Week 3 Discussion-Environmental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 3 Discussion-Environmental - Essay Example These rod - like spores are resistant to heat and a capable of surviving in foods that are poorly processed due to the neuro- toxins present in them. Botulism in humans is caused by the A, B, E and F types based on their antigenic specificity. Food-borne botulism also called food poisoning occurs due to the ingestion of certain foods that contain potent neuro-toxin produced by the growth of the spores. Though the incidence of botulism is reported to be low, yet on a global level it is a cause of great concern due to the high mortality rate when not treated promptly and properly. canned foods, if not properly and adequately processed could easily lead to botulism. Even commercially processed foods such as seafood products, meat products, sausages and canned fruits and vegetables are potent carriers for human botulism. The symptoms related to food borne botulism, occurs within 18 to 36 hours of ingesting contaminated food filled with toxins. It begins with a marked lassitude, difficulty in swallowing and speaking, general weakness and vertigo. This is followed by a severe abdominal cramping and distention with constipation and a weakening of the muscles. Thereafter, the Botulinum toxin spreads through the body causing flaccid paralysis by inhibiting all the motor nerve terminals of the myoneural junction. The paralysis progresses downwards after beginning with the eyes, face and throat and moves towards the extremities. Botulism becomes life threatening when it encompasses the diaphragm and chest muscles because respiration becomes inhibited and asphyxia results causing death. To prevent these early interventions of administering botulinal antitoxin in compliance with supportive intensive care is the only answer. Detection and identification of the actual source of outbreak is imperative in order to render the right treatment. This organism with its spores are abundantly distributed in nature too in soils and sediments, lakes streams

Summarise the main criticisms that Jane Jacobs levelled at urban Essay

Summarise the main criticisms that Jane Jacobs levelled at urban planning thought at the beginning of the 1960s, and discuss whether her criticisms are still relevant to planners today - Essay Example Jane Jacobs was particularly active in her role against the surge of urban renewal politics that emerged in the past-war period. She was of the view that modernist urban renewal measures destroyed cities rather than improving the social and economical conditions that needed to be addressed. In the post-war period, that is the period after the Second World War, there arose a need for the redevelopment of bombed cities. It was decided to rebuild them on an organized framework and proper planning. However, there arose many criticisms to the approach adopted by architects and engineers. The critique that Jacobs leveled at the renewal plan was normative in nature, emphasizing on the values of the planning rather than the physical design. One of her significant contributions is her perception of cities as â€Å"problems of organized complexity,† which entail â€Å"dealing simultaneously with a sizeable number of factors which are interrelated into an organic whole† (Jacobs 1992). One of the criticisms that Jacobs put across was the ideology of utopian comprehensiveness. In plan cities effectively and sustain the development plans, Jacobs saw the need to have an acute understanding of the way cities function. If city planners did not understand the lifestyles and needs of the residents, they would not be able to devise a plan that incorporated the needs of the community. Therefore she rejected the ideal models that emerged during post-war planning of towns and cities. According to Jacobs, Howard’s garden city model, and Le Corbusier’s vision of the city of the future and his radiant city did not explicitly illustrate a framework that fulfilled of the needs of the community and led to a more functional urban setting. Her argument was that modern city planners had little insight into the functioning of cities, their models can not