What is Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 in details?

Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, also known as A(H1N1), is a subtype of influenzavirus A and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans.

Influenza A virus strains are categorized according to two proteins found on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). All influenza A viruses contain hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, but the structure of these proteins differs from strain to strain due to rapid genetic mutation in the viral genome.

Influenza A virus strains are assigned an H number and an N number based on which forms of these two proteins the strain contains. There are 16 H and 9 N subtypes known in birds, but only H 1, 2 and 3, and N 1 and 2 are commonly found in humans.

Current reports on Swine Flu outbreak and how it was detected.

The 2009 swine flu outbreak is the epidemic of a new strain of influenza virus that was clinically identified in April 2009. The new virus strain is a type of influenza A (H1N1) virus, commonly called the swine flu. It is currently a phase 5 outbreak, one level below an official pandemic.

The time and location of the outbreak is still unknown, but it was first detected in two cases in Southern California in late March. When this novel virus was publicized, officials in Mexico suspected a link to an outbreak of late-season flu cases they were finding. Within days, hundreds more suspected cases were discovered in Mexico, with more cases also showing up in the U.S. and several other countries. By late April, officials from the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO), based in Switzerland, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S., were expressing serious concern about the flu outbreak, worried that it might become a worldwide flu pandemic.

By April 28, the new strain was confirmed to have spread to Spain, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Israel, and the virus was suspected in many other nations. As a result, WHO raised its alert level to "Phase 5" out of 6 possible, which it defines as a "signal that a pandemic is imminent". By the end of April, 300 schools had closed across the United States and the Mexican government ordered a multi-day shutdown of all non-essential activities in the government and private sector, amounting to a shutdown of most of the country's economy.At the same time, however, many scientists were reaching a consensus that the epidemic was so far "relatively mild," and believed that it could be less fatal than previous pandemics.

The new strain is an apparent reassortment of four strains of influenza A virus subtype H1N1.[53] Analysis by the CDC identified the four component strains as one endemic in humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in pigs (swine).However, other scientists have stated that analyses of the 2009 swine flu (A/H1N1) viral genome "suggests that all segments are of swine origin", "[w]e are puzzled about sources of information that affirm that the virus is a reassortment of avian, human and swine viruses," and "this preliminary analysis suggests at least two swine ancestors to the current H1N1, one of them related to the triple reassortant viruses isolated in North America in 1998." One swine strain was widespread in the United States, the other in Eurasia. Worldwide the common human H1N1 influenza virus affects millions of people every year, according to WHO officials, and "these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths" annually.In industrialized countries most of these annual deaths occur in people aged 65 or older. By May 2, some pigs in Canada were diagnosed with H1N1. Although some influenza strains can spread between species, the influenza virus is killed by normal cooking procedures, so there is no risk of infection from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.

Am I being too lenient?

Well, being a teacher does have its difficulties. Not to discuss about the work and roles that we need to play. It is just simply indescribable. Back to what i wanted to mention earlier on. Leniency was what I wanted to discuss. Usually, when I first get to know a class, I would not joke or smile at them. However after a while the inner character in me will relent. So the result that it entails... is having pupils calling me God father and pupils tapping my head, worse pupils stepping my feet. What nonsense is this? Nevertheless, I would think being a teacher who is strict or one that is absolutely care less is not really ideal. To be fair, I would think I'm one who is firm and yet game enough for pupils to get near to. What do you say?

JUST for a laugh… Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.

JUST for a laugh… A day where the word form filled my form!

Do you know the word FORM has many different forms of meaning? Read on…

Mr Lee Kar Leong is a form teacher of class 4N who is always collecting forms from pupils who cant submit consent form on a given uniform date. The body forms of his pupils are constantly developing horizontally (ie. Ihsan, Albert, Javier, Kelvin, Yong Liang and Daniel) and that shows their form of unhealthy lifestyle. Please do not form a habit of drinking carbonated drinks as it can form gradual undesired body form. Although there is no form of formula to keep yourself fit and shapely, you can always rely on having a controlled diet and regular exercises to gear yourself to top form. Tardiness is definitely considered as bad form. A good athletic can enjoy an unusual form if he keeps up at the top of his form. A form can provide tired legs with ample rest after a strenuous exercise; however do not try to form a temporary form using broken branches as it might give way and breaks its form. Pupils who present their thoughts or ideas in outline form during oral examination shows great communication form. There might be a form created for the display of clothes but there is surely no fixed form of rules to be a good teacher.

Lastly, my takeaway for the day is to be satisfied with your current academic/body form and that will certainly form great impression on people who are around you!
So do not change for the sake of changing just be your own best FORM!

Hi dear all,
The different meanings of FORMS shown in the above writing are as below, try to match them and have fun with it!
1.
a. The shape and structure of an object.
b. The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal considered separately from the face or head; figure.

2.
a. The essence of something.
b. The mode in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself; kind: a form of animal life; a form of blackmail.

3.
a. Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom.
b. A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony; a formula.

4. A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information: insurance forms.

5.
a. Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom.
b. Behavior according to a fixed or accepted standard
c. Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria

6.
a. Proven ability to perform: a musician at the top of her form.
b. Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training.
c. The past performance of a racehorse.
d. A racing form.

7.
a. Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in literary or musical composition or in organized discourse: presented my ideas in outline form; a treatise in the form of a dialogue.
b. A particular type or example of such arrangement: The essay is a literary form.
c. The design, structure, or pattern of a work of art: symphonic form.

8.
a. A mold for the setting of concrete.
b. A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes.
c. A proportioned model that may be adjusted for fitting clothes.

9. A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools: the sixth form.

10.
a. A linguistic form.
b. The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling.

11.
a. Chiefly British A long seat; a bench.

12. Botany A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.
v. formed, form•ing, forms
v.tr.
1.
a. To give form to; shape: form clay into figures.
b. To develop in the mind; conceive: form an opinion.

2.
a. To shape or mold (dough, for example) into a particular form.
b. To arrange oneself in: Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid.
c. To organize or arrange: The environmentalists formed their own party.
d. To fashion, train, or develop by instruction or precept: form a child's mind.
3. To come to have; develop or acquire: form a habit.

4. To constitute or compose a usually basic element, part, or characteristic of.

5.
a. To produce (a tense, for example) by inflection: form the pluperfect.

b. To make (a word) by derivation or composition.

6. To put in order; arrange.

v.intr.
1. To become formed or shaped.
2. To come into being by taking form; arise.
3. To assume a specified form, shape, or pattern.

Do you know how the phrase 'true colours' came about?

Do you know how the phrase 'true colours' came about?

If you show your true colours, you reveal to others your intentions, aspects of your personality or behavioural traits that were hitherto hidden from them. The phrase can be used as praise but more often tends to be used in a snide and negative way.

E.g: 'When Harry bought the local badger hospital, then burned it for the insurance money and sold the land for a tidy profit, he really showed his true colours!'

The phrase derives from an early use of 'colours' to mean flag, pennant or badge. Warships often carried the flags of many nations on board so that they could craftily mislead and elude the enemy - the accepted code of conduct in so-called 'civilised' warfare was for ships to hoist their national flags before entering into battle. If a ship carried many flags, it could deceitfully hail another ship by flying one flag and then hoisting their own once they were in firing range, thus showing their true colours and catching the enemy off guard.

Extracted from March Hares and Monkey's Uncles by Harry Oliver.

Do you know how the phrase 'bull and bear markets' came about?

Do you know how the phrase 'bull and bear markets' came about?

This phrase describes markets in which share prices are, respectively, rising and falling. It is easy to understand how a bull market has come to mean a market whose price is on the up: the bull, an aggressive animal, is a great metaphor for that which is confident and agressive.

However, it is more difficult to see how bears come into the scenario. After all, bears are ferocious and predatory. The origin relates to their skins. A hunter would often recieve payment for a bearskin before he had hunted and killed it. This type of sale, where the price is fixed before the goods are received, is now called short selling, and it is this kind of sale that is most common during a bear market: if a trader can fix a price before the shares are sold, it is likely that, by the time the shares are handed over, the price will have dropped.

Extracted from March Hares and Monkey's Uncles by Harry Oliver.

Do you know how the term 'boycott' came about?

Do you know how the term 'boycott' came about?

Boycott means to abandon dealings with a person or organisation, or to refuse to buy a product , usually as a means of protest. It is a commonly used word born out of a moment in nineteenth-century Irish history. It is based on one Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott, an Englishman who was serving as an estate agent on the farming properties of Lord Earne in the late nineteenth century during a period of upheaval in the landholding system. He was a deeply disliked man, and campaigns organised by the Irish Land League, led by Charles Stuart Parnell, sought to force Boycott to heavily discount their rents. But Boycott was a stubborn character, and was having none of it. Parnell decided that there was only one way to persuade him to reconsider: refuse to deal with him!

Amazingly, everyone in the region agreed with Parnell and began to treat him like 'the lepers of old'. Soon enough, Boycott could not get anyone to do anything for him - shops would not sell to him, and his workmen quit. Any help he got came from those drafted in from elsewhere in the country. Boycott stood firm, but rapidly the practice became known as boycotting, and a new verb was born. His name became an instant word for mass abandonment - before life boycotted Boycott, he saw his name enter into the language as a standard term.

Extracted from March Hares and Monkey's Uncles by Harry Oliver.

Did you know that clouds float upwards when there is gravity but feathers can't?

Did you know that clouds float upwards when there is gravity but feathers can't?

A cloud is made out of jillions of tiny water droplets. Each droplet is pulled toward the earth just like anything else. But tiny particles have lots more surface area compared to their weight. That gives a lot of friction in moving through air. Because of that, they fall very slowly. In addition, upward- blowing drafts of air keep these cloud droplets from falling to the ground. If you have watched clouds, you have noticed that they are always changing in shape. They are always moving in those gusty winds that hold them up there.

Did you know how the term "blockbuster" came about?

Did you know how the term "blockbuster" came about?

Today, the term "blockbuster" is used to describe a movie that is extremely popular. This term, however, originated during War World 2. It was a slang of the Royal Air Force for an extremely large type of bomb that can destroy an entire city block. After the war, the advertising industry picked the term and used it to mean "astounding", "incredible" and "revolutionary"

Did you know how handshakes came about?

Did you know how handshakes came about?

When you shake hands with someone, you are performing a symbolic act that goes back thousands of years. Of course, the ancient symbolic meaning has long been forgotten and we all shake hands today without giving the act much thought. But here's what it meant to primitive man:

When a man met someone with whom he didn't want to fight, and with whom he might want to establish a good relationship, he dropped his weapon to the ground. Then he held out his right hand - the weapon hand - as a symbol of friendliness. And shaking hands is still a symbol of friendliness today!

Did you know how did wedding rings came about?

Did you know how did wedding rings came about?

Nobody really knows when or where the idea of having wedding rings began. But the first records we have of wedding rings being used in marriage vows occur in ancient Egyptian literature. Why a ring? In hieroglyphics, the circle represents eternity. So a ring was a symbol of the marriage tie, which is supposed to be binding throughout eternity. (How sweet.)