Since the 1980 s,Japan has witnessed an unprecedented decline in agriculture chiefly due to farmers’aging,depopulation,and unfavorable socio-economic conditions.This development has resulted in an increase of farmlan...Since the 1980 s,Japan has witnessed an unprecedented decline in agriculture chiefly due to farmers’aging,depopulation,and unfavorable socio-economic conditions.This development has resulted in an increase of farmland abandonment(FLA)across the country.However,it remains unclear as to how and to what extent FLA is influenced by intraregional agricultural characteristics.As such,this article discusses the issue of FLA by taking a closer look at the Chugoku and Shikoku region,as it has experienced the highest FLA rates in Japan in recent years.For this analysis,a total of 25 indicators retrieved from the census of agriculture and forestry at the former municipalities scale were selected to describe intraregional agricultural characteristics.We employed principal component analysis(PCA)to evaluate agricultural characteristics,while multiple linear regressions(MLR)was applied to explore their correlations with FLA and spatial variations.First,there are strong intraregional differences in the agricultural characteristics across the Chugoku and Shikoku region,with eight different principle components(PCs)describing their characteristics.Second,variables measuring agricultural characteristics explain nearly 52.8%of the variation in FLA in our sample.The sales orientation and scale of agriculture have the strongest negative correlation to FLA in the region,while the status of agricultural succession displays the strongest positive correlation to FLA.Third,in areas where agriculture is more stable and easier to maintain,FLA is more strongly influenced by changes in agricultural characteristics than by geographical variations.We argue that localized approaches and policies for future management need to take intraregional differences in agricultural characteristics and FLA into account.Our findings help to explain spatial variations in agricultural characteristics and FLA in regional contexts,suggesting the need for better-informed farmland use policies to mitigate further abandonment.展开更多
Background Regional variations in the prevalence of epilepsy in Nigeria have been validated.We determined the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in six towns of Dunukofa County and compared the fndings with exis...Background Regional variations in the prevalence of epilepsy in Nigeria have been validated.We determined the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in six towns of Dunukofa County and compared the fndings with existing regional prevalence data.Methods Patients with active convulsive epilepsy were identifed in a two-phase cross-sectional descriptive community-based door-to-door study using a validated questionnaire in the frst phase and a modifed epilepsy questionnaire developed for tropical countries in the second phase after clinical assessment and electroencephalogram.Results A total of 9000 persons were surveyed in the frst stage,of which 56 had active convulsive epilepsy.The highest point prevalence was found in Nawgu,7.3 per 1000(95%confdence interval[CI]:2.7–15.8)while the lowest point prevalence of 5.0 per 1000(95%CI:2.0–10.3)was obtained in Ukpo.The observed rates after age adjustment to the Nigeria standard population of 4.9–5.7 per 1000 in this study,which was comparable to 4.6–5.7 per 1000 reported in previous studies,besides two isolated reports of rates as low as 2.7 per 1000 and as high as 20.0 per 1000 reported in the past from two sites in the northern section of the region.Conclusions The burden of epilepsy is high in this region,and intra-regional diferences in prevalence rates exist.The implications of this fnding do not only border on the care of people living with epilepsy but also highlight the need to identify local risk factors as well as appropriate and locally acceptable approaches to reduce the epilepsy burden.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS)(No.18H00771,16K16956)part through the Hiroshima University TAOYAKA Program for Creating a Flexible,Enduring,Peaceful Societyfunded by the Program for Leading Graduate Schools,Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology。
文摘Since the 1980 s,Japan has witnessed an unprecedented decline in agriculture chiefly due to farmers’aging,depopulation,and unfavorable socio-economic conditions.This development has resulted in an increase of farmland abandonment(FLA)across the country.However,it remains unclear as to how and to what extent FLA is influenced by intraregional agricultural characteristics.As such,this article discusses the issue of FLA by taking a closer look at the Chugoku and Shikoku region,as it has experienced the highest FLA rates in Japan in recent years.For this analysis,a total of 25 indicators retrieved from the census of agriculture and forestry at the former municipalities scale were selected to describe intraregional agricultural characteristics.We employed principal component analysis(PCA)to evaluate agricultural characteristics,while multiple linear regressions(MLR)was applied to explore their correlations with FLA and spatial variations.First,there are strong intraregional differences in the agricultural characteristics across the Chugoku and Shikoku region,with eight different principle components(PCs)describing their characteristics.Second,variables measuring agricultural characteristics explain nearly 52.8%of the variation in FLA in our sample.The sales orientation and scale of agriculture have the strongest negative correlation to FLA in the region,while the status of agricultural succession displays the strongest positive correlation to FLA.Third,in areas where agriculture is more stable and easier to maintain,FLA is more strongly influenced by changes in agricultural characteristics than by geographical variations.We argue that localized approaches and policies for future management need to take intraregional differences in agricultural characteristics and FLA into account.Our findings help to explain spatial variations in agricultural characteristics and FLA in regional contexts,suggesting the need for better-informed farmland use policies to mitigate further abandonment.
文摘Background Regional variations in the prevalence of epilepsy in Nigeria have been validated.We determined the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in six towns of Dunukofa County and compared the fndings with existing regional prevalence data.Methods Patients with active convulsive epilepsy were identifed in a two-phase cross-sectional descriptive community-based door-to-door study using a validated questionnaire in the frst phase and a modifed epilepsy questionnaire developed for tropical countries in the second phase after clinical assessment and electroencephalogram.Results A total of 9000 persons were surveyed in the frst stage,of which 56 had active convulsive epilepsy.The highest point prevalence was found in Nawgu,7.3 per 1000(95%confdence interval[CI]:2.7–15.8)while the lowest point prevalence of 5.0 per 1000(95%CI:2.0–10.3)was obtained in Ukpo.The observed rates after age adjustment to the Nigeria standard population of 4.9–5.7 per 1000 in this study,which was comparable to 4.6–5.7 per 1000 reported in previous studies,besides two isolated reports of rates as low as 2.7 per 1000 and as high as 20.0 per 1000 reported in the past from two sites in the northern section of the region.Conclusions The burden of epilepsy is high in this region,and intra-regional diferences in prevalence rates exist.The implications of this fnding do not only border on the care of people living with epilepsy but also highlight the need to identify local risk factors as well as appropriate and locally acceptable approaches to reduce the epilepsy burden.
