Evaluation of EPIM III: Emerging Insights From the Evaluation So Far

This report sets out some emerging insights from the ongoing evaluation of the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) 2012-2015 programme. The activities of EPIM and this evaluation lie at the very heart of EPIM's efforts to strengthen the capacity of NGOs active in migration and integration issues, to engage with and influence decision-making at EU and Member state levels, and to do so by drawing on a rigorous evidence base, and through a pragmatic approach. Founded in 2005 as an activity of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) in a unique effort to fund European migration and integration organisations, EPIM's activities include strategic grant-making as well as networking, capacity-building, supporting advocacy and policy work. The Programme has now disbursed over 3m to more than 24 grantee organisations. Drawing on experience and learning from previous phases, EPIM's current three core areas of focus are asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, and equality, integration and social inclusion of vulnerable migrants. Recognising the importance of the role played by civil society, one of EPIM's key goals is to strengthen the advocacy capacities of NGOs at the European level. This goal reflects the fact that over the past decade the EU has become an important actor in the field of immigration and asylum, as well as that the majority of countries face some challenges in this area

A Comparison By Ethnicity of Usage of Medication, Intubation Use, and Mortality Rates of COVID-19 Patients in an Urban Hospital

Evidence from an urban hospital initially revealed that ethnicity had no bearing on treatment modalities or mortality among patients admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. The purpose of this study was focused on answering three principal research questions concerning evidence at one hospital of differences in medication used, whether intubation was used, and mortality by ethnicity for those treated for COVID-19 while controlling for age, gender, and co-morbidities. The health belief model served as the theoretical framework. Data was collected from 1188 patient charts, and binary logistic regression was used to test hypotheses. Results showed no statistically significant differences in medication use, intubations, or mortality outcomes by ethnicity. It was concluded that patients at this hospital received equitable care despite ethnic differences. Positive social change implications include the focus on equitable healthcare for all that can help alleviate the ill-effects of treatment disparities

A Comparison By Ethnicity of Usage of Medication, Intubation Use, and Mortality Rates of COVID-19 Patients in an Urban Hospital

Evidence from an urban hospital initially revealed that ethnicity had no bearing on treatment modalities or mortality among patients admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. The purpose of this study was focused on answering three principal research questions concerning evidence at one hospital of differences in medication used, whether intubation was used, and mortality by ethnicity for those treated for COVID-19 while controlling for age, gender, and co-morbidities. The health belief model served as the theoretical framework. Data was collected from 1188 patient charts, and binary logistic regression was used to test hypotheses. Results showed no statistically significant differences in medication use, intubations, or mortality outcomes by ethnicity. It was concluded that patients at this hospital received equitable care despite ethnic differences. Positive social change implications include the focus on equitable healthcare for all that can help alleviate the ill-effects of treatment disparities

Applications of Chemically Modified Clay Minerals and Clays to Water Purification and Slow Release Formulations of Herbicides

42 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 9 talas.- 140 referencias.- © 2020 by the authors.This review deals with modification of montmorillonite and other clay-minerals and clays by interacting them with organic cations, for producing slow release formulations of herbicides, and efficient removal of pollutants from water by filtration. Elaboration is on incorporating initially the organic cations in micelles and liposomes, then producing complexes denoted micelle- or liposome-clay nano-particles. The material characteristics (XRD, Freeze-fracture electron microscopy, adsorption) of the micelle– or liposome–clay complexes are different from those of a complex of the same composition (organo-clay), which is formed by interaction of monomers of the surfactant with the clay-mineral, or clay. The resulting complexes have a large surface area per weight; they include large hydrophobic parts and (in many cases) have excess of a positive charge. The organo-clays formed by preadsorbing organic cations with long alkyl chains were also addressed for adsorption and slow release of herbicides. Another examined approach includes “adsorptive” clays modified by small quaternary cations, in which the adsorbed organic cation may open the clay layers, and consequently yield a high exposure of the siloxane surface for adsorption of organic compounds. Small scale and field experiments demonstrated that slow release formulations of herbicides prepared by the new complexes enabled reduced contamination of ground water due to leaching, and exhibited enhanced herbicidal activity. Pollutants removed efficiently from water by the new complexes include (i) hydrophobic and anionic organic molecules, such as herbicides, dissolved organic matter; pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics and non-steroidal drugs; (ii) inorganic anions, e.g., perchlorate and (iii) microorganisms, such as bacteria, including cyanobacteria (and their toxins). Model calculations of adsorption and kinetics of filtration, and estimation of capacities accompany the survey of results and their discussion.T. Undabeytia acknowledges financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project CTM2016-77168–R; this project received funding by the European Social Fund). S. Nir acknowledges financial support by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Israel & The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (grant No. 3-15707).Peer reviewe

The competitiveness of the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus with field tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) in Israel

Crop-weed competition is a significant barrier to successful crop production. Understanding invasive weed competing with field crops is rather difficult, mainly due to the absence of physiological and ecological knowledge, which allows selective and appropriate control of the weed. Parthenium hysterophorus is a worldwide noxious annual weed infesting field crops and orchards. A competition experiment between P. hysterophorus and field tomatoes in containers under controlled conditions resulted in a decrease in tomato biomass production. We found that the presence of P. hysterophorus at all planting ratios in a replacement series caused a significant reduction (~18% to 40%) of tomato shoot biomass m-2, whereas P. hysterophorus plants gained ~11 to 75 % in shoot biomass m-2 at all planting ratios with tomato plants. Our results emphasize the need for efficient management of this invasive weed to achieve reasonable yield and allow marketable cropping

Organo-clay formulations of pesticides: reduced leaching and photodegradation

Adsorption of organic cations on several clay minerals is reviewed with an emphasis on the effect of ionic strength and modeling. The clay exchanged with suitable organic cations forms a basis for ecologically acceptable formulations of herbicides with reduced leaching, ground water contamination and enhanced weed control efficacy. Incomplete neutralization of the clay surface charge by an organic cation may be advantageous in achieving maximal adsorption of hydrophobic herbicides. One conclusion from these studies is that optimization of clay-based herbicide formulations requires a selection of structurally compatible organic cations preadsorbed on the clay at optimal coverage. New experimental results are presented for alachlor formulations, which significantly reduce herbicide leaching under conditions of heavy irrigation. We were able to demonstrate that organo-clay formulations of alachlor and

Vegetation history and climatic fluctuations on a transect along the Dead Sea west shore and impact on past societies over the last 3500 years.

This study represents the vegetation history of the last 3500 years and conducts an analysis of the climatic fluctuations on a 75 km long transect on the western Dead Sea shore. Palynological and sedimentological data are available from six cores near Mount Sedom, Ein Boqueq, and Ein Gedi and from outcrops near Ze'elim and Ein Feshkha. The comparison of the pollen data with the lake levels shows synchronous trends. During the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age and Hellenistic to Byzantine Period the high lake level of the Dead Sea signals an increase in precipitation. Contemporaneously, values of cultivated plants indicate an increase in agriculture. Lake level is low during the Late Bronze Age, within the Iron Age and at the end of the Byzantine period, indicating dry periods when all pds show a decrease of cultivated plants. Forest regeneration led by drought-resistant pines is observed in all pollen diagrams (pds) following the agricultural decline in the Byzantine period and, in the pds near Ein Boqeq, Ze'elim and Ein Feshkha, during the late Iron Age. The modern vegetation gradient is reflected in the palaeo-records: a stronger expansion of Mediterranean vegetation and cultivated plants in the northern sites is recognisable

Adsorption of benzyltrimethylammonium to montmorillonite: application to herbicide formulations Adsorption du benzyltriméthylammonium sur la montmorillonite: application à la …

MATERIALS AND METHODS The clay mineral used was Wyoming Na-montmorillonite SWy-1 obtained from the Source Clays Repository (Clay Minerals Society, Columbia, MO). BTMA was purchased from Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI, USA). Analytical grade alachlor (Chem Service, West Chester, PA) was used for making the formulations, whereas a commercial formulation (EC)(Alanex, 480g ai/kg, Agan Chemical Manufactures LTD., Ashdod, Israel) was used as a standard formulation. The electrolytes used were: NaCl, LiCl, NaClO4, Na2SO4, CsCl