Water management development and agriculture in Syria

Irrigated agriculture has increased steadily in Syria over the last decades, almost doubling since 1985. This mounting pace has responded to the nation’s food security policy objectives to satisfy the food production needs of an increasing population that features one of the largest growth rates in the world, namely 3,50 percent in 1985 and still 3,39 percent in 2007. Total expenditures for irrigated agriculture accounted for almost 70 percent of all expenditures in agriculture. Sustainable irrigation water policies aimed at increasing the efficiency of water use in agriculture and at conserving water resources by reducing future consumption. The Euphrates River is 2.800 km long and its middle traverses a wide floodplain in Syria, where it is used extensively for irrigation, and the Euphrates Dam is 230 ft (70 m) high. The total estimated water use volume is about 15 billion m3. The Euphrates and Orontes basins account for about 50% and 20% of the water use respectively. About 701.634 ha has been irrigated by ground water in the year 1997. This area represents 60% of the total irrigated land in Syria It has been gradually increased from 30% during 1970 to 44% in 1980 and 49% in 1990. The Government projects extended on 349.820 hectare area, which includes large, medium and small scale farms. The small scale government project is under 2000 hectare, but large scale project over 20.000 hectare areas. The Syrian Government wants to ensure the food supply for sharply increasing population based on established governmental agricultural projects, as state-owned farms. Water balance for Syria indicates that most of the basins are in deficit. This will be exacerbated further especially in basins encompassing large urban areas and if the country’s population continues to grow at its current rate (about 3%) and water use efficiency is not increased effectively.Water utilisation, Water management, Modern irrigation technologies, Benefits of agricultural sector, Governmental supports, Total Renewable Water Resources (TRWR), Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SARGENT JUMP ON MAXIMUM VERTICAL VELOCITY IN MEN

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of different ranges of knee flexion and extension on the maximum vertical velocity (Vmax) during squatting jumps (SQ) and counter movement jumpsCMJ). Ten well trained male students were involved in the study. The subjects were instructed to carry out SQ-s and CMJ-s with several ranges of knee angular displacement (SQ50, SQ90, SQ135,CMJSO, CMJ90, CMJ135). Sel spot motion analyser and a Kistler force plate were used to measure the angular displacement of the knee joint, the vertical displacement of the selected parts of the body and ground reaction forces. The subjects carried out three to five jumps at each type of SQ and CMJ. Vmax of positive phase of 'umps was calculated by Sel spot (SVmax). Vmax was also calculated from the flying time (KVmax) obtained from the force-time curves. Conventional mathematical statistics were applied including means, SD and Student's t-test. Average values for SVmax were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than KVmax in each type of vertical jumps. The reason of these differences attributes to the main findings of the study. Namely, the subjects only could use a certain range of joint extension to the48.3 (SQ90) for the subjects. It means that Vmax was attained far before the contact phase ended. This so called effective range cannot be used up when the starting knee angle is over 135 degrees. That is the reason why the effective range at SQ135 is significantly smaller than it is at SQSO- and SQ90, i.e. 32.2 degrees. Still, it does not mean that the effective range of extension lasts till the full extension of knee. SVmax was reached when the knee angle was 154.1(SQ) and148.4(CMJ) degrees. In our opinion this is probably due to neurophisyologicaland muscle-mechanical reasons

THE SAPARD PROGRAM IN HUNGARY: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

The EU Agenda 2000 program, made public in 1997, established the basis for future EU member countries to develop their rural areas and agriculture. This was the SAPARD program, which was aimed at assisting 10 countries ready to join the union. The monetary fund of the program amounted to 520 million EUROs/year for the period 2000-2006, which the countries involved could apply for. Our research is trying to find an answer to problems emerging in the process of rural and agricultural development, in conflicts between two alternative programs; furthermore, it also covers various processes in a smaller area. We are focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of certain areas, on opportunities offered by a program of this type. Successful competition can only be achieved, when it is based on a cooperation and agreement of the local participants. We are illustrating this process through the history of the competition of the Keszthely- Hévíz Sub-Regional Association

Robotic equipment carrying RN detectors: requirements and capabilities for testing

77 pags., 32 figs., 5 tabs.-- ERNCIP Radiological and Nuclear Threats to Critical Infrastructure Thematic Group . -- This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) . -- JRC128728 . -- EUR 31044 ENThe research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union as part of the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ERNCIP) projec

More green and less blue water in the Alps during warmer summers

Climate change can reduce surface-water supply by enhancing evapotranspiration in forested mountains, especially during heatwaves. We investigate this ‘drought paradox’ for the European Alps using a 1,212-station database and hyper-resolution ecohydrological simulations to quantify blue (runoff) and green (evapotranspiration) water fluxes. During the 2003 heatwave, evapotranspiration in large areas over the Alps was above average despite low precipitation, amplifying the runoff deficit by 32% in the most runoff-productive areas (1,300–3,000 m above sea level). A 3 °C air temperature increase could enhance annual evapotranspiration by up to 100 mm (45 mm on average), which would reduce annual runoff at a rate similar to a 3% precipitation decrease. This suggests that green-water feedbacks—which are often poorly represented in large-scale model simulations—pose an additional threat to water resources, especially in dry summers. Despite uncertainty in the validation of the hyper-resolution ecohydrological modelling with observations, this approach permits more realistic predictions of mountain region water availability

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Dislocations in CdTe Crystals from a New Bond Order Potential

Cd1-xZnxTe (CZT) crystals are the leading semiconductors for radiation detection, but their application is limited by the high cost of detector-grade materials. High crystal costs primarily result from property non-uniformity that causes low manufacturing yield. While tremendous efforts have been made in the past to reduce Te inclusions / precipitates in CZT, this has not resulted in an anticipated improvement in material property uniformity. Moreover, it is recognized that in addition to Te particles, dislocation cells can also cause electric field perturbation and the associated property non-uniformity. Further improvement of the material, therefore, requires that dislocations in CZT crystals be understood and controlled. Here we use a recently developed CZT bond order potential to perform representative molecular dynamics simulations to study configurations, energies, and mobilities of 29 different types of possible dislocations in CdTe (i.e., x = 1) crystals. An efficient method to derive activation free energies and activation volumes of thermally activated dislocation motion will be explored. Our focus gives insight into understanding important dislocations in the material, and gives guidance toward experimental efforts for improving dislocation network structures in CZT crystals

Multiple Deprivation, Severity and Latent Sub-Groups:Advantages of Factor Mixture Modelling for Analysing Material Deprivation

Material deprivation is represented in different forms and manifestations. Two individuals with the same deprivation score (i.e. number of deprivations), for instance, are likely to be unable to afford or access entirely or partially different sets of goods and services, while one individual may fail to purchase clothes and consumer durables and another one may lack access to healthcare and be deprived of adequate housing . As such, the number of possible patterns or combinations of multiple deprivation become increasingly complex for a higher number of indicators. Given this difficulty, there is interest in poverty research in understanding multiple deprivation, as this analysis might lead to the identification of meaningful population sub-groups that could be the subjects of specific policies. This article applies a factor mixture model (FMM) to a real dataset and discusses its conceptual and empirical advantages and disadvantages with respect to other methods that have been used in poverty research . The exercise suggests that FMM is based on more sensible assumptions (i.e. deprivation covary within each class), provides valuable information with which to understand multiple deprivation and is useful to understand severity of deprivation and the additive properties of deprivation indicators

Tumor Volume Estimation and Quasi- Continuous Administration for Most Effective Bevacizumab Therapy

Bevacizumab is an exogenous inhibitor which inhibits the biological activity of human VEGF. Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of bevacizumab therapy according to different cancer types but these days there is an intense debate on its utility. We have investigated different methods to find the best tumor volume estimation since it creates the possibility for precise and effective drug administration with a much lower dose than in the protocol.We have examined C38 mouse colon adenocarcinoma and HT-29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma. In both cases, three groups were compared in the experiments. The first group did not receive therapy, the second group received one 200 μg bevacizumab dose for a treatment period (protocol-based therapy), and the third group received 1.1 μg bevacizumab every day (quasi-continuous therapy). Tumor volume measurement was performed by digital caliper and small animal MRI. The mathematical relationship between MRI-measured tumor volume and mass was investigated to estimate accurate tumor volume using caliper-measured data. A two-dimensional mathematical model was applied for tumor volume evaluation, and tumor- and therapy-specific constants were calculated for the three different groups. The effectiveness of bevacizumab administration was examined by statistical analysis.In the case of C38 adenocarcinoma, protocol-based treatment did not result in significantly smaller tumor volume compared to the no treatment group; however, there was a significant difference between untreated mice and mice who received quasi-continuous therapy (p = 0.002). In the case of HT-29 adenocarcinoma, the daily treatment with one-twelfth total dose resulted in significantly smaller tumors than the protocol-based treatment (p = 0.038). When the tumor has a symmetrical, solid closed shape (typically without treatment), volume can be evaluated accurately from caliper-measured data with the applied two-dimensional mathematical model.Our results provide a theoretical background for a much more effective bevacizumab treatment using optimized administration

Genome wide mapping reveals PDE4B as an IL-2 induced STAT5 target gene in activated human PBMCs and lymphoid cancer cells

IL-2 is the primary growth factor for promoting survival and proliferation of activated T cells that occurs following engagement of the Janus Kinase (JAK)1-3/and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) 5 signaling pathway. STAT5 has two isoforms: STAT5A and STAT5B ( commonly referred to as STAT5) which, in T cells, play redundant roles transcribing cell cycle and survival genes. As such, inhibition of STAT5 by a variety of mechanisms can rapidly induce apoptosis in certain lymphoid tumor cells, suggesting that it and its target genes represent therapeutic targets to control certain lymphoid diseases. To search for these molecules we aligned IL-2 regulated genes detected by Affymetrix gene expression microarrays with the STAT5 cistrome identified by chip-on-ChIP analysis in an IL-2-dependent human leukemia cell line, Kit225. Select overlapping genes were then validated using qRT(2)PCR medium-throughput arrays in human PHA-activated PBMCs. Of 19 putative genes, one key regulator of T cell receptor signaling, PDE4B, was identified as a novel target, which was readily up-regulated at the protein level (3 h) in IL-2 stimulated, activated human PBMCs. Surprisingly, only purified CD8+ primary T-cells expressed PDE4B, but not CD4+ cells. Moreover, PDE4B was found to be highly expressed in CD4+ lymphoid cancer cells, which suggests that it may represent a physiological role unique to the CD8+ and lymphoid cancer cells and thus might represent a target for pharmaceutical intervention for certain lymphoid diseases

A novel nonparametric item response theory approach to measuring socioeconomic position: a comparison using household expenditure data from a Vietnam health survey, 2003

BACKGROUND: Measures of household socio-economic position (SEP) are widely used in health research. There exist a number of approaches to their measurement, with Principal Components Analysis (PCA) applied to a basket of household assets being one of the most common. PCA, however, carries a number of assumptions about the distribution of the data which may be untenable, and alternative, non-parametric, approaches may be preferred. Mokken scale analysis is a non-parametric, item response theory approach to scale development which appears never to have been applied to household asset data. A Mokken scale can be used to rank order items (measures of wealth) as well as households. Using data on household asset ownership from a national sample of 4,154 consenting households in the World Health Survey from Vietnam, 2003, we construct two measures of household SEP. Seventeen items asking about assets, and utility and infrastructure use were used. Mokken Scaling and PCA were applied to the data. A single item measure of total household expenditure is used as a point of contrast. RESULTS: An 11 item scale, out of the 17 items, was identified that conformed to the assumptions of a Mokken Scale. All the items in the scale were identified as strong items (Hi > .5). Two PCA measures of SEP were developed as a point of contrast. One PCA measure was developed using all 17 available asset items, the other used the reduced set of 11 items identified in the Mokken scale analaysis. The Mokken Scale measure of SEP and the 17 item PCA measure had a very high correlation (r = .98), and they both correlated moderately with total household expenditure: r = .59 and r = .57 respectively. In contrast the 11 item PCA measure correlated moderately with the Mokken scale (r = .68), and weakly with the total household expenditure (r = .18). CONCLUSION: The Mokken scale measure of household SEP performed at least as well as PCA, and outperformed the PCA measure developed with the 11 items used in the Mokken scale. Unlike PCA, Mokken scaling carries no assumptions about the underlying shape of the distribution of the data, and can be used simultaneous to order household SEP and items. The approach, however, has not been tested with data from other countries and remains an interesting, but under researched approach