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

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5839 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Public reporting of performance measures in long-term care in Canada: does it make a difference?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Poldrugovac ◽  
J E Amuah ◽  
H Wei-Randall ◽  
P Sidhom ◽  
K Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Public Reporting ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Evidence of the impact of public reporting of healthcare performance on quality improvement is not yet sufficient to draw conclusions with certainty, despite the important policy implications. This study explored the impact of implementing public reporting of performance indicators of long-term care facilities in Canada. The objective was to analyse whether improvements can be observed in performance measures after publication. Methods We considered 16 performance indicators in long-term care in Canada, 8 of which are publicly reported at a facility level, while the other 8 are privately reported. We analysed data from the Continuing Care Reporting System managed by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and based on information collection with RAI-MDS 2.0 © between the fiscal years 2011 and 2018. A multilevel model was developed to analyse time trends, before and after publication, which started in 2015. The analysis was also stratified by key sample characteristics, such as the facilities' jurisdiction, size, urban or rural location and performance prior to publication. Results Data from 1087 long-term care facilities were included. Among the 8 publicly reported indicators, the trend in the period after publication did not change significantly in 5 cases, improved in 2 cases and worsened in 1 case. Among the 8 privately reported indicators, no change was observed in 7, and worsening in 1 indicator. The stratification of the data suggests that for those indicators that were already improving prior to public reporting, there was either no change in trend or there was a decrease in the rate of improvement after publication. For those indicators that showed a worsening trend prior to public reporting, the contrary was observed. Conclusions Our findings suggest public reporting of performance data can support change. The trends of performance indicators prior to publication appear to have an impact on whether further change will occur after publication. Key messages Public reporting is likely one of the factors affecting change in performance in long-term care facilities. Public reporting of performance measures in long-term care facilities may support improvements in particular in cases where improvement was not observed before publication.

scholarly journals Stability of temperatures from TIMED/SABER v1.07 (2002–2009) and Aura/MLS v2.2 (2004–2009) compared with OH(6-2) temperatures observed at Davis Station, Antarctica

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 21547-21565 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. R. French ◽  
F. J. Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Cold Bias ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Ground Station ◽  
Volume Emission ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Miss Distance ◽  
Hydroxyl Layer ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Long Term Studies

Abstract. Temperature profiles from two satellite instruments – TIMED/SABER and Aura/MLS – have been used to calculate hydroxyl-layer equivalent temperatures for comparison with values measured from OH(6-2) emission lines observed by a ground-based spectrometer located at Davis Station, Antarctica (68° S, 78° E). The profile selection criteria – <500 km from the ground station and solar zenith angles >97° – yielded a total of 2359 SABER profiles over 8 years (2002–2009) and 7407 MLS profiles over 5.5 years (2004–2009). The availability of simultaneous OH volume emission rate (VER) profiles from the SABER (OH-B channel) enabled an assessment of the impact of several different weighting functions in the calculation of OH-equivalent temperatures. The maximum difference between all derived hydroxyl layer equivalent temperatures was less than 3 K. Restricting the miss-distance and miss-time criteria showed little effect on the bias, suggesting that the OH layer is relatively uniform over the spatial and temporal scales considered. However, a significant trend was found in the bias between SABER and Davis OH of ~0.7 K/year over the 8-year period with SABER becoming warmer compared with the Davis OH temperatures. In contrast, Aura MLS exhibited a cold bias of 9.9 ± 0.4 K compared with Davis OH, but importantly, the bias remained constant over the 2004–2009 year period examined. The difference in bias behaviour of the two satellites has significant implications for multi-annual and long-term studies using their data.

Impacts of national parks on tourism: a case study from a prominent alpine national park

2009 ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Michael Getzner
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Overnight Stays

-National parks and other categories of protected areas are often assumed to enhance regional economic development due to park tourism. The current study attempts to estimate the impact of the Hohe Tauern national park (Austria) on tourism by exploring whether and to what extent the national park may have had an influence on tourism development. For most national park communities, the results suggest that the establishment of the national park had some impact by enforcing an already positive trend or by weakening or reversing a negative trend of tourism. However, breakpoint tests exhibit turning points up to several years after the establishment of the park, indicating that taking a national park as the basis for tourism development is a medium to long term development strategy. In the short term, the impact of a national park on tourism is not measurable. Tourism increased by 1 to 3% annually after the breakpoint, indicating that the establishment of a national park has to be incorporated into the tourism and development strategy of a region right from the start. The causal relationship between the establishment of the national park and tourism development may be weak, in particular in communities where the difference between the actual and the forecast numbers of overnight stays is small. Marketing national park tourism and building up a brand or distinctive label may therefore contribute to regional development particularly in the long term.Key words: Tourism, national park, protected area, time series, stationarity, breakpoint test, ARIMA.JEL classifications: R110, L830, C220.Parole chiave: Turismo, parco nazionale, area protetta, serie temporale, stazionarietŕ, test di breakpoint, ARIMA.

scholarly journals A májfunkció romlásának rizikófaktorai sikeres vesetranszplantációt követően

2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (5) ◽  
pp. 186-190
Author(s):  
Bernadett Borda ◽  
Attila Nemes ◽  
Csaba Lengyel ◽  
Tamás Várkonyi ◽  
Ferenc Rárosi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Function ◽  
Immunosuppressive Therapy ◽  
Liver Enzymes ◽  
Graft Loss ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Allograft Function ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract: Introduction: Increase of liver function is one of the most common complications after kidney transplantation due to the use of immunosuppressive therapy and hyperlipidemia in addition to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Method: Following the selection criteria (n = 59), the study is based on applied immunosuppressive therapy, baseline data of patients, further correlation between HCV and liver function deterioration. Patients were subjected to fasting laboratory examination to monitor serum electrolytes, uric acid and albumin levels. We looked at the effects of immunosuppressive therapy on the lipids (TG, TC, HDL, LDL) and liver enzymes (GOT, GPT, ALP, GGT). The analysis of the relationship between lipids and liver enzymes was also included in our study. Results: The data basics were not significantly different between the tacrolimus and the cyclosporine groups. In the laboratory results, Mg levels were significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.044). The impact of HCV on the liver function was significantly different on GGT (p = 0.008). We examed the lipids and liver function level between the tacrolimus and the patients receiving cyclosporine-based immunosuppression and the total cholesterol (p = 0.005) and GOT (p = 0.05) were significantly different between the two groups. Hyperlipidemia was associated with 26% of patients taking tacrolimus-based immunosuppression, and 89% of those receiving cyclosporine; the difference was significant (p = 0.002). Regarding the effect of hyperlipidemia on liver enzymes, ALP (p = 0.006) and GGT (p = 0.0001) were significantly higher. Conclusion: Increases in hepatic enzymes, ALT and GGT indicate the damage to hepatocytes. Beside the increase of liver function, which is the main risk factor in hepatitis on HCV soil, the applied immunosuppressive therapy and hyperlipidemia lead to degradation of allograft function and long-term graft loss. Orv hetil. 2019; 160(5): 186–190.

scholarly journals Stability of temperatures from TIMED/SABER v1.07 (2002–2009) and Aura/MLS v2.2 (2004–2009) compared with OH(6-2) temperatures observed at Davis Station, Antarctica

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 11439-11446 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. R. French ◽  
F. J. Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Cold Bias ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Ground Station ◽  
Volume Emission ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Miss Distance ◽  
Hydroxyl Layer ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Long Term Studies

Abstract. Temperature profiles from two satellite instruments – TIMED/SABER and Aura/MLS – have been used to calculate hydroxyl-layer equivalent temperatures for comparison with values measured from OH(6-2) emission lines observed by a ground-based spectrometer located at Davis Station, Antarctica (68° S, 78° E). The profile selection criteria – miss-distance <500 km from the ground station and solar zenith angles >97° – yielded a total of 2359 SABER profiles over 8 years (2002–2009) and 7407 MLS profiles over 5.5 years (2004–2009). The availability of simultaneous OH volume emission rate (VER) profiles from the SABER (OH-B channel) enabled an assessment of the impact of several different weighting functions in the calculation of OH-equivalent temperatures. The maximum difference between all derived hydroxyl layer equivalent temperatures was less than 3 K. Restricting the miss-distance and miss-time criteria showed little effect on the bias, suggesting that the OH layer is relatively uniform over the spatial and temporal scales considered. However, a significant trend was found in the bias between SABER and Davis OH of ~0.7 K/year over the 8-year period with SABER becoming warmer compared with the Davis OH temperatures. In contrast, Aura/MLS exhibited a cold bias of 9.9 ± 0.4 K compared with Davis OH, but importantly, the bias remained constant over the 2004–2009 year period examined. The difference in bias behaviour of the two satellites has significant implications for multi-annual and long-term studies using their data.

scholarly journals The impact of cognitive dysfunction on mid- and long-term mortality after vascular surgery

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andras Szabo ◽  
Nikoletta Czobor ◽  
Adam Nagy ◽  
Krisztina Toth ◽  
Csaba Eke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Surgery ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Mmse Score ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Long Term Mortality

Abstract Background: In the last decades prior studies noted the importance of frailty which is a frequently used term in perioperative risk evaluation. We investigated frailty syndrome as the psychological and socioeconomic elements of the human being. The aim of this study was assessing the importance of these factors for mortality after vascular surgery.Methods: In our prospective, observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02224222) we examined 164 patients who underwent an elective vascular surgery between 2014 and 2017. At the point of admission they filled out a questionnaire, in this way the patients’ cognitive functions, depression and anxiety, social support and self-reported life quality were mapped. We used Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier method for relative risk calculation and survival analyses. Propensity score matching was performed to analyze the difference between patient and control, nation-wide population cohort. Effects of psychosocial factors on long term mortality were defined as primary outcome. Results: The patients mean age were 67.05 years (SD: 9.49 years). One out of four patients had some kind of cognitive impairment measured by Mini Mental State Examination with modified, more sensitive cut-off values. In univariate Cox regression higher MMSE score was associated decreased risk for all-cause mortality (OR: 0.883, 95% CI: 0.802-0.973, p=0.012). After clusters were created according to MMSE score relative risks were calculated. Even mild cognitive dysfunction could increase risk for long term mortality (AHR: 1.634, 95% CI: 1.118-2.368, p=0.009).Conclusion: Even mild cognitive dysfunction measured by the MMSE preoperatively could be an important risk factor for mortality after vascular surgery.

scholarly journals The Effect of Prolonged Irrigation on Soil-amelioration State of the Aley River Steppe in Altai Krai

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Gornostal
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Soil Amelioration ◽  
Chemical Properties Of Soils ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Literary Materials ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Water And Salt Balance

On the basis of many years of research conducted at the Aley River irrigation system and generalization of literary materials, the impact of irrigation on soil fertility, composition and properties of chernozemic, meadow chernozemic and chernozemic meadow soils, their water and salt regime, and crop productivity has been established. A comprehensive assessment of the long-term impact of irrigation on the change in the hydrophysical and chemical properties of soils and the ecological and reclamation state of the irrigated area is given. The influence of long-term irrigation on the nature and direction of the dynamics of groundwater and salt levels in soils is revealed. The water and salt balance of soils has been compiled, depending on the characteristics and duration of irrigation. It is proved that in conditions of insufficient drainage of the territory, non-compliance with scientifically grounded irrigation regimes, rational irrigation techniques, violation of agricultural technology and crop rotation during long-term irrigation leads to the deterioration of some properties of soils, their salinization and alkalination. Regularities and changes in soil-amelioration conditions during prolonged irrigation of land have been established.

scholarly journals Hybrid Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue Turfgrass Irrigation in Central California: I. Assessment of Visual Quality, Soil Moisture and Performance of an ET-Based Smart Controller

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1666
Author(s):  
Amir Haghverdi ◽  
Maggie Reiter ◽  
Anish Sapkota ◽  
Amninder Singh
Keyword(s):  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Precipitation Rate ◽  
Irrigation Frequency ◽  
Central California ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Impact

Research-based information regarding the accuracy and reliability of smart irrigation controllers for autonomous landscape irrigation water conservation is limited in central California. A two-year irrigation research trial (2018–2019) was conducted in Parlier, California, to study the response of hybrid bermudagrass and tall fescue to varying irrigation scenarios (irrigation levels and irrigation frequency) autonomously applied using a Weathermatic ET-based smart controller. The response of turfgrass species to the irrigation treatments was visually assessed and rated. In addition, turfgrass water response functions (TWRFs) were developed to estimate the impact of irrigation scenarios on the turfgrass species based on long-term mean reference evapotranspiration (ETo) data. The Weathermatic controller overestimated ETo between 5and 7% in 2018 and between 5 and 8% in 2019 compared with California Irrigation Management Information System values. The controller closely followed programmed watering-days restrictions across treatments in 2018 and 2019 and adjusted the watering-days based on ETo demand when no restriction was applied. The low half distribution uniformity and precipitation rate of the irrigation system were 0.78 and 28 mm h−1, respectively. The catch-cans method substantially underestimated the precipitation rate of the irrigation system and caused over-irrigation by the smart controller. No water-saving and turfgrass quality improvement was observed owing to restricting irrigation frequency (watering days). For the hybrid bermudagrass, the visual rating (VR) for 101% ETo treatment stayed above the minimum acceptable value of six during the trial. For tall fescue, the 108% ETo level with 3 d wk−1 frequency kept the VR values in the acceptable range in 2018 except for a short period in mid-trial. The TWRF provided a good fit to experimental data with r values of 0.79 and 0.75 for tall fescue and hybrid bermudagrass, respectively. The estimated VR values by TWRF suggested 70–80% ETo as the minimum irrigation application to maintain the acceptable hybrid bermudagrass quality in central California during the high water demand months (i.e., May to August) based on long-term mean ETo data. The TWRF estimations suggest that 100% ETo would be sufficient to maintain the tall fescue quality for only 55 days. This might be an overestimation impacted by the relatively small tall fescue VR data in 2019 owing to minimal fertilizer applications and should be further investigated in the future.

scholarly journals Stochastically Assessing the Financial Sustainability of Individual Accounts in the Urban Enterprise Employees’ Pension Plan in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Zaigui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Pension Plan ◽  
The Self ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Individual Accounts

Various countries are paying increasing attention to the long-term financial sustainability of pension plans, and the self-balancing ability of such plans is an important index to measure their long-term financial sustainability. This paper explores the financial self-balancing ability of the individual accounts of China’s urban enterprise employees’ pension plan (UEEPPI). In the particularly serious scenario that the individual accounts’ previous accumulated funds are zero, the bookkeeping rate and the investment return rate are considered as stochastic variables in the in-depth analysis of the self-balancing ability of individual accounts, and the effects of two different bookkeeping behaviors are compared. The results indicate that if the government adopts the fixed bookkeeping rate, the individual accounts have an excellent self-balancing ability. If the government adopts a stochastic bookkeeping rate, it can further improve the self-balancing ability of individual accounts. Sensitivity analysis finds that the increase in the wage growth rate can improve the self-balancing ability of individual accounts, but the impact of contribution rate of individual accounts and the contribution wages of recruits create uncertainty. Based on the conclusions, some policy implications are proposed.

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