Chemical Control Agents Used Against the Gypsy Moth
The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a highly disruptive species that can, and has played a distinctive role in the lives of many organisms. Included in these organisms are various deciduous trees and shrubs, wildlife species that share the same environment, and even humans. The gypsy moth destroys the beauty of woodlands via defoliation, alters ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and disrupts our own lives. It should therefore come as no surprise that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many other agencies have taken huge steps to help diminish populations of this small, yet persistent species. In an effort to control these overwhelming populations, five chemical control agents have been used to suppress and/or eradicate the gypsy moth. Following, is a discussion of each chemical and their potentially hazardous effects on humans.
The first chemical control agent is Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (B.t.k.); a bacteria isolated from diseased silk worms and flour moths. The potency of B.t.k. varies among insects and readily destroys lepidopteran larvae within approximately one hour of ingestion. More than 1 million pounds of B.t.k. is applied annually in the U.S., primarily via aerial spraying, but also by ground spraying. It does not persist long in the environment (losing its activity by 50% within 1-3 days), has not been seen to replicate in gypsy moth predators, and does not accumulate in the soil.
There seems to be a low level of concern regarding human B.t.k. exposure, although B.t.k. formulations have caused eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritations, especially in ground workers. Some claims reveal that a majority of these workers were not equipped with ...
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8) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private
Forestry, Summary: Final Environmental Impact Statement, Radnor, PA, 1995.
9) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, Gypsy Moth Suppression and Eradication Projects, 1985.
10) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, Gypsy Moth Managment in the U.S.: a cooperative approach.
Environmental Impact Statement; Appendix F Human Health Risk Assessment, 1995.
11) Wargo, Phillip M., Defoliation by the Gypsy Moth: How it Hurts Your Tree, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, No. 223, 1974.
12) White, William B., Hubbard, Schneeberger, and Raimo, Technological Developments in
Aerial Spraying, U.S. Department of Agriculture, No. 535, 1974.
Ramona the pest by Beverly Cleary is a silly, exciting and fun book to read. Ramona is excited about the first day of kindergarten. But when she gets there it isn’t what she thought it would be like. Ramona is distracted about another classmate’s hair and can’t wait any longer to touch her hair. Ramona gets in trouble a few times but then gets over it. Her sister Beezus (Beatrice) thinks that she is a pest and everybody in her neighborhood thinks she’s a pest. At first when she starts kindergarten she loves her teacher but when Ramona gets in trouble a few times she’s beginning to thinks her teacher doesn’t like her anymore.
Humans are trying everything they can to trap the Gypsy moth and try to remove it from there eco-system, but the Gypsy moth keeps on reproducing. An annual trapping program is one method in which they place traps that attracts male Gypsy moths and gets them stuck in a sticky surface. If a substantial amount of moths are caught by the trap then more traps are set in that ecosystem. Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (BTK) is a toxic soil bacterium that is sprayed over an area to prevent defoliation. When Gypsy moths are exposed to BTK the toxic causes stomach poisoning and they would eventually die. (Government of Canada,
From around the year 2006, many bee farmers in the U.S.A and some parts of Europe started reporting sharp declines in their bee stocks. The reason for this declining numbers was not known and therefore scientists named it colony collapse disorder (CCD). Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a not a very old phenomena and it became popular when large number of bee colonies started disappearing. The disappearing was mysterious since no dead bees were found in or around the beehives after a colony’s number was reported to have gone down or vanished. This prompted a lot of study and investigations to uncover the mystery and to establish possible remedies. Among the many reasons for the causes of the CCD was the use of harmful and dangerous pesticides. Timbrell (2002) provides a solid foundation on the effects of toxins in the body of animals with an aim of providing a scientific solution towards the problem. This paper focuses its study on these pesticides with an aim of establishing the effects of the toxins found in the insecticides that could be affecting the bees.
EPA. (2009, December 29). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for Children's Health: http://www.epa.gov/teach/
In today’s society, people are gaining medical knowledge at quite a fast pace. Treatments, cures, and vaccines for various diseases and disorders are being developed constantly, and yet, coronary disease remains the number one killer in the world.
Since 1960 the age-adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined steadily in the U.S. due to multiple factors, but still remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Greater control of risk factors and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease has significantly contributed to this decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the U.S. alone it claims approximately 830,000 each year and accounts for 1/6 of all deaths under the age of 65 (Weiss and Lonnquist, 2011). Based on the 2007 mortality rate data an average of 1 death every 37 seconds is due to cardiovascular disease (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Controlling and reducing risk factors is crucial for saving lives. There are a number of contributing risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which may appear in the form of hereditary, behavioral, and psychological, all of which ultimately converge in social or cultural factors.
Stalcup, A. (2013). Surviving toxic work environments. Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry, 405(4), 1145-1147. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database (AN: 84944726)
(Novo 2012) In 2005, it was found that CVDs are responsible for the deaths of more than 17 million people each year, almost a third of total mortality rates, reported by the World Health Organisation (1, 2). The majority of these deaths were strongly related to Coronary Artery Disease of approximately 7.6 million. However, in the latter 15 years mortality rates in relation to CVD’s have significantly reduced according to age in develo...
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States. It is very important to learn about the heart to prevent heart disease. Many forms of heart disease can be prevented and treat with healthy lifestyle choices. For someone who has heart disease or does not; there is information, facts, symptoms, different types, diagnoses, tests, treatment, care, and living and managing that can be given.
An unhealthy diet and physical inactivity can cause raised blood pressure, raised glucose levels, raised blood lipids, overweight and obesity in individuals, which puts them at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Unlike behavior risk factors, which can be controlled or modified, there are fixed risk factors like like race, gender, and age that can also contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to the dysfunctional conditions of the heart, arteries, and veins that supply oxygen to vital life- sustaining areas of the body like the brain, the heart itself and other vital organs. Since the term cardiovascular disease refers to any dysfunction of the cardiovascular system there are many different diseases in the cardiovascular category, and many of these diseases are strongly intertwined. Ischemic Heart Disease is the medical idiom for the obstruction of blood flow to the heart. It is usually due largely in part to excess fat or plaque deposits that narrow the veins that provide oxygenated blood to the heart. This excess fat buildup and plaque are respectively known as arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. Hypertension is frequently a result of both arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis, and can lead to more serious CVDs, such as angina attack (an acute and squeezing chest pain due to inefficient blood flow to the heart), and myocardial infarction( the sudden death of part of the heart muscle). A stroke is a CVD that occurs when there is in inadequate oxygen flow to the brain. An abnormally high or abnormally low heart rate because of the disruption of the natural electric impulses of the heart is called cardiac arrhythmia. Carditis and endocarditis, the infection and inflammation of the heart, can occur as a result of a weak immune system, liver problems, heart surgery, or an autoimmune disorder.
...al conditions of cardiovascular disease that have been linked to obesity, including strokes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and arrhythmias. All of these conditions can be improved or prevented by the individual losing ten percent of their body weight. Physical activity also plays a crucial role in cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that the greater the amount of physical activity, the less the chance for developing cardiovascular disease, even when other factors, such as Framingham’s scale, are accounted for. Regarding future research, a study further researching genetic and environmental links to cardiovascular disease would provide helpful information. Also, research studying the effects of physical activity after the onset of cardiovascular disease could be beneficial to determine if physical activity can improve patients’ conditions.
Cardiovascular disease is currently the nation’s leading non-communicable cause of morbidity and mortality. According to the American Heart Association, the most common form of cardiovascular disease is coronary artery disease, a condition in which the heart’s blood supply is reduced due to a narrowing of the coronary arteries. These arteries play a significant role in regulating the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart. As blood circulates through the arteries, it exerts a force against the vessel walls, known as blood pressure. To withstand this pressure, elastic fibers interspersed along the artery walls allow the arteries to expand and recoil. Abnormally high blood pressure, however, will cause these muscles to thicken as a result of tears in the damaged artery walls trapping particles that aggregate as plaque. Progressive build-up of plaque ultimately leads to a narrowing of the arteries, subsequently diminishing blood flow to the heart and other body organs. This cascade of events triggered by high blood pressure illustrates why hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Affecting 1 in every 3 adults in the United States alone, hypertension substantially raises the risk for heart disease in an affected individual who, most likely, does not show any signs or symptoms. In addition to the risks associated with this “silent killer,” comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol can drastically worsen health outcomes in hypertensive patients. Given the high prevalence and severe consequences of hypertension if undetected, researching this particular topic will increase our understanding of the causes of hypertension by identifying and narrowing down lead candidates for pot...
damage was done by poisons that farmers used to kill insects. The worst poison was DDT.
First, when someone is overly exposed to chronic stress, his or her mental health is going to be negatively affected. Deadlines, being on time, producing quotas, generating company profit, and meeting the demands of family, colleagues, and administration are factors that propel prolonged stress. Eventually, prolonged stress contributes to the collapse of the immune system which leads to the failure of thinking and acting logically (Piotrowski). From there, the brain is undermined by the constant state of tension and anxiety, trapping itself in depression. These feelings can feed on each other and can themselves produce physical symptoms, exacerbating the situation. Extreme anxiety can cause giddiness, heart palpitations, headaches or stomach disorders. This cyclic pattern will continue to occur as long as prolonged stress is present. Emotional effects of stress can vary from becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody to feeling bad about oneself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless and depressed. For example, living in the modern world forces one to participate in “competitions” of i...