Wednesday, December 25, 2019

10 Myths and Misconceptions About Bedbugs

There are many misconceptions about the humble bedbug. Bedbugs (or cimicids) belong to a highly specialized family of insects that feed off the blood of humans, bats, and birds. The best-known members are the temperate-climate parasite Cimex lectularius (which means bedbug in Latin) and Cimex hemipterus, a tropical version. Bedbugs are the most widely recognized insect in the world. They are known to have fed on humans for more than 4,000 years—and probably much longer. Unfortunately, there are many myths about these tiny pests. If You Wake Up With Insect Bites, You Have Bedbugs Bedbugs tend to bite on locations that are exposed during sleep—the arms, legs, and back as well as the face and eyes. The insects prefer sites that lack hair, with a thin epidermis that provides access to plentiful blood. However, bedbugs are not the only nocturnal feeder on humans. Quite a few other arthropods could be the cause of bite marks, including fleas, mites, spiders, or even bat bugs. Also, many medical conditions cause rashes that look similar to bug bites. If the marks persist but you dont find signs of an infestation, consider a trip to the doctor. Are you the only one in your household waking up with bites? People react to bedbug bites differently, just as they do with mosquito and other insect bites. Two people can sleep on the same bedbug-infested mattress, and one will wake up without any signs of being bitten while the other will be covered in bite marks. Bedbugs Cannot Be Seen by the Naked Eye While bedbugs are pretty small insects, they arent microscopic. If you know where to look for them, you can definitely see them without the aid of a magnifier. The bedbug nymph is roughly the size of a poppy seed. Adults measure a bit larger than 1/8th of an inch, or about the size of an apple seed or a lentil. The eggs, which are just the size of a pinhead, are harder to see without magnification. Bedbug Infestations Are Rare Although bedbugs all but disappeared in developed countries in the 1930s and again in the 1980s, global bedbug infestations are increasing in the 21st century. Rises in bedbug activity have been seen on every continent except Antarctica. In the United States, bedbugs are reported in all 50 states, and an estimated one in five Americans either has had a bedbug infestation in their home or knows someone who has. Today, infestations are found in offices and retail environments, in health and transportation buildings, and even in movie houses: basically, anywhere people sleep or sit. Bedbugs Are a Sign of a Dirty House Although there is a great social stigma to having a bedbug infestation, bedbugs dont care how neat and tidy your house is, nor do they care if youre the best housekeeper on the block. As long as you have blood pumping through your veins, bedbugs will happily take up residence in your home. The same rule holds true for hotels and resorts. Whether a hotel has bedbugs has nothing to do with how clean or dirty the establishment is. Even a five-star resort can host bedbugs. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that clutter can make it much more difficult to get rid of bedbugs once theyre in your home—the mess gives the insects plenty of places to hide. Bedbugs Only Bite After Dark While bedbugs prefer to do their dirty work under cover of darkness, the light wont stop a hungry bedbug from biting you. In desperation, some people will try leaving all their lights on at night, hoping the bedbugs will stay hidden like cockroaches. All this will do is make you more sleep-deprived. Bedbugs spend most of their time hidden away. They only come out to feed once every three to seven days, usually from one to five a.m. They fully engorge themselves on your blood in 10 to 20 minutes, and then they go back to their hiding places to digest their food. After a meal, adult bedbugs may increase in length by 30 to 50 percent and in weight by 150 to 200 percent. Bedbugs Live in Mattresses Bedbugs do hide in the seams and crevices of your mattress. Since these nocturnal insects feed on your blood, it is to their advantage to live close to the place where you spend the night. But that doesnt mean bedbugs only live in mattresses. The insects also inhabit carpets and couches, dressers and closets, and even places where youd never think to look, such as inside picture frames and switch plate covers. Infestations can be extremely costly, resulting in multimillion-dollar damage in the hospitality industry, poultry industry, and private and communal households. Costs include payment for pest control, damage to social reputation, and replacement of infested clothing and furniture. You Can Feel a Bedbug Bite Bedbug saliva contains a substance that serves as a mild anesthetic, so when one bites you, it actually does you the favor of numbing your skin first. Its very unlikely that youd ever feel a bedbug bite when it happens. Reactions to bites vary from individual to individual. Some people have no reactions at all; often the bites start out as small indistinct lesions about two-tenths of an inch in diameter, which may develop into larger circular or ovoid welts. Some may grow as big as 2.5 inches in diameter. If there are a large number of bites, they can give the appearance of a generalized rash. They itch intensely, cause sleep deprivation, and can be associated with secondary bacterial infections as a consequence of scratching. Bedbugs Jump From the Floor to Your Bed Bedbugs arent built  for jumping. They simply dont have the legs for it as fleas and grasshoppers do. Bedbugs dont have wings, either, so they cant fly. They can only crawl for locomotion, so moving from the floor to the bed requires them to climb up a leg of the bed, or to scale belongings or furniture youve placed nearby. This can work to your advantage if youre battling bedbugs, as you can create barriers to keep them from climbing onto your bed. Cover the bed legs in double-sided tape, or place them in trays of water. Of course, if your bedspread touches the floor, the bedbugs will still be able to climb up, and the insects have also been known to crawl up the wall to the ceiling and then drop onto the bed. Bedbugs Transmit Diseases to People Although bedbugs can and do carry infectious diseases, there is little danger of the viruses being transmitted to humans. So far, scientists have found no evidence that bedbugs are capable of transmitting diseases to human hosts. For this reason, theyre considered a nuisance pest rather than a health threat. But even though they dont transmit diseases, bedbugs arent harmless. Some people experience severe allergic reactions to bedbug bites, and people who are bitten sometimes suffer from secondary infections. The emotional stress of dealing with a persistent bedbug infestation can also have a negative impact on your health. Bedbugs Can Survive a Year Without a Meal Technically, this is true. Under the right conditions, bedbugs have been known to survive as long as a year without a meal. Bedbugs, like all insects, are cold-blooded, so when temperatures drop, their body temperatures decrease. If it gets cold enough, bedbug metabolism will slow down, and theyll stop eating temporarily. However, it is highly unlikely that it would ever get cold enough in your home to trigger such a long period of inactivity. For practical purposes, then, this statement is false. At normal room temperature, a bedbug might go as long as two to three months without a meal, but thats about it. 10 Myths and Misconceptions About Bedbugs There are many misconceptions about the humble bedbug. Bedbugs (or cimicids) belong to a highly specialized family of insects that feed off the blood of humans, bats, and birds. The best-known members are the temperate-climate parasite Cimex lectularius (which means bedbug in Latin) and Cimex hemipterus, a tropical version. Bedbugs are the most widely recognized insect in the world. They are known to have fed on humans for more than 4,000 years—and probably much longer. Unfortunately, there are many myths about these tiny pests. If You Wake Up With Insect Bites, You Have Bedbugs Bedbugs tend to bite on locations that are exposed during sleep—the arms, legs, and back as well as the face and eyes. The insects prefer sites that lack hair, with a thin epidermis that provides access to plentiful blood. However, bedbugs are not the only nocturnal feeder on humans. Quite a few other arthropods could be the cause of bite marks, including fleas, mites, spiders, or even bat bugs. Also, many medical conditions cause rashes that look similar to bug bites. If the marks persist but you dont find signs of an infestation, consider a trip to the doctor. Are you the only one in your household waking up with bites? People react to bedbug bites differently, just as they do with mosquito and other insect bites. Two people can sleep on the same bedbug-infested mattress, and one will wake up without any signs of being bitten while the other will be covered in bite marks. Bedbugs Cannot Be Seen by the Naked Eye While bedbugs are pretty small insects, they arent microscopic. If you know where to look for them, you can definitely see them without the aid of a magnifier. The bedbug nymph is roughly the size of a poppy seed. Adults measure a bit larger than 1/8th of an inch, or about the size of an apple seed or a lentil. The eggs, which are just the size of a pinhead, are harder to see without magnification. Bedbug Infestations Are Rare Although bedbugs all but disappeared in developed countries in the 1930s and again in the 1980s, global bedbug infestations are increasing in the 21st century. Rises in bedbug activity have been seen on every continent except Antarctica. In the United States, bedbugs are reported in all 50 states, and an estimated one in five Americans either has had a bedbug infestation in their home or knows someone who has. Today, infestations are found in offices and retail environments, in health and transportation buildings, and even in movie houses: basically, anywhere people sleep or sit. Bedbugs Are a Sign of a Dirty House Although there is a great social stigma to having a bedbug infestation, bedbugs dont care how neat and tidy your house is, nor do they care if youre the best housekeeper on the block. As long as you have blood pumping through your veins, bedbugs will happily take up residence in your home. The same rule holds true for hotels and resorts. Whether a hotel has bedbugs has nothing to do with how clean or dirty the establishment is. Even a five-star resort can host bedbugs. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that clutter can make it much more difficult to get rid of bedbugs once theyre in your home—the mess gives the insects plenty of places to hide. Bedbugs Only Bite After Dark While bedbugs prefer to do their dirty work under cover of darkness, the light wont stop a hungry bedbug from biting you. In desperation, some people will try leaving all their lights on at night, hoping the bedbugs will stay hidden like cockroaches. All this will do is make you more sleep-deprived. Bedbugs spend most of their time hidden away. They only come out to feed once every three to seven days, usually from one to five a.m. They fully engorge themselves on your blood in 10 to 20 minutes, and then they go back to their hiding places to digest their food. After a meal, adult bedbugs may increase in length by 30 to 50 percent and in weight by 150 to 200 percent. Bedbugs Live in Mattresses Bedbugs do hide in the seams and crevices of your mattress. Since these nocturnal insects feed on your blood, it is to their advantage to live close to the place where you spend the night. But that doesnt mean bedbugs only live in mattresses. The insects also inhabit carpets and couches, dressers and closets, and even places where youd never think to look, such as inside picture frames and switch plate covers. Infestations can be extremely costly, resulting in multimillion-dollar damage in the hospitality industry, poultry industry, and private and communal households. Costs include payment for pest control, damage to social reputation, and replacement of infested clothing and furniture. You Can Feel a Bedbug Bite Bedbug saliva contains a substance that serves as a mild anesthetic, so when one bites you, it actually does you the favor of numbing your skin first. Its very unlikely that youd ever feel a bedbug bite when it happens. Reactions to bites vary from individual to individual. Some people have no reactions at all; often the bites start out as small indistinct lesions about two-tenths of an inch in diameter, which may develop into larger circular or ovoid welts. Some may grow as big as 2.5 inches in diameter. If there are a large number of bites, they can give the appearance of a generalized rash. They itch intensely, cause sleep deprivation, and can be associated with secondary bacterial infections as a consequence of scratching. Bedbugs Jump From the Floor to Your Bed Bedbugs arent built  for jumping. They simply dont have the legs for it as fleas and grasshoppers do. Bedbugs dont have wings, either, so they cant fly. They can only crawl for locomotion, so moving from the floor to the bed requires them to climb up a leg of the bed, or to scale belongings or furniture youve placed nearby. This can work to your advantage if youre battling bedbugs, as you can create barriers to keep them from climbing onto your bed. Cover the bed legs in double-sided tape, or place them in trays of water. Of course, if your bedspread touches the floor, the bedbugs will still be able to climb up, and the insects have also been known to crawl up the wall to the ceiling and then drop onto the bed. Bedbugs Transmit Diseases to People Although bedbugs can and do carry infectious diseases, there is little danger of the viruses being transmitted to humans. So far, scientists have found no evidence that bedbugs are capable of transmitting diseases to human hosts. For this reason, theyre considered a nuisance pest rather than a health threat. But even though they dont transmit diseases, bedbugs arent harmless. Some people experience severe allergic reactions to bedbug bites, and people who are bitten sometimes suffer from secondary infections. The emotional stress of dealing with a persistent bedbug infestation can also have a negative impact on your health. Bedbugs Can Survive a Year Without a Meal Technically, this is true. Under the right conditions, bedbugs have been known to survive as long as a year without a meal. Bedbugs, like all insects, are cold-blooded, so when temperatures drop, their body temperatures decrease. If it gets cold enough, bedbug metabolism will slow down, and theyll stop eating temporarily. However, it is highly unlikely that it would ever get cold enough in your home to trigger such a long period of inactivity. For practical purposes, then, this statement is false. At normal room temperature, a bedbug might go as long as two to three months without a meal, but thats about it.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

America Needs Mental Health Care - 2384 Words

According to globalmentalhealth.org It is estimated that 120 million people suffer from depression, 50 million from epilepsy, 37 million from althezimers disease and 24 million from schizophrenia. About 1 million people worldwide commit suicide every year, and approximately 20 million unsuccessfully attempt suicide. In the United States, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death—another life is taken this way every 17 minutes. With these figures in mind it brings up the question Do we as a society handle mental health properly? From a global scale to how we all individually handle the mental health of others. Lots of people claim that mental health is being treated properly stating preposterous things like; we are already doing enough†¦show more content†¦If we as people truly handle mental health properly then we would not shame people who need help or think of the stereotypical asylum that comes along with mental health, these stigmas quickly prove we do not hand le mental health properly. For example myth that we do enough globally for those in need of mental help can quickly be disproven by simple facts and information. Many people disagree with the following claims, Dr.Cesar Chelala wrote in a piece for globalmentalhealth.org that states â€Å"on a global scale, approximately 70 percent of people have access to less than one psychiatrist per 100,000 people, 55 percent of people have access to less than one neurologist per million people, and 44 percent of people have access to less than one psychiatric nurse per 100,000 people. These are general figures that do not take into consideration significant regional, national, and local variations. All in all, the services and resources available are one-tenth to one-hundredth of what is needed.† Proving that we are not doing all we can to help those who need it, the world lacks the sufficient amounts of specialists and facilities to help those who need it. Mental illness is becoming a rapid problem in many countrie s and can be a big issue to many people s safety if people can not get the help they need, in an article for CNN author Johan Nylander writes about the mental health crisis in China and around the world he states that â€Å"work

Monday, December 9, 2019

Emerging Economies in Globalizing World

Question: Discuss about the Emerging Economies in Globalizing World. Answer: Introduction: The economies of Brazil, Russia, India and china are among the fast growing economies in the world with high chances of being dominant economies. However, there is competition from other economic partnerships like the G6 countries. The BRICs have made remarkable changes in economic, political and diplomatic spheres globally. Notably, BRICs has influential power,world Bank and International monetary fund reforms (Nieto, 2010) Brazil and Russia are likely to dominate the supply of raw materials whereas India and China are likely to dominate service and manufacturing industry. BRICs Economic dominance Aggregately, the economic size of BRIC countries will be larger than G6 in a period of 40years.Brazils economy will be larger than Italy by 2020.Similarly, Russia and China will be larger than Spain or Italy (Bajaj and Hooda,2010) India is likely to experience economic growth due to high population and infrastructure. Similarly, currency exchange rates of China is likely to double by 300% in 40 years. The united states of America is no longer a unipower with entry of Europe and China(Khann,2008) Noteworthy, Brazil, Russia and china have more oil reserves as compared to G6 s United states of America and Britain.Moreover, BRICs has among the largest foreign exchange reserves thus the assertion of economic dominance.Brics economy is likely to overtake G6 economy in 2027(Bajaj and Hooda,2010) However, oil consumption is high in the G6 countries despite China and India economic growth rates. Primarily, the United States leads in coal reserves followed by Russia and China. Notably, China is the largest market for industrialization in East Asia (The Economist, 2010) However, BRICS economies lead in collective coal reserves.Notably,BRICs companies increased fourfold in the Financial Times 500 list ranking hence an assertion of BRICs dominance.Notably,Brazil multinationals doubled their assets in 2006(The Economist,2010) Also, income and demographics are likely to be challenged by G6 economies.Citizens of G6 countries are likely to have higher living standards. Also, global spending in BRIC countries is expected to be higher in 2025 than G6 economic spending (Gauthier and Robinson,2011) Challenges facing the BRIC s Economy. Predominantly, G6 economies have higher military expenditures as compared to Russia and Brazil. The United States has the highest military budget followed by China (Gauthier and Robinson, 2011) Notably, Per capita income in BRIC countries in 2050 is expected to be lower than those of G6 economies with the exception of Russia. Arguably, the economic dominance of the BRICS countries is being challenged on other levels by other countries (Bajaj and Hooda,2010) Primarily, G6 countries have higher refinery capacity as compared to BRICS.Also, Russia and the United States produce the highest volume of natural gas in their respective blocs. However, the United States is likely to increase its production making G6 economy superior in natural gas production. Natural gas consumption is high in the United States of America and other G6 countries as compared to BRICs. Conclusion Undisputedly, BRICs is a strong economic partnership bloc with significant economic, social and political impact globally.Hence the assertion that its upcoming economic supremacy is undoubtable. References Bajaj ,R, Strivastava A and Hooda,D.S. (2010) GDP,Growth rate of the World, BRIC and G6 Economies. Research gate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/266272497_fig1_Figure-1-GDP-Growth-Rate-of-World-BRIC-G6-Economies Gauthier J.M and Robinson M.L. (2011) If not BRICs, then what? Comparing BRIC s and G6 nations I n fossil fuels. Deloitte. Retrieved from https://www.deloitte.com.mx/documents/BoletinFactorChina/dtt_er_BRICDocumentbd62011.pdf Nieto, N. (2012) The influence of economic economies in international affairs. Scielo.Retrieved from https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0103-40142012000200011script=sci_arttexttlng=en The Economist, (2010). Special report:Innovation in emerging markets.The world turned upside down.The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/node/15879369

Sunday, December 1, 2019

South Carolina Exposition and Kentucky and Virginia free essay sample

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (or Resolves) were important political tenements in favor of states rights written secretly by Vice President Thomas Jefferson (who would later become president) and James Madison in 1798. They were passed by the two states in opposition to the federal Alien and Sedition Acts. Though often mentioned as a pair in modern historical discussions, they were actually two separate documents.The Kentucky Resolutions were written by Jefferson and passed by the state legislature on November 16, 1 798, with one more being passed the following year on December 3, 1799. The Virginia Resolutions were written by Madison and passed by the state legislature on December 24, 1798. Jefferson and Madison collaborated on the writing of the two documents, but their authorship was not known for many years.The resolutions attacked the Sedition Acts, which extended the powers of the federal government over individuals inside the states. The resolutions declared that the Constitution was a compact. We will write a custom essay sample on South Carolina Exposition and Kentucky and Virginia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That is, it was an agreement among the states. The federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it; should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them would be void. Thus it was the right of the states to decide as to the constitutionality of such laws passed by Congress.