Climatic Variability in the Old Testament Essay - 1

Climatic Variability in the Old Testament - Essay Example Moreover, people before accounted too much of climate changes more to the works of the gods rather than to scientific explanations. So what is climatic variability? Probably, the most efficient way for us to understand the topic is to look first of all to the definition of this episode. According to J. Murray Mitchell (482), climatic system is the combination of atmosphere, oceans, land surface, ice masses and the biosphere interacting with each other, causing the changes either physically or chemically. In the physical aspect of the change, rainfalls can cause landslides that could change hills to plains and could also bring much water to rivers and seas which could wash away land areas. On the contrary, mountains can be created through the meeting of tectonic plates, pushing each other and making a fold on each other’s surface (Grimm, Hahn, Hellenbrand, Kunkele, Laumanns & Leinburger 214). Chemically speaking, lands can become acidic through acid rains and other chemical changes brought about by the increase of carbon dioxide production. This then requires us, human beings to be interested to the study of such phenomenon because it does not just affect our environment but affects our lives directly as well. One of the greatest climatic variability that happened in the 1930’s is the so-called Dust Bowl in the United States that affected not only the farmers of affected areas but the people worldwide. This could have been the modern picture of the Joseph story mentioned earlier. Hopeful migrants settled in the states where there were vast plains which were very productive for the raising of wheat, making these states the primary sources of food during the First World War.

Parkinson disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Parkinson disease - Essay Example The disease causes severe disability and is associated with high morbidity and mortality if untreated (Wirdefeldt, 2). Introduction of levodopa has decreased deaths and disability associated with the disease significantly. In this project, the clinical presentation, epidemiology, risk factors, treatment options and public education of Parkinson disease will be discussed with reference to recent literature. The exact etiology of the disease is yet unclear. It is likely that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of the disease. In about 10 percent of the cases, genetic factors account for the disease development (Bekris, 228). Environmental risk factors include rural environment, exposure to pesticides and herbicides, well water consumption and living in proximity to quarries and industrial plants. Biochemical mechanisms of disease development include 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) accumulation in mitochondria and free radical damage due to dopamines oxidative metabolism (Wirdefeldt, 3). Genetic factors are important in early onset Parkinsons disease rather than in late onset disease type (Bekris, 229). Parkinson disease is a disease of basal ganglia. The main neuropathological findings in this condition are presence of Lewy bodies and loss of dopaminergic neurons that are pigmented in the substantia nigra (Wirdefeldt, 3). The first clinical signs in Parkinson disease are motor signs. The signs are asymmetric. The first clinical symptom in most individuals is asymmetric resting tremor in the upper extremity. Eventually, the patients develop progressive bradykinesia, rigidity and difficulty in gait. Gradually, the axial posture flexes progressively and the strides progressively become shorter. Non-motor clinical symptoms include decrease in olfactory function, rapid eye movement behavior disorder, sleep disturbances, slowness in thinking,