In the present study, bio-meteorological models for predicting olive-crop production in the southern Iberian Peninsula were developed. These covered a 16-year period: 1994-2009. The forecasting models were constructed using the partial least-squares regression method, taking the annual olive yield as the dependent variable, and both aerobiological and meteorological parameters as the independen...

Using a sample of French crop farms during the 1999-2007 period, we test whether farmers’ technical efficiency under conventional practices is a significant driver of conversion to organic farming. An important issue is whether subsidies to organic farming could encourage inefficient farmers to convert. We find that the probability of conversion does depend on technical efficiency preceding the...

Recent advances in understanding the role of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in climate variability present opportunities for improving efficiency in agricultural production. We investigated the relationships between ENSO, climate and maize yields in the U.S. cornbelt, using both observed data and crop simulations. Using a time-series of sea-surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) from the...

The 1999 Izmit earthquake (17/08/1999, Mw=7.4) was one of the largest earthquakes to occur in northwestern Turkey during the past 100 years. This earthquake occurred along the Izmit-Sapanca fault within the Northern Anatolian Fault Zone. Variations in the generalized fractal dimensions (Dq) of clustering in time and space, the Gutenberg-Richter b value, and earthquake frequency (N) are evaluate...

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are susceptible to interstitial lung disease, and joint manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis usually precede lung involvements by several years. Organizing pneumonia, as the first manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis, is extremely rare, and its clinical features remain currently unknown. We present a case and a literature review of patients who were pathological...