Ephedra essays

Ephedra essays As you have recently heard, there have been some deaths and injuries where the dietary supplement ephedra was involved. The most recent and most publicized was the death of the Orioles pitcher, Steve Bechler. Twenty-three year old Bechler died of a heat stroke after a mild work out. The temperature being only eighty degrees Fahrenheit, there were some questions about his death. Bechler had been taking ephedra. A medical examiner believes that ephedra most likely contributed (Ellsworth). Ephedra is a natural herb used in such medicines as Metabolife356, Ripped Fuel, Ultimate Orange and Hydroxycut. Ephedra's active ingredient is the central nervous system stimulant, Ephedrine. Ephedra is mainly used for weight loss, gaining muscle, asthma, allergies, colds and hey fever. This Chinese herb has been used for over five thousand years and called one of the world's oldest medicines. It has been used for years originally for common colds and fever. Although ephedra has been used for years, it does have some severe side effects and can sometimes be fatal. Some damage ephedra can cause is sudden cardiac death, stroke, heatstroke, seizure, cardiac arrest, heart attack, incranial bleeds, high blood pressure, restlessness, insomnia, memory loss, nervousness and as I have said before, death. Many people have complained of these side effects but continue to take this harmful herb. Physicians also know of these damages and have had patients with these effects occurring to them and they still prescribe ephedra to their patients. With all these deaths and injuries resulting from the use of ephedra, multiple lawsuits have been filed against the production and consumption of this herb turned drug. In 1994 a woman in Texas died and one hundred other Texans became ill after consuming ephedra-based products. Around twenty-one lawsuits were filed. Another example, 1996 a student, from the University of New York, die ...

Book Review of the Killer Angels essays

Book Review of the Killer Angels essays Between the days of July 1, 1863 and July 4, 1863, the Civil Wars outcome was decided. These four days have been known as the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the war. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara brings us a vivid image of what the battle was like. Shaaras work is very impressive. He is able to capture how things were during the Civil War. The fate of the country was resting on that war so the novel adds a great deal to the readers mind. Shaara was able to bring to the reader a little of the war. The book also gives you a feel for some of the important characters of the battle, including Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock. The most inspiring figure in the book, however, is Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. He led the 20th Maine regiment of volunteers who held the Union's left flank on the second day of the battle. The Killer Angels gives us an idea on how war affects people. The characters could have been anyone. The author focuses in on universal emotions, not great figures. For example, everyone has always heard of Grant and Lee because of their importance. But few have heard stories about the common soldier. The book centralizes on the actions of the common soldier, even though it is from the leaders point o view. Emotion in the story affects even generals. Several times in the book you can see that they feel for those lost in battle. Usually, generals are often portrayed as being larger than life. Shaara adds a human touch to them. One conclusion that could be drawn from the book is that the Confederates quick start had some effect. Outnumbered, the Union forces managed to hold until afternoon when they were overpowered and driven back. In the confusion, thousands of Union soldiers were captured before they could rally on Cemetery Hill. The Confederates had captured the town. Picketts charge was the Confederates last chance to change the outcome of th...

China and the World Trade Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China and the World Trade Organization - Essay Example The main function of this body is to carry out and facilitate multilateral negotiations so as to improve the movement of goods and services in an open market and also to reduce trade barriers and such other bottlenecks, which actually bring unhealthy or poor competition in the market. It would be acting as a platform for its members to speak about their difficulties with their trading partners and in this way ultimately leading to the economic development of its members. Currently there are 145 members for WTO (The World Trade Organization and Agriculture, 2004). So the ultimate aim of WTO is to develop the economy of all its member countries whether it is developed, developing or least developed, to ensure employment for all through better production of goods and services and better standard of living for all (The basics of WTO. 2000). China joined WTO in the year 2001. A lot of commitments were made by China while joining WTO. According to that all the imports were to be exempted from trade tariffs. There is also domestic price liberalization and thus the price of the domestic as well as international price has almost become same. Apart from this tariff rate quotas replaced import quotas and licenses were abolished. In sectors such as telecommunications, insurance etc foreign participation was encouraged (WTO successfully concludes negotiations on China's entry, 2001). All these commitments increased transparency of China's trade regime and helped china to increase its trade volume. The volume of trade of China has increased from about $200 billion to more than $750 billion within four years after it's joining in WTO (The China Business review, 2006). There has been a change in the items of export as well. Before 2001 agricultural produce, leather, plastic items etc were the main exports, but after 2001, it is the electrical goods, machinery, power generation equipment etc. The imports also increased considerably in these 4 years and the main items include heavy equipments, machineries, vehicles and their parts etc. Export and import with United States increased to more than double during this period. China became the top supplier of consumer goods. The trade is increasing nearly 29% annually. Thus it could be seen that after joining WTO, China has made tremendous progress in its trade especially to United States and other developed countries. It has become the fourth largest economy in the world by the year 2006 (Yong, 2009). Thus the World Trade Organization which was formed as a result of increased globalization and liberalization, in order to facilitate trade across the countries has resulted in the development of economies not only of the developed countries such as US, UK, Germany etc, it has also helped the developed countries such as China to make tremendous progress in the trade and economy. Works Cited The basics of WTO [online] Available at: http://www.iisd.org/trade/handbook/3_2.htm 2000. (accessed on 12th June 2009) The China Business review [online] Available at: http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0609/ChinaData.pdf 2006