Variability and change in the hydro-climate and water resources of Iran over a recent 30-year period

AbstractComprehensive assessment of hydro-climatic variations and change trends is essential for understanding, mitigating, and adapting to key water resource changes in different parts of the world. We performed such an assessment on Iran, as representative of an arid/semi-arid and geopolitically important world region. We acquired and calculated data time series of surface temperature (T), precipitation (P), runoff (R), evapotranspiration (ET), and water storage change (DS), to determine their status and changes in and among the 30 main hydrological basins in Iran over the period 1986–2016. From 1986–2000 to 2001–2016, the country warmed, P mostly decreased and R even more so, while water storage was depleted (DS < 0) and ET increased in some basins. Overall, the extra water provided from primarily groundwater depletion has fed and kept ET at levels beyond those sustained by the annually renewable water input from P. This indicates unsustainable use of water for maintaining and expanding human activities, such as irrigated agriculture, in this part of the world.

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BIOASSAY CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL URINARY GONADOTROPHIN EXTRACTS

Acta Endocrinologica ◽

10.1530/acta.0.0420214 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 214-224

Author(s):

Raymond C. Mellinger ◽

Jalileh A. Mansour ◽

Richmond W. Smith

Keyword(s):

Reference Material ◽

Young Women ◽

Reference Standard ◽

General Acceptance ◽

Modifying Factors ◽

Large Numbers ◽

The World ◽

Quantitative Bioassay ◽

Different Parts ◽

Age And Sex

ABSTRACT A reference standard is widely sought for use in the quantitative bioassay of pituitary gonadotrophin recovered from urine. The biologic similarity of pooled urinary extracts obtained from large numbers of subjects, utilizing groups of different age and sex, preparing and assaying the materials by varying techniques in different parts of the world, has lead to a general acceptance of such preparations as international gonadotrophin reference standards. In the present study, however, the extract of pooled urine from a small number of young women is shown to produce a significantly different bioassay response from that of the reference materials. Gonadotrophins of individual subjects likewise varied from the multiple subject standards in many instances. The cause of these differences is thought to be due to the modifying influence of non-hormonal substances extracted from urine with the gonadotrophin and not necessarily to variations in the gonadotrophins themselves. Such modifying factors might have similar effects in a comparative assay of pooled extracts contributed by many subjects, but produce significant variations when material from individual subjects is compared. It is concluded that the expression of potency of a gonadotrophic extract in terms of pooled reference material to which it is not essentially similar may diminish rather than enhance the validity of the assay.

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Christianity in the Twentieth Century

10.23943/princeton/9780691196848.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Brian Stanley

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Racial Identity ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Central Importance ◽

Regional Survey ◽

History Of Christianity ◽

The World ◽

History Of ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Different Parts

This book charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity. The book traces how Christianity evolved from a religion defined by the culture and politics of Europe to the expanding polycentric and multicultural faith it is today—one whose growing popular support is strongest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and other parts of Asia. The book sheds critical light on themes of central importance for understanding the global contours of modern Christianity, illustrating each one with contrasting case studies, usually taken from different parts of the world. Unlike other books on world Christianity, this one is not a regional survey or chronological narrative, nor does it focus on theology or ecclesiastical institutions. The book provides a history of Christianity as a popular faith experienced and lived by its adherents, telling a compelling and multifaceted story of Christendom's fortunes in Europe, North America, and across the rest of the globe. It demonstrates how Christianity has had less to fear from the onslaughts of secularism than from the readiness of Christians themselves to accommodate their faith to ideologies that privilege racial identity or radical individualism.

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THE 2019 NOVEL PANDEMIC OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19): A STUDY OF EXISTING EVIDENCE IN THE INDIAN POPULATION

Era s journal of medical research ◽

10.24041/ejmr2020.33 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 199-204

Author(s):

Shrikant Verma ◽

Mohammad Abbas ◽

Sushma Verma ◽

Syed Tasleem Raza ◽

Farzana Mahdi

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Indian Population ◽

Respiratory Infections ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Case Fatality ◽

Public Health Emergency ◽

The World ◽

And Control ◽

General Wellbeing ◽

Different Parts

A novel spillover coronavirus (nCoV), with its epicenter in Wuhan, China's People's Republic, has emerged as an international public health emergency. This began as an outbreak in December 2019, and till November eighth, 2020, there have been 8.5 million affirmed instances of novel Covid disease2019 (COVID-19) in India, with 1,26,611 deaths, resulting in an overall case fatality rate of 1.48 percent. Coronavirus clinical signs are fundamentally the same as those of other respiratory infections. In different parts of the world, the quantity of research center affirmed cases and related passings are rising consistently. The COVID- 19 is an arising pandemic-responsible viral infection. Coronavirus has influenced huge parts of the total populace, which has prompted a global general wellbeing crisis, setting all health associations on high attentive. This review sums up the overall landmass, virology, pathogenesis, the study of disease transmission, clinical introduction, determination, treatment, and control of COVID-19 with the reference to India.

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Jiangnan Style

10.1093/oso/9780198768784.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Chris Wickham

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Economic Activity ◽

Global Economy ◽

Medieval Period ◽

The World ◽

Transnational Connections ◽

New Research ◽

Different Parts

Building on impressive new research into the concept of a ‘global middle ages’, this chapter offers insights into how economic formations developed around the world. Drawing on new research on both Chinese and Mediterranean economies in the ‘medieval’ period, it compares structures of economy and exchange in very different parts of the world. The point of such comparisons is not simply to find instances of global economic flows but to understand the logic of medieval economic activity and its intersections with power and culture; and, in so doing, to remind historians that economic structures, transnational connections, and the imbrications of economy and politics do not arrive only with modernity, nor is the shape of the ‘modern’ global economy the only pattern known to humankind.

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Groundwater Depletion Signals in the Beqaa Plain, Lebanon: Evidence from GRACE and Sentinel-1 Data

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13050915 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 915

Author(s):

Elias C. Massoud ◽

Zhen Liu ◽

Amin Shaban ◽

Mhamad Hage

Keyword(s):

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Water Storage ◽

Hydrologic Cycle ◽

Groundwater Depletion ◽

Satellite Mission ◽

Groundwater Storage ◽

Significant Drop ◽

Monitoring Wells ◽

High Productivity ◽

Soil Moisture Storage

Regions with high productivity of agriculture, such as the Beqaa Plain, Lebanon, often rely on groundwater supplies for irrigation demand. Recent reports have indicated that groundwater consumption in this region has been unsustainable, and quantifying rates of groundwater depletion has remained a challenge. Here, we utilize 15 years of data (June 2002–April 2017) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission to show Total Water Storage (TWS) changes in Lebanon’s Beqaa Plain. We then obtain complimentary information on various hydrologic cycle variables, such as soil moisture storage, snow water equivalent, and canopy water storage from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) model, and surface water data from the largest body of water in this region, the Qaraaoun Reservoir, to disentangle the TWS signal and calculate groundwater storage changes. After combining the information from the remaining hydrologic cycle variables, we determine that the majority of the losses in TWS are due to groundwater depletion in the Beqaa Plain. Results show that the rate of groundwater storage change in the West Beqaa is nearly +0.08 cm/year, in the Rashaya District is −0.01 cm/year, and in the Zahle District the level of depletion is roughly −1.10 cm/year. Results are confirmed using Sentinel-1 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, which provide high-precision measurements of land subsidence changes caused by intense groundwater usage. Furthermore, data from local monitoring wells are utilized to further showcase the significant drop in groundwater level that is occurring through much of the region. For monitoring groundwater storage changes, our recommendation is to combine various data sources, and in areas where groundwater measurements are lacking, we especially recommend the use of data from remote sensing.

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The Struggle for Public Recognition: Understanding Early Marriage through the Lens of Honour and Shame in Six Countries in South Asia and West Africa

Progress in Development Studies ◽

10.1177/1464993420977790 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 328-346

Author(s):

Esther Miedema ◽

Winny Koster ◽

Nicky Pouw ◽

Philippe Meyer ◽

Albena Sotirova

Keyword(s):

International Development ◽

Female Sexuality ◽

Social Economic ◽

Early Marriage ◽

Social Standing ◽

Public Recognition ◽

The World ◽

Economic Future ◽

Different Parts

There is a burgeoning body of research on the role of ‘shame’ and ‘honour’ in decisions regarding early marriage in different parts of the world. Conceptualizing shame and honour as idioms through which gendered socio-economic inequalities are created and maintained, we examine early marriage decisions in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Senegal. While we acknowledge the existence of important differences between countries in terms of the nature and manifestations of shame and honour, we argue that regardless of setting, neither shame and honour, nor female sexuality and chastity can be separated from the socio-economic hierarchies and inequalities. Thus, in this article we seek to identify the cross-cutting dynamic of marriage as a means to overcome the shame associated with young single women’s sexuality, protecting family honour and social standing, and/or securing young women’s social-economic future. Building on our data and available scholarship, we question the potential of emphasizing ‘choice’ as a means of reducing early marriage and advancing women’s emancipation in international development efforts. Instead, we argue in favour of initiatives that engage with young people and caregivers on the ways in which, at grassroot levels, communities may revise narratives of respectability, marriageability and social standing.

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What's in a Word? Falsified/Counterfeit/Fake Medicines - The Definitions Debate

Medicine Access Point of Care ◽

10.5301/maapoc.0000008 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. maapoc.0000008 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mike Isles

Keyword(s):

World Wide ◽

Criminal Activity ◽

Access To Medicines ◽

World Region ◽

The Public ◽

Counterfeit Medicine ◽

The World ◽

Falsified Medicines ◽

Trademark Protection ◽

Exact Size

There is a rising tide of criminal activity to manufacture and distribute falsified, counterfeit, or fake medicines. The exact size of this problem is unknown but estimates vary from US$75 billion to US$200 billion per year, and evidence clearly demonstrates it is on the increase. Depending on the world region, infiltration into the legitimate supply chain versus the illegitimate (e.g., the internet) varies greatly. However, what is certain is that the direction of travel by regulatory agents is to develop supply chains that allow access to medicines via the World Wide Web. Within this context, there has been a long-running debate about how to correctly describe the various forms of medicines that are fraudulently or otherwise manufactured and distributed. This article attempts to describe the evolution of the definitions and recommends that a consensus be formed to describe such medicines that reach the public: • Falsified medicine: This being the term used and defined in the Falsified Medicines Directive and which is primarily concerned with public health. • Counterfeit medicine: This is closely associated and legally defined within intellectual property legislation and concentrates on trademark protection. • Fake medicine: This is the term that best serves to communicate with the public to raise awareness about the phenomenon.

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Forecasting the impacts of climate variability: lessons from the rainfed corn market in Ceará, Brazil

Environment and Development Economics ◽

10.1017/s1355770x07004172 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 201-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

ARIASTER B. CHIMELI ◽

FRANCISCO DE ASSIS DE SOUZA FILHO ◽

MARCOS COSTA HOLANDA ◽

FRANCIS CARLO PETTERINI

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Local Climate ◽

The World ◽

Forecast Models ◽

Climatic Impacts ◽

Semi Arid

ABSTRACTA number of studies show that climatic shocks have significant economic impacts in several regions of the world, especially in, but not limited to, developing economies. In this paper we focus on a drought-related indicator of well-being and emergency spending in the Brazilian semi-arid zone – rainfed corn market – and estimate aggregate behavioral and forecast models for this market conditional on local climate determinants. We find encouraging evidence that our approach can help policy makers buy time to help them prepare for drought mitigating actions. The analysis is applicable to economies elsewhere in the world and climatic impacts other than those caused by droughts.

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Epigenetic polymorphism in wild populations of Mus musculus

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672300003566 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 193-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 94

Author(s):

R. J. Berry

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Stabilizing Selection ◽

British Isles ◽

Wild Populations ◽

Local Populations ◽

The World ◽

Different Populations ◽

Different Parts

It has been suggested (Berry & Searle, 1963) that the discontinuous (‘quasi-continuous’) variants studied by Grüneberg et al. in the skeleton of rodents can be regarded as constituting epigenetic polymorphism in different populations. Comparisons have been made between the incidences of skeletal variants in house mouse populations collected from: corn ricks on a single farm in Hampshire; eleven separated localities in different parts of the British Isles; and nine other places throughout the world. These showed that the method could profitably be used for genetically characterizing and hence comparing populations. There was evidence suggestive of genetical drift between local populations and stabilizing selection over a larger area.

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