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A stroke is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases worldwide, both in high-income countries and in medium and low-medium income countries. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) report on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) indicates that the highest behavioral risk in NCDs is attributable to incorrect nutrition. The objective of our work is to present an overview of meta-analyses that have investigated the impact of different foods and/or drinks in relationship with the risk of stroke events (ischemic/hemorrhagic). The papers to be included in the overview were found in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Clinicaltrials.gov, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library and were selected according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) flow chart. Quality assessment were made according to the AMSTAR 2 scale. This overview shows that all primary studies came from countries with high income levels. This evidence shows that many countries are not represented. Therefore, different lifestyles, ethnic groups, potentially harmful or virtuous eating habits are not reported. It is important to underline how the choose of foods may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in particular.

This paper documents the influence of diaspora networks of highly-skilled individuals -- that is, inventors -- on international technological collaborations. Using gravity models, it studies the determinants of the internationalization of inventive activity between a group of industrialized countries and a sample of developing and emerging economies. The paper examines the influence exerted by skilled diasporas in fostering cross-country co-inventorship as well as R&D offshoring. The study finds a strong and robust relationship between inventor diasporas and different forms of international co-patenting. However, the effect decreases with the level of formality of the interactions. Interestingly, some of the most successful diasporas recently documented -- namely, Chinese and Indian ones -- do not govern the results.

International audience; This article details the distribution of young athletes aged from 13 to 14 years old, and named “Minimes” (20 095 licence holders in 2014), in France. This work is based on the data given by the French Track and Field Federation from 2010 to 2014. The analysis of performances (n = 45 678) shows qualitative (in terms of expertise) and quantitative (number of licence holders) changes. Mapping of licence holders and sports clubs shows a gradation in sports infrastructures, from the most populated to the less populated regions. This trend is linked tothe theory of central places (or sports places). This study also details the spatial configurations of track and field activities, and the political and economic issues of sports-club amalgamations in big cities and conurbations.; Cet article décrit la répartition de la pratique de l’athlétisme chez les jeunes athlètes licenciés de 13-14 ans qu’on appelle minimes en France (20 095 licenciés en 2014 hors DOM-TOM). Il s’appuie sur les bases de données 2010-2014 de la Fédération Française d’Athlétisme. L’étude des meilleures performances de ces jeunes athlètes sur ces cinq années (n = 45 678) montre une évolution à la fois qualitative, avec un niveau d’expertise qui s’améliore, et quantitative avec toujours plus de licenciés. La cartographie de la répartition des licenciés va dans le sens défendu par la théorie des lieux centraux ou lieux sportifs (Bale, 1989 ; Augustin, 2007) qui suggère l’organisation d’infrastructures sportives sur tous les territoires, des plus denses aux plus déserts. L’étude met en évidence les configurations spatiales de la pratique de l’athlétisme ainsi que les enjeux politiques, économiques et sportifs des stratégies de fusion des clubs au sein des municipalités et des agglomérations qui les alimentent.

Climate change is a core development challenge in Tanzania, and the potential costs of inaction are significant. Current climate variability (including extreme events such as droughts and floods), already leads to major economic costs in mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar. Individual annual events have economic costs in excess of 1 percent of GDP, and occur regularly, reducing long-term growth and affecting millions of people and livelihoods. Future climate change could lead to large economic costs, equivalent to a further 1 to 2 percent of GDP per year by 2030. Given this context, there is a clear need for strong and sustained effort by the government to help establish a growth pathway for the country that is resilient to climate variability and able to adapt to future change, as well as help Tanzania take advantage of external and domestic finance opportunities for sustained action on climate risks. This policy note responds to a request by the United Republic of Tanzania for technical assistance on next steps for implementing the National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) and Zanzibar Climate Change Strategy (ZCCS). With strategies in hand, both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar are at a crossroads where strategic actions have been identified, yet not yet supported with resources or adequate frameworks for implementation. Development partners are active in financing and supporting climate change activities in general, but more than one year after its adoption, a unified approach in support of the NCCS has yet to materialize. Tanzania has requested guidance for mobilizing additional funds, using funding sources more strategically, and delivering results on the ground.

Zipf's law is used to model the uneveness of customers and telecommunications traffic distribution among the geographical areas covered by a nationwide network. Three datasets, relative to the traffic intensity in the telephone network and to the number of Internet customers as recorded on an Italian network, are used to assess the validity of the law. The estimated Zipf parameter is lower than 1 (typical of town population) in all three cases but larger than those observed for population over the same administrative groupings (code areas and provinces). Therefore the largest code areas and provinces account for a larger share of the overall traffic than what their population share would suggest, but far lower than that expected from the popularised 80/20 Pareto rule. Copyright (C) 2006 AEIT.

Constatado el valor educativo de la actividad física de ocio para el desarrollo personal y social de los jóvenes, este estudio pretende analizar dicha práctica y la percepción de éstos sobre el desarrollo humano atendiendo a la zona geográfica donde estudian. Se adopta un enfoque metodológico de carácter cuantitativo, desarrollado mediante la aplicación de un cuestionario a una muestra de 1764 estudiantes. Se evidencia la existencia de discrepancias con las aportaciones de estudios similares en la identificación de factores prioritarios para la práctica de actividad física, y que la zona geográfica es un factor diferenciador en las atribuciones que estos jóvenes le conceden. Having confirmed the educational value of physical leisure activity for youth's personal and social development, this study aims to analyze physical activity and students' perception of it for human development as a function of the geographical area where they study. A methodological and quantitative approach was adopted, applying a questionnaire to a sample of 1764 students. Discrepancies were found with the contributions of similar studies in the identification of priority factors for the practice of physical activity, observing that the geographical area is a differentiating factor in the attributions granted by these youngsters.

Verification in results-based financing (RBF) mechanisms is one of the key differentiators between it and related health financing structures such as social health insurance. Verifying that providers have achieved reported performance in RBF mechanisms is considered a crucial part of program implementation and key to maintaining trust through transparency, as well as the viability of the mechanism. Verification is however a process which has thus far been little studied. Information on the methodologies used in different settings (including frequency and sampling methodology), the effectiveness of the verification process, the direct and tangential effects, and the cost is scarce. Plan Nacer employs one of the largest RBF mechanisms in the world and is therefore an excellent case study for the role, methodology and effects of the verification process. This study will give the background to Plan Nacer, detail the major characteristics of the verification process and draw lessons on the process which can inform the design of verification in RBF mechanisms in other countries.

Les populations rurales sédentaires de la commune de Hombori (Mali) pratiquent presque toutes la culture de mil associée au petit élevage non transhumant. Au-delà des contraintes environnementales d’une région semi-aride, le maintien de l’agro-élevage repose sur une double maitrise, des territoires et des ressources, l’une et l’autre ne pouvant se confondre. Par exemple, les agro-éleveurs sédentaires aspirent à faire valoir des droits possessifs sur les espaces péri-villageois alors que les éleveurs transhumants, visiteurs saisonniers avec qui ils sont en concurrence aspirent à disposer de pâturages sur des espaces pour eux indifférenciés. Par ailleurs, l’eau pastorale n’est considérée par aucun acteur comme une ressource territorialisée et la justification de son appropriation s’exerce uniquement lorsqu’elle a été l’objet d’un travail d’aménagement. Les exemples issus du terrain montrent qu’en cas de faible maitrise des espaces péri-villageois ces petits systèmes de production, structurellement fragiles, risquent la rupture lors d’années de faible pluviométrie., The rural Hombori’s population (Mali) practice almost millet cultivation associated with small non transhumant breeding. Beyond the environmental constraints of a semi-arid region, the agro-livestock stability depends on two different parameters, the territorial control and the resource control. For example, sedentary agro-pastoralists desire “possessive rights” on land around them village while herders, seasonal visitors with whom they compete want pasture areas for them wherever they are. Moreover, water resources aren’t considered by users as “territorialials resources” and they are only appropriated when they are built. The cases of this study show that for low control, these production systems, structurally weak, can fail during low rainfall years.

ResumenObjectivosComparar la mortalidad intercomarcal de Cataluña para algunos de los tumores malignos más frecuentes.MetodologíaSe han analizado los datos globales y de cinco localizaciones tumorales específicas relativos a la mortalidad por cáncer de un período de siete años (1983-1989). Se han obtenido las tasas brutas de mortalidad y las específicas para cada localización analizada. La comparación intercomarcal se ha realizado ajustando las tasas por edad mediante el método directo, tomando como referencia la población de Cataluña de 1986. Se han calculado las razones comparativas de mortalidad (RCM) de cada comarca respecto a Cataluña.ResultadosLa mortalidad global por cáncer es más alta en la comarca del Barcelonés para los hombres y en la de Osona para las mujeres. La RCM de los hombres del Barcelonés es la más alta para el cáncer de tráquea, bronquios y pulmón; la de la comarca del Solsonés es la más alta para el cáncer de estómago, y la de la Cerdanya es la más alta para el cáncer de colon y recto. Entre las mujeres, la RCM más alta para el cáncer de tráquea, bronquios y pulmón la presenta la comarca del Montsiá, para el cáncer de mama la del Baix Empordá y para el cáncer de estómago la del Alt Urgell.ConclusionesEl análisis comparativo de la mortalidad por cáncer, por comarcas y por sexos, permite observar importantes diferencias en la manifestación del fenómeno, lo cual puede orientar de manera más específica las políticas de control del cáncer y de investigación a desarrollar en cada territorio.SummaryObjectivesTo compare mortality among counties (comarques) in Catalonia, Spain for the most frequent malignant tumors.MethodsOverall mortality data and for five specific tumor sites were analyzed for a five-year period (1983-1989). Crude and site-specific mortality rates were computed. The comparison between counties was adjusted for the 1986 population of Catalonia using the direct method. Comparative mortality ratios (CMR) were obtained for each county with respect to Catalonia.ResultsOverall cancer mortality was higher in the Barcelonés for men and in Osona form women. The CMR for men in the Barcelonés was the highest for cancer of the trachea, bronchi and lungs; the CMR in Solsonés was the highest for stomach cancer, while in Cerdanya it was the highest for colorectal cancer. Among women, the highest CMR for cancer of the trachea, bronchi and lungs was in Montsiá, whereas for breast cancer it was Baix Empordá, and Alt Urgell for stomach cancer.ConclusionsComparative analyses of cancer mortality by county in Catalonia and sex underscores differences in its distribution, allowing the orientation of cancer control policies and research to be developed in each geographical area.

This paper addresses the performance of creative firms from the perspective of complex spatial systems. Based on an extensive high-dimensional database on both the attributes of individual creative firms in the Netherlands and a series of detailed regional facilitating and driving factors related, inter alia, to talent, innovation, skills, networks, accessibility and hardware, a new methodology called self-organizing mapping (SOM) is applied to identify and explain in virtual topological space, the relative differences between these firms and their business performance in various regions. It turns out that there are significant differences in the spatial and functional profile of large firms vis-à-vis SMEs across distinct geographical areas in the country.

Economic growth in West Bank and Gaza (WB&G) slowed in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012. The real growth rate is estimated to have reached 5.6 percent, more than three percentage points lower than the Q1 2011 growth figure and almost one percent lower than the growth forecast contained in the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) budget. This decline is attributed to a major slowdown in Gaza, where real growth decreased from 21.3 percent to 6 percent on a year-on-year basis. The slowdown in Gaza during Q1 of 2012 was mainly attributed to a major decline in the agriculture and fishing sector, which offset much of the growth witnessed in other sectors. This sector shrank by 43 percent in Q1 2012 due to frequent power outages resulting from the lack of fuel in Gaza. Nevertheless, other sectors in Gaza expanded and the highest growth levels were witnessed in the construction, and hotels and restaurants sectors. In the West Bank, growth in Q1 2012 was broadly unchanged from its 2011 level. Most of the growth was from an expansion of services, which contributed around 2.2 percentage points of the 5.4 percent total growth in Q1 2012. The recent slowdown in economic growth is also reflected in higher unemployment levels. Overall unemployment in WB&G was 20.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to 18.7 percent during the same period in 2011. A serious concern in WB&G is the high level of youth unemployment that is accompanied by low youth participation in the labor force.

Movable assets tangible or intangible often account for most of firm's capital stock. Thus it is important for jurisdictions to develop adequate laws on secured transactions to allow borrowers and lenders to recognize movable assets as collateral, supporting financing secured with such assets. Though the legal and regulatory framework is essential to any secured transactions system, the efficacy of a secured transactions law also requires an effective registration mechanism for interests in movable property. This report focuses on analysis of such institutions, highlighting the importance of a publicly accessible registry where information on interests in movable assets can be registered. The main goals of collateral registries are to provide public notice of interests in movable assets and to establish priority in the assets described in the notice for secured creditors. This report also addresses the different registration mechanisms for security interests in movable property and their effectiveness in achieving the two goals stated above. It does so using the results of a 2010 World Bank Group survey on collateral registries. The report emphasizes the practices and features available in different registries and key characteristics of effective collateral registries. The experiences of jurisdictions that have instituted best practice registries show how technology can improve the efficiency of collateral registries.

International aid flows are equivalent to almost half of Solomon Islands' economy, making it one of the most aid-dependent countries in the world. Around US$250 million of non-military aid enters the country, but only 15-20 percent of this amount is spent locally through local procurement or staff expenditure. Solomon Islands are currently highly reliant on logging for export receipts, Government revenues, and employment. But existing stocks of natural forest logs are expected to be entirely exhausted by 2014. The Solomon Islands Government approached the World Bank Group to identify alternative sources of revenue, foreign exchange receipts, and employment in the absence of logging. In responding to this request, the World Bank Group has undertaken extensive analytical work examining short and medium-term prospects for economic growth in Solomon Islands, under the sources of growth project. This report contributes to the sources of growth work, and is informed by its findings. A key conclusion arising from sources of growth analysis is that aid is likely to remain a key part of the Solomon Islands economy for the near future. The existence of an international security guarantee, backed by the presence of an international peacekeeping force, is paramount for security, and investment certainty. In the absence of clear or certain alternatives to logging, and in the context of rapid population growth, current levels of service delivery will continue to depend on high levels of aid expenditure.

The use of a country code in the exchange of data has long been recognized as an important element for the management and exchange of oceanographic data. The seventh session of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Working Group on International Oceanographic Data Exchange (1973) recommended the adoption of country codes for the purpose international data exchange. The IOC Country Codes have been maintained,since 1983, by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as part of its responsibility as RNODC Formats. Although the system of RNODCs was abolished in 2005, ICES continued to maintain the codes. Published Refereed Current

To respond effectively and efficiently to the environmental sustainability challenge, an important role can be played by companies, through appropriate strategies and operations, such as green processes and product development. In this paper, we investigate whether the development of green products is supported by the environmental strategic approaches adopted by sustainability-driven companies, and whether there are economic sector or geographical area specificities. To this purpose, first we develop a taxonomy of environmental strategies and we define measurable proxies for both the environmental strategic approaches identified and the green product development. Then, we study a sample represented by the companies included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSWI). The methodology used is based on the content analysis of companies' websites and relevant documents, such as environmental and sustainability reports. The main result is that the levels of adoption of different environmental strategic approaches are higher for green product developers than for green product non-developers. Moreover, the most implemented strategic approaches for green product developers vary depending on the economic sector, while a more homogeneous behaviour is found from the geographical perspective. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

In 2006 it became clear for the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) that the traditional concept for exchanging data in the mobile domain, based upon hierarchical radio nets, could not offer sufficient performance for the future Battlefield Management System' (BMS). The C2 Support Centre, who develops the BMS, became aware of the insufficient performance through theoretical studies, lab experiments and field trials with currently used and various new radios. It also became clear that In the foreseeable future potential vendors of VHF radios could not offer radio's that provide the performance that was needed for the BMS system. These insights led to a concept where geographical related Information is exchanged to all vehicles in the immediate vicinity, Instead of through the traditional hierarchical way. The concept, which was named 'Geographical Based Situational Awareness ' (GBSA) aims to maximize the situational awareness In all vehicles in a geographical area without the need for communication up and down the hierarchical command chain). The benefits of this approach are increased timeliness of information and a significant reduction of the amount of information communicated along the hierarchical lines. The main operational benefit is a significantly improved support for fratricide prevention due to more timely position reports. As a first step in the development of the GBSA concept the C2 Support Centre choose to develop an abstract of the concept for Position Updates only. It was decided to run tests with 50 nodes as an average in the network and to continue with a simulation with up to an estimated maximum of 200 nodes. This paper discusses the recent development aspects that led to the GBSA concept. It furthermore describes the developed software, performed lab experiments, and the modelling and performance simulation of the mobile Position Update (PU) system. Simulation studies indicate that the GBSA-PU system is flexible enough to maintain an awareness of the position of vehicles in their local environment. The characteristics of the GBSA-PU system, its current and foreseen development as well as its relation to the hierarchical networks will also be presented. ©2007 IEEE.

In 2006 it became clear for the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) that the traditional concept for exchanging data in the mobile domain, based upon hierarchical radio nets, could not offer sufficient performance for the future Battlefield Management System' (BMS). The C2 Support Centre, who develops the BMS, became aware of the insufficient performance through theoretical studies, lab experiments and field trials with currently used and various new radios. It also became clear that In the foreseeable future potential vendors of VHF radios could not offer radio's that provide the performance that was needed for the BMS system. These insights led to a concept where geographical related Information is exchanged to all vehicles in the immediate vicinity, Instead of through the traditional hierarchical way. The concept, which was named 'Geographical Based Situational Awareness ' (GBSA) aims to maximize the situational awareness In all vehicles in a geographical area without the need for communication up and down the hierarchical command chain). The benefits of this approach are increased timeliness of information and a significant reduction of the amount of information communicated along the hierarchical lines. The main operational benefit is a significantly improved support for fratricide prevention due to more timely position reports. As a first step in the development of the GBSA concept the C2 Support Centre choose to develop an abstract of the concept for Position Updates only. It was decided to run tests with 50 nodes as an average in the network and to continue with a simulation with up to an estimated maximum of 200 nodes. This paper discusses the recent development aspects that led to the GBSA concept. It furthermore describes the developed software, performed lab experiments, and the modelling and performance simulation of the mobile Position Update (PU) system. Simulation studies indicate that the GBSA-PU system is flexible enough to maintain an awareness of the position of vehicles in their local environment. The characteristics of the GBSA-PU system, its current and foreseen development as well as its relation to the hierarchical networks will also be presented. ©2007 IEEE.

Vietnam's ethnic minorities, who tend to live mostly in remote rural areas, typically have lower living standards than the ethnic majority. How much is this because of differences in economic characteristics (such as education levels and land) rather than low returns to characteristics? Is there a self-reinforcing culture of poverty in the minority groups, reflecting patterns of past discrimination? The authors find that differences in levels of living are due in part to the fact that the minorities live in less productive areas characterized by difficult terrain, poor infrastructure, less access to off-farm work and the market economy, and inferior access to education. Geographic disparities tend to persist because of immobility and regional differences in living standards. But the authors also find large differences within geographical areas even after controlling for household characteristics. They find differences in returns to productive characteristics to be the most important explanation for ethnic inequality. But the minorities do not obtain lower returns to all characteristics. There is evidence of compensating behavior. For example, pure returns to location--even in remote, inhospitable areas--tend to be higher for minorities, though not high enough to overcome the large consumption difference with the majority. The majority ethnic groups' model of income generation is a poor guide on how to fight poverty among ethnic minority groups. Nor is it enough to target poor areas to redress ethnic inequality. Policies must be designed to reach minority households in poor areas and to explicitly recognize behavior patterns (including compensating behavior) that have served the minorities well in the short term but intensify ethnic inequalities in the longer term. It will be important to open up options for minority groups both by ensuring that they are not disadvantaged (in labor markets, for example), and by changing the conditions that have caused their isolation and social exclusion.

[An international population conference was held in Cairo under the auspices of the United Nations in September 1994. This study provides an assessment of the situation by analyzing four issues: the status of women, the question of abortion, subsidiarity Justified by the diversity of demographic and migration developments and the question of development. It examines a fifth related to the inadequacies of the real demographic realities taken into account by the Cairo conference.], Una conferencia internacional sobre población celebrada en El Cairo bajo los auspicios de la ONU en septiembre de 1994. Este estudio evalúa el análisis de cuatro temas: la situación de la mujer, el tema del aborto, la subsidiariedad justificada por la diversidad de las tendencias demográficas y migratorias y la cuestión del desarrollo. Examina una quinta relación con el examen de las deficiencias de las realidades demográficas reales por la Conferencia de El Cairo., [Une conférence internationale sur la population s’est tenue au Caire sous l’égide de l’ONU en septembre 1994. Cette étude en dresse un bilan en analysant quatre enjeux : la condition de la femme, la question de l’avortement, la subsidiarité justifiée par la diversité des évolutions démographiques et migratoires et la question du développement. Il examine un cinquième lié aux insuffisances de prise en compte des véritables réalités démographiques par la conférence du Caire.]