Groups In Different Regions Research Articles

Regional crop modelling in Europe: The impact of climatic conditions and farm characteristics on maize yields

Impacts of climate variability and climate change on regional crop yields are commonly assessed using process-based crop models. These models, however, simulate potential and water limited yields, which do not always relate to observed yields. The latter are largely influenced by crop management, which varies by farm and region. Data on specific management strategies may be obtained at the field level, but at the regional level information about the diversity in management strategies is rarely available and difficult to be considered adequately in process-based crop models. Alternatively, understanding the factors influencing management may provide helpful information to improve simulations at the regional level. In this study, we aim to identify factors at the regional level that explain differences between observed and simulated yields. Observed yield data were provided by the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and Eurostat. The Crop Growth Monitoring System (CGMS), based on the WOFOST model, was used to simulate potential and water limited maize yields in the EU15 (i.e., the old member states of the European Union). Differences between observed and simulated maize yields were analysed using regression models including: (i) climatic factors (temperature and precipitation), (ii) farm size, (iii) farm intensity, (iv) land use, (v) income and (vi) subsidies. We assumed that the highest yields observed in a region were close to the yield potential as determined by climate and considered the average regional yields as also influenced by management. Model performance was analysed with respect to spatial and temporal yield variability. Results indicate that for potential yield, the model performed unsatisfactory in southern regions, where high temperatures increased observed yields which was in contrast to model simulations. When considering management effects, we find that especially irrigation and the maize area explain much of the differences between observed and simulated yields across regions. Simulations of temporal yield variability also diverted from observed data of which about 80% could be explained by the climatic factors (35%) and farm characteristics (50%) considered in the analysis. However, effects of specific factors differed depending on the regions. Accordingly, we propose different groups of regions with factors related to management which should be considered to improve regional yield simulations with CGMS.

Regional Innovation Capacities in New Member States: a Typology

The paper examines the characteristics and performance of regional innovation systems in 12 new member states of the European Union. More specifically, it develops a typology that differentiates their various potentials as innovative regions. Based on a principal component analysis, five different groups of regions are identified. The characteristic profile of each group is detailed and exploration of possible paths of innovation‐based regional development is presented for each type of region. The paper concludes with an examination of policy implications emerging from the analysis.

Can voxel based morphometry, manual segmentation and automated segmentation equally detect hippocampal volume differences in acute depression?

Context According to meta-analyses, depression is associated with a smaller hippocampus. Most magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies among middle aged acute depressed patients are based on manual segmentation of the hippocampus. Few studies used automated methods such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM) or automated segmentation that can overcome certain drawbacks of manual segmentation (essentially intra- and inter-rater variability and operator time consumption). Objective The aim of our study was to compare the sensitivity of manual segmentation, automated segmentation and VBM to detect hippocampal structural changes in middle aged acute depressed population. Method Twenty-one middle aged depressed inpatients and 21 matched controls were compared regarding their hippocampal structure using VBM with SPM5, manual segmentation and an automated segmentation algorithm. The VBM-ROI analysis was performed using two different normalization methods: the standard approach implemented in SPM5 and the most recent DARTEL algorithm. Results Using VBM-DARTEL, when corrected for multiple comparisons, significant volume differences were detected between groups in different regions and more specifically in hippocampus with ROI analyses. Whereas using standard VBM (without DARTEL), ROI analyses did not show bilateral volume between group differences. Significant hippocampal volume reductions between patients and controls were also detected using manual segmentation (− 11.6% volume reduction, p < 0.05) and automated segmentation (− 9.7% volume reduction, p < 0.05). VBM-DARTEL and automated segmentation show equal sensitivity in detecting hippocampal differences in depressed patients, while standard VBM was unable to detect hippocampal changes. Both VBM-DARTEL and automated segmentation could be used to perform large scale volumetric studies in humans. The new automated segmentation technique could further explore and detect hippocampal subpart differences that could be very useful for clarifying physiopathology of psychiatric disorders.

Construction of an adaptive scan network for test time and data volume reduction

The increasing size and complexity of integrated circuits result in high test costs due to the consequent expansion of test data. Although test-vector compression and response compaction are effective solutions to the problem of test time and data volume, scan architectures with localised implementation of decompression and compaction fail to adapt well to the varying sizes of compatible scan cell groups. A scan network is presented here that embeds expansions and compactions in a distributed manner, adapting perfectly to the varying sizes of compatible scan-cell groups in different regions of the design. We conduct a stimulus delivery and response collection analysis to identify the particularities of the scan-network implementation, which provides a minimal scan depth while preserving test quality. The proposed methodology implements the scan network by also accounting for the physical position of the scan cells, delivering a practical solution for realistic integrated circuits. The experimental results also confirm the efficacy of the proposed approach.

Freiburger intervention trial for obese children (FITOC): Outpatient therapy of pediatric obesity

FITOC is an interdisciplinary treatment program for obese children that has been established in Freiburg since 1987. Obese kids, ages 8–11, are treated in an 8-month intensive period and a follow-up period of 4 months or more. Since 1990, data from 283 kids in 15 treatment groups (about 2 groups per year) have been collected and analyzed. The program consists of regular physical training (3 times a week), and comprehensive nutrition and behavior training (overall 7 parents evenings every 4 to 6 weeks and 7 cookery courses for the kids in the same timescale). The parents evenings are filled with theoretical and practical information about nutrition as well as background information about the psychological and physiological problems of obese children. In the first examination and the regular control examinations, anthropometric, biochemical, and exercise physiology data are investigated. In addition, questionnaires on nutrition and behavior are filled out on a regular basis. At each examination, depending on the progress in therapy, a new orientation with adapted goals is discussed with the child and the parents. For the growing kids, moderate reduction or long-term stabilization of weight will lead to success. The teaching goal for the children in the intensive period is to control themselves and, depending on their specific situation, to establish individual recommendations on a long-term basis. The sports program should lead to an increase in self-esteem and an increase in daily energy expenditure. The team includes a physician, a nutritionist, a psychologist, and a sports teacher. Since 1997, the program has spread to institutions in the Freiburg area. Training for the external teams is done by continuous seminars. Teaching material includes a manual, forms, and transparencies. The major goal is to secure quality by continuous training and close interaction between the institutions. Till now, the program has been performed by a couple of multiplication groups in different regions of Germany. First data analysis showed that the out-patient program is transferable, and comparable results are reachable after a standardized training course for participating therapists. The plan for 2000 and 2001 is to increase the number of centers involved to a total of 20 over all of Germany.

Need Assessment for HIV/AIDS Education: The Level of Knowledge about Transmission in Some Risk Groups in Turkey

Every year, the number of HIV/AIDS cases increases twice as much as the year before in Turkey. The authors anticipate that the actual numbers of HIV/AIDS cases in Turkey are higher than the number of cases diagnosed and reported. This review summarizes the results of some previous studies that were conducted among various risk groups, such as high school and university students, barbers, hair dressers, nurses, pharmacists and doctors, men and women engaged in the sex trade, and security workers in different regions of the country. The responses of participants to similar questions of the studies on the transmission of HIV/AIDS were evaluated in this review. The studies that have been conducted among different risk groups in different regions have shown that in spite of the low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Turkey, many risk groups still do not have adequate or correct information on the prevalence and transmission of the disease. Effective and extensive health education on HIV/AIDS, and the practice of healthy lifestyle would change the epidemiology of the disease in Turkey.

Role of Padina gymnospora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) cell walls in cadmium accumulation

Padina gymnospora plants were exposed to Cd or Cd combined with Zn for I week and thereafter prepared for atomic absorption spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Conventional TEM, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) and electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) were used. Cytochemical tests were applied to determine the presence and abundance of the principal polysaccharide groups in different regions of the thallus. An increase in Cd accumulation of three orders of magnitude occurred during the experimental period. Electron-dense deposits were seen in cell walls from the subapical and median regions of the thallus. Analytical microscopy (EDXA and ESI) and electron diffraction from the electron-dense deposits showed that S colocalized with Cd and Zn in both treatments, and that the Cd/Zn-rich deposits in P. gymnospora cell walls were crystalline. These results indicate that sulphated polysaccharide groups are involved in metal immobilization and in nucleation of the crystalline deposits. Ultrastructural damage was observed only in the Cd + Zn treatment. The higher affinity of the tested stains and probes for cell walls in the median region, compared with those in the subapical region, suggests differences in the amount and/or composition of polyanionic cell-wall polysaccharides along the thallus. Our results indicate that cell walls provide the requirements for the induction of mineralization of different cations, being the main site for metal resistance and accumulation in P. gymnospora.

Patterns of Methamphetamine Abuse and Their Consequences

The abuse of methamphetamine (METH) continues to increase throughout all age groups in different regions of the United States. “Ice,” the popularized jargon for (+) methamphetamine hydrochloride, is the predominant drug form that is now consumed. “Ice” is effectively absorbed after either smoking or snorting and it is this rapid influx of drug that produces effects similar to those after intravenous administration. The intensity of METH actions in the central and peripheral nervous system shows tolerance after chronic administration, indicating that neuro-adaptations have occurred. Thus, the physiological processes and corresponding biochemical mechanisms that regulate neuronal function have been changed by METH exposure. These biological alterations contribute to the craving and dependence associated with METH abuse and the withdrawal syndrome upon abstinence. However, these changes in behavior may also result from METH-induced neurotoxicity. This article reviews aspects of METH pharmacokinetics and related molecular pharmacodynamics that represent METH pharmacology and then relates those actions to their potential to produce neurotoxicity in humans.

Rapoport's Rule: A Comparative Analysis Between South and North American Columnar Cacti

The geographical range of species belonging to a number of taxonomic groups tends to decrease toward the Tropics (Stevens 1989). This latitudinal pattern has been well documented over the past 30 yr, and several explanations have been put forth, including environmental history (Rapoport 1975, 1982), competition (Rapoport 1975, 1982; Rosenzweig 1975; Anderson and Koopman 1981), local climate and species environmental tolerances (Stevens 1989), the mass effect (the establishment of species in sites where they cannot self-maintain; Stevens 1989, 1992), the species dispersion capabilities and their ecophysiological properties (Stevens 1989; France 1992), and sampling bias (Colwell and Hurtt 1994). The empirical biogeographical rule that states that the latitudinal extent of the geographical range of organisms is positively correlated with the latitude at which these organisms are found was named Rapoport’s rule by Stevens (1989), after the Argentine biogeographer Eduardo Rapoport, who first made reference to the correlation between range and latitude (see Rapoport 1975, 1982). The idea that geographical ranges increase from the Tropics toward the poles has received close attention over the last several years (Stevens 1989; Pagel et al. 1991; France 1992; Rohde 1992; Rohde et al. 1993; Colwell and Hurtt 1994; Roy et al. 1994; Ruggiero 1994; Smith et al. 1994; Rohde 1996; Rohde and Heap 1996). Although Rapoport’s rule has been tested on several groups in different regions, most of these studies have focused on animals (Rohde 1996; Rohde and Heap 1996), and few of them have been done for South America (Ruggiero 1994). A comparative study addressing the relationship between mean latitude and latitudinal range for one group of species in both South and North America has not been done. The purpose of this note is to examine the validity of Rapoport’s rule for species of columnar cacti along tropical-subtropical gradients in both South and North America. We chose this group of plants because they have been well col-

NEOLITHISATION AND MEGALITHIC ORIGINS IN NORTH-WESTERN FRANCE: A REGIONAL INTERACTION MODEL

Summary. This article reviews recent publications on Neolithic and Megalithic origins in North-Western France, and focuses on a debate within French archaeology between a ‘Parisian’ school, which emphasises the influence of Bandkeramik communities, and an ‘Atlantic’ school which emphasises contact along the Atlantic facade with Impressed Ware groups. It is argued that this debate is largely sterile, and an alternative model is proposed, stressing different forms of interaction between Neolithic and Mesolithic groups in different regions.

Understanding the attitude of multidisciplinary teams working in leprosy.

This study investigated the attitude of health personnel who were working for the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in India to their leprosy patients. These personnel were studied individually and as homogeneous groups so that comparisons were possible within and among the groups, and between the groups in different regions who were conducting similar health programmes, with a difference in length of between 1 and 5 years. The sample population was the NLEP employees of 2 state governments, consisting of 8 health professional groups. A questionnaire was developed for each of these groups to elicit information on 5 aspects of the relationships with their patients. The main outcome of the study was that two-thirds of the personnel tested possessed the 'minimum desirable' interaction with their patients. The quality of their relationships differed only among work specialities, but was consistent within the same speciality in different regions; this pattern was unchanged after 5 years of a multidrug (MDT) programme. A further analysis showed that although they possessed a caring attitude towards patients from low socioeconomic classes, a domineering attitude towards these same patients was also prevalent. Analysis according to speciality revealed that laboratory technicians had the highest "desirable attitude" (74.67%) and health educators had the lowest (57.5%), while the rest of the team members fell in between. The stigma shown towards leprosy was higher among doctors when compared to the rest of the team members. Discussion is based on the performance, overall and in each of its 5 facets, of each the professional groups with reference to their job descriptions and with similar studies undertaken earlier.

The Development of Theological Studies in Turkey

By establishing firmly-based states in various places and regions the Turkish nation, has continued to exist uninterrupted since the 7th century B.C. up to the present day always looking for a religion befitting its both national and individual character. On the strength of this various Turkish clans and groups in different regions, have embraced religions such as Animism, Shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism etc. For example, Khazar (Caspian) Turks, who founded a state on the coast of the Caspian Sea, to which they gave their name, accepted Christianity in 508. Furthermore, Islam began to spread amongst them when the Arabs attacked the Caucasus at the end of the 7th century A.D. This state of which Balanjar was the capital accepted Judaism as the offical religion. The Gagauz Turks who live in Rumania today are Orthodox Chirtians. They conduct services in their church in Turkish. Turkish states of Turkestan, began accepting Islam as their official religion towards the end of the 10th century A.D. The first Turkish Muslim state (Which existed from 840-1212) was that of the Karahanlis. The Turkish people, who set up this state, which was also called Ilek Hanlar, became Muslims collectively at the end of the 10th century. (in 940 A.D.) Turkish states after this date were all Muslim.

Reactivity of carboxylic acid and ester groups in the functionalized interfacial region of "polyethylene carboxylic acid" (PE-CO2H) its derivatives: differentiation of the functional groups into shallow and deep subsets based on a comparison of contact angle and ATR-IR measurements

We have differentiated the carboxylic acid groups present in the functionalized interface of “polyethylene carboxylic acid” (PE4O2H, a material prepared from low-density polyethylene film by reaction with aqueous chromic acid) into two subsets: those sufficiently close to the surface of the polymer to influence its wettability by water and those too deep to do so. This differentiation was accomplished by taking advantage of differences in rates of esterification of carboxylic acid groups in different regions of the functionalized interface and of differences in rates of hydrolysis of ester groups derived from them. The subset of functional groups influencing wettability comprises <30% of the total groups present in the functionalized interface and appears to be homogeneous in its chemical reactivity. The remaining groups (-70% of the total) do not directly influence wettability and appear to become less reactive with increasing depth in the polymer. The surface and subsurface carboxylic acid and ester moieties are both less reactive in hydrolysis and formation reactions than are these groups in organic molecules in solution. Reactivities of the interfacial functional groups depend on structure in ways having no analogy in reactions in solution. For example, the rate of base-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters present in the functionalized polymer interface is a strong function of the length of the alcohol component of the ester: n-octyl esters are more than 20000 times less reactive than methyl esters. We have also explored the acidity of the interfacial carboxylic acid groups using ATR-IR spectroscopy and contact angle measurements as probes. Both the local polarity of the environment of individual carboxylic acid groups and charge-charge interactions between carboxylate anions appear to be important in determining acidity. Comparisons of wettability of samples containing different proportions of carboxylic acid, carboxylate anion, and ester groups indicate that wettability is particularly sensitive to low concentrations of carboxylate anion. We hypothesize that this sensitivity reflects a limited ability of the functionalized interfacial region to reconstruct-perhaps only by small-amplitude rotations of its constituent carboxylate ions-in a way that minimizes its free energy by maximizing the number of these hydrophilic moieties in direct contact with the polar, aqueous liquid phase.