This study examined the performance and future predictions for the Middle East produced by 18 global climate models participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Under the Special Report on Emission Scenarios A2 emissions scenario the models predict an overall temperature increase of ∼1.4 K by mid-century, increasing to almost 4 K by late-century for t...

We sequenced West Nile viruses (WNVs) from Turkey and found close relationships to WNV lineage 1 strain ArB310/67 from the Central African Republic, distinct from other WNVs circulating in the Mediterranean Basin, eastern Europe, and the Middle East. These findings suggest independent introductions of WNV strains from Africa to the Middle East.

Global efforts to eradicate polio began in 1988 and have been successful in all but two of the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Within these two regions (African and Eastern Mediterranean), three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan) have never interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus (WPV). Outbreaks following importation of WPV from these countries occurred in the Horn...

The distribution patterns of taxa belonging to the section Hypoglottidei DC. were investigated using DIVA-GIS software. Based on Zohary classification, five global patterns, with the exception of widely distributed species, include 1. Centro-Asiatic province, 2. Irano-Anatolian province, 3. Pontic province, 4. East Mediterranean subregion and 5. West Mediterranean subregion, were identified. In...

the goal of this study was to estimate the sensitivity of reference evapotranspiration (et0) to changes in meteorological parameters in the caspian region. long-term meteorological data (1961-2008) were obtained from three synoptic meteorological stations. the region was primarily classified into three climatic zones, based on de martonne climate classification. the penman–monteith equation was...

As with other crucial thresholds in cultural evolution, the impact of the ‘‘Neolithic Revolution,’’ as it was labeled by V. G. Childe,5 or the ‘‘incipient cultivation and domestication’’ as it was defined by R. Braidwood,6 can only be evaluated on the basis of its outcome. I begin with a brief description of the cultural sequence of the late hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Near East until ab...

Bumblebees have economical importance in most of wild and cultivated plants. They can be abundant in suitable habitats and have a broad flower choice. Bombus terrestris was collected at intervals during 2002 and 2003 from various flora and ecosystems of east Mediterranean region of Turkey. In this study, plants visited by Bombus terrestris, seasonal activities, distribution and altitudes were d...

Culicoides oxystoma (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is an important vector species, reported mainly from Asia, with high potential to transmit viral diseases affecting livestock. In Japan, many arboviruses have been isolated from C. oxystoma, suggesting it as a key player in the epidemiology of several Culicoides-borne diseases. Over the years, C. oxystoma has also been reported in the Middle East r...