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Paediatric and adult congenital cardiology education and training in Europe
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- Colin J. McMahon, Ruth Heying, Werner Budts, Anna Cavigelli-Brunner, Maria Shkolnikova, Ina Michel-Behnke, Rainer Kozlik-Feldmann, Håkan Wåhlander, Daniel DeWolf, Sylvie Difilippo, Laslo Kornyei, Maria Giovanna Russo, Anna Kaneva-Nencheva, Senka Mesihovic-Dinarevic, Samo Vesel, Gylfi Oskarsson, George Papadopoulos, Andreas C. Petropoulos, Berna Saylan Cevik, Antonis Jossif, Gabriela Doros, Thomas Krusensjerna-Hafstrom, Joanna Dangel, Otto Rahkonen, Dimpna C. Albert-Brotons, Silvia Alvares, Henrik Brun, Jan Janousek, Olli Pitkänen-Argillander, Inga Voges, Inguna Lubaua, Skaiste Sendzikaite, Alan G. Magee, Mark J. Rhodes, Nico A. Blom, Frances Bu’Lock, Katarina Hanseus, Ornella Milanesi
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young / Volume 32 / Issue 12 / December 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 March 2022, pp. 1966-1983
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Background:
Limited data exist on training of European paediatric and adult congenital cardiologists.
Methods:A structured and approved questionnaire was circulated to national delegates of Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology in 33 European countries.
Results:Delegates from 30 countries (91%) responded. Paediatric cardiology was not recognised as a distinct speciality by the respective ministry of Health in seven countries (23%). Twenty countries (67%) have formally accredited paediatric cardiology training programmes, seven (23%) have substantial informal (not accredited or certified) training, and three (10%) have very limited or no programme. Twenty-two countries have a curriculum. Twelve countries have a national training director. There was one paediatric cardiology centre per 2.66 million population (range 0.87–9.64 million), one cardiac surgical centre per 4.73 million population (range 1.63–10.72 million), and one training centre per 4.29 million population (range 1.63–10.72 million population). The median number of paediatric cardiology fellows per training programme was 4 (range 1–17), and duration of training was 3 years (range 2–5 years). An exit examination in paediatric cardiology was conducted in 16 countries (53%) and certification provided by 20 countries (67%). Paediatric cardiologist number is affected by gross domestic product (R2 = 0.41).
Conclusion:Training varies markedly across European countries. Although formal fellowship programmes exist in many countries, several countries have informal training or no training. Only a minority of countries provide both exit examination and certification. Harmonisation of training and standardisation of exit examination and certification could reduce variation in training thereby promoting high-quality care by European congenital cardiologists.
Weed species and traits associated with organic grain crop rotations in the mid-Atlantic region
- John R. Teasdale, Steven B. Mirsky, Michel A. Cavigelli
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- Journal:
- Weed Science / Volume 67 / Issue 5 / September 2019
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 05 August 2019, pp. 595-604
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Organic cropping systems are characterized by soil-disturbance events that can be diversified over years through crop rotations and within seasons by varying planting dates. The Farming Systems Project at Beltsville, MD, USA, is a long-term experiment that includes three organic rotations, corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], corn–soybean–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and corn–soybean–wheat–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Analysis of weed presence and cover over the first 18 yr of this experiment revealed that the tall, erect annual broadleaf weeds smooth pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus L.), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), horseweed (Erigeron canadensis L.), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.), and/or velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medik.) were most prominent in corn and soybean. Generally, these species exhibited traits adapted to the disturbance regimes, nutrient availability, crop environment and duration, and local meteorological conditions associated with the summer annual corn and soybean crops. Abundance of A. hybridus, D. stramonium, and A. theophrasti were controlled primarily by rotation diversity, whereby presence and cover of these species were highest in the short corn–soybean rotation and lowest in the longer rotations that had more diverse seasonal soil-disturbance regimes. Early-season temperature was the primary factor controlling C. album presence and cover, which were higher at lower temperatures associated with earlier planting dates. Higher early-season precipitation was the primary factor associated with higher presence of annual grass species. The relative abundance of species in organic corn and soybean was determined primarily by the diversity of crops and disturbance operations in rotation, the timing of spring tillage and planting, and annual meteorological conditions driving emergence periodicity.
Meteorological and Management Factors Influencing Weed Abundance during 18 Years of Organic Crop Rotations
- John R. Teasdale, Steven B. Mirsky, Michel A. Cavigelli
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- Journal:
- Weed Science / Volume 66 / Issue 4 / July 2018
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 04 April 2018, pp. 477-484
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Organic crop production is often limited by the inability to control weeds. An 18-yr data set of weed cover in organic crop rotations at the long-term Farming Systems Project at Beltsville, MD, was analyzed to identify meteorological and management factors influencing weed abundance. A path analysis using structural equation models was employed to distinguish between the direct effect of factors on weed cover and the indirect effect on weed cover through effects on crop competitiveness. Grain yield of corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] served as a surrogate for crop competitiveness and was found to be the most important factor influencing weed cover. Precipitation during late vegetative and early reproductive crop growth had a strong positive effect on crop yield, and thereby a negative indirect effect on weed cover, but this effect was partially offset by a positive direct effect on weed cover. Delayed crop planting date and crop rotational diversification including crops other than summer row crops had a moderate negative effect on weed cover, while having minimal effect on crop performance. Rotary hoeing also had a direct negative effect on weed cover, but a corresponding negative effect on crop performance resulted in a diminished total effect on weeds. Results demonstrate the complex interactions that define the relative abundance of weeds faced by organic growers, but, generally, factors that enhanced crop competitiveness provided the most effective weed management.
Weed Seed Persistence and Microbial Abundance in Long-Term Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems
- Silke D. Ullrich, Jeffrey S. Buyer, Michel A. Cavigelli, Rita Seidel, John R. Teasdale
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- Journal:
- Weed Science / Volume 59 / Issue 2 / June 2011
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 January 2017, pp. 202-209
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Weed seed persistence in soil can be influenced by many factors, including crop management. This research was conducted to determine whether organic management systems with higher organic amendments and soil microbial biomass could reduce weed seed persistence compared with conventional management systems. Seeds of smooth pigweed and common lambsquarters were buried in mesh bags in organic and conventional systems of two long-term experiments, the Farming Systems Project at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Maryland, and the Farming Systems Trial at the Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania. Seed viability was determined after retrieval at half-year intervals for 2 yr. Total soil microbial biomass, as measured by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content, was higher in organic systems than in conventional systems at both locations. Over all systems, locations, and experiments, viable seed half-life was relatively consistent with a mean of 1.3 and 1.1 yr and a standard deviation of 0.5 and 0.3 for smooth pigweed and common lambsquarters, respectively. Differences between systems were small and relatively inconsistent. Half-life of smooth pigweed seeds was shorter in the organic than in the conventional system in two of four location-experiments. Half-life of common lambsquarters was shorter in the organic than in the conventional system in one of four location-experiments, but longer in the organic than in the conventional system in two of four location-experiments. There were few correlations between PLFA biomarkers and seed half-lives in three of four location-experiments; however, there were negative correlations up to −0.64 for common lambsquarters and −0.55 for smooth pigweed in the second Rodale experiment. The lack of consistent system effects on seed persistence and the lack of consistent associations between soil microbial biomass and weed seed persistence suggest that soil microorganisms do not have a dominating role in seed mortality. More precise research targeted to identifying specific microbial functions causing seed mortality will be needed to provide a clearer picture of the role of soil microbes in weed seed persistence.
Nitrogen Competition between Corn and Weeds in Soils under Organic and Conventional Management
- Hanna J. Poffenbarger, Steven B. Mirsky, John R. Teasdale, John T. Spargo, Michel A. Cavigelli, Matthew Kramer
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- Journal:
- Weed Science / Volume 63 / Issue 2 / June 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 January 2017, pp. 461-476
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Crop yields can be similar in organic and conventional systems even when weed biomass is greater in organic systems. Greater weed tolerance in organic systems may be due to differences in management-driven soil fertility properties. The goal of this experiment was to determine whether soil collected from a long-term organic cropping system with a diverse crop rotation and organic fertility inputs would support higher soil nitrogen (N) resource partitioning, as indicated by overyielding of corn–weed mixtures, than a cropping system with a less diverse crop rotation and inorganic N inputs. A replacement series greenhouse experiment was conducted using corn : smooth pigweed and corn : giant foxtail proportions of 0 : 1, 0.25 : 0.75, 0.5 : 0.5, 0.75 : 0.25, and 1 : 0 and harvested at 29, 40, or 48 d after experiment initiation (DAI). The monoculture density of corn was 4 plants pot−1 and the monoculture density of each weed species was 36 plants pot−1. Corn was consistently more competitive than both weed species at 40 and 48 DAI when soil inorganic N was limiting to growth. Corn–smooth pigweed mixtures had greater shoot biomass and shoot N content than expected based on the shoot biomass and shoot N content of monocultures (i.e., overyielding) at the onset of soil inorganic N limitation, providing some evidence for N resource partitioning. However, soil management effects on overyielding were infrequent and inconsistent among harvest dates and corn–weed mixtures, leading us to conclude that management-driven soil fertility properties did not affect corn–weed N resource partitioning during the early stages of corn growth.
Organic grain cropping systems to enhance ecosystem services
- Michel A. Cavigelli, Steven B. Mirsky, John R. Teasdale, John T. Spargo, John Doran
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- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 28 / Issue 2 / June 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 January 2013, pp. 145-159
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Organic grain cropping systems can enhance a number of ecosystem services compared with conventional tilled (CT) systems. Recent results from a limited number of long-term agricultural research (LTAR) studies suggest that organic grain cropping systems can also increase several ecosystem services relative to conventional no-till (NT) cropping systems: soil C sequestration and soil N fertility (N mineralization potential) can be greater while global warming potential (GWP) can be lower in organic systems that use animal manures and cover crops compared with conventional NT systems. However, soil erosion from organic systems and nitrous oxide (N2O, a greenhouse gas) emissions from manure-based organic systems appear to be greater than from conventional NT systems, though data are limited. Also, crop yields, on average, continue to be lower and labor requirements greater in organic than in both tilled and NT conventional systems. Ecosystem services provided by organic systems may be improved by expanding crop rotations to include greater crop phenological diversity, improving nutrient management, and reducing tillage intensity and frequency. More diverse crop rotations, especially those that include perennial forages, can reduce weed pressure, economic risk, soil erosion, N2O emissions, animal manure inputs, and soil P loading, while increasing grain yield and soil fertility. Side-dressing animal manures in organic systems may increase corn nitrogen use efficiency and also minimize animal manure inputs. Management practices that reduce tillage frequency and intensity in organic systems are being developed to reduce soil erosion and labor and energy needs. On-going research promises to further augment ecosystem services provided by organic grain cropping systems.
Long-term economic performance of organic and conventional field crops in the mid-Atlantic region
- Michel A. Cavigelli, Beth L. Hima, James C. Hanson, John R. Teasdale, Anne E. Conklin, Yao-chi Lu
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- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 24 / Issue 2 / June 2009
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 27 May 2009, pp. 102-119
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Interest in organic grain production is increasing in the United States but there is limited information regarding the economic performance of organic grain and forage production in the mid-Atlantic region. We present the results from enterprise budget analyses for individual crops and for complete rotations with and without organic price premiums for five cropping systems at the US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS) Beltsville Farming Systems Project (FSP) from 2000 to 2005. The FSP is a long-term cropping systems trial established in 1996 to evaluate the sustainability of organic and conventional grain crop production. The five FSP cropping systems include a conventional, three-year no-till corn (Zea mays L.)–rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop/soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/soybean rotation (no-till (NT)), a conventional, three-year chisel-till corn–rye/soybean–wheat/soybean rotation (chisel tillage (CT)), a two-year organic hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth)/corn–rye/soybean rotation (Org2), a three-year organic vetch/corn–rye/soybean–wheat rotation (Org3) and a four- to six-year organic corn–rye/soybean–wheat–red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)/orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) or alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) rotation (Org4+). Economic returns were calculated for rotations present from 2000 to 2005, which included some slight changes in crop rotation sequences due to weather conditions and management changes; additional analyses were conducted for 2000 to 2002 when all crops described above were present in all organic rotations. Production costs were, in general, greatest for CT, while those for the organic systems were lower than or similar to those for NT for all crops. Present value of net returns for individual crops and for full rotations were greater and risks were lower for NT than for CT. When price premiums for organic crops were included in the analysis, cumulative present value of net returns for organic systems (US$3933 to 5446 ha−1, 2000 to 2005; US$2653 to 2869 ha−1, 2000 to 2002) were always substantially greater than for the conventional systems (US$1309 to 1909 ha−1, 2000 to 2005; US$634 to 869 ha−1, 2000 to 2002). With price premiums, Org2 had greater net returns but also greater variability of returns and economic risk across all years than all other systems, primarily because economic success of this short rotation was highly dependent on the success of soybean, the crop with the highest returns. Soybean yield variability was high due to the impact of weather on the success of weed control in the organic systems. The longer, more diverse Org4+ rotation had the lowest variability of returns among organic systems and lower economic risk than Org2. With no organic price premiums, economic returns for corn and soybean in the organic systems were generally lower than those for the conventional systems due to lower grain yields in the organic systems. An exception to this pattern is that returns for corn in Org4+ were equal to or greater than those in NT in four of six years due to both lower production costs and greater revenue than for Org2 and Org3. With no organic premiums, present value of net returns for the full rotations was greatest for NT in 4 of 6 years and greatest for Org4+ the other 2 years, when returns for hay crops were high. Returns for individual crops and for full rotations were, in general, among the lowest and economic risk was, in general, among the highest for Org2 and Org3. Results indicate that Org4+, the longest and most diverse rotation, had the most stable economic returns among organic systems but that short-term returns could be greatest with Org2. This result likely explains, at least in part, why some organic farmers in the mid-Atlantic region, especially those recently converting to organic methods, have adopted this relatively short rotation. The greater stability of the longer rotation, by contrast, may explain why farmers who have used organic methods for longer periods of time tend to favor rotations that include perennial forages.