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At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Landscape changes in the Mullica River basin of the Pinelands National Reserve, New Jersey, USA.

In 1979, the Pinelands Commission was established as a regional land-use planning and regulatory agency charged with the implementation of a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the Pinelands National Reserve (New Jersey, USA). The CMP was created to balance land preservation and development interests in the Reserve. Because water-quality degradation from developed and agricultural landscapes is associated with changes in the composition of biological communities, monitoring landscape changes provides one of the most direct measures of the impact of land-use policies on the Pinelands ecosystem. In this study, we prepared detailed, land-cover maps within randomly selected aerial-photograph plots for a major watershed in the Reserve. We used these land-cover maps to quantify changes in landscape composition and structure (i.e., patch size, patch area, and number of patches) and characterize land-cover transitions in the basin between 1979 and 1991. Because the study period represented the first 12 years of the regional-planning effort in the Reserve, we evaluated the relationship between land-cover transitions and Commission management-area designations which permit different land-use intensities. Although the landscape composition was similar in 1979 and 1991, we found an increase in the total area and number of developed-land, managed-grassland, and barren-land patches. An increase in the number of patches and a decrease in the total area and median and third-quartile patch sizes for forest land and for all patches regardless of cover type indicated that fragmentation of forest land and the landscape as a whole occurred during the study period. The major land-cover transitions that occurred during the period were the loss of forest land to development and associated cover types and the conversion of one agricultural type to another. Overall, land-cover transitions during the period were found to be consistent with the Commission management-area designations, which indicated that the regional-planning effort has been successful in directing human activities to appropriate areas of the basin.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2003

Yield effects of genetically modified crops in developing countries.

Onfarm field trials carried out with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton in different states of India show that the technology substantially reduces pest damage and increases yields. The yield gains are much higher than what has been reported for other countries where genetically modified crops were used mostly to replace and enhance chemical pest control. In many developing countries, small-scale farmers especially suffer big pest-related yield losses because of technical and economic constraints. Pest-resistant genetically modified crops can contribute to increased yields and agricultural growth in those situations, as the case of Bt cotton in India demonstrates.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1996

Policy considerations for a realistic approach to hunger in Nigeria.

Hunger is usually caused by a break down in the food security mechanisms of a society and lack of purchasing power. In Nigeria, food shortages have become common since 1972, culminating in the food crises of the 1980s, made worse by the implementation of a macroeconomic economic adjustment policy in 1986. The paper confirms the hunger situation and presents evidence to show that it is of wider significance than hitherto acknowledged. The paper proposes policy options to tackle the situation and these include the development of agriculture to attain self-sufficiency in staple food production which must be backed by political will using a widely accepted framework and well articulated set of programmes and strategies borne out or consensus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

[Objectives of education for health].

The health concept has recently acquired a new dimension which reflects in health education. To its fundamental objective which is the control of disease must not be added an improved quality of life. Health education must create a turn of mind in order to suppress a number of avoidable risks. It is at the root of prevention which should be based on precise epidemiological data. Health education also plays a role in the socio-economic development of nations. All aspects of development: education, agriculture, public works, health and economy are interrelated. The health of a community depends on a number of decision taken in various sectors. The author who acted as health advisor to several developing countries proposed, with little success, the creation of interministerial committees to coordinate different sectors which all can make contribution to better health. Health education is one of the factors of development because it contributes to: increase the efficacy of health services, curative as well as preventive; to improve productivity by reducing occupational diseases and accidents; to change the social climate of communities by getting the people to participate in finding solutions to their own health problems. Moreover, health education needs to be effective on a nationwide scale to be supported by health authorities. This is also one of the points made in the editorial (p. 4) to explain certain failures due to the absence of policy support.

Community Participation↗
PubMed2006

Biofortification of staple food crops.

Deficiencies of vitamin A, iron, and zinc affect over one-half of the world's population. Progress has been made to control micronutrient deficiencies through supplementation and food fortification, but new approaches are needed, especially to reach the rural poor. Biofortification (enriching the nutrition contribution of staple crops through plant breeding) is one option. Scientific evidence shows this is technically feasible without compromising agronomic productivity. Predictive cost-benefit analyses also support biofortification as being important in the armamentarium for controlling micronutrient deficiencies. The challenge is to get producers and consumers to accept biofortified crops and increase their intake of the target nutrients. With the advent of good seed systems, the development of markets and products, and demand creation, this can be achieved.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1996

Awareness, preparedness and adjustment measures of river-bank erosion-prone people: a case study.

People prone to the effects of river-bank erosion are well aware of the hazard they face, but see it as an unavoidable evil. Communities' lack of success in combating erosion can be attributed to their poverty and to their not knowing about any means to mitigate its effects. Households in safer areas have reduced their dependency on agriculture and developed more scope for non-farm activities, however, this is often difficult given the limited development of local enterprise. The major parameters that influence the adjustment measures after erosion are the education, skills, occupation and financial state of those affected. Those most vulnerable are households very much dependent on agriculture: for them resettlement to distant urban areas is not an option.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1991

[The occurrence of diabetes and organization of diabetes health services in Yugoslavia].

According of data of the antidiabetic medical service, in Yugoslavia there are registered 380,000 patients with diabetes. This makes 1.70% of total population. In northern parts of the country, with a higher development of agriculture, industrialization and urbanisation, the prevalence of diabetes is over 2%. In southern parts, mostly highlands, the prevalence of diabetes is less than 1%. According to needs, the antidiabetic medical service is better in developed parts of the country with higher prevalence of diabetes. Altogether in Yugoslavia, there are 8 central institutions for diabetes and endocrinology, 81 dispensaries, and 130 out-patients units for diabetics. The antidiabetic medical service is in progress, qualitatively and quantitatively, along with the progress of the prevalence and incidence of diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus↗
PubMed2005

Soil health -- a new challenge for microbiologists and chemists.

Soil health refers to the biological, chemical, and physical features of soil that are essential to long-term, sustainable agricultural productivity with minimal environmental impact. Thus, soil health provides an overall picture of soil functionality. Although it cannot be measured directly, soil health can be inferred by measuring specific soil properties (e.g. organic matter content) and by observing soil status (e.g. fertility). There is also increased interest in studying soil microorganisms in their particular environments, as microbial diversity is intimately related to soil structure and function. One of the key objectives in determining soil health is to acquire indicators that can be used to evaluate the soil's current status and hence to develop sustainable agricultural systems. In this regard, significant progress has been made over the last few years in the development of specific biomarkers and macromolecular probes, enabling rapid and reliable measurements of soil microbial communities. In addition, modern molecular biological techniques, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), have facilitated the analysis of microbial biodiversity and activity, whereas the application of modern analytical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), have provided data on soil chemistry. The combination of these two approaches offers promise in determining soil health status.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2003

Homogeneity check of agricultural and food industries samples using near infrared spectroscopy.

Samples distributed in proficiency testing schemes (PTS) need to be homogeneous in order to be sure that if a laboratory has a result different from the other laboratories, its error can be attributed to its analysis method and not to its sample. This control must be done according to the ISO 13528 draft standard before sending the samples to the laboratories. It can be done by determining homogeneity targets by sub-contracting to accredited laboratories using reference methods, but this engenders logistic and financial problems. That is why a homogeneity check using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) has been developed for agricultural and food industries samples prepared for PTS at Bipea (Bureau Interprofessionnel d'Etudes Analytiques). To evaluate the homogeneity among samples, this procedure involves a comparison of NIR spectra, the determination of global homogeneity criteria and the use of control charts. The method of control developed and carried out at Bipea allows the rapid and easy monitoring of the performance of the sample preparation.

Crops, Agricultural↗
PubMed2003

Ventomod: a dynamic model for leaf to fruit transfer of radionuclides in processing tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) following a direct contamination event.

This paper presents results on the calibration and validation of a model (Ventomod) for leaf to fruit transfer of (134)Cs, (85)Sr and (65)Zn in processing tomato plants after leaf contamination. Several models (e.g. FARMLAND) that deal specifically with the transfer of radionuclides to fruits are adaptations of models that were developed for agricultural crops such as leafy green vegetables. "Ventomod" represents a dynamic evaluation model exclusively built for the short-term behaviour of radionuclide depositions. It forecasts the level of radionuclide contamination in ripe processing tomato fruits following an accidental radionuclide release into the atmosphere. A validation of the developed model by data sets from an independent experiment showed that the model successfully reproduced the observed radionuclide distribution and dynamics in tomato fruits. The level of uncertainty was within the normal range of similar assessment models. For a more general use of this model further testing with independent data sets from experiments obtained under different environmental conditions and data from other horticulturally important plant species would be desirable.

Agriculture↗