Food sovereignty in US food movements: radical visions and neoliberal constraints

Although the concept of food sovereignty is rooted in International Peasant Movements across the global south, activists have recently called for the adoption of this framework among low-income communities of color in the urban United States. This paper investigates on-the-ground processes through which food sovereignty articulates with the work of food justice and community food security activists in Oakland, California, and Seattle, Washington. In Oakland, we analyze a farmers market that seeks to connect black farmers to low-income consumers. In Seattle, we attend to the experiences of displaced immigrant farmers from Latin America and their efforts to address their food needs following migration. In both cases, we find that US based projects were constrained by broader forces of neoliberalism that remained unrecognized by local activists. In Oakland, despite a desire to create a local food system led by marginalized African Americans, emphasis on providing green jobs in agriculture led activists to take a market-based approach that kept local food out of the economic grasp of food-insecure neighborhood residents. In Seattle, the marginalization of the immense agroecological knowledge of Latino/an immigrant farmers rendered local food projects less inclusive and capable of transformative change. Taken together, these very different cases suggest that a shift towards food sovereignty necessitates a broad acknowledgement of and resistance to neoliberalism.     

Implications and challenges of tuberculosis in wildlife ungulates in Portugal: a molecular epidemiology perspective

Mycobacterium bovis and, more rarely, Mycobacterium caprae, may cause zoonotic bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in an extensive range of animal species. In Portugal, during 2009, a remarkable raise of bTB incidence was registered in cattle along with an increase of new cases in wildlife. In this work, we reassess and update the molecular epidemiology of bTB in wild ungulates by including 83 new M. bovis and M. caprae isolates from wild boar and red deer obtained during 2008-2009. Spoligotyping identified 27 patterns in wild ungulates, including 11 patterns exclusive from deer and five from wild boar. The genetic relatedness of wildlife and livestock isolates is confirmed. However, the relative prevalence of the predominant genotypes is different between the two groups. Contrasting with the disease in livestock, which is widespread in the territory, the isolation of bTB in wildlife is, apparently, geographically localized and genotypic similarities of strains are observed at the Iberian level.     

In vitro antifungal susceptibility of Malassezia pachydermatis from dogs with and without skin lesions

Canine Malassezia dermatitis is frequently treated with systemic ketoconazole (KTZ) and itraconazole (ITZ). However, no information is available on the antifungal susceptibility to azoles and allilamine of Malassezia pachydermatis isolates from dogs with or without skin lesions. The present study was designed to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of M. pachydermatis strains from dogs with or without skin lesions to KTZ, ITZ, miconazole (MICO), fluconazole (FLZ), posaconazole (POS), voriconazole (VOR) and terbinafine (TER) using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute reference Broth Microdilution Method (CLSI M27-A2). The association between the susceptibility to antifungal compounds and the origin of M. pachydermatis, from skin with or without lesions has been also assessed. A total of 62 M. pachydermatis strains from healthy dogs (i.e., Group A=30) or with skin lesions (i.e., Group B=32) were tested. ITZ, KTZ and POS showed the highest activity against M. pachydermatis strains, whereas MICO TER and FLZ the lowest. A higher number of Malassezia resistant strains were registered among isolates from Group B than those from Group A. This study indicates that M. pachydermatis strains were susceptible to ITZ, KTZ, and POS. However, dogs with lesions may harbour strains with low susceptibility to antifungal agents and displaying cross-resistance phenomena to azole. The antifungal therapy in Malassezia infections requires careful appraisal of choice of drugs especially in cases of unresponsiveness to antifungal treatment or recurrent infections.     

Influence of tree size, reduced competition, and climate on the growth response of Pinus nigra Arn. salzmannii after fire

Context

After wildfire, surviving trees are of major ecological importance as they can help in the post-fire regeneration process. Although these trees may be damaged, they may also benefit from reduced fuel hazard and competition. However, little is known about the long-term growth response of surviving trees.

Aims

This study aims to explain short- to long-term variations in the postfire growth of surviving black pines in an area burnt in 1994, focusing on levels of fire severity and tree sizes.

Methods

Relative basal area increments were used to detect time-course variations in postfire radial tree growth depending on fire severity. Linear mixed-effects models were used to describe the factors affecting postfire ring growth.

Results

In the short term, fire caused stronger reduction in growth in small trees with increasing bole char height. However, as time since fire increased, a positive effect of fire on growth due to reduced competition counteracted the short-term fire impacts. Indeed, small surviving trees demonstrated a surge in growth 15 years after the fire.

Conclusion

It was concluded that reduced competition might offset the short-term negative effects of fire in surviving black pines.     

Cardiomyocyte calcium cycling in a naturally occurring German shepherd dog model of inherited ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death

ObjectiveTo further characterize arrhythmic mechanisms in German shepherd dogs (GSDs) affected with inherited ventricular arrhythmias by evaluating intracellular calcium cycling and expression of calcium handling genes.AnimalsTwenty five GSDs, 9 backcross dogs, and 6 normal mongrel dogs (controls) were studied. The GSDs and backcross dogs were from a research colony of inherited ventricular arrhythmias. The control research dogs were purchased.MethodsAction potentials (APs) and pseudo-electrocardiograms (ECG) were recorded from left ventricular (LV) wedge preparations of GSDs and normal dogs. Midmyocardial (Mid) LV cells from GSDs and normal mongrels were isolated by enzymatic digestion. Cells were either field stimulated or voltage clamped and calcium transients were measured by confocal microscopy using the indicator Fluo-3AM. Expression of calcium handling genes was measured by quantitative RT-PCR.ResultsMean calcium transient decay (tau) was not different between affected GSDs and control dogs, but striking cell-to-cell variability for tau was observed within affected GSDs and between affected GSDs and controls (P < 0.0001 each); within-dog variability accounted for 75% of total variability. Calcium sparks and afterdepolarizations occurred in GSD but not control cells. ATP2A2/SERCA2a expression was significantly reduced (P = 0.0063) in affected GSDs and inversely correlated (P = 0.0006) with severity of ventricular arrhythmias.ConclusionsGerman shepherd dogs with inherited ventricular arrhythmias have electrophysiologic abnormalities in calcium cycling associated with reduced ATP2A2/SERCA2a expression. These animals provide a unique opportunity to study calcium remodeling at the genetic and molecular level in familial ventricular arrhythmias.     

Effect of Incorporating White,Red or Black Quinoa Flours on Free and Bound Polyphenol Content,Antioxidant Activity and Colour of Bread

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Interest in quinoa as a functional food ingredient is currently emerging. The flours from white, red and black quinoa seeds were analysed in terms of total...     

Carotenoid intakes, assessed by food-frequency questionnaires (FFQs), are associated with serum carotenoid concentrations in the Jackson Heart Study: validation of the Jackson Heart Study Delta NIRI Adult FFQs

OBJECTIVES: Intake and status of carotenoids have been associated with chronic disease. The objectives of this study were to examine the association between carotenoid intakes as measured by two regional food-frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and their corresponding measures in serum, and to report on dietary food sources of carotenoids in Jackson Heart Study (JHS) participants. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of data for 402 African American men and women participating in the Diet and Physical Activity Sub-Study (DPASS) of the JHS. RESULTS: Mean serum carotenoid concentrations and intakes in this population were comparable to those reported for the general US population. After adjustment for covariates, correlations between serum and dietary measures of each carotenoid, for the average of the recalls (deattenuated), the short FFQ and the long FFQ, respectively, were: 035 and 0-carotene; 026 and 0-carotene; 017 and 0-carotene; 034 and 0-cryptoxanthin; 015 and 037, 014 for lycopene. Major dietary sources of -carotene and lutein plus zeaxanthin, mustard, turnip and collard greens; of beta-cryptoxanthin, orange juice; and of lycopene, tomato juice. CONCLUSIONS: On average, carotenoid intakes and serum concentrations are not lower in this southern African American population than the general US population. The two regional FFQs developed for a southern US population and used as dietary assessment tools in the JHS appear to provide reasonably valid information for most of these carotenoids.