Bioactivity of Famine Food Plants from the Family of Amaranthaceae

Prior to commercialization of wild foods,their nutritional,ethnobotanical,anthropological and toxic details require to be investigated.Plants from the family of Amaranthaceae are used by indigenous communities as a source of nutrition in different plants of the world.This study focused on investigating the nutritional and biological activity,safety and potential of a tissue culture system of three plants from

Wild foods(plants and animals)in the green famine belt of Ethiopia:Do they contribute to household resilience to seasonal food insecurity?

Background： The role of wild foods in combating problems of food shortage is paramount. However, existin, approaches to combat food insecurity shock have generally focused on reducing vulnerability via increasing productivity of domesticated foods. In contrast, approaches that enhance resilience mainly through wild fooc sources have been less focused. This study examined the contribution of wild foods to household resilience to food insecurity in the green famine belt of Ethiopia. Methods： A cross-sectional survey of 220 households was conducted using a structured questionnaire, key informant interviews, and semi-participant observations. Factor analysis was run using SPSS to analyze data. Correlation analysis was used to examine the direction and strength of association between wild foods and the income and food access （IFA）, a latent proxy indicator of resilience. Cross-tabulation was also run to determine the proportion of households in each ethno〈ulture group under each resilience category. Results： The mean amount of wild foods obtained by households was 156.61 kg per household per annum. This was about 5 % and 9 % of, gross and, net food available from all sources respectively. Wild foods contributed well to household resilience as the factor loading （Factor2 = 0.467） was large enough and were significantly correlated with IFA （r-- 0.174）. Wild vegetables were the most collected and consumed type of wild foods constituting 52.4 % of total amount of wild foods. The total amount of wild foods was smaller than that of domesticated sources of food. The majority of households （38.6 %） reported ＂reduced source of wild foods＂ as a reason for this. Smaller proportion of the indigenous （11.2 %） than the non-indigenous （34.1%） ethno-culture group reported one or more reasons for their lower level of dependence on wild foods. Conclusion： From the study we concluded that wild foods had important contribution to households＇ resilience to food shortages and are likely to continue to contribute in the future, this being more to indigenous than non-indigenous ethno-culture group. Therefore, a resilience building policy that incorporates wild foods should be adopted, and research that aims at exploring their current status and future prospect are urgently required.

Provision of nutrients after acute spinal cord injury: the implications of feast and famine

Traumatic spinal cord injury（SCI）often leaves patients with devastating neurological deficits.The traumatic event–or primary injury–can be due to mechanisms such as compression,distraction,shear,laceration or（rarely）even transection.Thereafter SCI patients are vulnerable to progressive,delayed damage as a result of secondary insults and secondary injury.Secondary insults such as hypoxia and hypotension occur at the level of the organism from a myriad of causes.

Famine,Affluence,and Hypocrisy

The standard view among philosophers is that an arguer’s hypocrisy(understood as failure to practice what one preaches)has no bearing on either the merits of his or her argument or the acceptability of the argument’s conclusion.I challenge this view.Using the case of Peter Singer,who has famously argued for a moral obligation to relieve famine,but who does not,by his own admission,live in accordance with the standard he espouses,I explain why(and how)an arguer’s hypocrisy matters.If I am correct,then the standard view of the relation between arguer and argument must be revised.

Early-life famine exposure,adulthood obesity patterns,and risk of low-energy fracture

Malnutrition in early life increases the risk of osteoporosis,but the association of early-life undernutrition combined with adulthood obesity patterns with low-energy fracture remains unknown.This study included 5323 community-dwelling subjects aged⩾40 years from China.Early-life famine exposure was identified based on the participants’birth dates.General obesity was assessed using the body mass index(BMI),and abdominal obesity was evaluated with the waist-to-hip ratio(WHR).Low-energy fracture was defined as fracture occurring after the age of⩾40 typically caused by falls from standing height or lower.Compared to the nonexposed group,the group with fetal,childhood,and adolescence famine exposure was associated with an increased risk of fracture in women with odds ratios(ORs)and 95%confidence intervals(CIs)of 3.55(1.57–8.05),3.90(1.57–9.71),and 3.53(1.05–11.88),respectively,but not in men.Significant interactions were observed between fetal famine exposure and general obesity with fracture among women(P for interaction=0.0008).Furthermore,compared with the groups with normal BMI and WHR,the group of women who underwent fetal famine exposure and had both general and abdominal obesity had the highest risk of fracture(OR,95%CI:3.32,1.17–9.40).These results indicate that early-life famine exposure interacts with adulthood general obesity and significantly increases the risk of low-energy fracture later in life in women.

Transmission of climate change impacts from temperature change to grain harvests, famines and peasant uprisings in the historical China

Because of the complexity of social responses to climate change,as well as limitations of proxy data concerning interactions between climate change and human responses,the social impacts of past climate change and associated response mechanisms,thus,require further investigation.To shed light on the transmission of climate change impacts within historical Chinese society,we selected 30-year resolution sequences of temperature anomalies in eastern China and 10-year resolution sequences of grain harvest grades,famine indices,and frequencies of peasant uprisings in China over the past 2000 years.Using a food security perspective,we analyzed the impacts of temperature changes historically transmitted through Chinese production,population,and social subsystems,and differences in transmission characteristics between cold and warm units.Our results were as follows.(1)From 210 BC to 1910 AD,temperature changes in China were significantly positively correlated with grain harvest grades(correlation coefficient,0.338),and significantly negatively correlated with famine indices,and frequencies of peasant uprisings(correlation coefficients,-0.301 and-0.277,respectively).The correlation coefficients between famine indices and grain harvest grades or frequencies of peasant uprisings were very low.(2)There was a higher proportion of bumper or normal harvests(86.5%of the total decades),more moderate and mild famines(76%),and a lower proportion of peasant uprisings(33.3%)in the 30-year warm units.Conversely,there was a higher proportion of poor or normal harvests(70.7%),a greater proportion of moderate and severe famines(77.6%),and more peasant uprisings(51.7%)in the 30-year cold units.(3)Of the 23 main transmission pathways extending from temperature change to the social subsystem,13 occurred in cold units,of which 7 had an endpoint of peasant uprisings,and 10 occurred in warm units of which 3 had an endpoint of peasant uprisings.The main transmission pathways that were more likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change were:Cold→poor harvests→severe famines→more uprisings;cold→poor harvests→moderate famines→more uprisings;warm→bumper harvests→mild famines→no uprisings;warm→bumper harvests→moderate harvests→no uprisings;warm→normal harvests→mild famines→no uprisings;and warm→normal harvests→moderate famines→no uprisings.(4)The transmission of the impacts of temperature change was a complex process.Within this process,famine was most prone to being modulated by human society.In the transmission pathways from the production to the social subsystem,there was a stepwise decrease in the occurrence rate of decades that were probably affected by climate change.In all cold units,10.4%of decades ending in more uprisings were most likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change.In all warm units,47.9%of decades ending in no uprisings were most likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change.This research can contribute a better understanding on the past interaction mechanisms and processes within the human-climate-ecosystem complex,as well as a better response to the impacts of the ongoing climate change.

Importance of nutrient availability for soluble microbial products formation during a famine period of activated sludge:Evidence from multiple analyses

Much remains unknown about compositional variations in soluble microbial products(SMP)with the shift of the substrate condition from a feast to a famine phase in biological treatment systems.This study demonstrated that the formation of SMP could be suppressed by up to 75%during the famine phase with the addition of essential nutrients.In contrast,presence of electron acceptor did not play any significant role during the stress condition,showing the similar amounts of SMP(r=0.98,p<0.05)formation between the bioreactors supplied with air and N2.The SMP formed in the famine phase was more biorefractory in the famine versus the feast phase with a linear correlation shown between the production and their aromatic structures in the composition(R^2>0.95).The fluorescence excitation-emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis(EEM-PARAFAC)revealed the presence of four different fluorescent components,including two protein-like(C1 and C4),fulvic-like(C2),and humic-like(C3)components,in the SMP and bEPS formed at different conditions.Both C1 and C4 showed increasing trends(R^2>0.95)with the length of starvation in the bioreactors without essential nutrients.Nutrient availability was found to be a key factor to quench the production of large-sized biopolymers.This study provides a wealth of information on operation conditions of activated sludge treatment systems to minimize large sized SMP molecules(particularly proteins),which typically exert many environmental concerns to effluent organic matter quality.

Feast or Famine

China is the largest potato producer in the world, but still saddled with acute shortages for downstream products of potato processing

Famine Spreads in East Africa

Crisis highlights deep-seated food security problems on the African continent Worsening famine in the Horn of Africa, which threatens the lives of millions in countries including Ethiopia, Djibouti,Kenya and Somalia,

YUAN LONGPING FAMINE FIGHTER

In October,84-year-old Yuan Longping received a group of experts in his rice field.With his thin build,plain blue-striped shirt,wrinkled face darkened by sun,and his Hunan dialect,Yuan could easily be mistaken for an ordinary rice farmer.He is,in fact,one of China’s most accomplished scientists.A road,a high-tech development zone,a college,a publicly-traded

传道与救世——李提摩太在“丁戊奇荒”中的赈灾活动评述

"丁戊奇荒"给中国百姓带来了深重灾难,同时也给李提摩太顺利传教提供了契机,他素怀匡时济世的仁爱之心,积极参与救灾,募集赈银,献计献策,为自己和来华传教士群体赢得了信任和认可。李提摩太灾后更是与清政府互动博弈,圣俗协商,参与各种社会政治事务,寻求"救国良策",促进了晚清社会变革和历史进程。

A case of gregarious flowering in bamboo, dominated lowland forest of Assam,India: phenology,regeneration,impact on rural economy,and conservation

We recorded gregarious flowering of three bamboo species viz. Bambusa arundinacea, Bambusa tulda and Melocanna baccifera during rainy season from early March to late May, 2008 at lowland forest of Bajali area of Indo-Burma hotspot region. A regular method of field sampling of various forest types was used to map the bamboo species in Assam, India. Moreover, people＇s perception on bamboo blooming was investigated at 17 sample plots covering 258 respondents inhabiting at the site at an average of 15 in each plots. A floral clump （inflorescence） emerged and developed into a giant panicle comprising of numerous florets. Two types of seeds viz. bacea and caryopsis were recorded in different species. Viviparous germination was noticed in few bacca seeds produced by M. baccifera and this has unusual occurrence in bamboo. Seed viability test shows that 75% caryopsis seeds were viable; these seeds had the potential of germination and can be used for mass regen- eration. Most local respondents believe that bamboo flowering can result in population explosion of rodent, therefore, they think bamboo flower- ing is positively correlated with famine. This traditional belief results in massive destruction of bamboo clumps, which significantly impacts on rural economy.

ABCB9 polymorphism rs61955196 is associated with schizophrenia in a Chinese Han population

BACKGROUND Schizophrenia(SCZ)is a complex disease which can be affected by both genetic and environmental factors.Prenatal famine exposure may cause changes in DNA methylation levels of genes.Meanwhile,maternal nutrition during pregnancy is a pivotal environmental factor in the development of SCZ.DNA methylation may be an intermediate factor mediating exposure to famine during pregnancy and SCZ,and DNA methylation quantitative trait loci might serve as a promising tool for linking SCZ and prenatal famine.AIM To analyze the association between prenatal famine exposure and SCZ risk in Northeast Han Chinese through analysis of DNA methylation related loci.METHODS A total of 954 Han Chinese from Northeast China were recruited,including 443 patients with SCZ and 511 healthy controls.The participants were further divided into famine(born in 1960-1962)and non-famine(born in 1963-1965)groups to investigate the effect of prenatal famine exposure.Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)selected according to the relevant literature were genotyped,namely,rs11917047 in PTPRG,rs2239681 in IGF2,rs3842756 in INSIGF,and rs61955196 in ABCB9.DNA were extracted from peripheral blood samples,and the genotypes of these SNP loci were detected using the improved Multiple Ligase Detection Reaction multiple SNP typing technique.The associations of the DNA methylation related SNPs with SCZ risk and prenatal famine,and their interactions were analyzed using logistic regression analysis and generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction(GMDR)software.RESULTS Based on the sequencing data,genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the four selected SNPs were determined.All genotype frequencies of the four SNPs in the healthy control group were tested for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium(P>0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that rs61955196 was significantly associated with SCZ risk in the log-additive model[odds ratio(OR):1.22;95%confidence interval(CI):1.01-1.48;P=0.040].We also found that the rs61955196 allele was related with an enhanced risk of SCZ(G>C,OR:1.22;95%CI:1.01-1.47;P=0.042).However,no associations were observed between rs11917047,rs2239681,or rs3842756 and SCZ risk.Under the optimal genetic model,no significant association of famine with the four SNPs was seen.Though the gene–gene interactions between rs2239681 and rs61955196 were found in GMDR analysis,none of the gene-gene interactions and gene-famine interactions were associated with the risk of SCZ.CONCLUSION Our study suggested that rs61955196 in ABCB9 is associated with SCZ susceptibility in Northeast Han Chinese,providing insight into genetic effects on SCZ.

Food insecurity: How to orchestrate a global health crisis

In 2007-2008, the world experienced over 1 billion people going hungry. This complex food security and public health crisis have many levels, actors and stakeholders. There lacks equity in access food markets, unbalanced consumption of nutrients and poor state institutions that, all negatively impact food security. Global financial products and regimes can greatly influence food prices, and if not properly regulated, this can lead to whole market manipulation and starvation. This paper discusses the basics of food security in a public health framework and describes the legal and financial mechanisms that lead to food insecurity.

Bulking sludge for PHA production:Energy saving and comparative storage capacity with well-settled sludge

Two acetate-fed sequencing batch reactors （SBR） were operated under an aerobic dynamic feeding （ADF） model （SBR#2） and with anaerobic phase before aerobic phase （SBR#1） to select mixed cultures with a high polyhydroxyalkanoates （PHA） storage response. Although kinetic selection based on storage response should bring about a predominance of floc-formers, a bulking sludge with storage response comparable to well-settled sludge was steadily established. An anaerobic phase was introduced before the aerobic phase in the ADF model to improve the sludge settleability （SBR #1）, however, due to the consequent increased feast/famine ratio, the performance of SBR #1, in terms of both the maximum PHB （polyhydroxybutyrate） cell content and APHB, was lower than that of SBR #2. SBR #2 gradually reached a steady state while SBR #1 failed suddenly after 50 days of operation. The maximum specific substrate uptake rate and storage rate for the selected bulking sludge were 0.4 Cmol Ae/（Cmol X.hr） and 0.18 Cmol Ac/（Cmol PHB.hr）, respectively, resulting a yield of 0.45 Cmol PHB/（Cmol Ae） in SBR #2 in the culture enrichment phase. A maximum PHB content of 53% of total suspended solids and PHB storage rate of 1.36 Cmol Ac/（Cmol PHB.hr） was achieved at 10.2 hr in batch accumulation tests under nitrogen starvation. The results indicated that it was feasible to utilize filamentous bacteria to accumulate PHA with a rate comparable to well-settled sludge, Furthermore, the lower dissolved oxygen demand of filamentous bacteria would save energy required for aeration in the culture enrichment stage.

Establishment of an in vitro micropropagation protocol for Boscia senegalensis (Pers.) Lam.ex Poir.

This report describes in vitro micropropagation of Boscia senegalensis,so-called famine foods,that helped the people in Darfur and Kordofan,Sudan survive during the 1984-1985 famine.Four types of explants prepared from green mature zygotic embryos were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium augmented with 1-5 mg/L 6-benzyladenine (BA).The highest number of shoots per explant (14.3±0.9) was achieved on MS medium supplemented with 3 mg/L BA,while the highest shoot length [(3.5±0.4) cm] was obtained with 1 mg/L BA.The shoot cluster,when subcultured to its same medium,significantly increased the rate of shoot multiplication by the end of the third subculture.The maximum mean number of shoots per explant (86.5±3.6) was produced after three multiplication cycles on 3 mg/L BA-supplemented medium.In vitro induced shoots were excised and rooted on half strength MS medium fortified with 0.25 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to obtain complete plantlets.B.senegalensis-regenerated plantlets obtained in vitro for the first time,were hardened and 95% survived under greenhouse conditions.

Challenges Associated with Creeping Disasters in Disaster Risk Science and Practice:Considering Disaster Onset Dynamics

In this article,we set out to reconcile a general conceptualization of disaster temporalities by drawing on the epitome example of a creeping disaster,namely famine.Our argument is driven by the recognition that slowly manifesting disaster impacts pose distinct challenges for decision makers and researchers while there is a tendency for the disaster literature to overlook the role of disaster onset dynamics.More specifically and as a starting point,we identify four key themes that merit particular attention when dealing with creeping disasters:(1)our understanding of disaster as a phenomenon;(2)measurement and operationalization;(3)early warning and response;and(4)disaster management and termination.By integrating conceptual discussions of disaster with famine scholarship—a phenomenon often excluded from mainstream disaster research—this article provides fresh perspectives on disaster science as well as a number of implications for how we think about disaster risk reduction.