Seroprevalence and risk factors for toxoplasma infection among pregnant women in Aydin province, Turkey

BACKGROUND: The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women at first trimester of their pregnancy and to follow up the seroconversion for next two trimesters, and to identify the risk factors and possible contamination routes in Aydin province, Turkey. METHOD: The sample size was calculated as 423 on a prevalence of 50%, d=0.05 at a confidence level of 95% with 10% addition. It was a cross-sectional study with multistage sampling. After a questionnaire applied to the pregnant women, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were studied with ELISA and IFA, values in conflict with DA test, where IgM antibodies were studied with ELISA and for borderline or positive values of IgM avidity test was used. RESULTS: The mean age of 389 (92.9%) of pregnant women in the study was 24.28+/-4.56 years, the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies for toxoplasmosis was 30.1%. Seroprevalence was increased with age (p=0.001) and with drinking water consumption other than bottled water (p=0.042). No significant relations were observed between anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and education level, being native or migrant, abortion history, consumption of meat, vegetable and milk/milk products, personal or kitchen hygiene habits, cat owning at home of the pregnant women. No IgM antibody was detected. CONCLUSION: One of every three pregnant women in Aydin was at risk of toxoplasmosis at the first trimester of their pregnancy. Increased seroprevalance with age was a predictable result because of increasing time of exposure. Increased seroprevalence with consumption of municipal and uncontrolled water (well/spring water) supplies was similar with latest epidemiological findings

Children's traditional ecological knowledge of wild food resources: a case study in a rural village in Northeast Thailand

Consuming wild foods is part of the food ways of people in many societies, including farming populations throughout the world. Knowledge of non-domesticated food resources is part of traditional and tacit ecological knowledge, and is largely transmitted through socialization within cultural and household contexts. The context of this study, a small village in Northeast Thailand, is one where the community has experienced changes due to the migration of the parental generation, with the children being left behind in the village to be raised by their grandparents

Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge

On-site data cast doubts on the hypothesis of shifting cultivation in the Late Neolithic (c. 4300-2400 cal. BC): Landscape management as an alternative paradigm

This article brings together in a comprehensive way, and for the first time, on- and off-site palaeoenvironmental data from the area of the Central European lake dwellings (a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 2011). The types of data considered are as follows: high-resolution off-site pollen cores, including micro-charcoal counts, and on-site data, including botanical macro- and micro-remains, hand-collected animal bones, remains of microfauna, and data on woodland management (dendrotypology). The period considered is the late Neolithic (c. 4300–2400 cal. BC). For this period, especially for its earlier phases, discussions of land-use patterns are contradictory. Based on off-site data, slash-and-burn – as known from tropical regions – is thought to be the only possible way to cultivate the land. On-site data however show a completely different picture: all indications point to the permanent cultivation of cereals (Triticum spp., Hordeum vulgare), pea (Pisum sativum), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and opium-poppy (Papaver somniferum). Cycles of landscape use are traceable, including coppicing and moving around the landscape with animal herds. Archaeobiological studies further indicate also that hunting and gathering were an important component and that the landscape was manipulated accordingly. Late Neolithic land-use systems also included the use of fire as a tool for opening up the landscape. Here we argue that bringing together all the types of palaeoenvironmental proxies in an integrative way allows us to draw a more comprehensive and reliable picture of the land-use systems in the late Neolithic than had been reconstructed previously largely on the basis of off-site data

Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used in Palestine (Northern West Bank): A comparative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A comparative food ethnobotanical study was carried out in fifteen local communities distributed in five districts in the Palestinian Authority, PA (northern West Bank), six of which were located in Nablus, two in Jenin, two in Salfit, three in Qalqilia, and two in Tulkarm. These are among the areas in the PA whose rural inhabitants primarily subsisted on agriculture and therefore still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on the use of wild edible plants were collected for one-year period, through informed consent semi-structured interviews with 190 local informants. A semi-quantitative approach was used to document use diversity, and relative importance of each species.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>The study recorded 100 wild edible plant species, seventy six of which were mentioned by three informants and above and were distributed across 70 genera and 26 families. The most significant species include <it>Majorana syriaca, Foeniculum vulgare, Malvasylvestris</it>, <it>Salvia fruticosa, Cyclamen persicum, Micromeria fruticosa, Arum palaestinum, Trigonella foenum-graecum</it>, <it>Gundelia tournefortii</it>, and <it>Matricaria aurea</it>. All the ten species with the highest mean cultural importance values (mCI), were cited in all five areas. Moreover, most were important in every region. A common cultural background may explain these similarities. One taxon (<it>Majoranasyriaca</it>) in particular was found to be among the most quoted species in almost all areas surveyed. CI values, as a measure of traditional botanical knowledge, for edible species in relatively remote and isolated areas (Qalqilia, and Salfit) were generally higher than for the same species in other areas. This can be attributed to the fact that local knowledge of wild edible plants and plant gathering are more spread in remote or isolated areas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gathering, processing and consuming wild edible plants are still practiced in all the studied Palestinian areas. About 26 % (26/100) of the recorded wild botanicals including the most quoted and with highest mCI values, are currently gathered and utilized in all the areas, demonstrating that there are ethnobotanical contact points among the various Palestinian regions. The habit of using wild edible plants is still alive in the PA, but is disappearing. Therefore, the recording, preserving, and infusing of this knowledge to future generations is pressing and fundamental.</p

Middle-status conformity revisited: The interplay between achieved and ascribed status

Decisions about conforming to or deviating from conventional practices in a field is an important concern of organization and management theory. The position that actors occupy in the status hierarchy has been shown to be an important determinant of these decisions. The dominant hypothesis, known as middle-status-conformity, posits that middle-status actors are more likely to conform to conventional practices than high- and low-status actors do. We challenge this hypothesis by revisiting its fundamental assumptions and developing a theory where actors’ propensity to conform based on their achieved status further depends on their ascribed status that actors inherit from their social group. Specifically, we propose that middle-status conformity applies only to actors who have a sense of security, based on their high ascribed status. For actors with low ascribed status, we propose that high-and low-status actors show greater conformity than middle-status actors. We test our hypotheses using data from the U.S. symphony orchestras from 1918 to 1969

Trust Between International Joint Venture Partners: Effects of Home Countries

Trust is an important factor in interorganizational relations. Interorganizational trust in cross-border relationships is likely to be influenced by the home countries of both partners. Using data on 165 international joint ventures (IJVs), we show that the perceived trustworthiness of an IJV partner is influenced by the general propensity to trust in the trustor's home country. Moreover, the trustworthiness perceived by a focal parent firm is also affected by the home country of the other IJV partner. This second effect is mitigated by experience between the partners