Modelling Farm Level Economic Potential for Conversion to Organic Farming

A farm model is developed for simulating the potential income change resulting from conversion to organic farming. The model uses conventional farm data, taken from the Belgian FADN. Given the normative character of the model, and the impossibility of calibration to historical conversion behaviour, two model variants, a rigid and a flexible, are created to broaden the analysis scope. Moreover, extra attention is paid to the verification process and sensitivity analysis. Results reveal that the economic potential for conversion is rather high, if farmers are willing to change their farm management sufficiently. Furthermore, conversion potential depends on the farm type and conventional farm characteristics. The model finally proves to be an interesting tool to analyse policy impact.organic farming, conversion period, farm model, linear programming, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, C61, Q12,

Governance of planning processes in peri-urban landscapes : a comparison of three 'good examples'

In metropolitan areas are experiencing an increasing competition for land. Besides urbanisation, this competition is due to new societal expectations of the countryside such as space for housing, commercial activities, nature and recreational areas. As a consequence, rural spatial planning processes must attempt to balance the expectations and goals of a variety of stakeholders. Developing a well-balanced, fair and participatory rural planning process appears to be difficult. Previous research has shown that spatial planning processes often lead to resentment among the involved actors and the implementation of the planning goals often lags behind. The objective of our research is to get a better grasp of these decentralised, participatory planning processes. By getting insight into the success and failure-factors of past planning processes we hope to formulate policy guidelines for the governance of rural planning processes. Within this research, we focus on cases in which the stakeholders were satisfied with the course of the planning process. Furthermore we focus on cases in which agricultural land is lost at the expense of other functions. In the highly urbanized region of Flanders, agricultural land is vulnerable and under a continuous pressure. Within our cases we therefore focus on planning processes in which agricultural land is taken over by other functions (e.g. nature or industrial developments). Insight in the governance of such planning processes should provide guidance to policymakers and practitioners in Flanders and other countries with similar planning challenges. With this contribution we want to present the results of a first case in which agricultural land is lost in order to build a new motor-way. The majority of the involved actors indicated that they had a positive perception on the process and its outcomes. By making a qualitative analysis of a series of in-depth interviews we were able to define success factors for rural planning that exceed the particularities of the case-study

Point, polygon, or marker? In search of the best geographic entity for mapping cultural ecosystem services using the online public participation geographic information systems tool, “My Green Place”

The mapping of cultural ecosystem services through online public participation GIS (PPGIS) has predominantly relied on geographic entities, such as points and polygons, to collect spatial data, regardless of their limitations. As the potential of online PPGIS to support planning and design keeps growing, so does the need for more knowledge about data quality and suitable geographic entities to collect data. Using the online PPGIS tool, “My Green Place,” 449 respondents mapped cultural ecosystem services in Ghent by using all three geographic entities: point, polygon, and the novel “marker.” The three geographic entities’ accuracy was analyzed through a quadrat analysis, regressions against the collective truth, the Akaike information criterion, and a preference test based on the survey’s outcomes. The results show that the point reflects the weakest the collective truth, especially for mapping dynamic cultural practices, and the marker reflects it the strongest. The polygon’s performance compares to that of the marker’s, albeit slightly weaker. The marker delivers a more nuanced image of the respondents’ input, is simpler to use, and has less risk of spatial errors. Therefore, we suggest using the marker instead of the point and the polygon when collecting spatial data in future cultural ecosystem services research

The importance of factors affecting the entry of entrepreneurial subjects to organic farming in the Czech Republic

The aim of the article is to identify the key factors influencing the entry of entrepreneurial subjects into the sphere of organic farming in the Czech Republic. Primary data for the research was obtained from a questionnaire survey carried out in 2016 through an internal communication system of the PRO BIO Association, comprising 481 operators in the field of organic farming in the Czech Republic. The research questions mainly concerned the reason for entering the sphere of organic farming, and what influenced this decision, the motivation of entrepreneurs to stay in organic farming and what could possibly be the reason for their departure from this sector of business. Another part of the research questions related to the knowledge about organic farming in the establishment of their business. a combination of factors that are important in deciding on entry into the industry and subsequent stay was found.O

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Opening of an alternative ion permeation pathway in a nociceptor TRP channel

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The effect of antipsychotic medication on sexual function and serum prolactin levels in community-treated schizophrenic patients: results from the Schizophrenia Trial of Aripiprazole (STAR) study (NCT00237913)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia in a community based study on sexual function and prolactin levels comparing the use of aripiprazole and standard of care (SOC), which was a limited choice of three widely used and available antipsychotics (olanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone) (The Schizophrenia Trial of Aripiprazole [STAR] study [NCT00237913]).</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This open-label, 26-week, multi-centre, randomised study compared aripiprazole to SOC (olanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone) in patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV-TR criteria). The primary effectiveness variable was the mean total score of the Investigator Assessment Questionnaire (IAQ) at Week 26. The outcome research variables included the Arizona Sexual Experience scale (ASEX). This along with the data collected on serum prolactin levels at week 4, 8, 12, 18 and 26 will be the focus of this paper.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 555 patients were randomised to receive aripiprazole (n = 284) or SOC (n = 271). Both treatment groups experienced improvements in sexual function from baseline ASEX assessments. However at 8 weeks the aripiprazole treatment group reported significantly greater improvement compared with the SOC group (p = 0.007; OC). Although baseline mean serum prolactin levels were similar in the two treatment groups (43.4 mg/dL in the aripiprazole group and 42.3 mg/dL in the SOC group, p = NS) at Week 26 OC, mean decreases in serum prolactin were 34.2 mg/dL in the aripiprazole group, compared with 13.3 mg/dL in the SOC group (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study findings suggest that aripiprazole has the potential to reduce sexual dysfunction, which in turn might improve patient compliance.</p

Design of a decision support tool for visualising E. coli risks on agricultural land using a stakeholder-driven approach

Enabling knowledge exchange between scientists and decision-makers is becoming increasingly necessary to promote the development of effective decision-support tools (DSTs) for environmental management. Participation of stakeholders in the design process beyond a basic level of consultation is essential for promoting trust in modelled outputs and accelerating eventual uptake of resulting tools and models by end-user communities. This study outlines the development of a DST to visualise and communicate the spatial and temporal patterns ofE. coli(a faecal indicator organism) on agricultural land, as a first step in managing microbial pollution risks to the wider environment. A participatory approach was used to engage regulators, catchment managers, environmental scientists, farmers and farm advisors, researchers in geospatial technologies and water industry staff in the co-design of a novel, user-friendly and accessible DST for guiding on-farm microbial risk assessment. Recommendations for maximising the benefits of a participatory process to DST design are discussed with reference to a series of opportunities and limitations identified by our stakeholder cohort during the development of the Visualising Pathogen &amp; Environmental Risk (ViPER) DST. The resulting toolkit provides environmental managers and farm advisors with one of the first freely-available DSTs for visualising patterns ofE. coliinputs to pasture in space and time, and begins to address the lack of advisory tools currently available for informing decision-making with respect to managing microbial risks in agricultural systems