Climate change and degradation of natural resources pose daunting challenges in arid semi-arid rangelands southern Mediterranean region. Overcoming these requires considerable man...

The worldwide phenomenon of shrub encroachment in grass-dominated dryland ecosystems is commonly associated with desertification. Studies of the purported desertification effects associated with shrub encroachment are often restricted to relatively few study areas, and document a narrow range of possible impacts upon biota and ecosystem processes. We conducted a study in degraded Mediterranean ...

OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to analyse the worldwide trends of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), in 1961-1965 and 2000-2003. DESIGN Data were obtained from the FAO food balance sheets in two periods: 1961-1965 and 2000-2003. In order to have a sample from across the world, forty-one countries were selected. The average of available energy for different food groups was calculated...

the areas of the world that have mediterranean style climate are found at about 35 degrees north and south of the equator, on the western sides of continents. the distinctive feature of this climate is the small amount of rain in the summer. overall, the climate has a moderate amount of rainfall and warm winters and hot summers and. the climate of the mediterranean region is conditioned by its ...

The traditional Mediterranean diet is the diet that prevailed in the olive tree-growing areas of the Mediterranean basin up to the early 1960s, before globalization invaded the local food culture. The seminal studies by Keys and his colleagues brought the concept of the Mediterranean diet into the mainstream of the science focusing on the relation between nutrition and health. The interest in t...

Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres....

Familial Mediterranean fever, an autosomal recessive disorder, is a member of the periodic fever syndromes, and considered to be the most common cause of recurrent febrile episodes in children. It is important to understand the disorder as familial Mediterranean fever falls on a spectrum of various presentations; the recurrent episodes of familial Mediterranean fever may be so severe that the q...

the seasonal diversity and distribution of microphytes and macrophytes in 40 artificial irrigationponds constructed in a semi-arid region, and the most suitable conditions to maintain these enclaves asbiodiversity spots were studied for the first time. a total of 104 species were detected. bacillariophyta,cyanobacteria and chlorophyta dominated both pelagic and benthic microphytic communities, ...