The Problem Of Reducing Water Quality - 1361 Words

Only about 1% of all of the water that is on Earth is considered to be surface water such as lakes and rivers, however, the usable freshwater to us humans is only about .003% which we generally use for drinking, bathing, agriculture, or industry purposes. Unfortunately, pollution is reducing our few water resources even further on a global scale albeit mostly in developed countries. The United Nations have assessed the situation well in that, â€Å"Declining water quality has become a global issue of concern as human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle†(Decade). This threat to our planet is mainly anthropological and has been growing†¦show more content†¦Water pollution can be distributed from either a point or a non-point source. A point source is typically pollution that comes from one single location and is easier to identify, such as from a pipe, municipa l WWTP discharge, a factory, or a ditch. A non-point source is categorized as pollution that has come from multiple sites over very large areas and are quite difficult to trace back and identify accurately. Some examples would be oil from the many streets of a city, different pesticides and fertilizer runoff from certain farms, some forest runoff, etc. There are three varied types of surface water pollution. One type is biological pollution which comes from disease causing organisms like bacteria. Another is chemical pollution which is either natural like nutrient pollution or artificial such as from fertilizers, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. There is also physical pollution that can be from sources like solid waste, thermal, sediments, etc. Biological pollution consists of infections stemming from two sources. The first is a direct source such as from the microbes in the water like typhoid, cholera, etc. that when drunken directly are known to cause symptoms like hepatitis and dysentery. The other is from an indirect source like water breeding carriers, like the infamous mosquito, that spread diseases such as yellow fever, the West Nile virus, malaria, etc. Chemical water

Research On How Exercise Impacts Neuroplasticity - 1438 Words

Research on how exercise impacts Neuroplasticity There was a time when the scientists were of the view that the human brain is of such a nature, that it stops growing and regenerating after the person has lived up to a certain age. So as per this theory, if connections between neurons developed during the first few years of an individual’s life, only the young brain possess the quality of being plastic which is having the ability to form new connections. So if a brain would become damaged, because of this theory, there was belief that it would stop forming new connections and would no longer regenerate. Recent research, however, has proved successful in overturning this long-held theory. Research has now been successful in proving that the brain continually adjusts and reorganizes. When conducting research on brains of monkeys, the scientists discovered that neural connections in the brain are organized difference during each examination. This ability of the brain to reorganiz e itself and continually form new connections is what we term as neuroplasticity. (Liou, 2010) This is quite an impressive quality that the human brain undergoes and in order to make perfect use of this quality, the scientist is trying to make connections and find out if there are any environmental factors that can enhance neuroplasticity. One of the factors is ‘Exercise’ and in this paper, we are going to investigate the impact that exercise may have on neuroplasticity. We have been able to find thatShow MoreRelatedHow Can Society Assist Successful Aging?1586 Words   |  7 Pagesexpectancy higher than it has ever been, a question remains - how can society assist successful aging? This question or quest has been a topic of great interest within the last decade. Brain-training is an approach that has risen out of this interest in helping people age ‘well’. Brain training consists of specific activities and simulations that aim to maintain or improve a spec ific cognitive function. The following essay will address the question, how can brain training programs assist in successful agingRead MoreThe Effects Of Physical Exercise On The Brain Essay1439 Words   |  6 Pagessynapses are created while other synapses are removed (Spalding et al., 2013). Some dendrites will withdraw while other dendrites continue branching (Killgore et al., 2013). The processes driving the reshaping of the brain are neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s lifelong ability to rewire neural connections to compensate for diseases and injuries or in response to changes in the environment, whereas neurogenesis is the ability to create new neurons and neural connectionsRead MoreThe Prevalence Of Parkinson s Disease1309 Words   |  6 Pageshealth problems. Although exercise programs have been implemented to decrease falls, few programs are proven successful. (Li, Harmer, Fitzgerald, Eckstrom, Stock, Galver, Maddalozzo, Batya, 20 12). In order to find an effective program in decreasing falls, nurses are performing various rehabilitation interventions that focus on improving postural stability. Two examples of interventions include Qi Gong and Tai Chi. Qi Gong is a mindful exercise that effects neuroplasticity in the brain and can haveRead MoreThe Effect Of Exercise On The Body2597 Words   |  11 Pages For centuries exercise has been a part of the lives of men. Whether through carrying a freshly hunted boar through the forest or riding a bicycle to work, exercise plays a huge role in a vast amount of areas. As man learned more about the body and how everything functioned, he uncovered how many factors play a role in health, including mental health. Doctors normally recommend daily exercise. However, there are other sides of the argument. One can become addicted to exercise. The addictionRead More Neuroplasticity and Justice2272 Words   |  10 Pagescognitive functioning, thus solidifying the need for an examination of justice within a biological context. Second, although justice has practical applications as a philosophical construct, it should be examined through the biological lens of neuroplasticity and the human propensity for change. Although justice is often examined philosophically, the theories behind the collective understanding of justice are largely psychological. For example, when examining introductory criminal justiceRead MoreIs Google Making Us Stupid? By Nicholas Carr1498 Words   |  6 PagesHow We Interact With Technology Defines Its Effect on Us Nicholas Carr expresses concern in his article â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† that the internet is turning us into â€Å"pancake people.† People who are spread wide and thin, incapable of deep, reflective thought. Carr writes, â€Å"what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I wasRead MoreHow Meditation Affects Brain Plasticity Essay1374 Words   |  6 Pagesand unconscious thoughts. Meditation originates and has been has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years for different reasons such as increasing concentration abilities, religious purposes and also to train the mind. This essay will focus on how meditation affects brain plasticity (ability to change), emotionally and intellectually, leading to better performance and coping abilities in stressful situations. Things like attention sp an, memory functions and complexity of emotions will be furtherRead MoreSuccess Is The Most Misunderstood Driver Of Performance1486 Words   |  6 PagesSome popular theories claim that the amount a person is paid determines how well that person produces and performs. However, new research suggests that there are more variables at play pertaining to peak performance and link an employee’s happiness to his or her productivity and a company’s success. Research indicates that performance on nearly every level—productivity, creativity, and engagement—improves when people cultivate and work with a positive mind-set. According to Shawn Achor, the authorRead MoreMeditation as a Preventative Measure to Reduce Morbidity and Stress1933 Words   |  8 Pageset al., 2003, pp. 564).† Empathy and Stress Management aided by Meditation Methods Hopkins and Proeve examined the efficacy of an eight-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on a group of trainee psychologist, in which they investigated how meditation training affected their clinical development and stress levels. Examination was made of the 11 participants of whom where post-graduates at two Australian Universities, with exclusions made for students who had previous meditation experienceRead MoreSurvey Of Cognitive Remediation Practices For Individuals With Schizophreni Implementation And Barriers9236 Words   |  37 Pagesfor cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia are increasingly important. Cognitive remediation (CR) training is a set of methods that employ principles of neuroplasticity for cognitive enhancement. Early evidence shows promise of CR becoming a reimbursable evidence-based treatment in individuals with impaired neural functioning. However, more research is needed to full establish the evidence base for CR. Based on the best practice rec ommendations of structures and components that should be present in

The Rise of Autism Free Essays

â€Å"In February 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised the prevalence figures for ASD to one in every 150 individuals† (Richard, 2008, p. 26). There are many theories for this increased incidence. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise of Autism or any similar topic only for you Order Now One factor discussed is the ability to finally fully diagnose the disorder. Since the increased awareness of autism, scientists have been busy researching and modifying the diagnostic criteria for autism. Correctly diagnosing is a very important step in helping children improve skills that are affected by autism. The other factors discussed are the general developmental disorders that take place during early childhood. There are many possible factors, such as vaccinations and genetics, that have led to the rise of autism and because of this rise funding for autism research has increased tremendously, as has the cost of treatments. Autism used to be a low incidence disorder now it is one of the fastest growing developmental disabilities in the United States. There is still not one explanation for this sudden change in history, but scientists are getting closer and closer to the answer everyday. Since scientists have discovered a diagnosis for autism, they have been able to better understand autism and the possible causes for its existence. Proper diagnosis has been a huge factor in the rise of autism, but that still doesn’t mean the cause of autism is not important. There is a reason for this rise and finding the cause is the only way scientists are going to be able to prevent this increased incidence from growing in the future. One possible factor that scientists are researching is environmental toxins. Evironmental toxins have been a long suspect for the cause of autism. There are many ways that children can be exposed to these toxins. Children could be exposed even before birth, during excessive ultrasounds and even electronic devices. One scientist conducted a study on the drug terbutaline, a drug used to stop pre-term labor in pregnant woman. He found a direct correlation in the continued use of terbutaline and the increased likelihood of autism among twins (Patel Curtis, 2008, p. 83). This is just one study that has been proven to show a link between environmental toxins and autism. Mercury is another issue that has been researched. Mercury has been put in the air through coal-fired power plants, as well in vaccines. Mercury and other chemicals have been shown to alter the normal development of the brain during fetal development in the womb and during early childhood development (Kirby, 2005). Findings have indicated that many children have a metabolic impairment that reduces their ability to rid their bodies of heavy metals and other toxins (Wallis, 2008). This suggests that there is some link between the two, environmental toxins and autism, even if toxins are not the sole cause of the disorder. Another possible factor is nutritional problems among autistic children. Autistic children have significantly low levels of nutrients in the hair, blood and other tissues. Along with the lack of nutrients, they usually have low levels of magnesium, zinc, selenium, vitamins A, B-complex, D and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and carnitine (Patel Curtis, 2008, p. 82). Therefore, this proves that nutritional deficiencies is a common problem among autistic children and may link scientists to a possible cause. Another issue scientists have found in autistic children deals with the allergies towards gluten and casein. Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains and casein is a protein found in dairy products. Scientists have found that children who have allergies to gluten and casein experience odd behaviors. If an autistic child would eat either of these two substances it would send them into hours of disturbing behaviors (Simontacchi, 2008, p. 10). Scientists have found because of this study that children that are a gluten-free and casein-free diet, they do not experience as many tantrum behaviors. This also helps support the fact that nutritional problems can cause autism. The last possible factor discussed is the possibility of genetics and its connection to autism. Most scientists believe that genetics is one of the major causes for autism. There are many findings that have led scientists to believe this is true and one of these is simply because this disorder has been known to run in families. Studies have shown that if one child is autistic, his or her sibling has a three to six percent chance of being autistic as well. Identical twins have a much greater probability of being autistic than fraternal twins (Merriman, 2008, p. 8). This is more than enough evidence to show that there is a connection between genetics and autism. Scientists have also discovered a variety of genes that have showed signs that link to autism. Scientists are still not positive which gene has more of a connection with autism, but they definitely have found a relation between the two. One of the areas that researchers in the Autism Consortium have identified is the 25-gene area on chromosome 16 that when duplicated or deleted could account for a small percentage of autism cases (Merriman, 2008, p. 18). Scientists have uncovered a lot of new evidence to support the connection between autism and genetics. The rise in autism has increased funds for autism research tremendously. Since scientists have been able to fully diagnose autism, government involvement has grown immensely. There have been many new foundations introduced to help research for autism. One of the many include The Autism Research Foundation, which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to researching the neurological underpinnings of autism and other related developmental brain disorders (Chmura, 2008). The Autism Research Foundation has a big impact on the future for autism research. A recent news release in April 2008 stated that, â€Å"The FY08 Defense Appropriations Act provides $6. 4 million for the Department of Defense Autism Research Program to improve the lives of individuals living with autism spectrum disorder now† (Chmura, 2008). This contribution has been an enormous help in the funding for autism research. The rise of autism has also caused an increase in cost for the families of the autistic children. Families of the autistic child spend thousands of dollars on treatment. Most of this money families spend is just trying to find the right treatment for their child because not all treatments work for the same for every child. New technology has also been a factor in the increased cost for autism treatments. Not only is the cost of the treatments expensive so is the cost of screening and diagnosis. Many groups have started grant programs to assist those families with an autistic child who are in financial crisis. One of these grants is brought by the National Autism Association. Families who live in the United States with a child, no older than age eighteen, on the autism spectrum may qualify for the grant. The maximum dollar amount one can request is $1,500. This money is to only be used for biomedical treatments, supplements or therapies for the child (â€Å"CDC study†, 2007, p. 6). These grant programs will be a huge help for families who are struggling to pay for these expensive treatments and screening tests. Scientists are still in the process of finding the exact cause of autism. One day scientists may finally be able to find a cure and put an end to this rise of autism children. Knowledge of autism has come a long way since the first diagnosis of autism and hopefully that trend continues into the future. Diagnosis has been a very important part in helping autistic children improve their skills as well as helping scientists better understand autism altogether. Now scientists have a lead in the possible factors like environmental toxins, nutrition, and genetics. Once the pieces are put together, scientists will finally be able to control and hopefully put an end to the rise of autism among children in the United States. Reference http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821595,00.html How to cite The Rise of Autism, Essay examples

Principles of Environmental and Resource Economics for Planning

Question: Discuss about thePrinciples of Environmental and Resource Economics for Planning. Answer: Introduction Even though vegetation is a very key factor in our environment, in many parts of the world, natural vegetation has been cleared to allow agricultural production (Maksym et.al 2015). Over the recent past various scholars have discussed the essence of natural vegetation to mankind survival but inadequate change have yet been witnessed. The article by (Maksym et.al 2015) focusses on various important factors which can have a great impact on the destruction of natural vegetation for agricultural production. The article by (Maksym et.al 2015) which form part of the main issues in the American agricultural economics journal, discusses how long term flow of ecosystem services can be created without interfering with agricultural production activities by balancing the requirements of the public and private benefit costs (Polyakov et.al 2014). The article by (Maksym et.al 2015) also provides key information on how benefits accrued publicly and privately can be used to identify environmental co nservation opportunities on non-public lands. The article further explains how environmental projects can be best evaluated as well as creation of an effective policy instruments. Even though the paper discusses more relevant issues to the literature some of the content proves not to be important. A synoptic overview of the article by (Maksym et.al 2015) The authors of the article (Maksym et.al 2015) set out various key hypothesis and methodologies in contribution to the natural vegetation preservation. The author utilized a spatio-temporal hedonic model as a method to estimate the margin of private benefits of natural or native vegetation on the rural properties within Victoria one of the Australian states (Polyakov et.al 2014). According to the authors, they directly estimated the marginal value of the native vegetation on non-public lands and examined its variance with the extent of vegetation within each property and across range of a given property sizes and types (Riordan 2014). The authors of the article in the American journal on agricultural economics came up with an understanding that the private profits of native vegetation are quite higher per unit area on medium and small sized private lands which are production oriented. Moreover, with the hedonic pricing method utilized by the authors within the study, it is evident th at native vegetation indicates a reducing margin of profits as its fraction should have of the property increases. Even though the authors have adequately utilized spatio-temporal hedonic model, they should utilized the hedonic pricing method together with cost analysis model (Iftekhar et.al 2017). The standard methodology model used in real estate matches model methodology of price indexing thereby making it crucial for the next study to impute prices and consideration of standards of leaving index. This suggested method is based on interesting decomposition of spatial models and temporal effects as well as cost analysis. This combined ,methodology can enable a researcher to use hedonic pricing together with the cost analysis models to come up with land pricing data and estimate the costs and profits associated with environmental conservation, such pollution, growth control as well as tax policies in relation to time parameters (Polyakov et.al 2014). This combined method will also allow the use of other techniques while coming up with the natural vegetation conservation strategies. For the combined method to work best it must also work simultaneously with policies and a standard time series analysis techniques (Iftekhar et.al 2017). The hedonic pricing method together with the cost analysis method should be used together in a way that should not be related to market valuation methods but should allow an individual to estimate the implicit utility prices of different commodities within the market (Polyakov et.al 2014). The application of the method just as the one used by the authors of the article should have assumption in order to come up with a perfect way of benefits determination for example the price of a rural property is determined by its production and consumption characteristics (Maksym et.al 2015). The combine method should have stages or processes and should also be utilized with a perfectly selected weight matrix with the consideration of its influence on the final results from the model (Iftekhar et.al 2017). An assessment for the contributions of article by (Maksym et.al 2015) The content of the paper article by (Maksym et.al 2015) meets a lot the requirements and objective of the American Journal for agricultural economics which aims at creation of a sustainable environment and at the same time not interfering with the agricultural production. The content of the article also utilizers various hypotheses and methodologies which is crucial for policy makers and economists (Polyakov et.al 2014). Native as reveled by the authors is a key environmental asset in various heavily cleared parts of the world such as cleared agricultural landscapes of Australia. The content of the article by (Maksym et.al 2015) explains the benefits of native vegetation to both private and public landowners and states Such vegetation provides a variety of benefits or ecosystem services to both private landowners and the public (Maksym et.al 2015). Through provision of such information by the article to the entrepreneurs and members of the public, the authors of the article contributes a lot to the sustainable preservation of natural vegetation. The article further explains the benefits of natural vegetation to various private landowners who owns 77% of Australian land area by approximation. The content of the paper in this perspective meets the objectives of the American journal for agricultural economics by contributing to the creation of economic scholars with advance knowledge as well as contributing to the sustainable environmental conservation (Polyakov et.al 2014). The article by (Maksym et.al 2015) even though utilizers other studies within the literature review part, it is new work basically containing fresh ideas. The majority of the studies in relation to this literature have mainly focused on the estimation of the value of environmental assets on a very particular types of property which is contrary to the focus of this article. The main objective of the article by (Maksym et.al 2015) is the estimation of the value of profits to the private landowners generated by environmental assets such as natural vegetation in a multifunctional non-urban landscapes. Moreover, various studies conducted in the past have not showed any indication of testing structural shifts within the parameters of the hedonic model due to the varied types and sizes of property and none so far have discussed the quantity of the decreasing value margin of environmental assets on the rural properties. The content of review article by (Maksym et.al 2015) contributes a lot to environmental conservation and to creation of scholar economist through discussing the above gap in the literature review. The authors of the article have also contributed to the existing hedonic modelling methodologically through simultaneous control of spatio-temporal lag, spatial error dependencies witnessed within the data as well as spatial exogenous lag. The information provided within the article by (Maksym et.al 2015) is crucial to policy makers as the information concerning private profits to the landowners from environmental assets in rural landscapes can be used as part of contemporary conservation policies (Polyakov et.al 2014). The information can be used as policies as a result of its contribution to the betterment of investments which has over the years formed part of policy discussions. The study has discussed above seems to be more useful to the environmental preservation and creation of economic scholars as well as important to the policy makers, the content of the paper however can only be understood by high level scholars but not a lay person (Groth et.al 2017). The hedonic methodology and the hypotheses behind the study is quite technical for a lay person to understand. This therefore limits the study only to literate group of individuals leading to insufficient provision of information to the lay people who may be contributing massively to the destruction of natural vegetation for agricultural production (Polyakov et.al 2014). The data provide and obtained by the others of the article is quite important and can be used in other parts of the as the study area was extensive and supplemented, however, the data obtained on the sales data by the study from the Valuer Generals Office of Victoria State cannot be fully regarded as true and the searchers should have co me up with their private data (Pender, Weber and Brown 2014). Conclusion In conclusion, (Maksym et.al 2015) set out to estimate the value of profits to the private landowners generated by environmental assets such as natural vegetation in a multifunctional non-urban landscapes. Generally the content of the article is well related to the topic and to the objectives of the American journal of agricultural economics and makes a non-trivial contribution to policy making and debates in agricultural economics and environmental conservation field. Nonetheless, the content of the paper shows some limitation by not being readable to a layperson through application of complicated hedonic pricing method and use of data from the Valuer Generals Office of Victoria State which cannot be fully regarded as true. References Groth, T.M., Curtis, A., Mendham, E. and Toman, E., 2017. Examining the agricultural producer identity: utilising the collective occupational identity construct to create a typology and profile of rural landholders in Victoria, Australia. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 60(4), pp.628-646. Iftekhar, M.S., Polyakov, M., Ansell, D., Gibson, F. and Kay, G.M., 2017. How economics can further the success of ecological restoration. Conservation Biology, 31(2), pp.261-268. O'Riordan, T. ed., 2014. Environmental science for environmental management. Routledge. Ovando, P., Caparrs, A., Diaz-Balteiro, L., Pasalodos, M., Beguera, S., Oviedo, J.L., Montero, G. and Campos, P., 2017. Spatial Valuation of forests environmental assets: an application to andalusian silvopastoral farms. Land Economics, 93(1), pp.87-108. Pender, J.L., Weber, J.G. and Brown, J.P., 2014. Sustainable rural development and wealth creation: five observations based on emerging energy opportunities. Economic Development Quarterly, 28(1), pp.73-86. Polyakov, M., Pannell, D.J., Pandit, R., Tapsuwan, S. and Park, G., 2014. Capitalized amenity value of native vegetation in a multifunctional rural landscape. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 97(1), pp.299-314.