LAND REFORM AND RURAL WELL BEING IN THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA: 1996-2003

Land reform was launched in the Republic of Georgia in 1992, about a year after the country gained its independence from the Soviet Union. While an impressive land individualization process has been in effect since then, the pace and the performance of this process are far from satisfactory. This is due to a combination of institutional and economic constraints. We use comparable survey data from 1996 and 2003 and show that the land reform has been progressing mainly through land leasing. This allows successful farm households to expand their farming operation and improve their well-being. Land documentation doesn’t seem to yield the expected results, and the blame may be on less than sufficient labor and credit opportunities. We conclude that there is scope for continuing the process of land reform in Georgia, but this has to be accompanied by measures to develop rural credit and labor markets.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use,

Development of Individual Farming in Georgia: Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons

The purpose of this paper is to examine the situation of individual farms in Georgia using a survey conducted in 2003, in comparison to a similar survey conducted in 1996. The basic issue investigated is the progress of the land individualization process, and the consequences of this process for the development of the agricultural sector, and more generally for the well-being of farm families and rural poverty. We found significant changes in the farm sector. In particular, average landholdings have increased, mainly through leasing of plots. There is more specialization, with some farmers not producing at all and others expanding. Profits and income have deteriorated markedly, and many producers did not even sell their produce on the market. Those producers who leased land were much more likely to sell their produce on the market and they also had higher incomes and relied less on off-farm income and social assistance payments. Still, fewer than 15% of the farmers lease land. While the average age of the population has increased, the level of schooling declined. This indicates a possible “brain drain” process of selective outmigration. Another worrying implication of the income situation is the increase in the incidence of child labor. These findings indicate that the potential of increased land transactions is still there, and a continuing specialization process that will enable successful farmers to acquire more land could improve the economic well-being of farm families even in a period of depressed produce prices.Individual Farming, Georgia

Reduction of thermal conductivity in phononic nanomesh structures

Controlling the thermal conductivity of a material independently of its electrical conductivity continues to be a goal for researchers working on thermoelectric materials for use in energy applications and in the cooling of integrated circuits. In principle, the thermal conductivity κ and the electrical conductivity σ may be independently optimized in semiconducting nanostructures because different length scales are associated with phonons (which carry heat) and electric charges (which carry current). Phonons are scattered at surfaces and interfaces, so κ generally decreases as the surface-to-volume ratio increases. In contrast, σ is less sensitive to a decrease in nanostructure size, although at sufficiently small sizes it will degrade through the scattering of charge carriers at interfaces. Here, we demonstrate an approach to independently controlling κ based on altering the phonon band structure of a semiconductor thin film through the formation of a phononic nanomesh film. These films are patterned with periodic spacings that are comparable to, or shorter than, the phonon mean free path. The nanomesh structure exhibits a substantially lower thermal conductivity than an equivalently prepared array of silicon nanowires, even though this array has a significantly higher surface-to-volume ratio. Bulk-like electrical conductivity is preserved. We suggest that this development is a step towards a coherent mechanism for lowering thermal conductivity

Loma Linda University Dentistry - Volume 25, Number 1

Content: 8 | Ronald Secor Departs9 | Introducing Euni Cho12 | New Positions: Jessica Kim & Bonnie Retamozo14 | Natural Crowns as Provisional Restorations19 | A Generation of Implant Dentistry24 | Nick Caplanis Elected President, American Academy of Implant Dentistry36 | LLUSD at ADA in New Orleanshttps://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/articulator/1006/thumbnail.jp

Paley-Wiener theorems with convex weight functions

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Development of Individual Farming in Georgia: Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons

The purpose of this paper is to examine the situation of individual farms in Georgia using a survey conducted in 2003, in comparison to a similar survey conducted in 1996. The basic issue investigated is the progress of the land individualization process, and the consequences of this process for the development of the agricultural sector, and more generally for the well-being of farm families and rural poverty. We found significant changes in the farm sector. In particular, average landholdings have increased, mainly through leasing of plots. There is more specialization, with some farmers not producing at all and others expanding. Profits and income have deteriorated markedly, and many producers did not even sell their produce on the market. Those producers who leased land were much more likely to sell their produce on the market and they also had higher incomes and relied less on off-farm income and social assistance payments. Still, fewer than 15% of the farmers lease land. While the average age of the population has increased, the level of schooling declined. This indicates a possible “brain drain” process of selective outmigration. Another worrying implication of the income situation is the increase in the incidence of child labor. These findings indicate that the potential of increased land transactions is still there, and a continuing specialization process that will enable successful farmers to acquire more land could improve the economic well-being of farm families even in a period of depressed produce prices

Development of Individual Farming in Georgia: Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons

The purpose of this paper is to examine the situation of individual farms in Georgia using a survey conducted in 2003, in comparison to a similar survey conducted in 1996. The basic issue investigated is the progress of the land individualization process, and the consequences of this process for the development of the agricultural sector, and more generally for the well-being of farm families and rural poverty. We found significant changes in the farm sector. In particular, average landholdings have increased, mainly through leasing of plots. There is more specialization, with some farmers not producing at all and others expanding. Profits and income have deteriorated markedly, and many producers did not even sell their produce on the market. Those producers who leased land were much more likely to sell their produce on the market and they also had higher incomes and relied less on off-farm income and social assistance payments. Still, fewer than 15% of the farmers lease land. While the average age of the population has increased, the level of schooling declined. This indicates a possible “brain drain” process of selective outmigration. Another worrying implication of the income situation is the increase in the incidence of child labor. These findings indicate that the potential of increased land transactions is still there, and a continuing specialization process that will enable successful farmers to acquire more land could improve the economic well-being of farm families even in a period of depressed produce prices

Conceptual Representations of Action in the Lateral Temporal Cortex

Retrieval of conceptual information from action pictures causes greater activation than from object pictures bilaterally in human motion areas (MT/MST) and nearby temporal regions. By contrast, retrieval of conceptual information from action words causes greater activation in left middle and superior temporal gyri, anterior and dorsal to the MT/MST. We performed two fMRI experiments to replicate and extend these findings regarding action words. In the first experiment, subjects performed conceptual judgments of action and object words under conditions that stressed visual semantic information. Under these conditions, action words again activated posterior temporal regions close to, but not identical with, the MT/MST. In the second experiment, we included conceptual judgments of manipulable object words in addition to judgments of action and animal words. Both action and manipulable object judgments caused greater activity than animal judgments in the posterior middle temporal gyrus. Both of these experiments support the hypothesis that middle temporal gyrus activation is related to accessing conceptual information about motion attributes, rather than alternative accounts on the basis of lexical or grammatical factors. Furthermore, these experiments provide additional support for the notion of a concrete to abstract gradient of motion representations with the lateral occipitotemporal cortex, extending anterior and dorsal from the MT/MST towards the peri-sylvian cortex

Facial implant gingival level and thickness changes following maxillary anterior immediate tooth replacement with scarf-connective tissue graft: A 4-13-year retrospective study

ObjectiveA scarf-shaped connective tissue graft can be placed at the facial and proximal aspect of the peri-implant soft tissue zone during immediate implant placement and provisionalization (IIPP) procedures in the esthetic zone to optimize implant esthetics without the need of flap reflection. This retrospective study evaluated soft tissue stability after scarf-connective tissue graft (S-CTG) in conjunction with IIPP procedures in the esthetic zone. Materials and MethodsPatients who received IIPP with S-CTG with a minimum 1-year follow-up were evaluated. Mid-facial gingival level (MFGL) change and mid-facial gingival thickness (MFGT) change were measured and compared at the pre-op (T0), IIPP + S-CTG surgery (T1), follow up appointment with MFGT measurement (T2), and latest follow-up appointment (T3). Implant success rate and graft necrosis were also recorded. ResultsA total of 22 IIPP and S-CTG procedures in 20 patients were evaluated in the study. After a mean follow-up of 8.2 years (3.9-13.4) (T3), all implants remained osseointegrated (22/22 [100%]), with statistically insignificant mean midfacial gingival level change of -0.19 mm (-1.5 to 0.8). Statistically significant difference in midfacial gingival thickness (MFGT) was noted (2.5 mm [1.8-3.5 mm]) after a mean follow-up time (T2) of 2.3 years (1-8.6) when compared with MFGT at baseline (1.1 mm [0.6-1.3 mm]) (T1). Necrosis of S-CTG during initial healing phase was noted in 9% (2/22) of the sites. ConclusionsWithin the confines of this study, scarf-connective tissue graft at time of immediate implant placement and provisionalization can thicken the gingiva and maintain the gingival level at the critical soft tissue zone. Clinical SignificanceManaging the soft tissue zone is as important as that of the hard tissue zone for peri-implant esthetics. Connective tissue graft is one of the methods that can enhance the final esthetic outcomes. This retrospective study has demonstrated that Scarf-CTG technique is an effective treatment modality to maintain soft tissue stability

Production and optimization of 198/199 gold nanoparticles for potential use in cancer therapy [abstract]

Abstract only availableRadiopharmaceuticals are used to diagnose and treat a number of diseases such as bone cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A radiopharmaceutical typically consists of a targeting molecule that selectively targets certain tumors. The targeting molecule is labeled with a radioactive atom(s) that delivers a dose of radiation to the tumor. The radioactive properties of Au-198 ([beta]- = 0.96 MeV; [gamma] = 411 KeV) and Au-199 ([beta]- = 0.45 MeV; [gamma] = 158 KeV) with their beta (therapeutic) and gamma (imaging) emission make them valuable candidates for both therapeutic and imaging applications. Gold nanoparticles have several properties that make them particularly interesting for use in radiopharmaceuticals. They are stable in vivo, have multiple atoms per particle and are small enough in size to deliver a radioactive dose directly to cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the binding properties of the nanoparticles with reducing and stabilizing agents. This knowledge will aid in future attempts to label the particles with various antibodies and peptides for tumor targeted delivery of the drug. Next, investigate the relationship between particle size and the amount of reducing agent used was studied with varying amounts and types of carbohydrate stabilizers. Our goal is to establish a library of nanoparticles with varying sizes that can be conjugated with different biomolecules that are selective for receptors over expressed by the diseased tissue. In future studies we also plan to pursue an indirect method of preparing radioactive Au-199 nanoparticles at carrier free levels from beta decay of Pt-199.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra