Neighbouring Countries (neighbouring + country)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


State Collapse and its Implications for Peace,Building and Reconstruction

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2002
Alexandros Yannis
At the beginning of the twenty,first century, terms such as state collapse and failed states are becoming familiar, regularly used in international politics to describe a new and frightening challenge to international security. The dramatic events of September 11 have pushed the issue of collapsed states further into the limelight. This article has two aims. Firstly, it explains the contextual factors that gave rise to the phenomenon of state collapse. In the early post,Cold War period, state collapse was usually viewed as a regional phenomenon, and concerns were mainly limited to humanitarian consequences for the local population and destabilizing effects on neighbouring countries. Now, state collapse is seen in a more global context, and concerns are directed at the emergence of groups of non,state actors who are hostile to the fundamental values and interests of the international society such as peace, stability, rule of law, freedom and democracy. Secondly, the article offers some observations about the normative implications of the phenomenon of state collapse for peace,building and reconstruction. [source]


Vocational Education and Training and Human Capital Development: current practice and future options

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010
MANFRED WALLENBORN
EU neighbouring countries (partner countries) have made considerable efforts to improve their vocational education and training (VET) systems, with different policies and strategies that take account of country-specific priorities in human capital development. This article addresses the donor community. It analyses the role of partner countries' VET in contributing to human capital development in order to benefit better from the globalised economy. The emerging debate on the role of VET in these countries and among donors is considered in terms of the functional dimensions of employability, productivity and sustainable growth, taking into account the economic, social and ecological dimension of growth and development. Not addressed is the systemic perspective on VET in terms of improving existing curricula, learning arrangements and textbooks. The article focuses, rather, on functional dimensions of VET that are relevant to achieve development goals and makes some recommendations for international cooperation. Given the complexity of multi-stakeholder-driven VET systems, cooperation needs to build on existing VET structures. Moreover, cooperation must contribute to an effective reform implementation. [source]


Chenopodium probstii and Chenopodium missouriense: two North American plant species in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and neighbouring countries

FEDDES REPERTORIUM, Issue 5-6 2004
J. Dostálek Ing.
This paper presents the results of a floristic-taxonomic survey of two North American invasive species, Chenopodium probstiiAellen and Ch. missourienseAellen, in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and neighbouring countries. It is based mainly on the results of a re-analysis of the authors' herbarium material collected from 1957 to 2003, deposited mainly in the PRA Herbarium (herbarium of the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Pr,honice near Prague). Also, the chorology and ecology of both species in Czechian and Slovakian are discussed. In addition, a summary of data on the occurrence of both species throughout their distribution is presented, with emphasis on European records. On the basis of this analysis, the hypothetical origin of Ch. probstii in North America is confirmed. First-time records of this species are presented for Egypt, North Korea, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. The second species, Ch. missouriense, is reported for the first time from Slovakia and Austria. Sources of further dissemination of both species in their secondary European area of distribution are described. In Europe, both these invasive species are in the pro- cess of naturalisation (ephemerophyte , epoecophyte), approximately in the resting-phase lag; significant range expansion can be expected in the near future, especially for Ch. probstii. Chenopodium probstii und Chenopodium missouriense, zwei nordamerikanische Arten in der Tschechischen Republik, der Slowakischen Republik und benachbarten Ländern Diese Arbeit präsentiert Ergebnisse einer floristisch-taxonomischen Untersuchung von zwei nordamerikanischen Invasionsarten, und zwar Chenopodium probstiiAellen und Ch. missourienseAellen in der Tschechischen Republik, in der Slowakischen Republik und in benachbarten Ländern. Sie stützt sich vorwiegend auf Resultate des eigenen Herbarmaterials der Jahre 1957,2003, das vorwiegend im Herbarium PRA (= Herbarsammlung des Botanischen Instituts der Akademie der Wissenschaften der Tschechischen Republik in Pr,honice bei Praha) deponiert ist. Auch wurden Chorologie und Ökologie beider Arten in Tschechien und in der Slowakei analysiert. Gleichzeitig wurden die Angaben über das Vorkommen beider Arten im gesamten Areal unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Geschichte ihrer Ausbreitung im sekundären Teil ihrer Areale, vor allem in Europa zusammengefasst. Durch diese Analyse wurde der Ursprung von Ch. probstii in Nordamerika bestätigt. Chenopodium probstii wurde als neue adventive Art auch in Ägypten und Nordkorea, in Europa zum ersten Mal in Polen, Slowenien, Kroatien und Rumänien beobachtet. Eine weitere Art, Ch. missouriense, wurde zum ersten Mal in der Slowakei und in Österreich erwähnt. Diasporenquellen beider Arten im sekundären europäischen Areal werden ebenfalls angeführt. In Europa sind beide invasive Arten im Prozess der Einbürgerung (Ephemerophyt , Epoökophyt), die vermutlich in der Ruhephase abläuft. Eine expansive Ausbreitung können wir in der nächsten Zeit vor allem von Ch. probstii erwarten. Bisher gehören beide Arten zu den potentiellen Unkräutern. [source]


Hydro-meteorological variability in the greater Ganges,Brahmaputra,Meghna basins

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2004
MD. Rashed Chowdhury
Abstract The flows of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) are highly seasonal, and heavily influenced by monsoon rainfall. As a result, these rivers swell to their banks and often overflow during the monsoon months. This is most pronounced in the downstream regions, particularly in Bangladesh, which is the lowest riparian country. The objective of this paper is to study this hydro-meteorological variability in the greater GBM regions, including the headwater regions in India and their role in streamflows in Bangladesh, and explore the large-scale oceanic factors affecting this hydro-meteorological variability. Global precipitation data, Bangladesh rainfall and streamflow records have been analysed and related to large-scale climate patterns, including upstream rainfall, regional atmospheric circulation and patterns of sea-surface temperature. The findings have quantified how the streamflows of these rivers in Bangladesh are highly correlated with the rainfall in the upper catchments with typically a lag of about 1 month. Therefore, streamflows in Bangladesh could be reasonably estimated for 1 to 3 months in advance (especially for the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers) by employing simple correlation, if rainfall data from countries further up are available on a real-time and continuous basis. In the absence of rainfall data, streamflow forecasts are still possible from unusually warm or cold sea-surface temperatures in the tropics. The study concludes that hydro-meteorological information flow between Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries is essential for developing a knowledge base for evaluating the potential implications of seasonal streamflow forecast in the GBM basins in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


The incidence and survival of acute de novo leukaemias in Estonia and in a well-defined region of western Sweden during 1982,1996: a survey of patients aged ,65 years

JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2004
E. Luik
Abstract. Objectives., To compare the incidence and survival of acute de novo leukaemias with particular reference to political/socio-economic and environmental factors in two neighbouring countries over the three 5-year periods (1982,1996). Patients., The present report covers only patients diagnosed when aged ,65 years. Setting., A well-defined area of Sweden, the so-called Western Swedish Health Care Region and Estonia. Population-wise, the western Swedish Region and Estonia are very similar; area-wise they are also well comparable. Results., The number of acute de novo leukaemias was quite dissimilar in the two countries (Estonia, n = 137, Sweden, n = 354). The age standardized incidence rates regarding the total number of acute de novo leukaemias was 5.31 per 100 000 inhabitants/year for Estonia and 7.99 for Sweden, this difference being statistically significant. However, the difference was merely attributable to incidence rates as regards acute myeloblastic leukaemias (AML); on the contrary, differences as regards acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (ALL) and non-classifiable, undifferentiated or biphenotypic acute leukaemias (uAL) were negligible. The relative survival for the total material of patients was significantly higher for Swedish when compared with Estonian patients (P < 0.001). Thus, the relative survival for the total material of patients aged ,65 years in Estonia at 1 year was 8.5% and at 3 years 3.5% respectively. The corresponding figures for the Swedish patients were considerably higher, 22.7 and 7.7% respectively. This difference, however, applied only for patients with AML (P < 0.001), whereas the results for patients with ALL and uAL were equally dismal. Conclusion., The results clearly reflect how political and socio-economic factors may influence the survival of acute leukemia patients in two neighbouring countries. [source]


Population structure and history of southern African scrub hares, Lepus saxatilis

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
U. Kryger
Abstract Genetic differentiation among populations of the South African scrub hare Lepus saxatilis was examined using hypervariable mitochondrial DNA control region I (CR-I) sequences. Neighbour-joining analysis revealed a pattern that did not correspond to the current subspecies delineations. The CR-I sequence data delimit scrub hares into three major maternal lineages. The three phylogenetic assemblages exhibited different geographical distributions. AMOVA analyses and exact tests for population differentiation confirmed this phylogeographic partitioning. One lineage (SW) was confined to the south-western Cape, the second lineage (N) was exclusively found in the northern part of South Africa and in the neighbouring countries, and the third lineage (C) was predominant in the central parts of South Africa. This spatial distribution did not coincide with the ranges of the 10 described subspecies covered by our sampling regime. The lineages C and N overlapped in an area including eastern parts of South Africa and southern Namibia. The presence of both lineages in that area of overlap was interpreted as the result of secondary contact due to recent range expansions after the two lineages had undergone a population restriction approximately 18 000 years ago. Analyses of contemporary gene flow disclosed an exchange of migrants between N and C, which was biased towards a movement from C to N. The SW group represents a very distinct evolutionary lineage that has been isolated for more than 45 000 years. It does not exchange female migrants with the other two groups. Mismatch distribution analyses indicated sudden population size expansions in the history of all three populations. [source]


Y chromosome haplotyping in Scandinavian wolves (Canis lupus) based on microsatellite markers

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 8 2001
A.-K. Sundqvist
Abstract The analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences has for a long time been the most extensively used genetic tool for phylogenetic, phylogeographic and population genetic studies. Since this approach only considers female lineages, it tends to give a biased picture of the population history. The use of protein polymorphisms and microsatellites has helped to obtain a more unbiased view, but complementing population genetic studies with Y chromosome markers could clarify the role of each sex in natural processes. In this study we analysed genetic variability at four microsatellite loci on the canid Y chromosome. With these four microsatellites we constructed haplotypes and used them to study the genetic status of the Scandinavian wolf population, a population that now contains 60,70 animals but was thought to have been extinct in the 1970s. In a sample of 100 male wolves from northern Europe we found 17 different Y chromosome haplotypes. Only two of these were found in the current Scandinavian population. This indicates that there should have been at least two males involved in the founding of the Scandinavian wolf population after the bottleneck in the 1970s. The two Scandinavian Y chromosome haplotypes were not found elsewhere in northern Europe, which indicates low male gene flow between Scandinavia and the neighbouring countries. [source]


Geo-additive models of childhood undernutrition in three sub-Saharan African countries

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 5 2009
Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala
Abstract We investigate the geographical and socioeconomic determinants of childhood undernutrition in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, three neighbouring countries in southern Africa, using the 1992 Demographic and Health Surveys. In particular, we estimate models of undernutrition jointly for the three countries to explore regional patterns of undernutrition that transcend boundaries, while allowing for country-specific interactions. We use geo-additive regression models to flexibly model the effects of selected socioeconomic covariates and spatial effects. Inference is fully Bayesian based on recent Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. While the socioeconomic determinants generally confirm findings from the literature, we find distinct residual spatial patterns that are not explained by the socioeconomic determinants. In particular, there appears to be a belt transcending boundaries and running from southern Tanzania to northeastern Zambia which exhibits much worse undernutrition. These findings have important implications for planning, as well as in the search for left-out variables that might account for these residual spatial patterns. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Tooth follicle extirpation and uvulectomy

AUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
NL Johnston
Abstract Migration is not only the movement of people, but also of their culture, customs and beliefs. As more people from developing countries in Africa migrate to industrialized countries, the more likely health professionals will find themselves providing care for people of whose customs and practices they have little knowledge. This review of the literature suggests that removal of deciduous canine follicles and uvulectomy are frequently practised in some African and neighbouring countries. Reasons given for deciduous canine extirpation include the prevention of vomiting, fever and diarrhoea. The indications for uvulectomy appear widespread, including treatment for persistent fever, coughing and growth retardation. The practices are usually performed by traditional healers. Risks for children who undergo these procedures are extensive, including septicaemia, potential for HIV transmission, numerous dental complications and death. With improved understanding between Western health teams and local, traditional people, an improved system may develop whereby the two systems can work together in providing improved health outcomes for the people. [source]


Bauten in deutschen Erdbebengebieten , zur Einführung der DIN 4149: 2005

BAUTECHNIK, Issue 8 2005
Jochen Schwarz Dr.-Ing.
Die Einführung der DIN 4149: 2005 bildet eine wichtige Voraussetzung, um im Kontext der Harmonisierung europäischer Baubestimmungen ein erdbebensicheres und wirtschaftliches Bauen in den Erdbebengebieten Deutschlands zu ermöglichen. Verschiedene Phasen der Erarbeitung werden in einer chronologischen Form beleuchtet und mit einem Ausblick auf die weitere Normenentwicklung abgeschlossen. Es werden interdisziplinäre Forschungsarbeiten gewürdigt, die wesentlich dazu beigetragen haben, das Regelwerk der seismischen Lastannahmen für Bauwerke neu zu konzipieren. Insbesondere durch die Festlegung geologie- und untergrundbezogener Bemessungsspektren wird eine differenzierte Beschreibung seismischer Einwirkungen und auf die regionalen Besonderheiten deutscher Erdbebengebiete ausgerichtete Bauwerksbemessung gewährleistet. Der erreichte Grad der Harmonisierung europäischer Erdbebenbaunormen wird anhand aktueller Zonenkarten sowie der Festlegungen zu Bemessungsbeschleunigungen entlang der nationalen Grenzen beispielhaft nachvollzogen. Da die neue Gefährdungszonenkarte eine veränderte regionale Verteilung der Erdbebenzonen bedingt, wird auf die Notwendigkeit einer Bewertung der Erdbebentauglichkeit der vorherrschenden Bauweisen und die Identifikation der im Katastrophenfall bedeutenden Anlagen und Einrichtungen hingewiesen. Buildings in German seismic regions , to the introduction of the revised German Seismic Code DIN 4149: 2005. The introduction of the revised Seismic Code DIN 4149: 2005 can be regarded as an important step towards earthquake resistant and economic building design in German earthquake regions. Different stages of its elaboration are described chronologically, concluding in an outlook on the ongoing development in European code standardization. Interdisciplinary research projects, which influenced the redrafting of the general rules and the implementation of new approaches, substantially, are recognized for their contributions. In particular, the concept of geology- and subsoil-dependent response spectra enables a refined description of seismic action and building design while reflecting the existing site conditions realistically. The attained state of harmonisation of national regulations is discussed exemplary by comparing peak ground and derived design accelerations alongside the borders with neighbouring countries like Belgium, France and Switzerland. With respect to the new zoning map and the modifications of affected areas, the need of practical implementation is directed towards two tasks: evaluation of the existing building stock and the predominant building types and identification of those structures and facilities which are of high importance in cases of catastrophic events. [source]


Molecular data reveal that the tetraploid Tragopogon kashmirianus (Asteraceae: Lactuceae) is distinct from the North American T. mirus

BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008
EVGENY V. MAVRODIEV
Tragopogon kashmirianus (Asteraceae: Lactuceae) (2n = 24) was described based on collections from Kashmir. The tetraploid is morphologically similar to allotetraploid T. mirus from North America that has formed in western North America from the introduced T. dubius (2n = 12) and T. porrifolius (salsify; 2n = 12). Singh and Kachroo (1976) suggested that T. kashmirianus might have formed from the same diploid parental combination as T. mirus. To determine this, we investigated internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS, ETS) and five plastid regions of T. kashmirianus and species reported from Kashmir, northern India and neighbouring countries (T. badachschanicus, T. longirostris, T. porrifolius, T. pratensis, T. orientalis, T. subalpinus, T. trachycarpus, T. gracilis and T. dubius). Molecular data indicate that the parents of T. kashmirianus are not the European T. porrifolius and T. dubius. The exact parentage of T. kashmirianus is still unclear, but if it is an allotetraploid, at least one parent is a species native to Kashmir/India. Alternatively, it may represent an autopolyploid, again with the diploid parent native to Kashmir/India. We also found that ,T. dubius' from Kashmir is phylogenetically and morphologically distinct from collections of T. dubius from Europe and probably represents a previously unrecognized species. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158, 391,398. [source]