Impact of Genetic Improvements of Rice on Its Water Use and Effects of Climate Variability in Egypt

Developing and disseminating resilient rice cultivars with increased productivity is a key solution to the problem of limited natural resources such as land and water. We investigated trends in rice cultivation areas and the overall production in Egypt between 2000 and 2018. This study identified rice cultivars that showed potential for high productivity when cultivated under limited irrigation. The results indicated that there were significant annual reductions in both the rice-cultivated area (−1.7% per year) and the production (−1.9% per year) during the study period. Among the commonly cultivated varieties, Sakha101 showed the highest land unit productivity, while Sakha102 showed the highest water unit productivity. The impact of deploying new cultivars was analyzed by substitution scenarios. The results showed that substituting cultivars Giza179 and Sakha107 has the potential to increase land productivity by 15.8% and 22.6%, respectively. This could result in 0.8 million m3 in water savings compared to 2018 water consumption. Long-term impacts of climate variability on the minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity, and average precipitation during on- and off-season for rice productivity were also analyzed using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The results indicated that climate variability has an overall negative impact on rice productivity. Specifically, minimum temperature and on- and off-season precipitation had major long-term impacts, while higher relative humidity had a pronounced short-term impact on rice yields. The study revealed that short-duration cultivars with higher yields provided greater net savings in irrigation resources. These analyses are critical to guide the development of strategic management plans to mitigate short- and long-term climate effects on overall rice production and for developing and deploying improved rice varieties for sustainable rice production.

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Impact of Indo-Pacific Climate Variability on Rice Productivity in Bihar, India

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12177023 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (17) ◽

pp. 7023 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Netrananda Sahu ◽

Atul Saini ◽

Swadhin Behera ◽

Takahiro Sayama ◽

Sridhara Nayak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Southern Oscillation Index ◽

Partial Correlation ◽

Southern Oscillation ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Climate Indices ◽

Rice Productivity ◽

Pacific Climate Variability ◽

The Impact

The impact of Indo-Pacific climate variability in the South Asian region is very pronounced and their impact on agriculture is very important for the Indian subcontinent. In this study, rice productivity, climatic factors (Rainfall, Temperature and Soil Moisture) and associated major Indo-Pacific climate indices in Bihar were investigated. Bihar is one of the major rice-producing states of India and the role of climate variability and prevailing climate indices in six events (between 1991–2014) with severer than −10% rice productivity are analyzed. The Five-year moving average, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation, Partial Correlation, Linear Regression Model, Mann Kendall Test, Sen’s Slope and some other important statistical techniques were used to understand the association between climatic variables and rice productivity. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation provided an overview of the significant correlation between climate indices and rice productivity. Whereas, Partial Correlation provided the most refined results on it and among all the climate indices, Niño 3, Ocean Niño Index and Southern Oscillation Index are found highly associated with years having severer than −10% decline in rice productivity. Rainfall, temperature and soil moisture anomalies are analyzed to observe the importance of climate factors in rice productivity. Along with the lack of rainfall, lack of soil moisture and persistent above normal temperature (especially maximum temperature) are found to be the important factors in cases of severe loss in rice productivity. Observation of the dynamics of ocean-atmosphere coupling through the composite map shows the Pacific warming signals during the event years. The analysis revealed a negative (positive) correlation of rice productivity with the Niño 3 and Ocean Niño Index (Southern Oscillation Index).

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Investigation of Low-Cost and Optical Particulate Matter Sensors for Ambient Monitoring

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos11101040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1040

Author(s):

Mariusz Rogulski ◽

Artur Badyda

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Low Cost ◽

Reference Station ◽

Correction Function ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Large Set ◽

Campaign Evaluation ◽

The Impact

This article presents a long-term evaluation of low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors in a field measurements campaign. Evaluation was performed in two phases. During the first five months of the campaign, two PM sensors were simultaneously compared with the results from the reference air quality monitoring station in various atmospheric conditions—from the days with freezing cold (minimum temperature below −10 °C) and high relative humidity (up to 95%) to the days with the maximum temperature above 30 °C and low relative humidity (at the level of 25%). Based on the PM10 measurements, the correlation coefficients for both devices in relation to the reference station were determined (r = 0.91 and r = 0.94, respectively), as well as the impact of temperature and relative humidity on measurements from the low-cost sensors in relation to the reference values. The correction function was formulated based on this large set of low-cost PM10 measurements and referential values. The effectiveness of the corrective function was verified during the second measurement campaign carried out in the city of Nowy Sącz (located in southern Poland) for the same five months in the following year. The absolute values of the long-term percentage errors obtained after adjustment were reduced to a maximum of about 20%, and the average percentage errors were usually around 10%.

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Health risk assessment and countermeasure analysis of the elderly population exposed to PM2.5 microenvironment

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-205361 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Yan Xu ◽

Wantian Cui

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Risk ◽

Elderly Population ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The Elderly ◽

Exposure Concentration ◽

Physical Diseases ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: China’s atmospheric PM2.5 pollution is serious, and PM2.5 exerts a negative impact on the human respiratory system, cardiovascular, and mental health, and even more serious health risk for the elderly with weak immunity. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to analyse the impacts of PM2.5 microenvironment exposure on the health of the elderly and provide corresponding countermeasures. METHODS: The survey subjects are 118 retired elderly people in the community. PM2.5 exposure concentrations are monitored in summer (June 10 ∼ July 10, 2019) and winter (November 25 ∼ December 25, 2019). RESULTS: The exposure concentration in winter is higher than that in summer, with statistical difference (P < 0.05). Under the impact of PM2.5 microenvironment exposure, smoking in the elderly can increase the concentration of PM2.5, and long-term exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly can cause mental health problems. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure of the elderly to the PM2.5 microenvironment leads to physical diseases and even psychological problems, which requires attention.

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Modeling the Impact of Climate Changes on Crop Yield: Irrigated vs. Non-Irrigated Zones in Mississippi

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13122249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 2249

Author(s):

Sadia Alam Shammi ◽

Qingmin Meng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Information Criterion ◽

Growing Season ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

The Impact

Climate change and its impact on agriculture are challenging issues regarding food production and food security. Many researchers have been trying to show the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on agriculture using different methods. In this study, we used linear regression models to assess the impact of climate on crop yield spatially and temporally by managing irrigated and non-irrigated crop fields. The climate data used in this study are Tmax (maximum temperature), Tmean (mean temperature), Tmin (minimum temperature), precipitation, and soybean annual yields, at county scale for Mississippi, USA, from 1980 to 2019. We fit a series of linear models that were evaluated based on statistical measurements of adjusted R-square, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). According to the statistical model evaluation, the 1980–1992 model Y[Tmax,Tmin,Precipitation]92i (BIC = 120.2) for irrigated zones and the 1993–2002 model Y[Tmax,Tmean,Precipitation]02ni (BIC = 1128.9) for non-irrigated zones showed the best fit for the 10-year period of climatic impacts on crop yields. These models showed about 2 to 7% significant negative impact of Tmax increase on the crop yield for irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Besides, the models for different agricultural districts also explained the changes of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation in the irrigated (adjusted R-square: 13–28%) and non-irrigated zones (adjusted R-square: 8–73%). About 2–10% negative impact of Tmax was estimated across different agricultural districts, whereas about −2 to +17% impacts of precipitation were observed for different districts. The modeling of 40-year periods of the whole state of Mississippi estimated a negative impact of Tmax (about 2.7 to 8.34%) but a positive impact of Tmean (+8.9%) on crop yield during the crop growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Overall, we assessed that crop yields were negatively affected (about 2–8%) by the increase of Tmax during the growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated zones. Both positive and negative impacts on crop yields were observed for the increases of Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation, respectively, for irrigated and non-irrigated zones. This study showed the pattern and extent of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation and their impacts on soybean yield at local and regional scales. The methods and the models proposed in this study could be helpful to quantify the climate change impacts on crop yields by considering irrigation conditions for different regions and periods.

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South Africa’s increasing climate variability and its effect on food production

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.1177/00307270211004970 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003072702110049

Author(s):

Mashudu Tshikovhi ◽

Roscoe Bertrum van Wyk

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Food Production ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Mean Annual Temperature ◽

Fixed Effects Panel Regression ◽

The Impact

This study examines the impact of increasing climate variability on food production in South Africa, focusing on maize and wheat yields. A two-way fixed effects panel regression model was used to assess the climate variability impacts, analysing secondary data for the period 2000 to 2019 for nine provinces in South Africa. The study found that increasing climate variability has a negative impact on maize and wheat production in South Africa. Specifically, the results indicated a negative correlation between mean annual temperature with both maize and wheat yields. A decrease in precipitation affected maize yields negatively, while the impact on wheat yields was positive, although insignificant. This analysis, therefore, depicted that crop yields generally increase with more annual precipitation and decrease with higher temperatures. The study recommends that funding initiatives to educate farmers on increasing climate variability and its effects on farming activities in South Africa should be prioritised.

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PSIKOEDUKASI MENGENAI DAMPAK BULLYING DAN CARA MENINGKATKAN SELF-ESTEEM PADA REMAJA

Jurnal Bakti Masyarakat Indonesia ◽

10.24912/jbmi.v3i1.8058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Grace Amin

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Religious Communities ◽

Short Term ◽

Aggressive Action ◽

Effects Of Bullying ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

The Impact

Bullying is deliberate aggressive action, using an imbalance of strength physically or mentally by hurting physical, verbal, or emotional / psychological forms repeatedly. In the last decade, cases of bullying in Indonesia continue to increase and if not handled properly will increasingly have a negative impact on the development of the children of the nation's next generation. Bullying does not only affect children who are bullied but can also affect children who bully, children who witness bullying. Some of the effects of bullying include anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. The purpose of community engagement is to socialize the impact of bullying and how to increase self-esteem to adolescents. Through psychoeducation programs in adolescents such as schools and teenagers religious communities in the Cikarang - Bekasi region, young people gain an in-depth understanding of bullying, its effects and how to increase their confidence. Through this psychoeducation, teenagers understand the understanding, types and effects of bullying both short term and long term so they promise to resist bullying starting from themselves. Teenagers learn that humans are social beings who need each other. They learn about the meaning of diversity and bhineka tunggal ika and try to implement it in their next lives by respecting the differences in their environment. These teenagers learn to respect themselves more, see the positive things that God has given them. They try to always believe in themselves that they are perfect and valuable beings in God's eyes so that even though the environment around them may not appreciate, they can still see positive things in themselvesABSTRAK:Bullying adalah tindakan agresif yang disengaja, menggunakan ketidakseimbangan kekuatan secara fisik atau mental dengan cara menyakiti bentuk fisik, verbal, atau emosional/ psikologis secara berulang – ulang. Dalam satu decade terakhir, kasus bullying di Indonesia terus meningkat dan bila tidak ditangani dengan baik akan semakin berdampak negative bagi perkembangan anak – anak generasi penerus bangsa. Tindakan bullying tidak hanya berdampak pada anak yang di-bully tetapi juga dapat berdampak pada anak yang mem-bully, anak yang menyaksikan bullying. Beberapa dampak bullying diantaranya kecemasan, depresi, serta rendahnya harga diri (self-esteem). Tujuan dari pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini adalah untuk mensosialisasikan dampak bullying serta cara meningkatkan self-esteem kepada para remaja. Melalui program psikoedukasi di lingkungan remaja seperti sekolah maupun komunitas keagamaan remaja wilayah Cikarang – Bekasi, para remaja mendapatkan pemahaman mendalam mengenai bullying, dampaknya serta bagaimana cara meningkatkan kepercayaan diri mereka. Melalui psikoedukasi ini, para remaja memahami pengertian, jenis serta dampak bullying baik jangka pendek maupun jangka panjang sehingga mereka berjanji untuk bersikap menolak bullying mulai dari diri mereka sendiri. Para remaja belajar bahwa manusia adalah mahluk social yang saling membutuhkan. Mereka belajar tentang makna keberagaman dan Bhineka Tunggal Ika serta berusaha mengimplementasikannya dalam kehidupan mereka selanjutnya dengan cara menghargai perbedaan yang ada di lingkungannya. Remaja ini belajar untuk lebih menghargai diri mereka, melihat hal positif yang telah diberikan Tuhan kepada mereka. Mereka mencoba untuk selalu menanamkan dalam diri bahwa mereka adalah mahluk yang sempurna dan berharga di mata Tuhan sehingga walaupun lingkungan di sekitar mereka mungkin tidak menghargai, mereka tetap dapat melihat hal positif dalam diri mereka.

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Impact of COVID-19 on the trade of goods and services in Spain

Applied Economic Analysis ◽

10.1108/aea-11-2020-0156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Asier Minondo

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

The European Union ◽

Firm Level ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Content Type ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Trade Of Services ◽

The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the trade of goods and services in Spain. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses monthly trade data at the product, region and firm level. Findings The COVID-19 crisis has led to the sharpest collapse in the Spanish trade of goods and services in recent decades. The containment measures adopted to arrest the spread of the virus have caused an especially intense fall of trade in services. The large share of transport equipment, capital goods, products that are consumed outdoors (i.e., outdoor goods) and tourism in Spanish exports has made the COVID-19 trade crisis more intense in Spain than in the rest of the European Union. Practical implications The nature of the collapse suggests that trade in goods can recover swiftly when the health crisis ends. However, COVID-19 may have a long-term negative impact on the trade of services that rely on the movement of people. Originality/value It contributes to understand how COVID-19 has affected the trade in goods and services in Spain.

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The Impact of Emigration on National Development in the Arab Region: The Case of the Yemen Arab Republic

International Migration Review ◽

10.1177/019791838201600403 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 757-780 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Nader Fergany

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

National Development ◽

Arab Countries ◽

Labor Movements ◽

Short Term ◽

Arab Region ◽

Wide Scale ◽

The Impact ◽

Yemen Arab Republic

Labor migration among Arab countries is the most important phenomenon in the political economy of that region at present and will remain so for some time. The focus of this article is the impact of emigration on national development in labor sending countries experiencing wide-scale emigration, the main contention being that, due to the characteristics of contemporary labor movements among Arab countries, there obtains a contradiction between short term benefits and long term adverse effects. The article briefly defines development, then presents empirical evidence from the Yemen Arab Republic of the negative impact of labor emigration.

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Effectiveness of Irrigation Access on Sticky Rice Productivity: Evidence from Lao PDR

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11205839 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (20) ◽

pp. 5839 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bouasone Sengsourivong ◽

Masaru Ichihashi

Keyword(s):

Irrigation System ◽

Lao Pdr ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Total Production ◽

Rice Productivity ◽

Monitoring Procedure ◽

Local Farmer ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact

This study estimates the impact of irrigation on household sticky rice productivity in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) by applying propensity score matching (PSM) and the difference-in-differences (DID) method. This paper utilizes panel data from the Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS) from 2003 to 2013. The results show that the average sales value and total production of sticky rice for irrigated households is greater than those for non-irrigated households by around 36 to 38% per season. Moreover, irrigated households experience improved sticky rice productivity of approximately 2.44 tons per hectare, per season, compared to non-irrigated households. In particular, compared to households with access to irrigation in one period of the surveys, households with access to irrigation in two periods of the surveys have nearly double the sticky rice productivity. Therefore, long-term access to irrigation is more effective for sticky rice productivity. However, we cannot find any evidence to support the impact of irrigation on household consumption. Some policy implications that can be derived from this research are that farmers should be intensively promoted to make the most use of irrigation, development of irrigation system is highly needed, and to ensure effectiveness of irrigation utilization local farmer involvement in monitoring procedure of irrigation is necessary.

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on core surgical training

Scottish Medical Journal ◽

10.1177/0036933020949217 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 65 (4) ◽

pp. 133-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Khurram Shahzad Khan ◽

Rona Keay ◽

Morag McLellan ◽

Sajid Mahmud

Keyword(s):

Surgical Training ◽

Teaching Hospital ◽

General Surgery ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Outpatient Clinics ◽

Box Trainer ◽

Surgical Trainees ◽

Long Term Impact ◽

The Impact

Background and aims COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in training which is even more pronounced in the surgical specialties. We aim to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on core surgical training. Methods All core surgical and improving surgical trainees in West of Scotland region were invited to participate in an online voluntary anonymous survey via SurveyMonkey. Results 28 of 44 (63.6%) trainees responded, 15 (53.6%) were CT1/ST1. 14 (50.0%) working in teaching hospital and 15 (53.6%) working in general surgery. 20 (71.4%) felt that due to the pandemic they have less opportunity to operate as the primary surgeon. 21 (75.0%) have not attended any outpatient clinics. 8 (28.6%) did not have any form of access to the laparoscopic box-trainer. 20 (71.4%) felt their level of confidence in preforming surgical skills has been negatively impacted. 18 (64.3%) found it difficult to demonstrate progress in portfolio. 21 (75.0%) trainees have not attended any teaching. 10 (35.7%) trainees have been off-sick. 8 (28.6%) trainees have felt slightly or significantly more stressed. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic has an unprecedented negative impact on all aspects of core surgical training. The long term impact on the current cohort of trainees is yet to be seen.

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