What drives farmers to make top-down or bottom-up adaptation to climate change and fluctuations?:A comparative study on 3 cases of apple farming in Japan and South Africa

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. Farmers have been exposed to multiple stressors including climate change, and they have managed to adapt to those risks. The adaptation actions undertaken by farmers and their decision making are, however, only poorly understood. By studying adaptation practices undertaken by apple farmers in three regions: Nagano and Kazuno in Japan and Elgin in South Africa, we categorize the adaptation actions into two types: farmer initiated bottom-up adaptation and institution led top-down adaptation. We found that the driver which differentiates the type of adaptation likely adopted was strongly related to the farmers' characteristics, particularly their dependence on the institutions, e.g. the farmers' cooperative, in selling their products. The farmers who rely on the farmers' cooperative for their sales are likely to adopt the institution-led adaptation, whereas the farmers who have established their own sales channels tend to start innovative actions by bottom-up. We further argue that even though the two types have contrasting features, the combinations of the both types of adaptations could lead to more successful adaptation particularly in agriculture. This study also emphasizes that more farm-level studies for various crops and regions are warranted to provide substantial feedbacks to adaptation policy

The development and application of single particle mass spectrometry techniques for the analysis of pharmaceutical aerosols

Single particle mass spectrometry techniques were applied to the analysis of aerosol particles originating from inhaler devices, used to deliver pharmaceuticals for the treatment of lung disease such as asthma.The inhalation products studied were Seretide® for which the formulated drug product is composed of a blend of fluticasone propionate (FP) which is a corticosteroid and salmeterol xinofoate (SX) which is a long acting f3- agonist. It has been suggested previously that the formation of particles that are composed of both FP and SX by coassociation can give improved efficacy: however in the past it has been difficult to analyze this type of co- associated particle. Hence, the purpose of the work described in this thesis was to develop single particle mass spectrometry methods that could assess the degree of co- association between FP and SX in fine aerosolized particles emitted from the inhaler devices.Two types of inhaler device were investigated and these were pressurized metered dose inhalers ( pMDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs). The formulated product for pMDIs was a blend of FP and SX held in a suspension of propellant in a pressurized canister. The formulated product for the DPIs is comprised of a blend of FP and SX and an excipient lactose.Two commercial single particle mass spectrometers were used in this work; an Aerosol Time -of- Flight Mass Spectrometer (TSI, Shoreview, MN, USA) and an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Aerodyne, Billerica, MA, USA). Although the general layout of these instruments was similar in that they are both comprised of an inlet, a particle sizing region and a mass spectrometer, there were some differences in their design. For example, the ionization source of the Aerosol Time -of- Flight Mass Spectrometer used a single step process involving laser ablation and ionization while the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer used a two step process involving thermal desorption from a hot plate followed by electron ionization. These instruments were compared and evaluated in terms of their design and the characteristics of the data acquired on aerosols of pharmaceutical materials.Data analysis methods for single particle mass spectrometry were developed based on the mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns indicative of either pure or coassociated particles. Data analysis was performed by either using representative ions from the mass spectrum taken from each particle or by using multivariate statistical analysis as a pattern recognition tool applied to the complete mass spectrum for each particle.High levels (above 50 %) of co- association were found in the emitted doses from both pMDI and DPI products. Although the design of each instrument was different, reasonable agreement in the levels of co- association was found as long as the size of particle that was analyzed by the mass spectrometer in each case was taken into account.Finally a comparison of the applicability of each of the commercial single particle mass spectrometers to the analysis of materials taken from pharmaceutical aerosols was made. Recommendations for future work on instrument development and further applications for inhalation products are given

Hi-Tech Farms The Answer

THE 50 per cent increase in the international price of rice over the past two months and the possibility of further in creases unless supplies in crease Najib No plans to in 2014 crease price of local rice NST April 1 is indeed food for thought

The Attitudes about Complex Therapy Scale (ACTS) in Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: Development, Validity and Reliability

Background: Type 2 diabetes is associated with cardiovascular disease, and patients with both conditions are prescribed complex medication regimens. Aim: The aim was to develop a reliable and valid measure of attitudes associated with the prescription and management of multiple medicines in patients with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Methods: Principal component analysis (PCA) and Cronbach alpha assessed the reliability of the Attitudes about Complex Therapy Scale (ACTS). Examinations of relationships with related measures inform concurrent validity. Questionnaires were sent to a cross-sectional sample of 480 people prescribed multiple medicines for co-morbid Type 2 diabetes. Results: Cronbach alpha was 0.76, indicating the scale had good internal reliability. PCA rotated a four factor model accounting for 37% of the variance. Four subscales identified; 1. Concerns about multiple medicines and increasing numbers of medicines; 2.Anxiety over missed medicines; 3. Desires to substitute medicines and reduce the number of medicines prescribed and; 4. Perceptions related to organising and managing complex therapy. The ACTS showed significant relationships with measures of anxiety, depression, general beliefs about medicines and self-efficacy. Also, the ACTS significantly correlated with adherence to medicines, showing good predictive validity. Conclusion: The ACTS was designed to assess negative attitudes towards complex therapy and multiple medication management. This tool could aid prescribing decisions and may identify people who are intentionally non-adherent to all or some of their medicines

Meaning Making Process and Recovery Journeys Explored Through Songwriting in Early Neurorehabilitation: Exploring the Perspectives of Participants of Their Self-Composed Songs Through the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Objectives: This pilot study examined how 15 participants in early rehabilitation described their self-composed Songs 6- to 12-months following participation in a 6-week identity-focused songwriting program. Specific focus was given to the process of meaning making and identity reconstruction in the participants’ self-composed songs.Methods: Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings were developed idiographically as super-ordinate themes unique to each participant, then analyzed across cases to identify recurrent themes and subthemes.Results: Participants described the songwriting process as taking them through one of four distinct recovery journeys described by individuals following acquired neurodisability who underwent a focused therapeutic songwriting program. These included (1) re-conceptualizing values and shifting perspectives about self (my body is broken but my mind has been set free); (2) recognizing acquired inner resources to negotiate discrepancies in self (hope is there); (3) confirming existing values and identifying resources and coping strategies (I have what I need to move forward); (4) confirming previously held values and ongoing process of negotiating discrepancies in self (I don’t yet have the answers).Conclusion: The current study provides insight into the nature and process of meaning making and recovery journeys perceived by individuals with neurodisability. Our findings suggest that songwriting could be a therapeutic tool to facilitate identity reconstruction in neurorehabilitation

Os usos da reprografia

As técnicas reprográficas tomaram-se muito importantes nos últimos anos e a reprografia é agora considerada uma disciplina acadêmica. Difícil de definir, mas tem como seus componentes a microfilmagem, a fotocópia, a reprodução múltipla e a criação de imagem que no presente artigo são analisados de per si. Enfatiza-se os aspectos “ativos” (SDI, Comutação, Intercâmbio e Recuperação da Informação) e “passivos” (armazenamento e compactação da informação, preservação e restauração de livros e documentos raros, etc) da reprografia. NE: Palestra realizada na Universidade de Brasília no dia 2 de fevereiro de 1979, tradução de Maria Eleonora Motta.

Wagon Wheels / music by Peter De Rose; words by Billy Hill

Cover: a photo of Everett Marshall; Publisher: Shapiro Bernstein and Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_e/1033/thumbnail.jp

Rural-urban population change and migration in Missouri, 1940-1950

Cover title.Includes bibliographical references