Conservation agriculture in the dry Mediterranean climate

The objective of this article is to review: (a) the concepts and principles that underpin Conservation Agriculture (CA) ecologically and operationally; (b) the potential benefits that can be harnessed through CA systems in the dry Mediterranean climates; (c) current status of adoption and spread of CA in the dry Mediterranean climate countries; and (d) opportunities for CA in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region. CA, comprising minimum mechanical soil disturbance and no-tillage seeding, organic mulch cover, and crop diversification is now practised on some 125 million ha, corresponding to about 9% of the global arable cropped land. Globally, the area under CA is spread across all continents and all agro-ecologies, including the dryland climates in the Mediterranean basin region as well as in the Mediterranean climates elsewhere in the world. Worldwide empirical and scientific evidence is available to show that significant productivity, economic, social and environmental benefits exist that can be harnessed through the adoption of CA principles for sustainable production intensification in the dry Mediterranean climates, including those in the CWANA region. The benefits include: fundamental change for the better in the sustainability of production systems and ecosystem services; higher stable yields and incomes; climate change adaptation and reduced vulnerability to the highly erratic rainfall distribution; and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. CA has taken off globally and is now spreading in several Mediterranean climates outside the Mediterranean basin particularly in South America, South Africa and Australia. In the dry Mediterranean climates in the CWANA region, CA is perceived to be a powerful tool of land management but CA has not yet taken off. Research on CA in the CWANA region has shown that there are opportunities for CA adoption in rainfed and irrigated farming systems involving arable and perennial crops as well as livestock

ESG in the financial industry: What matters for rating analysts?

This paper examines ESG rating analysts' views from Sustainalytics in order to highlight the main ESG features discussed across 11 sectors. We perform a topic modeling and a sentiment analysis to identify the content of analysts' opinions on the companies' ESG performance and to uncover the embedded sentiment associated with each ESG feature. The results of the topic modeling consist of 13 topics with a sector driven distribution. The analysis suggests that the best ESG performing financial institutions show to be actively committed to the code of best practice in governance and disclosure transparency. Whereas penalized financial entities seem to manifest less attention to ethical conduct and mis-selling. Furthermore, data privacy and security attract analysts' attention and should be closely monitored by financial entities. Finally, it is important to actively disclose ESG activities as the more information is available the better ESG commitment is reflected in analysts' views

Facteurs Predictifs De Malignite D\'un Nodule Thyroidien

Buts : étudier les facteurs prédictifs de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens et comparer nos résultats à ceux de la littérature. Patients et méthodes : Il s\'agit d\'une étude rétrospective a propos de 282 cas de nodules thyroïdiens opérés à l\' hôpital de Mahdia entre 1988 et 2003. Résultats : L\'âge moyen était de 44 ans. Le risque de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens était de 15,6% . Ce risque était plus important chez les hommes (50%) que chez les femmes (13,3%). Certains facteurs étaient hautement prédictifs de malignité comme l\'âge supérieur à 60 ans, les signes de compression, les adénopathies cervicales et le caractère fixe et dure du nodule thyroidien Conclusion : Certains signes cliniques et para cliniques ont une grande valeur en matière de bénignité ou de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens.Aim : Study the predictive factors of malignancy of thyroid gland nodules and compare our results to those of the literature. Patients and methods : A retrospective study about 282 cases of thyroid gland nodules treated in Madhya hospital between 1988 and 2003. Results : The middle age was 44 years. The risk of malignancy was 15,6 %. This risk was higher in men (50 %) then in women (13,3 %). Some factors were highly predictive of malignancy like age superior then 60 years, neck lymph nodes … Conclusion: Some clinic and para clinic signs have an important value in benignancy or malignancy of thyroid gland nodules. Journal Tunisien d\'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale Vol. 18 2007: pp. 20-2

Benign osteoblastoma in an unusual mastoid location

SummaryIntroductionBenign osteoblastoma (OB) is an unusual primary bone tumor. The preferred locations are the posterior arch of vertebrae and long bones. We report herein an extremely rare location of an OB in the mastoid process of the temporal bone.Case reportA 22-year-old woman presented with painful left retro-auricular swelling. Computed tomography features were suggestive of an aggressive osteolytic lesion of the left mastoid. The pathologic examination of bone curettage material revealed a benign OB. A complete resection of the tumor was performed later, with no evidence of recurrence at 1 year.Discussion/ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the 14th reported case of OB confined to the mastoid process of temporal bone. Its histological diagnosis can be difficult and osteosarcoma is its principal differential diagnosis. Although generally regarded as benign, OB has potential for recurrence and local invasion. As such, complete resection, whenever possible, is preferred over conventional curettage

Knowledge assessment and sharing on sustainable agriculture. Main lessons.

1 CD-ROM. Projeto DG-Research - Contract nº GOCE-CT-2004-505582

Knowledge assessment and sharing on sustainable agriculture. Main results, gaps in knowledge and challenges in the Latin American platform.

1 CD-ROM. Projeto DG-Research - Contract nº GOCE-CT-2004-505582

La mucormycose nasosinusienne: Diagnostic et modalites therapeutiques

La mucormycose est une infection fongique rare qui touche essentiellement les sujets immunodéprimés et notamment diabétiques. La localisation de cette maladie est surtout nasosinusienne. Son pronostic reste mauvais malgré le développement des moyens de prise en charge. Nous rapportons deux cas de mucormycose nasosinusienne à travers lesquels nous discutons les aspects cliniques et radiologiques, ainsi que les moyens thérapeutiques de cette maladie. Il s’agit d’un homme et d’une femme âgés respectivement de 56 et 52 ans. Le premier était diabétique et la deuxième insuffisante rénale. L’évolution était lente dans le premier cas et très rapide dans le deuxième. Le diagnostic était dans les deux cas histologique. L’évolution était, dans le premier cas, favorable après traitement associant débridement chirurgical et amphotéricine B, et dans le second rapidement fatale. Conclusion : La mucormycose nasosinusienne est une affection grave dont le pronostic peut être mauvais malgré le traitement.Mots clés : Infection fongique, mucormycose rhinocérébrale, zygomycètes

Cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered domestic ruminants from Tunisia

A total of 10,818 domestic ruminants (3913 cattle, 2722 sheep, 3779 goats, 404 dromedaries) slaughtered in various abattoirs in Tunisia between 2003 and 2010 were examined for the presence of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cysts. The prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) was 16.42% in sheep, 8.56% in cattle, 5.94% in dromedaries and 2.88% in goats. CE prevalence increased with age according to an asymptotic model and there was evidence of variation in infection pressure depending on the region of Tunisia where the animals were slaughtered. Cattle appeared to have the highest infection pressure of the species examined. The mean intensity of hepatic cysts was higher than that of pulmonary cysts in all species. The highest mean intensity of infection with E. granulosus larvae was observed in cattle (18.14) followed by sheep (9.58), goats (2.31) and dromedaries (2.12). The abundance of infection increased in a linear fashion with age in all animal species. Cyst abundance varied with species of animal and district of Tunisia. Cysts from dromedaries were more fertile (44.44%) than those from sheep (30.25%), goats (30.32%) and cattle (0.95%). The viability of the protoscoleces from fertile cysts from cattle (78.45%) was higher than those from sheep (70.71%) and camels (69.57%). The lowest protoscolex viability was recorded for hydatid cysts from goats (20.21%). This epidemiological study confirms the importance of CE in all domestic ruminant species, particularly in sheep, throughout Tunisia and emphasizes the need to interrupt parasite transmission by preventive integrated approaches in a CE control programm