Ancient Spanish ballads; historical and romantic.

Mode of access: Internet.

Ancient and modern Scottish songs, heroic ballads, etc.; reprinted from the edition of 1776, with an appendix containing the pieces substituted in the edition of 1791 for omissions from that of 1776.

Mode of access: Internet.

A ballad book, or Popular and romantic ballads and songs current in Annandale and other parts of Scotland. Reprinted from the rare original edition of 1824 [1823].

Mode of access: Internet.

Ballads of a Cheechako /

Mode of access: Internet.

Old ballads, historical and narrative, with some of modern date;

Mode of access: Internet.

An American garland, being a collection of ballads relating to America,

Mode of access: Internet.

Ballads of a Cheechako,

Mode of access: Internet.

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Due to increasing population and the recent implementation of policies to intensify the use of land and water resources, the transhumant pastoral systems in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay-Dzungarian region are rapidly changing, leading to modifications of herd size, herd composition and spatial distribution of livestock grazing. This may have major consequences for the supply and quality of rangeland biomass. Despite similar topographic settings, the socio-political framework for Chinese and Mongolian pastoralists differs significantly, leading to differences in rangeland utilization. To substantiate these claims, the long-distance transhumance routes, frequency of pasture changes, daily grazing itineraries and size of pastures were recorded by means of GPS tracking of cattle and goats on 1,535 (China) and 1,396 (Mongolia) observation days. The status quo of the main seasonal pastures was captured by measuring the herbage offer and its nutritive value in 869 sampling spots. In the Altay-Dzungarian region, small ruminant herds covered up to 412 km (Mongolia) and grazed on up to nine pastures per year (China). In Mongolia, the herds’ average duration of stay at an individual pasture was longer than in China, particularly in spring and autumn. Herbage allowance at the onset of a grazing period (kg dry matter per sheep unit and day) ranged from 34/17 to 91/95 (China/Mongolia). Comparing crude protein and phosphorous concentrations of herbage, in China, the highest concentrations were measured for spring and summer pastures, whereas in Mongolia, the highest concentrations were determined for autumn and winter pastures. Based on our data, we conclude that regulation of animal numbers and access to pastures seemingly maintained pasture productivity in China, especially at high altitudes. However, this policy may prohibit flexible adaptation to sudden environmental constraints. In contrast, high stocking densities and grazing of pastures before flowering of herbaceous plants negatively affected rangeland productivity in Mongolia, especially for spring and summer pastures.

Learning processes in creative industries initiatives in developing countries : an examination of policy and practice

What does a dance group in Benin that mixes contemporary and ethnic dancing have in common with Mongolian felt producers that want to enter the design market in Europe? These are both examples of learning processes in Creative Industries initiatives in developing countries. Following the concept of sustainable development, I argue that the challenge for developing countries in contemporary society is to meet the very real need of people for economic development and opportunities for income generation, while at the same time avoiding unintended and unwanted consequences of economic development and globalisation. The concept of the Creative Industries may be a way to promote a development that is sustainable and avoids social exclusion of groups-at-risk. In line with this, I argue that the Creative Industries sector could, in fact, link economic development and the continuation and evolution of local traditions and cultural heritage. A pressing question then is: how can education and learning contribute to creating a context in which talent can flourish? This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem of this thesis: what elements are conducive for individual learning processes in creative development initiatives? In this, I argue that it is crucial to determine what ingredients and characteristics contribute to making these initiatives successful, that is, to meet their specific goals, in a developing context. This is explored through a staged analysis: an overview of quantitative data, an inventory and comparative case studies and, finally, the description and analysis of two in-depth case studies – felt design in Mongolia (Asia) and dance in Benin (Africa), in which I was an observer of the action phase of the local interventions. The analysis culminates in practice-related outcomes related to the operation of creative development initiatives, as well as the contribution to the academic debate on issues like the cultural gap between developed and developing countries, transformative learning and the connection of learning spaces.

Cooking enhances but the degree of ripeness does not affect provitamin A carotenoid bioavailability from bananas

Banana is a staple crop in many regions where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent, making it a target for provitamin A biofortification. However, matrix effects may limit provitamin A bioavailability from bananas. The retinol bioefficacies of unripe and ripe bananas (study 1A), unripe high-provitamin A bananas (study 1B), and raw and cooked bananas (study 2) were determined in retinol-depleted Mongolian gerbils (n = 97/study) using positive and negative controls. After feeding a retinol-deficient diet for 6 and 4 wk in studies 1 and 2, respectively, customized diets containing 60, 30, or 15% banana were fed for 17 and 13 d, respectively. In study 1A, the hepatic retinol of the 60% ripe Cavendish group (0.52 ± 0.13 μmol retinol/liver) differed from baseline (0.65 ± 0.15 μmol retinol/liver) and was higher than the negative control group (0.39 ± 0.16 μmol retinol/liver; P < 0.0065). In study 1B, no groups differed from baseline (0.65 ± 0.15 μmol retinol/liver; P = 0.20). In study 2, the 60% raw Butobe group (0.68 ± 0.17 μmol retinol/liver) differed from the 60% cooked Butobe group (0.87 ± 0.24 μmol retinol/liver); neither group differed from baseline (0.80 ± 0.27 μmol retinol/liver; P < 0.0001). Total liver retinol was higher in the groups fed cooked bananas than in those fed raw (P = 0.0027). Body weights did not differ even though gerbils ate more green, ripe, and raw bananas than cooked, suggesting a greater indigestible component. In conclusion, thermal processing, but not ripening, improves the retinol bioefficacy of bananas. Food matrix modification affects carotenoid bioavailability from provitamin A biofortification targets.

The impact of the environment on health in Mongolia : a systematic review

Mongolia has significant exposure to environmental risk factors because of poor environmental management and behaviors, and children are increasingly vulnerable to these threats. This study aimed to assess levels of exposure and summarize the evidence for associations between exposures to environmental risk factors and adverse health outcomes in Mongolia, with a particular focus on children. A systematic review was conducted using the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Global Health Library, CINAHL, CABI, Scopus, and mongolmed.mn electronic databases up to April 2014 . A total of 59 studies meeting the predetermined criteria were included. Results indicate that the Mongolian population has significant exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution, metals, environmental tobacco smoke, and other chemical toxins, and these risk factors have been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among adults and respiratory diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders among children. Well-designed epidemiological investigations in vulnerable populations especially in pregnant women and children are recommended.

Die Personennamen und Titel der mittelmongolischen Dokumente : Eine lexikalische Untersuchung

The present research is an investigation into the corpus of personal names and titles that are found in sources from the Middle Mongolian period, that is the time from the 13th to the beginning of the 15th century. The entry for every name or title has been divided into three parts: occurence(s) of a given name in Middle Mongolian sources (primary sources), etymology, and occurence(s) in sources other than Middle Mongolian (secondary sources). Culturally and lingistically the corpus can be divided into six sub-groups: Mongolian, Turkic (Old, Middle and Modern), Arabo-Persian (Islamic), Indo-Iranian and Tibetan (Buddhist), as well as Chinese. Among these, the largest group is formed by Mongolian and Turkic, followed by Chinese (mostly titles), Indo-Iranian, Arabo-Persian and Tibetan. With regard to the primary and secondary occurences the research is based mainly on primary sources including text-publications and dictionaries. Every name or title is documented as completely as possible within a Central Asian framework. However, due to the divergency of the sources available as well as diachronical importance, each sub-group has been dealt with slightly differently, but consistently. The corpus of investigated names and titles gives a fairly correct picture of the multi-ethnical composition of the Mongolian world-empire. It also shows the foreign influences on Mongolian names and titles, being in this respect a mirror of the influences that are visible in other parts of the Middle Mongolian culture too. Furthermore, the investigated corpus reflects the transitory stage of the 13th to 15th century in Central Asian history, and includes thus material from the past (Indo-Iranian, Old and Middle Turkic), and material that points to the future (Arabo-Persian, Tibetan, Modern Turkic).

Anthropometric measures of obesity-their association with type 2 diabetes and hypertension across ethnic groups

Clinical trials have shown that weight reduction with lifestyles can delay or prevent diabetes and reduce blood pressure. An appropriate definition of obesity using anthropometric measures is useful in predicting diabetes and hypertension at the population level. However, there is debate on which of the measures of obesity is best or most strongly associated with diabetes and hypertension and on what are the optimal cut-off values for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in this regard. The aims of the study were 1) to compare the strength of the association for undiagnosed or newly diagnosed diabetes (or hypertension) with anthropometric measures of obesity in people of Asian origin, 2) to detect ethnic differences in the association of undiagnosed diabetes with obesity, 3) to identify ethnic- and sex-specific change point values of BMI and WC for changes in the prevalence of diabetes and 4) to evaluate the ethnic-specific WC cutoff values proposed by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2005 for central obesity. The study population comprised 28 435 men and 35 198 women, ≥ 25 years of age, from 39 cohorts participating in the DECODA and DECODE studies, including 5 Asian Indian (n = 13 537), 3 Mauritian Indian (n = 4505) and Mauritian Creole (n = 1075), 8 Chinese (n =10 801), 1 Filipino (n = 3841), 7 Japanese (n = 7934), 1 Mongolian (n = 1991), and 14 European (n = 20 979) studies. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and central obesity was estimated, using descriptive statistics, and the differences were determined with the χ2 test. The odds ratios (ORs) or  coefficients (from the logistic model) and hazard ratios (HRs, from the Cox model to interval censored data) for BMI, WC, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) were estimated for diabetes and hypertension. The differences between BMI and WC, WHR or WSR were compared, applying paired homogeneity tests (Wald statistics with 1 df). Hierarchical three-level Bayesian change point analysis, adjusting for age, was applied to identify the most likely cut-off/change point values for BMI and WC in association with previously undiagnosed diabetes. The ORs for diabetes in men (women) with BMI, WC, WHR and WSR were 1.52 (1.59), 1.54 (1.70), 1.53 (1.50) and 1.62 (1.70), respectively and the corresponding ORs for hypertension were 1.68 (1.55), 1.66 (1.51), 1.45 (1.28) and 1.63 (1.50). For diabetes the OR for BMI did not differ from that for WC or WHR, but was lower than that for WSR (p = 0.001) in men while in women the ORs were higher for WC and WSR than for BMI (both p < 0.05). Hypertension was more strongly associated with BMI than with WHR in men (p < 0.001) and most strongly with BMI than with WHR (p < 0.001), WSR (p < 0.01) and WC (p < 0.05) in women. The HRs for incidence of diabetes and hypertension did not differ between BMI and the other three central obesity measures in Mauritian Indians and Mauritian Creoles during follow-ups of 5, 6 and 11 years. The prevalence of diabetes was highest in Asian Indians, lowest in Europeans and intermediate in others, given the same BMI or WC category. The  coefficients for diabetes in BMI (kg/m2) were (men/women): 0.34/0.28, 0.41/0.43, 0.42/0.61, 0.36/0.59 and 0.33/0.49 for Asian Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mauritian Indian and European (overall homogeneity test: p > 0.05 in men and p < 0.001 in women). Similar results were obtained in WC (cm). Asian Indian women had lower  coefficients than women of other ethnicities. The change points for BMI were 29.5, 25.6, 24.0, 24.0 and 21.5 in men and 29.4, 25.2, 24.9, 25.3 and 22.5 (kg/m2) in women of European, Chinese, Mauritian Indian, Japanese, and Asian Indian descent. The change points for WC were 100, 85, 79 and 82 cm in men and 91, 82, 82 and 76 cm in women of European, Chinese, Mauritian Indian, and Asian Indian. The prevalence of central obesity using the 2005 IDF definition was higher in Japanese men but lower in Japanese women than in their Asian counterparts. The prevalence of central obesity was 52 times higher in Japanese men but 0.8 times lower in Japanese women compared to the National Cholesterol Education Programme definition. The findings suggest that both BMI and WC predicted diabetes and hypertension equally well in all ethnic groups. At the same BMI or WC level, the prevalence of diabetes was highest in Asian Indians, lowest in Europeans and intermediate in others. Ethnic- and sex-specific change points of BMI and WC should be considered in setting diagnostic criteria for obesity to detect undiagnosed or newly diagnosed diabetes.

蒙古枥红松动态及生物多样性主题信息标准的研究

（一）蒙古栎红松林动态的研究 本文综述了森林动态模型的基本概念和发展历史，把模型分为生长和演替模型两类，并比较了两类模型的特点和适用条件，详细论述了演替模型的基本原理，分析了早期和最新林窗模型的特点，给出了林窗模型的最新进展，指出森林动态模型的发展趋势为：①、为满足不同用户对模型的要求，模型应向综合总体方向发展;②、随着生理生态学的发展、试验仪器及分析方法的进步，和为了进一步认识森林动态变化的机理，建立树木生长机制过程模型成为另一个必然的发展方向。 随后综合分析了广泛应用于林窗模型中作为描述树高和直径关系的数学函数，通过理论分析和实际观测数据拟合及预测精度检验，表明理查德方程和单分子方程是森林动态林窗模型中描述树高和直径关系的最佳方程。 通过对蒙古栎红松林三个年龄阶段物种和结构动态实际观测数据分析表明，该类型森林的早期阶段以蒙古栎等阳性树种占优势，中期形成红松和阔叶树占优势的混交林，后期以红松占绝对优势。对该类型森林直径分布变化的研究得出：林分发育的早期，阔叶树中大径级木较多，针叶树中小径级木多;在林分发育的后期呈相反分布。用理论概率模型拟合直径分布表明，韦布尔概率分布模型是描述蒙古栎红松林直径分布的最合适函数。 在以上研究结果的基础上，以森林动态斑块理论为基础建立了蒙古栎红松林动态变化的林窗模型FOROAK，该模型包括对树木生长的生物学过程和影响树木生长的环境因子模拟两部分。运行模型用两种不同面积大小的样地分析森林动态，确定蒙古栎红松林林窗面积为0.05ha。以实际调查数据检验模型，证明所得模型能合理预测森林变化过程，在预测树种组成上精度很高。对裸地上森林的模拟表明蒙古栎红松林动态过程复杂，蒙古栎和白桦在林分发育开始占优势后期渐被红松取代。对现实原始林预测显示，森林未来300年变化稳定，红松株数和生物量变化很小。 最后，应用建立的林窗模型研究了同龄纯林林分密度动态，模拟了林分密度、断面积、生物量、叶面积指数和生产力150年的变化，用林分密度效应的3/2法则和产量恒定法则检验模拟结果表明，模拟的林分密度发展与理论预测相符合，通过本文的研究既检验了林窗动态模型又印证了林分密度效应理论。 （二）生物多样性主题信息标准的研究 中国是世界上生物多样性最丰富的国家之一，在多年的调查、研究和保护工作中，已积累了大量的数据资料，因此，被联合国环境规划署挑选参加“发展中国家生物多样性数据管理能力建设及信息系统网络化”项目，该项目的主要内容之一就是了解与生物多样性有关领域的主题信息标准。 主题信息标准部分讨论了生物多样性信息的收集、管理和转换标准，系统而全面地概述了生物多样性有关领域应用的数据分类系统、核心数据集以及与数据获得有关的术语、定义和数据模型，并讨论了各部门在研究和促进生物多样性信息标准化方面的成果和正在开展的工作。涉及的领域有自然和人工生境中的陆地植被、农业、林业、湿地、海岸和海洋，还有保护区、物种和对生物多样性有威胁的因子等专题。 文中讲述了与陆地植被分类有关的土地利用方式和土地覆盖分类等问题，并给出了国际国内应用广泛的植被分类系统。讨论了农业中与生物多样性有直接关系的分类系统，包括土地分类系统、土壤分类系统等。从森林生态系统和土地利用、林权和林政、森林资源调查、评价和监测、森林利用和经营实践、森林环境和可持续发展等几方面讨论了这些主题的概念、术语和数量划分标准。 讨论了湿地分类系统的发展，列举了国内外应用广泛的分类系统。论述了海岸和海洋生境及保护区的分类系统和标准，给出了数据定义和模型。列举了国内外广泛应用的物种命名标准和其发展过程。分遗传多样性、物种多样性和生态系统多样性三个层次讨论了它们受威胁的特点和评价现状，最后分别不同的威胁因子，如：生境丧失和片断化、全球气候变化、酸雨、臭氧层破坏和有毒污染物讨论了它们对生物多样性的威胁特点和评价现状。

内蒙古典型草原群落SPAC系统水运动的观测与仿真

草原不仅是陆地生态系统重要的一种类型，而且是人类赖以生存的畜牧业基地。由于草原多处于半干旱区，所以研究草原生态系统的水循环、水利用非常重要。本文对我国内蒙古草原区一个典型的群落－羊草群落的水分运动特征进行了定位观测，并在对这些观测结果进行分析的基础上，对土壤－植物－大气连续体（Soil-Plant-Atomosphere Continuum, SPAC）内的水流运动过程进行了仿真。 气孔是草原生态系统SPAC水流运动中最大的阻力项，是制约SPAC内水流通量的“瓶颈”，因此要想对该系统进行仿真首先必须建立精确的气孔导度（阻力）模型。根据1998～1999观测，羊草气孔导度主要受0～40cm土壤含水量的影响，在日的时间尺度上，用普通的线性回归模型对日均气孔导度就可以实现精确的预测，R~2可以达到96％，但是在小时的时间尺度上，仅用0～40cm土壤含水量是不够的，必须同时考虑其它环境因子的作用、构建具有一定机理基础的模型才能达到较为理想的模拟精度。现有的具有机理性质的气孔导度模型大致可以分为“Jarvis-类”和“BWB模型”（或“光合－导度”模型）。但是它们都没有充分考虑土壤水分因素对气孔导度的重要作用，所以这不符和草原区的实际情况。本文构建了一个考虑土壤水分因素的气孔导度模型，并分析了环境因素之间的互作对气孔导度的影响程度，最后这个模型被应用到了SPAC系统能量平衡和蒸散过程的模拟中去。 在降水量正常的情况下，例如1999年（年降水量344mm），羊草群落的显热通量明显高于潜热通量;在特别干旱的情况下，例如 1997年（年降水量仅280mm左右），白天甚至可能出现潜热的逆向传递;但是在湿润的年份，例如1998年（年降水量507mm），潜热通量却与显热通量相当。 在模拟植物蒸腾和群落的蒸散时需要分析叶片和冠层能量平衡，此时，往往需要简化处理，为了使这种简化更符合实际情况，所以根据羊草叶片红外辐射温度的实测结果，对羊草叶片上的能量平衡进行了分析。结果表明，太阳短波辐射对叶片能量总收入的贡献率小于30％，而来自地表和天空的长波辐射却古总收入的约74％。叶片的热辐射为双向，占叶片能量总支出的约90％。显热与潜热交换的总和才占叶片能量总支出的10％，而且在所测的时间点上两者的平均值相近，各占5％左右。在能量平衡的各分量中，长波辐射部分表现为净支出，因而可以假设短波辐射为叶片的唯一能量来源。此时，热辐射消耗其中的59％，显热潜热消耗40.1％。 将冠层分成上中下三层，分别模拟了这三层叶片以及土壤表面的能量平衡动态。与实测的各层红外辐射温度进行了对比，发现模型预测的冠层温度值与实测值的相关性良好，但是对中下层叶片温度的预测偏低。对土壤表面温度的模拟效果不好。 由于1998年降水量很大，根据蒸渗仪的观测，2m土体出现了渗漏。渗漏的出现，使得生长季末0～2m土壤贮水量与生长季初相比不但没有增加，反而减少。由于渗漏使得80～120cm土层内的粗细交界面得以贯通，该层对其上层土壤水头的蓄持能力下降，所以在1999年即使降雨强度不大也会造成渗漏的再次发生，这使得1999年生长季各月份水分平衡表现为较大的净支出。因此，实现SPAC水流成功模拟应该考虑土壤质地的成层性，以及渗漏的问题。 根据1998年波文比、涡度相关和蒸发渗漏仪联合实验的结果，对三种方法监测内蒙古草原群落蒸散的适用性进行了分析。三种仪器逐时、逐日蒸散回归关系极显著（P＝0.000），但是涡度相关的测量值往往低于其它两者。分析认为蒸发渗漏仪在逐日或者更长的取样时间间隔上能够达到足够的精度，适合于作为长期监测内蒙古草原群落蒸散量的工具，但是，由于受风压等随机因素的影响，不适用于逐时或逐分的测量。波文比在无对流逆温的天气里可以精确地测定逐刻和逐时的潜热通量，适合于作为短期的监测工具，但在更复杂的气象条件下波动幅度较涡度相关大。涡度相关法能在较复杂的天气条件下稳定地反映逐刻、逐时和逐日的潜热通量变化。但是，在内蒙古草原区现实的野外条件下，涡度相关法尚难以作为长期蒸散监测的工具。 除了对上述三,种观测方法进行比对外，还有波文比与Penman-Moteith公式、涡度相关法与Penman-Moteith公式对蒸散的监测进行了对比，发现Penman-Monteith公式在1998和1999年都低估了蒸散。分析认为，对总蒸散的低估可能来自对土表蒸发的低估。 本文最后还对SPAC系统水流各部分的模拟进行了整合，希望得到一个对整个系统的水流循环进行动态仿真的模型。