Family planning and fertility : estimating program effects using cross-sectional data

Although reproductive health advocates consider family planning programs the intervention of choice to reduce fertility, there remains a great deal of skepticism among economists as to their effectiveness, despite little rigorous evidence to support either position. This study explores the effects of family planning in Ethiopia using a novel set of instruments to control for potential non-random program placement. The instruments are based on ordinal rankings of area characteristics, motivated by competition between areas for resources. Access to family planning is found to reduce completed fertility by more than one child among women without education. No effect is found among women with some formal schooling, suggesting that family planning and formal education act as substitutes, at least in this low-income, low-growth setting. This provides support to the notion that increasing access to family planning can provide an important, complementary entry point to kick-start the process of fertility reduction.Population Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Adolescent Health,Reproductive Health,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems

Sterilization of liquids by filtration and certification of probability

Sterilization of liquids by hydrosol filtratio

Viola kauaensis var.hosakae (Violaceae), a new variety of endemic Hawaiian violet

The Hawaiian endemic Viola kauaensis A. Gray has a broad distribution in bogs of Kaua`i and a limited distribution on mesic ridges in the Ko`olau Mountains of O`ahu. Based on differences in scale, the O`ahu populations of V. kauaensis had previously been described as a distinct taxon. The taxonomic status of the O`ahu populations was reevaluated through a morphometric analysis of all varieties of V. kauaensis and the morphologically similar V. vanroyenii. Morphological features of historic and freshly collected specimens of all varieties of V. kauaensis were analyzed with a principal components analysis. Populations from O`ahu represent a distinct cluster that slightly overlaps with V. kauaensis var. kauaensis. Lamina width, apex angle, and base angles contribute to the separation of the O`ahu populations from other varieties of V. kauaensis. Due to differences in scale, the O`ahu populations are described as Viola kauaensis var. hosakae, a new critically endangered taxon

Climate change mitigation beyond agriculture: A review of food system opportunities and implications

A large body of research has explored opportunities to mitigate climate change in agricultural systems; however, less research has explored opportunities across the food system. Here we expand the existing research with a review of potential mitigation opportunities across the entire food system, including in pre-production, production, processing, transport, consumption and loss and waste. We detail and synthesize recent research on the topic, and explore the applicability of different climate mitigation strategies in varying country contexts with different economic and agricultural systems. Further, we highlight some potential adaptation co-benefits of food system mitigation strategies and explore the potential implications of such strategies on food systems as a whole. We suggest that a food systems research approach is greatly needed to capture such potential synergies, and highlight key areas of additional research including a greater focus on low- and middle-income countries in particular. We conclude by discussing the policy and finance opportunities needed to advance mitigation strategies in food systems

Direct and indirect aboutness topics

We propose a definition of aboutness topicality that not only encompasses individual denoting DPs, but also indefinites. We concentrate on the interpretative effects of marking indefinites as topics: they either receive widest scope in their clause, or they are interpreted in the restrictor of an overt or covert Q-adverb. We show that in the first case they are direct aboutness topics insofar as they are the subject of a predication expressed by the comment, while in the second case they are indirect aboutness topics: they define the subject of a higher-order predication — namely the set of situations that the respective Q-adverb quantifies over

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Threatened Species in UK Waters

Global climate change is affecting the distribution of marine species and is thought to represent a threat to biodiversity. Previous studies project expansion of species range for some species and local extinction elsewhere under climate change. Such range shifts raise concern for species whose long-term persistence is already threatened by other human disturbances such as fishing. However, few studies have attempted to assess the effects of future climate change on threatened vertebrate marine species using a multi-model approach. There has also been a recent surge of interest in climate change impacts on protected areas. This study applies three species distribution models and two sets of climate model projections to explore the potential impacts of climate change on marine species by 2050. A set of species in the North Sea, including seven threatened and ten major commercial species were used as a case study. Changes in habitat suitability in selected candidate protected areas around the UK under future climatic scenarios were assessed for these species. Moreover, change in the degree of overlap between commercial and threatened species ranges was calculated as a proxy of the potential threat posed by overfishing through bycatch. The ensemble projections suggest northward shifts in species at an average rate of 27 km per decade, resulting in small average changes in range overlap between threatened and commercially exploited species. Furthermore, the adverse consequences of climate change on the habitat suitability of protected areas were projected to be small. Although the models show large variation in the predicted consequences of climate change, the multi-model approach helps identify the potential risk of increased exposure to human stressors of critically endangered species such as common skate (Dipturus batis) and angelshark (Squatina squatina)

A feeding inhibition based prediction of the toxic effect of dissolved metal mixtures upon Echinogammarus marinus (Crustacea: Amphipoda) at field relevant concentrations across a latitudinal gradient

Risk assessment of metals in the environment is performed mainly with toxicity evaluations on single metals, which is largely inadequate since these substances occur in mixtures. The development of models predicting combined toxic effects on the basis of the concentration-response relationships of individual compounds has emerged as an answer. In the present study, metal effects on post-exposure anorexia (the concept of FdC(50)-concentration causing 50% of feeding inhibition-is implemented) in Echinogammarus marinus, a widely distributed gammarid amphipod, were assessed and compared with modelled ones obtained through the application of the concentration addition (CA) model, which represents a reasonable worst-case scenario for the risk assessment of metal mixtures. Data were validated using in situ experiments performed along a latitudinal gradient (Iceland, Scotland and Portugal) aiming at establishing a geographic profile of autochthonous population susceptibilities to metals. For all of the metals studied concentrations in the water column at exposure sites were in good agreement with feeding inhibition levels. Models gave low to relatively high percentage agreement between predictions and experimental data. Boreal populations demonstrated higher susceptibility to single metals, but not to mixture exposures. Meridional populations denoted lower susceptibilities with higher FdC(50).FCTSFRH/BPD/26689/2006SMC - IHP/ARIEC - Marie Curie Actions -EC-IH

On the temporal interpretation of certain surprise questions

This article considers a special kind of surprise questions, i.e. those introduced by the adversative particle ma (but), and compares it with surprise exclamations. The main issue addressed here concerns the obligatory presence in the questions of the imperfect verbal form, versus the obligatory presence in exclamations of a non-imperfect indicative. It will be shown that the special semantics associated with these structures determines the presence of a certain verbal form. Some syntactic issues will be addressed in the final section, having to do with the representation in the syntax of properties connected to the context