Change of the weed seed bank during the first four years of a five-course crop rotation with organic vegetables

In a five-course rotation with organic vegetables (white cabbage, carrot and onion) the weed seed bank was reduced the year after two continuous years with red clover, mainly because of mowing of the second year red clover. The year after the weedy ribbed meliot the weed seed bank increased

Integration and democracy in the EU’s foreign and security policy

Introduction: In this paper I seek to discuss the claim of an emerging democratic deficit in the field of foreign and security policy. In order to do so, it is necessary to have a clearer picture of the degree and form of integration in this domain. It is only when this is clarified that we can establish whether or not the CFSP should be considered to give rise to new democratic problems or if it has rather has enhanced the democratic credentials of European foreign policy. In this preliminary draft the main focus is on identifying the key elements of the reconfiguration of European foreign and security policy in the context of the EU. The analysis of democratic implications is so far tentative and not fully developed neither theoretically nor empirically

Repeated use of green-manure catch crops in organic cereal production - grain yields and nitrogen supply

By restricted access to manure, nitrogen (N) supply in organic agriculture relies on biological N-fixation. This study compares grain yields after one full-season green manure (FSGM) to yields with repeated use of a green-manure catch crop. At two sites in south-eastern Norway, in a simple 4-year rotation (oats/wheat/oats/wheat), the repeated use of ryegrass, clover, or a mixture of ryegrass and clover as catch crops was compared with an FSGM established as a catch crop in year 1. The FSGM treatments had no subsequent catch crops. In year 5, the final residual effects were measured in barley. The yield levels were about equal for grains with no catch crop and a ryegrass catch crop. On average, the green-manure catch crops increased subsequent cereal yields close to 30%. The FSGM increased subsequent cereal yields significantly in two years, but across the rotation the yields were comparable to those of the treatments without green-manure catch crop. To achieve acceptable yields under Norwegian conditions, more than 25% of the land should be used for full-season green manure, or this method combined with green-manure catch crops. The accumulated amount of N in aboveground biomass in late autumn did not compensate for the N removed by cereal yields. To account for the deficiency, the roots of the green-manure catch crops would have to contain about 60% of the total N (tot-N) required to balance the cereal yields. Such high average values for root N are likely not realistic to achieve. However, measurement of biomass in late autumn may not reflect all N made available to concurrent or subsequent main crop

Patients' experiences of changes in health after removal of dental amalgam - quantitative and qualitative approaches

Patients with medically unexplained health complaints attributed to dental amalgam often wish to have their amalgam fillings replaced with other materials. The main purpose of this thesis was to explore how patients with health complaints attributed to dental amalgam experienced changes in health after removal of all amalgam fillings. Forty patients with health complaints attributed to dental amalgam were included and assigned to a treatment group (n=20; amalgam removal) and a reference group (n=20; no treatment). An external reference group (n=441) from the general population was also used for comparisons with the treatment group. Follow-up in the treatment group included measurements of mercury in serum and urine and questionnaires with numeric rating scales for 6 intraoral, 5 extraoral, and 12 general health complaints. The same questionnaire was also used in the reference groups. After the final follow-up, twelve of participants in the treatment group were asked to participate in semistructured qualitative interviews exploring their experiences of changes in health after amalgam removal. Patterns and themes in the participants’ descriptions were identified through an explorative and thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews. In the treatment group, mercury concentration in serum and index scores for intraoral and general health complaints declined significantly three years after amalgam removal. In the reference group there was as a slight, but not significant, increase of index scores in the same period. Comparisons with the external reference group showed that even after amalgam removal, participants in the treatment group reported a significantly higher level of complaints for 6 of the 23 complaints. In the interviews, participants described feeling better after amalgam removal, but were reluctant to point to the removal as the only cause for their improved health. Despite not being sure of the importance of amalgam removal, all participants expressed that it had been important for them to get rid of the amalgam fillings. The mechanisms behind the reduced levels of health complaints after amalgam removal are probably compounded and not limited to reduced exposure to mercury. This was also acknowledged and underscored by the participants in the interview study

The War of the Two Jeannes and the Role of the Duchess in Lordship in the Fourteenth Century

In the mid-fourteenth century, two women headed opposing parties in a civil war for control of the duchy of Brittany in France. Conventional scholarship explains their involvement in politics and warfare as exceptions possible only during emergencies. Contemporary chronicles and the letters of the two women themselves, however, tell another story, one in which these two women participated in politics and warfare even before their husbands entered captivity. Their participation makes sense if we recognize that medieval society understood lordship as a form of shared governance performed by a noble couple. While separate roles did exist for the husband and wife, these roles were not divided into “male-only” or “female-only” spheres of activity. Instead, noblewomen, like their husbands, were expected to contribute to politics and warfare. This long-standing participation in matters of state prepared the women to assume sole leadership (and their vassals to accept them as leaders) when necessary

Determinants of child mortality in Angola: An econometric analysis

The aim of this thesis is to investigate determinants of child mortality in the regions of Luanda and Uíge in Angola. The country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. The literature on the subject has found extensive variation in causes of death between and within countries, and knowledge on local conditions is a prerequisite for shaping sound and efficient policies addressing the problem. The analysis is conducted using data collected jointly by the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) and Centro de Estudos e Investigação Científica (CEIC) in 2010. In the descriptive analysis, I find large differences in infant and under-five mortality between wealth quintiles, education levels and households belonging to different public health facilities. In the econometric analysis, OLS, Poisson and binary logit models are estimated using both number of infant and under-five children dead as the dependent variable. The analysis puts particular emphasis on the effect of wealth, education, use and access to health services. While I find no effect of wealth, education, use and access to delivery services are found to be significant determinants of child mortality. All calculations and estimations are conducted using STATA version 11.1.ECON390MASV-SØ