Development and evaluation of a warning model for the optimal use of copper in organic viticulture.
Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is one of the most serious diseases affecting grapevine worldwide, and can significantly affect crop quality and quantity. In organic viticulture, downy mildew control is mainly based on copper compounds, which are toxic to organisms in the soil. For this reason, restrictions concerning the maximum amount of copper that organic growers can apply per hectare have been enacted in several countries. We have developed a warning model and a decision-making procedure to help organic grapevine growers optimize their use of copper against downy mildew. This system is based on treating vines with a variable rate of copper when there is an immediate risk of infection and the vegetation is not sufficiently protected by previous treatments. In 2007, the warning model and the decision-making procedure were tested in two vineyards in northern Italy and compared with the local common practice and an untreated control. The treatment timings and copper application rates recommended by the system resulted in control of downy mildew equivalent to that associated with the common practice, but with a considerable reduction in the total amount of copper applied.
Household drinking water in rural Ethiopia - impact of defluoridation filters on microbial drinking water quality in the Rift Valley
In the Ethiopian Rift Valley, there are two main concerns about drinking water: fluoride and fecal contamination. OSHO (an Ethiopian NGO) works on a defluoridation project with household and community filters to remove fluoride from drinking water. The project area includes seven villages, with more than 300 household filters in use and one community filter. This is the first study on the impact of household defluoridation filters in rural Ethiopian microbial water quality. The visited villages use different water sources, such as surface water, boreholes, windmills or dug wells. Microbial contamination is present at the sources, and in much higher extent in the households. Compact Dry plates (Nissui Ltd, Japan) were uses to detect E.coli, total coliforms and Enterococci as fecal indicator organisms. The method is valid for detection and enumeration of microbial water contamination even under the challenging conditions of rural Ethiopia. The bacterial growth in dependence of incubation temperature showed similar counts above 30°C, which leads to representative results even if the power supply is interrupted. It was compared to standard methods (Colilert, IDEXX, and Petrifilm, 3M) and did not show significant differences. The household filters have an overall positive impact on fecal indicator organisms in all studied villages; nevertheless the contamination level is very high. The main contamination was taking place between the source and the inlet, respectively the jerrycan. There were no differences in drinking water quality found in a glass from household filter or community filter. The microbial inactivation of copper was tested in the lab and in the field, but no general improvement of the water quality found. Microbial contamination levels are alarmingly high in all studied households, and measures have to be taken enhance water quality. Hygiene and sanitation are very poor or absent in the area, and diarrheal diseases widespread. Technical possibilities to improve the situation are chlorination of the filters and source water, replacement of sand filter with candle filter, installation of sanitation facilities. They will not be sustainable without awareness creation and education of the interrelation between water, sanitation, hygiene and health.
Rethinking Health: Healthy or Healthier than?
Theorists of health have, to this point, focused exclusively on trying to define a state—health—that an organism might be in. I argue that they have overlooked the possibility of a comparativist theory of health, which would begin by defining a relation—healthier than—that holds between two organisms or two possible states of the same organism. I show that a comparativist approach to health has a number of attractive features, and has important implications for philosophers of medicine, bioethicists, health economists, and policy makers. 1 Introduction 2 Comparative and Non-comparative Concepts 3 Traditional Theories of Health 4 An Argument for Comparativism: Intergenerational Assessments of Health 5 Another Reason to be a Comparativist: Functionalist Theories of Health 6 A Non-comparative Alternative? 7 An Objection to Comparativism? 8 Why this Matters: The Consequences of Comparativism 1 Introduction 2 Comparative and Non-comparative Concepts 3 Traditional Theories of Health 4 An Argument for Comparativism: Intergenerational Assessments of Health 5 Another Reason to be a Comparativist: Functionalist Theories of Health 6 A Non-comparative Alternative? 7 An Objection to Comparativism? 8 Why this Matters: The Consequences of Comparativism