145 research outputs found

    The role of traditional land use systems in the well-being of rural Timor-Leste

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    Natural ecosystems and traditional land use systems have an important role in the life and well being of the rural population of Timor-Leste. The land itself is the support of natural ecosystems and subsistence agriculture of rural populations of East Timor and is the main focus of this research. This paper is part of work in progress. Our research, located in rural Timor-Leste focuses on land tenure, rural family income and the mechanisms that will induce changes in the rules of traditional society organisation. The main objectives of this paper are: 1) to identify the different land use patterns of Timor-Leste; 2) to identify the goods and services produced by them and 3) to relate the services produced by land use patterns with the well-being of Timor-Leste rural population. This paper is based on a multidisciplinary approach incorporating contributions from several fields of knowledge, and uses documentary sources, direct observations made in various periods in the field and interviews conducted in 2003, 2009 and 2010. We identify as the main land use patterns in Timor-Leste the following ones: natural and semi-natural ecosystems, subsistence agriculture, sacred, housing and basic infrastructures and Industries and services. For Timor-Leste rural communities the above land use patterns produce a set of goods and services, which can be classified as supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural goods and services, and those are essential for their survival and well-being. The conceptual framework used to examine the above mentioned issues is the human rights approach to development within which human rights are considered as means and objectives of development as much as economic purposes.Timor-Leste, land use patterns, ecosystems goods and services, well-being.

    L'exemple des communes d'EnsuĂšs la Redonne et du Rove (Bouches-du-RhĂŽne)

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    Kantian Meadows: A Just Nursing Home Grounded in the Categorical Imperative

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    This dissertation examines the structures of contemporary nursing homes and argues that the structure is conducive to the objectification (treatment of a human being as a non-person) of nursing home residents. In order to eliminate the potential for objectification, this project employs the Kantian categorical imperative as its theoretical framework. Based on that framework Kantian Meadows is created as an example of a just nursing home

    Portable infrared pupillometry in critical care

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    Infrared pupillometry was introduced in 1962 but portable instruments that use this technology have only recently become available in the hospital setting. Questions surrounding the accuracy of these instruments have been addressed by documenting the inter-observer agreement on pupillary measurements and also by comparisons with standard pen-light examinations. The following commentary summarizes the development of these devices and provides a wider perspective on how the pupil and its reflexes might be used in providing care for patients with critical illness

    Dynamics of serum antibodies to and load of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) in pigs in three finishing herds, affected or not by postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome

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    Background: Despite that PMWS commonly affects pigs aged eight to sixteen weeks; most studies of PMWS have been conducted during the period before transfer to finishing herds. This study focused on PCV2 load and antibody dynamics in finishing herds with different PMWS status. Methods: Sequentially collected blood samples from 40 pigs in each of two Swedish (A and B) and one Norwegian (C) finishing herds were analysed for serum PCV2-load and -antibodies and saliva cortisol. The two Swedish herds differed in PMWS status, despite receiving animals from the same sow pool (multi-site production). However, the PMWS-deemed herd (A) had previously also received pigs from the spot market. ResultsThe initial serum PCV2 load was similar in the two Swedish herds. In herd A, it peaked after two weeks in the finishing herd and a high number of the pigs had serum PCV2 levels above 10(7) per ml. The antibody titres increased continually with exception for the pigs that developed PMWS, that had initially low and then declining antibody levels. Pigs in the healthy herd B also expressed high titres of antibodies to PCV2 on arrival but remained at that level throughout the study whereas the viral load steadily decreased. No PCV2 antibodies and only low amounts of PCV2 DNA were detected in serum collected during the first five weeks in the PMWS-free herd C. Thereafter a peak in serum PCV2 load accompanied by an antibody response was recorded. PCV2 from the two Swedish herds grouped into genotype PCV2b whereas the Norwegian isolate grouped into PCV2a. Cortisol levels were lower in herd C than in herds A and B. Conclusions: The most obvious difference between the Swedish finishing herds and the Norwegian herd was the time of infection with PCV2 in relation to the time of allocation, as well as the genotype of PCV2. Clinical PMWS was preceded by low levels of serum antibodies and a high load of PCV2 but did not develop in all such animals. It is notable that herd A became affected by PMWS after errors in management routine, emphasising the importance of proper hygiene and general disease-preventing measures

    Population genetic structure of the malaria vector Anopheles nili in sub-Saharan Africa

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Anopheles nili </it>is a widespread efficient vector of human malaria parasites in the humid savannas and forested areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding <it>An. nili </it>population structure and gene flow patterns could be useful for the development of locally-adapted vector control measures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Polymorphism at eleven recently developed microsatelitte markers, and sequence variation in four genes within the 28s rDNA subunit (ITS2 and D3) and mtDNA (COII and ND4) were assessed to explore the level of genetic variability and differentiation among nine populations of <it>An. nili </it>from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All microsatellite loci successfully amplified in all populations, showing high and very similar levels of genetic diversity in populations from West Africa and Cameroon (mean Rs = 8.10-8.88, mean He = 0.805-0.849) and much lower diversity in the Kenge population from DRC (mean Rs = 5.43, mean He = 0.594). Bayesian clustering analysis of microsatellite allelic frequencies revealed two main genetic clusters in the dataset. The first one included only the Kenge population and the second grouped together all other populations. High Fst estimates based on microsatellites (Fst > 0.118, P < 0.001) were observed in all comparisons between Kenge and all other populations. By contrast, low Fst estimates (Fst < 0.022, P < 0.05) were observed between populations within the second cluster. The correlation between genetic and geographic distances was weak and possibly obscured by demographic instability. Sequence variation in mtDNA genes matched these results, whereas low polymorphism in rDNA genes prevented detection of any population substructure at this geographical scale.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, high genetic homogeneity of the <it>An. nili </it>gene pool was found across its distribution range in West and Central Africa, although demographic events probably resulted in a higher level of genetic isolation in the marginal population of Kenge (DRC). The role of the equatorial forest block as a barrier to gene flow and the implication of such findings for vector control are discussed.</p
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