically, was a lack of vitamins. The menu of food for the prisoners was staggeringly monotonous. Breakfast always consisted of half a herring, sweetened tea, and a third of the bread ration. Lunch was a pint of cabbage soup, groats, and another third of the bread ration. Dinner was cabbage soup with cereal and fish heads floating in it along with the remainder of the bread ration. In 1937-38, the Gulags were in a period known as the Great Purge. The man in charge of the Gulag project was a man named Nikolai Yezhov. When Yezhov came to power in 1937, he immediately started exiling officers to the Gulag on corruption charges. He falsified evidence for himself as he had done for Stalin in the past. By the time he was ousted from power, Yezhov had exiled approximately 1,600,000 people. Within the Gulags, the prisoners faced mass executions, the escalation of violence from the guards, increased starvation rates, and increased infant mortality rates. Based on the information available, one could roughly estimate that 7,836,611 prisoners were held from 1930-1941. Taking into account the fact that Gulag records are horribly incomplete, It is difficult to get a more accurate figure. With incomplete prisoner estimates comes an uncountable death toll: It remains a mystery as to how many actually paid their lives to the terror of the Gulags. After the Great Terror came a period known as Beria’s Reforms. In 1939, Nikolai Yezhov was replaced by a man named Lavrenty Beria. In 1940, Beria personally executed Yezhov. When Beria came into power, he put some convicts back on trial, this time without falsifying evidence and putting words in their mouths. The year he was put in charge of the Gulag project, he released 223,622 prisoners. Liberation for the Gulags came in the 1950s. By 1960, the last Gulag was shut down and every prisoner had been released. The Gulag project was starting to fade before the Liberation period, so most Gulag camps and colonies had already been shut down. In the Liberation period, when the Gulags were shutting down at an accelerated rate, fifty-three camps along with 423 colonies had been shut down. In total, more than thirty thousand were shut down. The most infamous Gulags were Solovki, the White Sea Canal, the Kolyma system, Vorkuta, and the Road of Death, a failed project to create a road that traversed the endless expanse of Siberia.