Cold War and the Los Angeles area Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Cold War and the Los Angeles area - Essay Example International sports sometimes need political support and this factor is exploited too, which was seen in the Cold war. President Carter concluded that such ban on sports would not create any benefit but on the part of athletes’, their career would be affected. This movement was well attuned to international politics, and the governments had access to the power. Joining of Russia in the Olympic movement politicized the games. Particularly, it is stated that to wage propaganda the U.S. government controlling the Olympic Games carried on this campaign against communism during Cold War. (Hill) The Los Angeles games of 1984 will be remembered greatly, as it showed the execution of super political power and it showed a significant impact on the domestic Olympics of the season. The games displayed the shift of powers from the IOC. Due to the Cold War, the strain between the countries allied with the super powers increased. Both the countries (West Germany and East Germany) were asked to participate as one team but the offer was declined by East Germany. (Rider) Such disagreement of countries allied with super powers continued for a long time and the athletes suffered. These games were sharply politicized on the other hand they were commercial as the taxpayers used it and refused to pay funds and exploited the games by all means. (Hill) The city holds an especial place in the heart of all Americans. It is called the hub of entertainment, leisure, culture films and many more. It contributes to the US economy by drawing in income from the sale of cultural products across the globe. For 40 year Los Angeles had advanced strategic-projects including Bomber projects, space projects, missiles and advance electronic communication. But in the late in 1980s Los Angeles faced sudden reverse in the flow of income. Due to the cold

Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley Research Proposal

Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley - Research Proposal Example In its extreme, racist form, eugenics intended to obliterate all human beings considered "unfit," saving only those who matched to a Nordic label. The eugenics theory hailed forced sterilization and isolation laws, in addition to marriage controls. In America, eugenics practitioners eventually forcefully sterilized some 60,000 Americans, barred the marriage of thousands, compulsorily isolated thousands in "colonies," and harassed countless numbers. Before World War II, nearly half of forced sterilizations were done in California, and even after the war, the state contributes for a major percentage of all such surgeries (Black). In the novel Brave New World, Huxley had indicted against modern science and eugenics. In the second chapter of "Brave New World Revisited", however, Huxley seems disappointed by eugenics being discarded, saying, "In the Brave New World of my fantasy, eugenics and dysgenics were practiced systematically. In this second half of the twentieth century we do nothing systematic about our breeding". Does that mean that Huxley now regrets what he said before, that, social eugenics controlling population systematically would have benefited humanity in the long run Would Huxley now prefer biologically better ova, fertilized by biologically better sperm, to produce better species of people aided by the best possible pre-birth care to be lastly decanted Probably to answer such criticism, Huxley soon says, in the haphazard and looseness of the natural order and the biological interference that is aimed at reducing diseases and so on, we not only over-populate our earth but we also confirm that those who do not receive good care and treatments become the greater numbers - people having biologically poorer attributes. This, according to Huxley, means that an almost unknowing repetition of the Bokanovsky Process as depicted in Brave New World where biologically substandard ova, fertilized by biologically poorer sperm, were put through and dealt before birth with alcohol and other protein-destroying toxics, to make ("decant") the creatures finally nearly subhuman. Thus, for Huxley, eugenics is a proposed as a form of pseudoscience that is focused on "improving" the human race. In this paper, I will discuss Huxley's views on eugenics, the origins of the theory as well as the current views on the same. Development of the study of eugenics Eugenics was proposed as a means to selective breeding and genetic engineering in order to make human beings fit to survive in the world of the fittest, or in what is known as social Darwinism. The definition of eugenics is itself a much controversial subject. While some scholars think altering the gene pool is what is eugenics, some argue even attempting to alter some behavioral traits is also eugenics. Modern day reprogenetics, preemptive abortions and designer babies or infanticide in some primitive societies may also termed as eugenics. Eugenics may be positive - by increasing the fertility rate of the stronger genetic qualities - or negative - by lowering the fertility rate of the weaker genetic qualities. Perhaps this was why abortion was illegal for the racially superior women in Nazi Germany. In the modern times, eugenics is practiced by

The mesh generation

The mesh generation Describe general methods (structured, unstructured, hybrid, adaptive, etc.) and discuss their key features and applications A key step of the finite element method for numerical computation is mesh generation. One is given a domain (such as a polygon or polyhedron; more realistic versions of the problem allow curved domain boundaries) and must partition it into simple â€Å"elements† meeting in well-defined ways. There should be few elements, but some portions of the domain may need small elements so that the computation is more accurate there. All elements should be â€Å"well shaped† (which means different things in different situations, but generally involves bounds on the angles or aspect ratio of the elements). One distinguishes â€Å"structured† and â€Å"unstructured† meshes by the way the elements meet; a structured mesh is one in which the elements have the topology of a regular grid. Structured meshes are typically easier to compute with (saving a constant factor in runtime) but may require more elements or worse-shaped elements. Unstructured meshes are often computed using quadtrees, or by Delaunay triangulation of point sets; however there are quite varied approaches for selecting the points to be triangulated The simplest algorithms directly compute nodal placement from some given function. These algorithms are referred to as algebraic algorithms. Many of the algorithms for the generation of structured meshes are descendents of â€Å"numerical grid generation† algorithms, in which a differential equation is solved to determine the nodal placement of the grid. In many cases, the system solved is an elliptic system, so these methods are often referred to as elliptic methods. It is difficult make general statements about unstructured mesh generation algorithms because the most prominent methods are very different in nature. The most popular family of algorithms is those based upon Delaunay triangulation, but other methods, such as quadtree/octree approaches are also used. Delaunay Methods Many of the commonly used unstructured mesh generation techniques are based upon the properties of the Delaunay triangulation and its dual, the Voronoi diagram. Given a set of points in a plane, a Delaunay triangulation of these points is the set of triangles such that no point is inside the circumcircle of a triangle. The triangulation is unique if no three points are on the same line and no four points are on the same circle. A similar definition holds for higher dimensions, with tetrahedral replacing triangles in 3D. Quadtree/Octree Methods Mesh adaptation, often referred to as Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR), refers to the modification of an existing mesh so as to accurately capture flow features. Generally, the goal of these modifications is to improve resolution of flow features without excessive increase in computational effort. We shall discuss in brief on some of the concepts important in mesh adaptation. Mesh adaptation strategies can usually be classified as one of three general types: r-refinement, h-refinement, or p-refinement. Combinations of these are also possible, for example hp-refinement and hr-refinement. We summarise these types of refinement below. r-refinement is the modification of mesh resolution without changing the number of nodes or cells present in a mesh or the connectivity of a mesh. The increase in resolution is made by moving the grid points into regions of activity, which results in a greater clustering of points in those regions. The movement of the nodes can be controlled in various ways. On common technique is to treat the mesh as if it is an elastic solid and solve a system equations (suject to some forcing) that deforms the original mesh. Care must be taken, however, that no problems due to excessive grid skewness arise. h-refinement is the modification of mesh resolution by changing the mesh connectivity. Depending upon the technique used, this may not result in a change in the overall number of grid cells or grid points. The simplest strategy for this type of refinement subdivides cells, while more complex procedures may insert or remove nodes (or cells) to change the overall mesh topology. In the subdivision case, every â€Å"parent cell† is divided into â€Å"child cells†. The choice of which cells are to be divided is addressed below. For every parent cell, a new point is added on each face. For 2-D quadrilaterals, a new point is added at the cell centroid also. On joining these points, we get 4 new â€Å"child cells†. Thus, every quad parent gives rise to four new offsprings. The advantage of such a procedure is that the overall mesh topology remains the same (with the child cells taking the place of the parent cell in the connectivity arrangement). The subdivision process is similar for a triangular parent cell, as shown below. It is easy to see that the subdivision process increases both the number of points and the number of cells A very popular tool in Finite Element Modelling (FEM) rather than in Finite Volume Modelling (FVM), it achieves increased resolution by increasing the order of accuracy of the polynomial in each element (or cell). In AMR, the selction of â€Å"parent cells† to be divided is made on the basis of regions where there is appreciable flow activity. It is well known that in compressible flows, the major features would include Shocks, Boundary Layers and Shear Layers, Vortex flows, Mach Stem , Expansion fans and the like. It can also be seen that each feature has some â€Å"physical signature† that can be numerically exploited. For eg. shocks always involve a density/pressure jump and can be detected by their gradients, whereas boundary layers are always associated with rotationality and hence can be dtected using curl of velocity. In compressible flows, the velocity divergence, which is a measure of compressiblity is also a good choice for shocks and expansions. These sensing paramters which can indicate regions of flow where there are activity are referred to as ERROR INDICATORS and are very popular in AMR for CFD. Just as refinement is possible by ERROR INDICATORS as mentioned above, certain other issues also assume relevance. Error Indicators do detect regions for refinement, they do not actually tell if the resolution is good enough at any given time. In fact the issue is very severe for shocks, the smaller the cell, the higher the gradient and the indicator would keep on picking the region, unless a threshold value is provided. Further, many users make use of conservative values while refining a domain and generally end up in refining more than the essential portion of the grid, though not the complete domain. These refined regions are unneccesary and are in strictest sense, contribute to unneccesary computational effort. It is at this juncture, that reliable and resonable measure of cell error become necessary to do the process of â€Å"coarsening†, which would reduce the above-said unnecessary refinement, with a view towards generatin an â€Å"optimal mesh†. The measures are given by sensors referred to as ERROR ESTIMATORS, literature on which is in abandunce in FEM, though these are very rare in FVM. Control of the refinement and/or coarsening via the error indicators is often undertaken by using either the solution gradient or soultion curvature. Hence the refinement variable coupled with the refinement method and its limits all need to be considered when applying mesh adaptation A hybrid model contains two or more subsurface layers of hexahedral elements. Tetrahedral elements fill the interior. The transition between subsurface hexahedral and interior tetrahedral elements is made using degenerate hexahedral (pyramid) elements. High quality stress results demand high quality elements, i.e., aspect ratios and internal angles as close to 1:1 and 90 °, respectively, as possible. High quality elements are particularly important at the surface. To accommodate features within a component, the quality of elements at the surface of a hexahedral model generally suffers, e.g., they are skewed. Mating components, when node-to-node contact is desired, can also adversely affect the models element quality. Even more difficult is producing a tetrahedral model that contains high quality subsurface elements. In a hybrid model, the hexahedral elements are only affected by the surface mesh, so creating high quality elements is easy. Minimal effort is required to convert CAD data into surface grids using the automated processes of pro-surf. These surface grids are read by pro-am. The surface grid is used to extrude the subsurface hexahedral elements. The thickness of each extruded element is controlled so that high quality elements are generated. The interior is filled automatically with tetrahedral elements. The pyramid elements that make the transition are also generated automatically. A hybrid model will generally contain many more elements than an all-hexahedral model thus increasing analysis run-time. However, the time saved in the model construction phase the more labor intensive phase more than makes up for the increased run-time. Overall project time is reduced considerably. Also, as computing power increases, this â€Å"disadvantage† will eventually disappear. Hexahedral Meshing ANSYS Meshing provides multiple methods to generate a pure hex or hex dominant mesh. Depending on the model complexity, desired mesh quality and type, and how much time a user is able to spend meshing, a user has a scalable solution to generate a quick automatic hex or hex dominant mesh, or a highly controlled hex mesh for optimal solution efficiency and accuracy. Mesh Methods: Automated Sweep meshing Sweepable bodies are automatically detected and meshed with hex mesh when possible Edge increment assignment and side matching/mapping is done automatically Sweep paths found automatically for all regions/bodies in a multibody part Defined inflation is swept through connected swept bodies User can add sizing controls, mapped controls , and select source faces to modify and take control over the automated sweeping Adding/Modifying geometry slices/decomposition to the model also greatly aids in the automation of getting a pure hex mesh. Thin Solid Sweep meshing This mesh method quickly generates a hex mesh for thin solid parts that have multiple faces as source and target. Can be used in conjunction with other mesh methods User can add sizing controls, mapped controls, and select source faces to modify and take control over the automated sweeping MultiZone Sweep meshing This advanced sweeping approach uses automated topology decomposition behind the scenes to attempt to automatically create a pure hex or mostly hex mesh on complicated geometries Decomposed topology is meshed with a mapped mesh or a swept mesh if possible. A user has the option to allow for free mesh in sub-topologies that cant be mapped or swept. Supports multiple source/target selection Defined inflation is swept through connected swept bodies User can add sizing controls, mapped controls and select source faces to modify and take control over the automated meshing Hex-dominant meshing This mesh method uses an unstructured meshing approach to generate a quad dominant surface mesh and then fill it with a hex dominant mesh This approach generally gives nice hex elements on the boundary of a chunky part with a hybrid hex, prism, pyramid, test mesh internally Tetrahedral Meshing The combination of robust and automated surface, inflation and tet meshing using default physics controls to ensure a high-quality mesh suitable for the defined simulation allows for push-button meshing. Local control for sizing, matching, mapping, virtual topology, pinch and other controls provide additional flexibility, if needed. Mesh Methods: Patch conforming mesh method: Bottom-up approach (creates surface mesh, then volume mesh) Multiple triangular surface meshing algorithms are employed behind the scenes to ensure a high quality surface mesh is generated, the first time From that inflation layers can be grown using several techniques The remaining volume is meshed with a Delaunay-Advancing Front approach which combines the speed of a Delaunay approach with the smooth-transitioned mesh of an advancing front approach Throughout this meshing process are advanced size functions that maintain control over the refinement, smoothness and quality of the mesh Patch independent mesh method: Top-down approach (creates volume mesh and extracts surface mesh from boundaries) Many common problems with meshing occur from bad geometry, if the bad geometry is used as the basis to create the surface mesh, the mesh will often be bad (bad quality, connectivity, etc.) The patch independent method uses the geometry only to associate the boundary faces of the mesh to the regions of interest thereby ignoring gaps, overlaps and other issues that give other meshing tools countless problems. Inflation is done as a post step into the volume mesh. Since the volume mesh already exists, collisions and other common problems for inflation are known ahead of time. Note: For volume meshing, a tetrahedral mesh generally provides a more automatic solution with the ability to add mesh controls to improve the accuracy in critical regions. On the contrary, a hexahedral mesh generally provides a more accurate solution, but is more difficult to generate. Shell and Beam Meshing For 2-D planar (axisymmetric), shell and beam models, ANSYS Meshing provides efficient tools for quickly generating a high quality mesh to accurately simplify the physics. Mesh Methods for shell models: Default surface meshing Multiple surface meshing engines are used behind the scenes to provide a robust, automated surface mesh consisting of all quad, quad dominant or all tri surface mesh. User can add sizing controls, and mapped controls to modify and take control over the automated meshing Uniform surface meshing Orthogonal, uniform meshing algorithm that attempts to force an all quad or quad dominant surface mesh that ignores small features to provide optimum control over the edge length Describe key features of ALL existing meshing options in Ansys Mesh module and discuss their applications The meshing tools in ANSYS Workbench were designed to follow some guiding principles: Parametric: Parameters drive system Persistent: Model updates passed through system Highly-automated: Baseline simulation w/limited input Flexible: Able to add additional control w/out complicating the workflow Physics aware: Key off physics to automate modelling and simulation throughout system Adaptive architecture: Open system that can be tied to a customers process CAD neutral, meshing neutral, solver neutral, etc. By integrating best in class meshing technology into a simulation driven workflow, ANSYS Meshing provides a next generation meshing solution.

Abortion Essay - GOD is Pro-life :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Abortion: GOD is Pro-life The reason I am pro-life, and oppose abortion, is because GOD is pro-life, and opposes abortion. Scriptural evidence of this is abundant; consider the words of Ps. 139:13-14: "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." God then forbids the taking of innocent life [viz. a life not guilty of a capital crime, according to the law of God]. This is evident from verses such as Ex. 23:7, which says this: "Keep yourself far from a false matter; DO NOT KILL THE INNOCENT and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked Next, we ought to address our second question: Why not sit on our hands, and wait for the Lord to take us out of the wicked world? This is a very pertinent question today, and it directly affects a large percentage of evangelical Christians in America. Many are silent on abortion (and other abominations) because they believe that they can do nothing, and that the darker the days become the closer the coming of the Lord. In other words, "Why shine the rails on a sinking ship?" This view, though prominent, is perverse and anti-Scriptural. Christ our Lord commanded that we go into the world and spread the Gospel of grace, and in so doing bring about real change, and the extension of the kingdom of Jesus, our Risen Sovereign. Here are Christ's words to us, from Matt. 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Our third query is related to what we just observed, but it has its own nuance to it: "With the whole world against us, why put up a fight at all?" This is a faithless point of view, and it denies the ultimate power of God over the universe. On top of that, how would we have liked it if God took an attitude and approach like this to our salvation: "Since they're such wicked sinners--I'll just send them all to Hell!?

Brave New World †Freedom Essay

The concept of freedom is always changing and is often open to interpretation. What, exactly, is freedom? and why is it so important that we be free? In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley leaves the reader in continuous suspense over which character is truly free or has freedom. The citizens of the World State do not possess any notion of freedom, they are unable to control the way they think, feel and make decisions; however, John has the ability to do all of these things. The World State holds the citizens captive of their most fundamental rights to freedom through Soma, the media and hypnopedia; whereas, John, free from society’s captivities, has complete control over himself and his mind. The citizens of the World State are enslaved by their ruler, they are devoid of emotions, all emotions except for that of happiness. They lack the state of consciousness needed to make their own decisions and that, in turn, creates a society that is solely governed by one process of thought. The World State uses Soma to control the emotions of the citizens in order to create and maintain stability in the world. This control not only takes away the pleasures of experiencing real, genuine emotions but also corrupts one’s ability to react according to how they feel in a situation. The citizens have the â€Å"freedom† to react as they please but with the constant restraints on which emotions they are allowed to feel even that freedom has been taken from them. †Ã¢â‚¬ Now don’t lose your temper,† she said. â€Å"Remember one cubic centimetre cures ten gloomy sentiments. â€Å"â€Å" (Huxley p. ). Freedom is reacting based on emotions that one’s self has come up with, emotions that have been drawn from a wide spectrum, not carefully selected by one’s ruler. The second most powerful tactic the World State uses to control their citizens is through the media along with debilitating the desire to not want to be a part of the social body. They engineer a culture that shelters citizens from what is really happening and what truly lies beneath the surface at all times. â€Å"She was appalled by the rushing emptiness of the night†¦ â€Å"Let’s turn on the radio. Quick! â€Å"†¦ â€Å"but I want to look at the sea in peace,† he said. â€Å"It makes me feel as though†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ But Lenina was crying. â€Å"It’s horrible, it’s horrible,† she kept repeating. â€Å"And how can you talk like that about not wanting to be a part of the social body? â€Å"(Huxley p. ). They, the citizens, are never given the opportunity to think for themselves or by themselves; thus, taking away the possibility of critical or analytical thinking. During the decanting period (birth) and even prior to that, the citizens of the World State are unable to choose their destinies, their futures are laid out before them before they are even processed as people. Not only are they devoid of the most common emotions, they lack any individuality at all because they are created to have a certain level of intelligence, a certain status in society, they’re engineered to have certain likes and dislikes and are even under the control of society when choosing what colour to wear. â€Å"From the ranks of the crawling babies came little squeals of excitement, gurgles and twitterings of pleasure†¦ Small hands reached out uncertainly, touched, grasped, unpetaling the transfigured roses, crumpling the illuminated pages of the books. The Director waited until all were happily busy. Then, â€Å"Watch carefully,† he said. And, lifting his hand, he gave the signal†¦ There was a violent explosion. Shriller and ever shriller, a siren shrieked. Alarm bells maddeningly sounded. The children started, screamed; their faces were distorted with terror. â€Å"And now†¦ now we proceed to rub in the lesson with a mild electric shock. â€Å"†¦ There was something desperate, almost insane, about the sharp spasmodic yelps to which they now gave utterance. Their little bodies twitched and stiffened; their limbs moved jerkily as if to the tug of unseen wires†¦ Offer them the flowers and the books again. â€Å"†¦ but at the approach of the roses, at the mere sight of those gaily-coloured images of pussy and cock-a-doodle-doo and baa-baa black sheep, the infants shrank away in horror, the volume of their howling suddenly increased†¦. â€Å"They’ll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an ‘instinctive’ hatred of books and flowers. † (Huxley p. ). This kind of control leads to the complete destruction of individual and collective freedom. The World State holds the citizens captive of their most fundamental rights to freedom therefore, they are not free. Freedom is constantly questioned throughout the novel and John has the power of free will on his side because he has the capability to feel his own emotions, think critically, and act accordingly. That is something society simply will never have the opportunity or ability to experience. When he is inflicted in a situation he lacks no restrictions on his feelings, he feels love for Lenina and he feels pain for being an outcast, being different. John, who has the ability to feel everything. â€Å"†Is there any hope? † he asked. â€Å"You mean, of her not dying? † (He nodded. â€Å"No, of course there isn’t. When somebody’s sent here, there’s no †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Startled by the expression of distress on his pale face, she suddenly broke off. â€Å"Why, whatever is the matter? † she asked. She was not accustomed to this kind of thing in visitors. (Not that there were many visitors anyhow: or any reason why there should be many visitors. ) â €Å"You’re not feeling ill, are you? † †¦. Anger suddenly boiled up in him. Balked for the second time, the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage. â€Å"(Huxley p. ). In contrast with the other citizens of the World State who cannot make out the most simple of genuine emotions and one’s ability to react according to how they feel in a situation, this really puts the concept of freedom into perspective. He is not only able to feel a wide selection of emotions but because of that freedom he can think critically and make logical and rational decisions about the State’s affairs and his own life. Due to his personal freedoms he is able to see things for what they really are instead of what they are made out to be by the World State. â€Å"†We don’t,† said the Controller. â€Å"We prefer to do things comfortably. â€Å"But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin. † â€Å"In fact,† said Mustapha Mond, â€Å"you’re claiming the right to be unhappy. â€Å" â€Å"All right then,† said the Savage defiantly, â€Å"I’m claiming the right to be unhappy†¦ not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen to-morrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind. There was a long silence. â€Å"I claim them all,† said the Savage at last. † (Huxley p. ). John is and forever will be free from the World State for the simple fact that he can think critically and make logical and rational decisions. To want to expanding his individuality and intelligence is another attribute the citizens of the World State will never posses; however,John has the desire and wonder to read Shakespeare, absorb information about religion, beliefs and his surroundings. â€Å"â€Å"The Savage’s face lit up with a sudden pleasure. â€Å"Have you read it too? † he asked. I thought nobody knew about that book here, in England. † â€Å"Almost nobody. I’m one of the very few. It’s prohibited, you see†¦ â€Å"But why is it prohibited? † asked the Savage†¦ The Controller shrugged his shoulders. â€Å"Because it’s old; that’s the chief reason. We haven’t any use for old things here†¦ we don’t want people to be attracted by old things. We want them to like the new ones. â€Å"†¦. â€Å"But the new ones are so stupid and horrible. Those plays, where there’s nothing but helicopters flying about and you feel the people kissing. â€Å" He made a grimace. â€Å"Goats and monkeys! Only in Othello’s word could he find an adequate vehicle for his contempt and hatred. † (Huxley p. ). The natural demonstration of this attribute reflects how thoughtless his free will is, strongly contrasting the captivity those of the World State are under. Others that are led by the rules of the World State are merely human-looking machines that carry out meaningless lives to keep the rulers happy and society stable.. John has presented a state of being that the rulers of the World State have tried to exterminate- free will. He is who he wants to be and has pushed away the man society has created. And that, is freedom.

Biological Pest Control Case Study – the cassava mealybug

The Cassava plant was brought to Africa from South America in the 16th century. The next four years the starchy thickened roots became the main source of food for millions of Africans, providing up to 70% of the recommended daily intake. The cassava plant is the habitat of the cassava mealybug and is damaged by the insect. The problem – The cassava mealybug- eating cassava plant- biological control of mealybug by using wasps. When the cassava plant was introduced to Africa most of its predators for example mites and plant diseases, were not also introduced therefore leaving the plant free of most of its predators but in the 1970’s a pest called the cassava mealybug was accidently introduced from Latin America(2) The pest is a rare insect but it quickly spread across the entire cassava plant growing area and due to the lack of natural predators within 10 years it became the most important pest insect on cassava causing a loss of up 80% of crop. The mealybug(5) shown on left hand side of text has damaged the cassava plants by sucking sap from roots, tender leaves; petioles and fruit form the plant. The severely infested leaves of the cassava plant will turn yellow (3) and gradually dry out a severe attack on the cassava plant can result in shredding of leaves. On the right is a picture (4) of a cassava plant which has been infested by the mealybug. Another problem with the mealybugs is that some will inject a toxic substance while feeding causing deformation of the cassava plant and therefore there was less food to be harvest. Although timing is not regular, depending on biological events and conditions such as area under cultivation and climatic factors, it seems that major new diseases or strains of cassava disease tend to appear every 7–10 years. Table below shows the disease problem in Arica. Biological methods/ processes- biological control of invasive species. Cassava mosaic and mealybug control programs were introduced in the 1970s (2) to combat these two problems, the decline in crop because of the mealybug eating the plant and further decline because of the spread of disease. The Institute of Biological Control (CIBC) based in Trinidad and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) researched into how the mealybug was kept under control in South America. They eventually found that a tiny wasp (smaller than the head of a pin) called the Leptomastix, which laid its eggs on the mealybug was keeping the mealy bugs under control therefore protecting the cassava plant. The picture on the right shows the small wasp on the mealybug larvae. You can read also Costco Case Study The picture on the left shows an infected cassava tuber dug from the field and sliced open. The wasps were able to control the cassava eating the cassava crops by the wasp laying eggs on the mealybug they grew on the mealybug, the wasp larvae then killing the mealybug this would have a huge effect on the population as seen in South America, of the mealybug and therefore restoring the natural balance. This could be the breakthrough that they were looking for and could control the mealybug. Meeting the challenge Tests were run on the wasp by the CABI Bioscience in the UK. There the mealybug was tested to see how highly specific they are to the cassava mealybug host because if they were not then they could also affect other insects in the continent and therefore would be too dangerous to introduce to the area. The results showed that the wasp was highly specific to the insect (mealybug) so were given the okay to be shipped to Africa so they then can be reared and then the distributed to other areas around Africa. This was a huge breakthrough as without this research it had the ability to cause huge damage on the environment and the economy because of further damage to other crops. Appropriateness.-Has been successful with the mealybug. The mealybug feeds on the cassava stem, petiole, and leaf near the growing point of the cassava plant. During feeding, the mealybug injects a toxin that causes leaf curling, slowing of shoot growth, and eventual leaf withering. This is the effect the cassava mealybug has on the plant resulting in a huge loss of crop due to infested plant crop. The yield loss in infested plants is estimated to be up to 60 percent of root and 100 percent of the leaves the root is the main source of food so this causes a huge problem for the crop yield. The results were a reduction in mealybug damage was seen in the first season following release in both the leaf and the root, and full control was typically achieved within 2–4 years (6) after and now after a decade (10 years) the cassava mealybug and the wasps lived in natural balance with the mealybug population down to a maximum of 10% of what they were 10 years ago at a peak of the infestation.(1) Now the cassava can grow with no or little dam age from the mealybug as the wasp has stopped the 60% root damage and the 100% of leaf destruction. Yield losses as reported by farmers are averaged at about 80% during the 1983 cassava mealybug outbreak but were reduced to 43% in 1979 pre infestation levels. (7) Implications Environmental- An environmental implication is that when the wasps are introduced to south America there was a risk that it could have a huge impact on the food chain as by taking away one organism or gaining one can have a knock on effect on others for example of the wasp was then hunted by a predator this could leave its normal pray to multiply therefore having an over population which in turn can then have knock on effects to their pray and so on and so on until extinction of a food source. Causing problems for South America in the economy and for the environment also. This environmental implication causes an imbalance of the natural balance of wildlife; this may have a knock on effect of the overall environmental surrounding and the effect on the human population. Economic For the farmers of Africa the economic impact has been useful and successful by increasing dramatically there yield percentage therefore increasing the money income. Every pound of investment in the mealybug project control work has returned between 200 and 500 pounds. These benefits to the environment from this environmental solution with no costs but a huge increase in crop harvest, obviously is a clear advantage economically to the farmers. By introducing the wasps there will be a series of tests that need to be run before can be realised for example testing the wasps to see if they were highly specific to the mealybug and whether they would cause destruction on other pests in the environment. The cost of setting up the project is costly especially as it is a longitudinal study so will have a large amount of money spent which will be spent over the years as has to be monitored over the years. Benefits to the humans There was a desperate need for something that could stop the crop destruction on the cassava plant and by finding the wasp that ate the mealybug which was destroying the crop made the crop loss decrease dramatically There was 80% of crop lost so with the help of the cassava mealybug project has gone down to 43 % (7) this a huge benefit for the locals economically it brings in more income for them and also more food, As is a large food source for the local people. The cassava plant is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropic area. The cassava is a major food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava. The cassava is a great source of carbohydrate for the people although it lacks in protein. Risks to the environment Although there is many reasons why there was a need for this biological control of the cassava mealybug, but there was also a huge risk of the environment being destroyed for example, if the wasp was not highly specific to the mealybug and caused a different crop to grow out of control this could also affect the natural balance of the environment resulting in and upset of the natural predators food source leading to disruption of habitat and extinction of some insects which will have a large effect on predators higher up the food chain. The wasp being introduced to the environment could have caused further damage on the environment destroying the local agriculture if it had effected another plant in the environment with could have caused further damage on the local economy and their food source. The food chain on the right shows how a small animal’s decrease of extinction would affect along the food chain resulting in effecting the highest food predator and can easily lead to extinction of this animal. Alternative solutions Pesticides can be used to control out breaks of mealybugs. It is not very easy to control, as the cassava mealybug is covered in hydrophobic wax which repels water-based insecticides therefore making it very difficult ton successfully irradiate the mealybug using this method of biological control. Also unless mealybugs are sprayed with the insecticide at certain times the treatment will not be effective. Firstly because mealybugs are protected from aqueous sprays by their wax coat and seek sheltered sites at certain points in which to feed, insecticides must be applied when mealybugs have least wax and are most exposed. This time is in early spring as the mealybugs will feed on the foliage and at this point the mealybugs are young and have not had enough time to produce the full thick layer of wax coating. And therefore this leaves the mealybug unprotected from the insecticide. There are also fewest leaves at this point so is harder for the, mealybug to hide from the insecticide resulting in a higher success rate. Insecticides applied after Christmas has limited effect, Once mealybugs have established there position on the plant (usually from mid-January onwards), they are virtually impossible to remove or control with insecticides at this stage therefore this means that there has to be a lot of research gone into discovering the perfect time to use the pesticide therefore costing a lot as is a longitudinal study and may vary from year to year. Genetic modification. Another possibility that is being looked into it genetic modification of plants, this was done by Dr Stanford. He was looking into crop improvement and saw the power of genetic selection and how there was limited changed possible using just selective breeding. He then became involved in plant genetic engineering research and showed that there were numerous genes which were potentially useful in crop plants but they were struggling to find a method for delivering these genes into the plant genome, there was no transformation technology(8) . Further research showed that shooting DNA into cells thereby penetrating cell walls and membranes. This was called the gene gun and it was able to transform early transgenic crops. This gene gun would be able to in theory change the genetic makeup of the cassava plant so that it could offer some sort of protection against predators. This would also have risks as you do not know how the modification will affect all of its predators and could therefo re have an effect on them so may cause harm in some way. Although there is less risk in destroying the natural environment as it is not causing other insects a problem. Conclusion In conclusion the biological control of the mealybug has had a huge effect and has caused the problem of the economy and environment to be resolved therefore keeping harmony between the organisms and the human population by keeping a natural balance between the small wasp and the mealybug.

Free Essays on Earths Fury

On March 28, 1964 the United States saw it’s largest earthquake. It occurred in Alaska, covering an area of about 600,000 square kilometers. This devastating event cost Alaska millions of dollars, and 110 casualties. The massive earthquake caused businesses, schools, and major stores to be out of business, generated a huge tsunami, and created a devouring landslide, which covered a large area. Anchorage suffered the most damage with over thirty blocks of thriving commercial buildings, and businesses being destroyed. Two public schools were completely demolished, and one was severely damaged. One major department store and two housing complexes collapsed as a result of the earthquake. The earthquake cause a total of 311 million dollars in property damage, and only lasted an estimated three minutes. The shock generated a tsunami around the gulf of Alaska. This treacherous tsunami claimed fifteen lives, and caused serious damage. Parts of Hawaii, and Canada also experienced the effect of this huge wave Canada. Its maximum height was sixty- seven meters, it was also recorded on the tide gages of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Effects of this tsunami were felt globally. The people that were lucky enough to escape the major effects of the earthquake, weren’t lucky entirely. When the earthquake occurred it brought a severe landslide with it, causing heavy damage. An area of 140 acres with seventy-five houses on it was completely destroyed. The slide also damaged the water and gas mains, causing even more problem for the people of Alaska. A numerous amount of telephone lines and electrical systems were also destroyed because of the slide. The effects of the earthquake was felt by everyone, not just by the victims, but by the people who’s everyday lives were changed due to harsh geographical conditions. The technology used to predict earth... Free Essays on Earth's Fury Free Essays on Earth's Fury On March 28, 1964 the United States saw it’s largest earthquake. It occurred in Alaska, covering an area of about 600,000 square kilometers. This devastating event cost Alaska millions of dollars, and 110 casualties. The massive earthquake caused businesses, schools, and major stores to be out of business, generated a huge tsunami, and created a devouring landslide, which covered a large area. Anchorage suffered the most damage with over thirty blocks of thriving commercial buildings, and businesses being destroyed. Two public schools were completely demolished, and one was severely damaged. One major department store and two housing complexes collapsed as a result of the earthquake. The earthquake cause a total of 311 million dollars in property damage, and only lasted an estimated three minutes. The shock generated a tsunami around the gulf of Alaska. This treacherous tsunami claimed fifteen lives, and caused serious damage. Parts of Hawaii, and Canada also experienced the effect of this huge wave Canada. Its maximum height was sixty- seven meters, it was also recorded on the tide gages of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Effects of this tsunami were felt globally. The people that were lucky enough to escape the major effects of the earthquake, weren’t lucky entirely. When the earthquake occurred it brought a severe landslide with it, causing heavy damage. An area of 140 acres with seventy-five houses on it was completely destroyed. The slide also damaged the water and gas mains, causing even more problem for the people of Alaska. A numerous amount of telephone lines and electrical systems were also destroyed because of the slide. The effects of the earthquake was felt by everyone, not just by the victims, but by the people who’s everyday lives were changed due to harsh geographical conditions. The technology used to predict earth...