Forecast‐Cartographic Modeling of Pasture Production of the Volgograd Region Based on Remote Sensing

Aim. The work is devoted to identifying the productivity of pasture landscapes in the Volgograd region. The aim was to determine the direction of trends and the values of the coefficients of proportionality which would permit the definition of areas where the productivity of natural zonal vegetation has increased or decreased from 2000 until today. Material and Methods. Pasture productivity assessment is based on the analysis of the NDVI vegetation index, which is widely used in such studies. For analysis, specific pasture areas were identified in accordance with Global Land Cover, divided into egular grids and given overlays corresponding with the boundaries of municipalities and landscapes. Results. The largest areas of natural zonal pastures are located in the Trans‐Volga region and on the sandy massifs of the Don River valley. About 60% of pasture land has an average weighted average long‐term NDVI value from 0.3 to 0.4, and approximately a quarter – from 0.4 to 0.5. In most parts of the region there are negative NDVI trends. The highest rate of degradation is noted in the Trans‐Volga region. This is associated with larger pasturing loads than in the rest of the region, as well as with the regular occurrence of steppe fires. Conclusion. In summation: the productivity trends of zonal pastures in the Volgograd region have been determined, as have areas with different NDVI directions and dynamics. The application of these results in practice should make it possible to predict pasture productivity in various municipal districts and landscapes of the region, and thus assist in the regulation of pasture loads and the mitigation of risks of vegetation degradation.

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Central Otago - Built on gold, growing on grass.

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.2014.76.2950 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 76 ◽

pp. 15-23

Author(s):

Barrie J. Wills

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Land Use ◽

National Economy ◽

Local Community ◽

Central Government ◽

Future Generations ◽

Economic Potential ◽

District Council ◽

Definition Of

A warm welcome to our "World of Difference" to all delegates attending this conference - we hope your stay is enjoyable and that you will leave Central Otago with an enhanced appreciation of the diversity of land use and the resilient and growing economic potential that this region has to offer. Without regional wellbeing the national economy will struggle to grow, something Central Government finally seems to be realising, and the Central Otago District Council Long Term Plan 2012-2022 (LTP) signals the importance of establishing a productive economy for the local community which will aid in the economic growth of the district and seeks to create a thriving economy that will be attractive to business and residents alike. Two key principles that underpin the LTP are sustainability and affordability, with the definition of sustainability being "… development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

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The long-term testing results of various poplars’ forms and hybrids in Volgograd Region

Proceedings of the Kuban State Agrarian University ◽

10.21515/1999-1703-73-244-248 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (73) ◽

pp. 244-248

Author(s):

Raisa Tsareva ◽

◽

Vadim Tsarev ◽

Keyword(s):

Volgograd Region

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Populism and Liberal Democracy

10.1093/oso/9780198837886.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Takis S. Pappas

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Liberal Democracy ◽

The United States ◽

Comprehensive Theory ◽

The People ◽

Original Definition ◽

Key Issues ◽

Great Relevance ◽

Definition Of

Based on an original definition of modern populism as “democratic illiberalism” and many years of meticulous research, Takis Pappas marshals extraordinary empirical evidence from Argentina, Greece, Peru, Italy, Venezuela, Ecuador, Hungary, the United States, Spain, and Brazil to develop a comprehensive theory about populism. He addresses all key issues in the debate about populism and answers significant questions of great relevance for today’s liberal democracy, including: • What is modern populism and how can it be differentiated from comparable phenomena like nativism and autocracy? • Where in Latin America has populism become most successful? Where in Europe did it emerge first? Why did its rise to power in the United States come so late? • Is Trump a populist and, if so, could he be compared best with Venezuela’s Chávez, France’s Le Pens, or Turkey’s Erdoğan? • Why has populism thrived in post-authoritarian Greece but not in Spain? And why in Argentina and not in Brazil? • Can populism ever succeed without a charismatic leader? If not, what does leadership tell us about how to challenge populism? • Who are “the people” who vote for populist parties, how are these “made” into a group, and what is in their minds? • Is there a “populist blueprint” that all populists use when in power? And what are the long-term consequences of populist rule? • What does the expansion, and possibly solidification, of populism mean for the very nature and future of contemporary democracy? Populism and Liberal Democracy will change the ways the reader understands populism and imagines the prospects of liberal democracy.

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Consistent Long-Term Monthly Coastal Wetland Vegetation Monitoring Using a Virtual Satellite Constellation

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13030438 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 438

Author(s):

Subrina Tahsin ◽

Stephen C. Medeiros ◽

Arvind Singh

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Index ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Mean Squared Error ◽

Wetland Vegetation ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Vegetation Monitoring ◽

Time Space

Long-term monthly coastal wetland vegetation monitoring is the key to quantifying the effects of natural and anthropogenic events, such as severe storms, as well as assessing restoration efforts. Remote sensing data products such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), alongside emerging data analysis techniques, have enabled broader investigations into their dynamics at monthly to decadal time scales. However, NDVI data suffer from cloud contamination making periods within the time series sparse and often unusable during meteorologically active seasons. This paper proposes a virtual constellation for NDVI consisting of the red and near-infrared bands of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, Sentinel-2A Multi-Spectral Instrument, and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. The virtual constellation uses time-space-spectrum relationships from 2014 to 2018 and a random forest to produce synthetic NDVI imagery rectified to Landsat 8 format. Over the sample coverage area near Apalachicola, Florida, USA, the synthetic NDVI showed good visual coherence with observed Landsat 8 NDVI. Comparisons between the synthetic and observed NDVI showed Root Mean Squared Error and Coefficient of Determination (R2) values of 0.0020 sr−1 and 0.88, respectively. The results suggest that the virtual constellation was able to mitigate NDVI data loss due to clouds and may have the potential to do the same for other data. The ability to participate in a virtual constellation for a useful end product such as NDVI adds value to existing satellite missions and provides economic justification for future projects.

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Long-term changes in the plant ecology of an African savanna landscape and the implications for ecosystem theory and conservation management

Ecological Processes ◽

10.1186/s13717-021-00286-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

David Western ◽

Victor N. Mose ◽

David Maitumo ◽

Caroline Mburu

Keyword(s):

Human Impact ◽

National Parks ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Plant Ecology ◽

Ecological Resilience ◽

Pasture Production ◽

Ecosystem Theory ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Studies of the African savannas have used national parks to test ecological theories of natural ecosystems, including equilibrium, non-equilibrium, complex adaptive systems, and the role of top-down and bottom-up physical and biotic forces. Most such studies have excluded the impact of pastoralists in shaping grassland ecosystems and, over the last half century, the growing human impact on the world’s rangelands. The mounting human impact calls for selecting indicators and integrated monitoring methods able to track ecosystem changes and the role of natural and human agencies. Our study draws on five decades of monitoring the Amboseli landscape in southern Kenya to document the declining role of natural agencies in shaping plant ecology with rising human impact. Results We show that plant diversity and productivity have declined, biomass turnover has increased in response to a downsizing of mean plant size, and that ecological resilience has declined with the rising probability of extreme shortfalls in pasture production. The signature of rainfall and physical agencies in driving ecosystem properties has decreased sharply with growing human impact. We compare the Amboseli findings to the long-term studies of Kruger and Serengeti national parks to show that the human influence, whether by design or default, is increasingly shaping the ecology of savanna ecosystems. We look at the findings in the larger perspective of human impact on African grasslands and the world rangelands, in general, and discuss the implications for ecosystem theory and conservation policy and management. Conclusions The Amboseli study shows the value of using long-term integrated ecological monitoring to track the spatial and temporal changes in the species composition, structure, and function of rangeland ecosystems and the role of natural and human agencies in the process of change. The study echoes the widespread changes underway across African savannas and world’s rangelands, concluding that some level of ecosystem management is needed to prevent land degradation and the erosion of ecological function, services, and resilience. Despite the weak application of ecological theory to conservation management, a plant trait-based approach is shown to be useful in explaining the macroecological changes underway.

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“I’ve Heard of It, Yes, but I Can’t Remember What Exactly It Was”—A Qualitative Study on Awareness, Knowledge, and Use of the UV Index

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041615 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1615

Author(s):

Katharina Diehl ◽

Tatiana Görig ◽

Charlotte Jansen ◽

Maike Carola Hruby ◽

Annette B. Pfahlberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Sun Protection ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Protection Factor ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Uv Index ◽

Correct Definition ◽

Definition Of

Pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians play an important role in counselling customers regarding sunscreen use and sun protection measures. A potentially helpful tool that can be used during counselling is the ultraviolet index (UVI), which informs individuals when and what sun protection measures are needed at a specific place and time. Our aim in this qualitative study was to explore awareness, knowledge, and use of the UVI during counselling in pharmacies. We used semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians (n = 20) to answer our research questions. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. During the interviews pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians revealed a lot of uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding the UVI. Eight professionals were able to give a correct definition of UVI. Amongst others, the UVI was confused with sun protection factor. Overall, the UVI was hardly used during the counselling of customers. The UVI was developed to provide guidance when which type of sun protection is required to avoid detrimental effects of ultraviolet radiation. For effective implementation, both the general population and health professionals (e.g., pharmacists) have to increase their knowledge about the UVI. This would strengthen its use during professional counselling in pharmacies and may help to reduce the incidence of skin cancer over the long term.

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It Is Not Just Mortality: A Call From Chile for Comprehensive COVID-19 Policy Responses Among Older People

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbaa092 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pablo Villalobos Dintrans ◽

Jorge Browne ◽

Ignacio Madero-Cabib

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

National Level ◽

Health Issues ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Term Care ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Level Data ◽

Definition Of

Abstract Objective Provide a synthesis of the COVID-19 policies targeting older people in Chile, stressing their short- and long-term challenges. Method Critical analysis of the current legal and policy measures, based on national-level data and international experiences. Results Although several policies have been enacted to protect older people from COVID-19, these measures could have important unintended negative consequences in this group’s mental and physical health, as well as financial aspects. Discussion A wider perspective is needed to include a broader definition of health—considering financial scarcity, access to health services, mental health issues, and long-term care—in the policy responses to COVID-19 targeted to older people in Chile.

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From Ossau and Iraty to PDO Ossau-Iraty

British Food Journal ◽

10.1108/bfj-10-2018-0719 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 121 (12) ◽

pp. 3062-3075 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Morgane Millet

Keyword(s):

Local Development ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Pasture Production ◽

Content Type ◽

Farm Production ◽

Protected Designation Of Origin ◽

Summer Pasture ◽

On Farm ◽

Term Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how a geographical indication (GI) is built through time and how its (non)appropriation by local producers shapes it. The reciprocity of such process is also considered: how the creation of a GI changes local relationships between producers, within the GI and out of it? The case of Ossau-Iraty is relevant: in south-west of France, this protected designation of origin (PDO) has been based on two distinct regions: Bearn (Ossau) and Pays Basque (Iraty). Since then, most producers of Bearn have rejected this PDO. Design/methodology/approach The author adopts a diachronic perspective: the trajectory of the local dairy ewe sector is described, focusing on the trajectory of on-farm cheese makers from Bearn and Pays Basque and the trajectory of Ossau-Iraty. Based on different methods (qualitative interviews and archive research), this paper aims at analyzing the interactions within such heterogeneous networks. Findings When the PDO was created (1980), the opposition between producers of Bearn and Pays Basque was based on strong senses of place, which would be translated in a different perception of tradition: to Bearn producers, PDO Ossau-Iraty would be an industrial cheese, in which they did not recognize their product and themselves. With time, the producers who have been involved in the PDO worked on its specifications. The recognition of symbolic practices such as on-farm production or Summer pasture production, the recognition of differences between Basque cheese and Bearn cheese are changes that contribute to the evolution of perceptions within the local producers’ community. The author observes a recent convergence between Basque producers and Bearn producers, as their distinct products share common and strong qualifications within PDO Ossau-Iraty that contribute to their respective valorization. However, it seems to occur at an institutional level and the adhesion of the local producers might still be at stakes. Research limitations/implications A statistical study could reinforce the author’s exploratory and historical research. Furthermore, it would have been relevant to take local inhabitants and local consumers into account, as they have participated in the products’ qualifications as well. Originality/value A long-term analysis (40 years) contributes to better understand how cheeses are valorized and how such process is based on controversial processes. It contributes to root GIs into local histories, which are nor as consensual neither as uniform as we would primarily think, and to identity levers for sustainable local development.

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Precision in Central Venous Catheter Tip Placement: A Review of the Literature

Journal of the Association for Vascular Access ◽

10.2309/java.15-3-3 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 112-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Russell Hostetter ◽

Nadine Nakasawa ◽

Kim Tompkins ◽

Bradley Hill

Keyword(s):

Central Venous Catheter ◽

Selection Criteria ◽

Weighted Average ◽

Venous Catheter ◽

Central Venous ◽

Catheter Tip ◽

Tip Position ◽

Landmark Technique ◽

The Ideal

Abstract Background: Long term venous catheters have been used to deliver specialized therapies since 1968. The ideal tip position of a central venous catheter provides reliable venous access with optimal therapeutic delivery, while minimizing short-and long-term complications. Ideal position limits have evolved and narrowed over time, making successful placement difficult and unreliable when depending exclusively on the landmark technique. Objective: To review and analyze contemporary literature and calculate an overall accuracy rate for first attempt placement of a PICC catheter in the ideal tip position. Methods: Key PICC placement terms were used to search the database PubMED-indexed for MEDLINE in June and October, 2009. The selection of studies required: a patient cohort without tip placement guidance technology; a documented landmark technique to place catheter tips; data documenting initial catheter placement and, that the lower third of the SVC and the cavo-atrial junction (CAJ) were included in the placement criteria. With few exceptions, articles written between 1993 and 2009 met the stated selection criteria. A composite of outcomes associated with tip placement was analyzed, and an overall percent proficiency of accurate catheter tip placement calculated. Results: Nine studies in eight articles met the selection criteria and were included for analysis. Rates of first placement success per study ranged from 39% to 75%, with the majority (7/9) being single center studies. The combined overall proficiency of these studies calculated as a weighted average was 45.87%.

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