Organic farming and biodiversity – how to create a viable farm business including conservation issues

The extension of organic farming (OF), the increasing recognition of the advantages for improving agro-biodiversity, and the fact that the protection of nature and natural species cannot be taken for granted, has resulted in several interdisciplinary activities. The first of these was the Brodowin Nature Conservation Farm project. Conflicts between nature conservation and modern, large-scale OF, focusing on arable land use systems, were identified, evaluated and solved. Suggestions for adequate financial reward for ecological performance were worked out. The tested optimisation strategies were implemented in a second project: preparing a whole farm management plan based on maps marked with fields having a high potential for specific target species. The aim was to achieve the highest benefit for nature conservation issues with the least expenditure by the farm. A manual is being produced as a third project, with a series of examples for the integration of nature conservation measures, based on the results of our own projects and data sourced in literature, along with different experts. The manual will allow the user to see immediately either how target species/groups can be directly promoted or how measures can be se-lected, and what effects these have on the business

Ecological and agronomic evaluation of crop rotations in organic farming systems

The integration of nature conservation measures in organic farming requires special know-ledge about potential goal conflicts between ecological and agronomic requirements. The aim of this paper is to introduce a generation and evaluation tool for crop rotations that allows an assessment of the complex interdependencies of different biotic and abiotic parameters. The interdisciplinary ‘Nature Conserva-tion Farm Brodowin’ project provides the experimen-tal basis for developing practical solutions and compromises in this context. Two generated six-course crop rotations are presented as examples of this approach. The results show the sensitivity of the evaluation tool and its usability for improving crop rotations with regard to nature conservatio

The prevalence and correlates of hallucinations in a general population sample: findings from the South African Stress and Health Study

Objective: Large epidemiological surveys conducted in the developed world have found rates of psychotic symptoms in the general population to be as high as 10-28%. However, there are few data available from developing countries, including African countries, on the prevalence and correlates of psychotic symptoms. This study investigates the prevalence and correlates of psychotic symptoms (ie hallucinations) in a general population sample of South African adults. Method: As part of the South African Stress and Health Study the prevalence of auditory and visual hallucinations was determined in a large community based sample of 4250 participants utilizing the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). In addition, socio-demographic and clinical correlates as well as indicators of service utilization and functional impairment were determined. Results: The prevalence of any reported hallucination was 12.7%, a rate comparable to that found in studies from the developed world. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant association between role impairment, service utilisation, suicidality and reported auditory or visual hallucinations. No significant association was found between urbanicity and reported psychotic symptoms. Conclusion: Our finding that psychotic symptoms (ie hallucinations) are significantly associated with functional impairment and service utilization supports the potential clinical significance of such symptoms, even in the African context.Key Words: Prevalence; Psychosis; Population groups; Epidemiology; South Afric

Intimate partner violence, health behaviours, and chronic physical illness among South African women

Objectives. An association between intimate partner violence and adverse physical health outcomes and health-risk behaviours among women has been established, most scientific research having been conducted in the USA and other developed countries. There have been few studies in developing countries, including South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the world. We therefore sought to study the association between physical intimate partner violence and physical health outcomes and behaviours among South African women. Methods. Using data from the cross-sectional, nationally representative South African Stress and Health Study, we assessed exposure to intimate partner violence, health-risk behaviours, health-seeking behaviours and chronic physical illness among a sample of 1 229 married and cohabiting women. Results. The prevalence of reported violence was 31%. This correlated with several health-risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, and use of non-medical sedatives, analgesics and cannabis) and health-seeking behaviours (recent visits to a medical doctor or healer). Intimate partner violence was not significantly associated with chronic physical illness, although rates of headache, heart attack and high blood pressure reached near-significance. Conclusions. Partner violence against women is a significant public health problem in South Africa, associated with healthrisk behaviours and increased use of medical services. Public health programmes should incorporate interventions to mitigate the impact of violence on victims and reduce the risk of negative behavioural outcomes. Further investigation of the pathways between violence exposure and health behaviours is needed to inform the design of such programming

The epidemiology of major depression in South Africa: Results from the South African Stress and Health study

Background. Mental disorders are a major contributor to the burden of disease in all regions of the world. There are limited data on the epidemiology of major depressive disorder in South Africa.Methods. A nationally representative household survey was conducted between 2002 and 2004 using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to establish a diagnosis of depression. The dataset analysed included 4 351 adult South Africans of all racial groups.Results. The prevalence of major depression was 9.7% for lifetime and 4.9% for the 12 months prior to the interview. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher among females than among males. The prevalence was also higher among those with a low level of education. Over 90% of all respondents with depression reported global role impairment.Conclusion. In comparison with data from other countries, South Africa has lower rates of depression than the USA but higher rates than Nigeria. The findings are broadly consistent with previous findings in South Africa. These findings are the first step in documenting a level of need for care in a context of significant under-funding of mental health services and research in South Afric

Lifetime mental disorders and suicidal behaviour in South Africa

Background: There is relatively little data on the relationship between lifetime mental disorders and suicidal behaviour in low and middle income countries. This study examines the relationship between lifetime mental disorders, and subsequent suicide ideation, plans, and suicide attempts in South Africa. Method: A national survey of 4185 South African adults was conducted using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to generate psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal behaviour. Bivariate, multivariate and discrete-time survival analyses were employed to investigate the associations between mental disorders and subsequent suicide ideation, plans, and attempts. Results: Sixty-one percent of people who seriously considered killing themselves at some point in their lifetime reported having a prior DSM-IV disorder. Mental disorders predict the onset of suicidal ideation, but have weaker effects in predicting suicide plans or attempts. After controlling for comorbid mental disorders, PTSD was the strongest predictor of suicidal ideation and attempts. There is a relationship between number of mental disorders and suicidal behaviour, with comorbidity having significantly sub-additive effects. Conclusion: Consistent with data from the developed world, mental disorders are strong predictors of suicidal behaviour, and these associations are more often explained by the prediction of ideation, rather than the prediction of attempts amongst ideators. This suggests some universality of the relevant mechanisms underlying the genesis of suicidal thoughts, and the progression to suicide attempts.Key Words: Suicide; Survey; South Africa; Mental Disorders

Life stress and mental disorders in the South African Stress and Health study

Background. Although stressful life events (SLEs) are associated with psychopathology, the contribution from distal and proximal events and the specificity of their association with common mental disorders require further exploration. We examined the association of recent life events and past adversities to mood, anxiety, substance use and impulse control disorders in South Africa.Methods. Data were analysed from the South African Stress and Health study, a population-based study of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of 4 351 adults. Psychiatric disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). This included questions covering early and later SLEs (negativelife events, relationship stress, partner violence, social strain and adverse events during childhood) and various sociodemographicvariables. Logistic regression models were constructed for 3 957 respondents (2 371 female, 1 586 male) with no missing covariate data, to assess life stress and sociodemographic predictors of 12-month and lifetime disorder.Results. Recent negative life events and relationship problems were significant predictors of any 12-month disorder and any lifetime disorder. Physical partner violence predicted any lifetime disorder. There was evidence of specificity for the prediction of mood versus anxiety disorders, with childhood adversity specifically associated with mood disorders but not anxiety disorders. Single marital status was the strongest socio-demographic predictor of any 12-month and anylifetime disorder.Conclusions. Stressful life events, distal and proximal, contribute significantly and independently to the prediction of major psychiatric disorders among South Africans, underscoring the importance of screening adversities in adults with common mental disorders, and of providing appropriate adjunctive interventions

The South African Stress and Health (SASH) study: 12- month and lifetime prevalence of common mental disorders

Background. The South African Stress and Health (SASH) study is the first large-scale population-based study of common mental disorders in the country. This paper provides data on the 12-month and lifetime prevalence of these conditions.Methods. Data from a nationally representative sample of 4 351 adults were analysed. Mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). An extensive survey questionnaire detailed contextual and socio-demographic factors, onset and course of mental disorders, and risk factors. Simple weighted cross-tabulation methods were used to estimate prevalence, and logistic regression analysis was used to study correlates of 12-monthand lifetime prevalence.Results. The lifetime prevalence for any disorder was 30.3%, and the most prevalent 12-month and lifetime disorders were the anxiety disorders. The Western Cape had the highest 12-month and lifetime prevalence rates, and the lowest rates were in the Northern Cape.Conclusions. The SASH study shows relatively high 12-monthand lifetime prevalence rates. These findings have significant implications for planning mental health services

Wie sekundäre Pflanzeninhaltsstoffe uns vor Krankheiten schützen : von molekularen Wirkmechanismen zu neuen Medikamenten

Wirkungen von Heilpflanzen, Gewürzen, Tees und Lebensmitteln werden in der Naturheilkunde seit der Antike genutzt. Pharmakologisch wirksam sind in der Regel nur die sekundären Pflanzeninhaltsstoffe. Diese in den oft aus vielen Bestandteilen zusammengesetzten Naturstoffen aufzuspüren und ihren molekularbiologischen Wirkungsmechanismus im Körper aufzuklären, ist das Ziel eines Forschungsnetzwerks am Frankfurter ZAFES (Zentrum für Arzneimittelforschung, -Entwicklung und -Sicherheit). So konnten Pharmazeuten und Kliniker gemeinsam herausfinden, wie ein Bestandteil des Rotweins, das Resveratrol, vor Darmkrebs schützt. Die Inhaltsstoffe von Salbei und Rosmarin bieten vielversprechende Ausgangspunkte für neue Medikamente gegen Altersdiabetes. Weihrauch, Myrte und Johanniskraut enthalten Wirkstoffe, die Schlüsselenzyme für Entzündungsreaktionen – etwa bei rheumatischen Beschwerden – hemmen

Patterns of substance use in South Africa: Results from the South African Stress and Health study

Background. There are limited data on substance use in SouthAfrica. We describe patterns of substance use based on recent, nationally representative data.Methods. Data were derived from the 2002 - 2004 South African Stress and Health (SASH) study. A nationally representative household probability sample of 4 351 adults was interviewed using the paper and pencil version of the World Health Organization Composite InternationalDiagnostic Interview (CIDI). Data are reported for lifetime use, socio-demographic correlates of use, and age of cohort predicting lifetime use for four classes of drugs.Results. The estimate for cumulative occurrence of alcohol use was 38.7%, of tobacco smoking 30.0%, of cannabis use 8.4%, of other drug use 2.0%, and of extra-medical psychoactive drug use 19.3%. There were statistically significant associations between male gender and alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drug use. Coloureds and whites were more likely than blacks to have used alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Clear cohort variations existed in the age of initiation of drug use; these were most marked for other drugs and for extra-medicaldrug use. Use of all drug types was much more common in recent cohorts, with a similar cumulative incidence of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use across age cohorts.Conclusions. Epidemiological patterns of use for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, other drugs and extra-medical drugs provide the first nationally representative data. New findings on race and exploratory data on time trends provide a foundation for future epidemiological work on drug use patterns across birth cohorts and population subgroups inSouth Africa