760 research outputs found
Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture: Mitigation and Adaptation Potential of Sustainable Farming Systems
Is low greenhouse gas emission (GHG) agriculture possible? Is it, in fact, desirable? In seeking answers to these two basic but extremely relevant questions, this study examines current farming practices, and incorporates scientific databases from longterm field experiments as case studies for low GHG agriculture. Further, the study examines the changes that will be needed for low greenhouse gas agriculture systems to become a reality. It also elucidates the adaptive capacity of agro-ecological farming system approaches, using organic system case studies from the scientific literature.
Each year, agriculture emits 10 to 12 percent of the total estimated GHG emissions, some 5.1 to 6.1 Gt CO2 equivalents per year. Smith, et al. (2007) and Bellarby, et al. (2008) have proposed mitigation options for GHG emissions, finding that both farmers and policymakers will face challenges from the GHG-related changes needed in agriculture. Areas for improvement include increased use of no-till cropping, agro-forestry, and integrated crop and animal farming, and decreased use of external inputs in food and agriculture. The techniques offered by organic agriculture are valuable for consideration in these efforts
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies â Organic Agriculture
This psoter presents information on the following
- The concept of organic farming in the context of climate change
- Carbon sequestration on organic farms
- Consequences of an area-wide conversion to organic agricultur
A Global Vision and Strategy for Organic Farming Research - Condensed version. Version February, 2017
TIPI, the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM â Organics International, aims to foster international collaboration in organic agriculture research, engage and involve all stakeholders that benefit from organic agriculture research, facilitate exchange of scientific knowledge of organic food and farming systems, and help disseminate, apply and implement innovations and scientific knowledge consistent with the principles of organic agriculture.
This document lays down TIPIâs Global Vision and Strategy to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer.
For more information about TIPI see www.organicâresearch.net/tipi.htm
Erhöhte Trockenstresstoleranz von Kleegras nach reduzierter Bodenbearbeitung
Grass-clover leys are an integral part of organic rotations. We performed an
experiment with reduced tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT) using mouldboard
ploughing in a rotation in Frick (Switzerland) on a heavy soil and 1000 mm mean
annual precipitation. The grass-clover mixture was sawn in autumn 2005 after uniform
seed bed preparation with a rotary hoe in both tillage systems without ploughing. After
emergence most of the clover seedlings collapsed in the CT plots due to draught,
while they survived in the RT plots. This led to a much higher share of clover in the
mixture under RT. Grass-clover yields were 29 and 23% higher in RT than in CT plots
in the first and second year of cultivation in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Grass grown
in RT plots was higher in nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) and
magnesium (Mg) content than in CT plots; clover contained solely more P in RT plots.
Over all grass-clover had better growing conditions in RT compared to CT plots in our
experiment, reflecting after-effects of the differentiated tillage schemes applied for the
preceding arable crops. It is suggested that reduced tillage has a high potential to
improve water stress tolerance of cropping systems
A fingerprint based metric for measuring similarities of crystalline structures
Measuring similarities/dissimilarities between atomic structures is important
for the exploration of potential energy landscapes. However, the cell vectors
together with the coordinates of the atoms, which are generally used to
describe periodic systems, are quantities not suitable as fingerprints to
distinguish structures. Based on a characterization of the local environment of
all atoms in a cell we introduce crystal fingerprints that can be calculated
easily and allow to define configurational distances between crystalline
structures that satisfy the mathematical properties of a metric. This distance
between two configurations is a measure of their similarity/dissimilarity and
it allows in particular to distinguish structures. The new method is an useful
tool within various energy landscape exploration schemes, such as minima
hopping, random search, swarm intelligence algorithms and high-throughput
screenings
Comparative efficacy of indacaterol 150 ÎŒg and 300 ÎŒg versus fixed-dose combinations of formoterol + budesonide or salmeterol + fluticasone for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease â a network meta-analysis
Objective: To compare efficacy of indacaterol to that of fixed-dose combination (FDC)-formoterol and budesonide (FOR/BUD) and FDC salmeterol and fluticasone (SAL/FP) for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) based on the available randomized clinical trials (RCTs).Methods: Fifteen placebo-controlled RCTs were included that evaluated: indacaterol 150 mu g (n = 5 studies), indacaterol 300 mu g (n = 4), FOR/BUD 9/160 mu g (n = 2), FOR/BUD 9/320 mu g (n = 3), SAL/FP 50/500 mu g (n = 5), and SAL/FP 50/250 mu g (n = 1). Outcomes of interest were trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), total scores for St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and transition dyspnea index (TDI). All trials were analyzed simultaneously using a Bayesian network meta-analysis and relative treatment effects between all regimens were obtained. Treatment-by-covariate interactions were included where possible to improve the similarity of the trials.Results: Indacaterol 150 mu g resulted in a higher change from baseline (CFB) in FEV1 at 12 weeks compared to FOR/BUD 9/160 mu g (difference in CFB 0.11 L [95% credible intervals: 0.08, 0.13]) and FOR/BUD 9/320 mu g (0.09 L [0.06, 0.11]) and was comparable to SAL/FP 50/250 mu g (0.02 L [-0.04, 0.08]) and SAL/FP 50/500 mu g (0.03 L [0.00, 0.06]). Similar results were observed for indacaterol 300 mu g at 12 weeks and indacaterol 150/300 mu g at 6 months. Indacaterol 150 mu g demonstrated comparable improvement in SGRQ total score at 6 months versus FOR/BUD (both doses), and SAL/FP 50/500 mu g (-2.16 point improvement [-4.96, 0.95]). Indacaterol 150 and 300 mu g demonstrated comparable TDI scores versus SAL/FP 50/250 mu g (0.21 points (-0.57, 0.99); 0.39 [-0.39, 1.17], respectively) and SAL/FP 50/500 mu g at 6 months.Conclusion: Indacaterol monotherapy is expected to be at least as good as FOR/BUD (9/320 and 9/160 mu g) and comparable to SAL/FP (50/250 and 50/500 mu g) in terms of lung function. Indacaterol is also expected to be comparable to FOR/BUD (9/320 and 9/160 mu g) and SAL/FP 50/500 mu g in terms of health status and to SAL/FP (50/250 and 50/500 mu g) in terms of breathlessness.Novartis Pharma AGMapi Values, Boston, MA 02114 USANovartis Pharma AG, Hlth Econ & Outcomes Res, Basel, SwitzerlandNovartis Horsham Res Ctr, Horsham, W Sussex, EnglandUniversidade Federal de SĂŁo Paulo, Div Resp, SĂŁo Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de SĂŁo Paulo, Div Resp, SĂŁo Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc
EHEC â kein spezifisches Problem nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft - [EHEC â A problem not specific to sustainable agriculture] [La EHEC â no es un problema especĂfico de la agricultura sostenible] - [EHEC â Non Ăš un problema specifi-co dellâagricoltura biologica] - [ECEH nâest pas un problĂšme dĂ» Ă lâagriculture durable] - [EHEC â nem speciĂĄlisan a fenntarthatĂł mezĆgazdasĂĄg gondja] - [ECEH nâest pas un problĂšme dĂ» Ă lâagriculture durable]
DEUTSCH
Ăber den EHEC-Erreger, der in Deutschland zu ĂŒber dreissig tragischen TodesfĂ€llen gefĂŒhrt hat, ist viel spekuliert worden. Unterdessen konnten die Verbreitungswege nahezu aufgeklĂ€rt werden, wĂ€hrend die Entstehung des Krankheitserregers noch weitgehend unklar ist.
Im Zusammenhang mit dem EHEC-Ausbruch wurde auch die Frage erörtert, ob bestimmte Landwirtschaftsmethoden (zum Beispiel gemischte Betriebe mit Tierhaltung und Pflanzenbau oder die organische DĂŒngung von GemĂŒse) oder ob gewisse Hygienisierungsmethoden fĂŒr frische, konsumfĂ€hige Produkte(wie zum Beispiel die Verwendung von schonenden, weniger RĂŒckstĂ€nde verursachenden organischen SĂ€uren) das Risiko erhöhen könnten.
Diese Dokumentation geht nicht auf die aktuellen FĂ€lle von EHEC in Norddeutschland ein, sondern liefert an diesem Beispiel Hintergrundinformationen zur Frage, wie nachhaltige, in KreislĂ€ufen arbeitende Landwirtschaftsmethoden mit vom Tier auf den Menschen ĂŒbertragbare Krankheitserreger (Zoonosen) umgehen.
ENGLISH
There has been much speculation about the pathogenic EHEC bacterial strain that has tragically claimed the lives of more than 30 people so far in Germany. Meanwhile, the transmission pathways have for the most part been identified. The origin of the pathogen, however, is largely unclear.
In the context of the EHEC outbreak there have been debates as to whether certain agriculturalmethods (e.g. mixed holdings including both livestock and crop production, or the use of organic fertilizers for vegetable production) or certain sanitization methods for fresh consumable products (such as the use of organic acids, a mild treatment that leaves fewer residues) may increase the risk of infection.
This document does not address the current epidemiological situation of the outbreak in northern Germany. Its purpose is rather to provide background information on the question of how sustainable agricultural methods based on nutrient cycling deal with pathogens that can be transmitted from animals to humans (zoonoses).
CASTELLANO
Mucho se ha especulado sobre la bacteria patĂłgena Escherichia coli enterohemorrĂĄgica (ECEH), que ha ocasionado mĂĄs de treinta muertes trĂĄgicas en Alemania. Hasta ahora casi se ha podido esclarecer la via de su propagaciĂłn, mientras que sigue estando poco claro como ha aparecido el agente patĂłgeno.
Con el brote de la ECEH se ha cuestionado si determinadas prĂĄcticas agrĂcolas (por ejemplo, mantener explotaciones mixtas con ganado y cultivos, o la fertilizaciĂłn orgĂĄnica de los vegetales) o si los mĂ©todos de higiene para productos frescos, listos para el consumo (como por ejemplo, el uso de ĂĄcidos orgĂĄnicos menos agresivos y con menor riesgo de dejar residudos), pudieran incrementar los riesgos.
Esta documento no se refiere sólo a los casos actuales de ECEH en el norte de Alemania, sino que proporciona, información båsica de fondo, aprovechando este ejemplo, sobre como los métodos de producción agraria de ciclos cerrados con animales evitan forma sostenible que los patógenos generadores de enfermedades contagiosas (zoonosis) trasmisibles al ser humano.
ITALIANO
A proposito dellâinsorgenza di EHEC Ăš stata sollevata la questione se determinati metodi agricoli (per esempio aziende miste con allevamento di animali e produzione vegetale o la concimazione organica di ortaggi) oppure se determinati metodi di igienizzazione per pro-dotti freschi adatti al consumo (come per esempio lâimpiego di acidi organici che provocano meno residui) possano aumentare i rischi.
La presente documentazione non entra nei particolari degli attuali casi di EHEC nella Ger-mania settentrionale bensĂŹ fornisce informazioni dâapprofondimento su come i me-todi agri-coli sostenibili basati sui cicli degli elementi nutritivi trattano la questione degli agenti pato-geni trasmissibili dagli animali allâuomo (zoonosi).
HUNGARIAN
Sok a spekulĂĄciĂł az EHEC kĂłrokozĂłt illetĆen, amely NĂ©metorszĂĄgban harmincnĂĄl is több tragikus halĂĄlesethez vezetett. IdĆközben a terjedĂ©s ĂștjĂĄt mĂĄr csaknem teljesen felderĂtettĂ©k, mĂg a kĂłrokozĂł lĂ©trejöttĂ©rĆl mĂ©g szinte semmit sem tudunk.
Az EHEC fertĆzĂ©s kitörĂ©se kapcsĂĄn az a kĂ©rdĂ©s is felmerĂŒlt, hogy bizonyos mezĆgazdasĂĄgi mĂłdszerek (pl. a vegyes ĂŒzemek, melyek egyarĂĄnt foglalkoznak növĂ©nytermesztĂ©ssel Ă©s ĂĄllattenyĂ©sztĂ©ssel, vagy a zöldsĂ©gek szerves trĂĄgyĂĄzĂĄsa), ill. a friss, fogyasztĂĄsra kĂ©sz termĂ©kek egyes fertĆtlenĂtĂ©si mĂłdszerei (Ăgy pl. a kĂmĂ©lĆbb, kevesebb hulladĂ©kot eredmĂ©nyezĆ szerves savak alkalmazĂĄsa) nem növelhetik-e a kockĂĄzatot.
A jelen tanulmĂĄny nem a NĂ©metorszĂĄg Ă©szaki rĂ©szĂ©n kialakult aktuĂĄlis EHEC esetekkel foglalkozik, hanem hĂĄttĂ©r-informĂĄciĂłval szolgĂĄl arrĂłl, hogy a körforgĂĄsos mƱködĂ©sƱ, fenntarthatĂł mezĆgazdasĂĄgi mĂłdszerek milyen kapcsolatban lehetnek az ĂĄllatrĂłl emberre terjedĆ betegsĂ©gekkel, az Ășn. zoonĂłzisokkal.
FRANCAIS
ECEH nâest pas un problĂšme dĂ» Ă lâagriculture durabl
Comparative efficacy of long-acting bronchodilators for COPD - a network meta-analysis
Background: Clinicians are faced with an increasingly difficult choice regarding the optimal bronchodilator for
patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) given the number of new treatments. The objective of this study is to evaluate the comparative efficacy of indacaterol 75/150/300 ÎŒg once daily (OD), glycopyrronium
bromide 50 ÎŒg OD, tiotropium bromide 18 ÎŒg/5 ÎŒg OD, salmeterol 50 ÎŒg twice daily (BID), formoterol 12 ÎŒg BID,
and placebo for moderate to severe COPD.
Methods: Forty randomized controlled trials were combined in a Bayesian network meta-analysis. Outcomes of interest were trough and post-dose forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), St. Georgeâs Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score and responders (â„4 points), and Transition Dyspnea Index (TDI) score and responders
(â„1 point) at 6 months.
Results: Indacaterol was associated with a higher trough FEV1 than other active treatments (difference for indacaterol 150 ÎŒg and 300 ÎŒg versus placebo: 152 mL (95% credible interval (CrI): 126, 179); 160 mL (95% CrI:
133, 187)) and the greatest improvement in SGRQ score (difference for indacaterol 150 ÎŒg and 300 ÎŒg versus
placebo: -3.9 (95% CrI -5.2, -2.6); -3.6 (95% CrI -4.8, -2.3)). Glycopyrronium and tiotropium 18 ÎŒg resulted in the
next best estimates for both outcomes with minor differences (difference for glycopyrronium versus tiotropium
for trough FEV1 and SGRQ: 18 mL (95% CrI: -16, 51); -0.55 (95% CrI: -2.04, 0.92).
Conclusion: In terms of trough FEV1 and SGRQ score indacaterol, glycopyrronium, and tiotropium are expected to
be the most effective bronchodilators
Priority themes for swiss sustainability research
With this report, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences contribute to achieving the SDGs: With a view to meeting Switzerlandâs commitments under the 2030 Agenda as a whole, it identifies our countryâs most urgent research needs
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