Maternal employment and income affect dietary calorie adequacy in households in Sri Lanka

Nutritional deficiencies among children and mothers in lower-income households in Sri Lanka continue to be a major obstacle to the country's social and economic development. This study investigates the factors affecting dietary caloric adequacy in Sri Lanka, paying special attention to maternal income. An econometric analysis was performed using a household data set collected from a sample of 183 low-income households in the urban, rural, and estate sectors. The results showed that on average, mothers and children in the sample did not consume adequate levels of calories according to the recommendations of the Medical Research Institute of Sri Lanka. The mother's income and educational status, the number of children and adults in the family, and the ages, sexes, and birth orders of the children significantly influenced household and individual caloric adequacy. Specifically, the mother's income had a significant positive effect on the total caloric intake (CI) and caloric adequacy ratio (CAR) of the household, mother, and children and a significant negative effect on the relative caloric allocation (RCA) of the children. The results imply that when maternal employment generates extra income, the CIs of all individuals increase, yet the allocation of calories to the children of the household is reduced. Thus, provision of employment opportunities for mothers, along with adequate child-care facilities and nutritional educational programs, is a possible strategy to improve caloric adequacy among low-income households in Sri Lanka.     

Sensory acceptability of menus and sweet snacks among children and adults from low- and medium-income households in Argentina

Sensory acceptability of menus and snacks targeted at low-income population in Argentina as a food aid program were measured. Twenty menus (pastas with different sauces, corn-meal, stews, soups, Shepherd’s pie and breaded soy hamburger with mashed potatoes) and 15 snacks (flavored milks, rice pudding, cakes, cereals, and cookies) were tested. Three hundred and twenty subjects, balanced over low- and medium-income households, and balanced over youths (11–13 years) and adult women (25–50 years), measured the acceptability of the menus and snacks. Youth and adult medium-income subjects had similar average scores for the menus, while adult low-income subjects had higher average scores for the menus than youth low-income subjects. Some menus were preferred by adults, others by youths and others had similar acceptability. Except for rice pudding for youths, all other snacks received high acceptability scores. In future acceptability studies among low-income populations test location and expectations should receive special attention.     

Female-headed households and food insecurity in Brazil

The National Household Survey carried out in 2009 by Brazil??s bureau of the census contains information on a representative sample of 121,708 households. The questionnaire includes items that enable us to identify households that experience moderate and severe degrees of food insecurity. The results of logistic regression analyses support the hypothesis that the odds of food insecurity are higher among female-headed households compared to male-headed households. Net of statistical controls for region, urban residence, age, monthly per capita household income, and five indicators of the internal composition of the household, the odds of moderate and severe food insecurity are, respectively, 32?% and 16?% higher among households headed by women compared to households headed by men. Further analyses show that the likelihood of food insecurity increases with presence of young children 0?C10?years of age and older children 11?C18?years of age. The importance of intra-household characteristics is confirmed by results that show that the odds of both moderate and severe food insecurity increase with additional adult males but decrease with additional adult females. Evidence that the presence of adult females reduces food insecurity is consistent with studies of gender differences in household decision making which show that, compared to men, women??s spending patterns have a greater positive effect on the welfare of children and other members of the household. The conclusions are discussed in the context of the poverty and hunger alleviation initiatives in Brazil??s new social policy agenda.     

烟草及其制品中砷的形态分析

为了测定烟草中砷(As)的形态,采用超声溶剂萃取、高效液相色谱(HPLC)与电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)联用技术建立了亚砷酸[As(III)]、砷酸[As(V)]、二甲基胂酸(DMA)、甲基胂酸(MMA)、砷甜菜碱(AsB)和砷胆碱(AsC)6种形态As的分离分析方法。结果表明:采用Hamilton PRPX-100(250 mm×4.1 mm,10μm)阴离子交换柱、15 mmol/L(NH4)2HPO4(pH6.0)等度洗脱,6种不同形态As在15 min内实现了基线分离,线性范围不小于两个数量级,检出限0.44~0.98μg/L,加标回收率85.19%~87.31%,相对标准偏差(RSDs,n=5)2.45%~3.56%。烟草中As含量较低,且部分以低毒的DMA、MMA形态存在;超声溶剂提取能同时提取烟草中的有机As和无机As,较客观地反映样品中As的形态分布。该方法准确、可靠,适合于评价烟草中As的形态,可为烟草的安全性评价提供参考。     

现代烟草农业背景下基层烟技员队伍建设现状与思考

基层烟叶技术员队伍建设的现代化无疑是现代烟草农业建设中最为关键的环节之一。本研究通过调查某县级烟草分公司的烟叶技术员从业信息,探析了基层烟叶技术员队伍建设现状并提出了优化措施。烟叶技术员队伍技术力量薄弱,学历层次亟待提升,严重制约了当前烟叶生产的发展。经过分析,从烟叶技术员队伍技术、学历结构优化设计,晋升激励机制和职业生涯发展等几个角度提出了建议,为基层烟叶技术员队伍建设提供了新的观点。     

Food insecurity in urban poor households in Mumbai, India

India ranks 66th of 88 countries in the Global Hunger Index and has a quarter of the world??s hungry. Food security status of 377 million inhabitants of India??s urban areas, of which one-fourth live in extreme poverty, is poorly documented. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the extent of food insecurity among households in urban slums, (b) to quantitatively assess their subjective experiences related to food insecurity and (c) to identify sub-groups among the urban poor that are vulnerable to food insecurity. A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey of adult female respondents from 283 households, selected using two-stage cluster sampling, was conducted in slums across three municipal wards in the city of Mumbai. Food insecurity, as measured by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), was found in a large number of households in the urban slums of Mumbai; 59.7?% (n?=?169) households were categorized as severely food-insecure, 16.6?% (n?=?47) as mildly to moderately food-insecure, and 23.7?% (n?=?67) as food-secure. Further analysis revealed that severe food insecurity was significantly associated with lower monthly household income and other socioeconomic status measures such as lower household monthly per capita income, lower rank in the standard of living index (SLI) and less monthly per capita expense on food items. Households where the woman was the primary income-earner and contributed the largest share to the monthly household income, and was older, less educated, with less media use or access were more likely to experience severe food insecurity. Although corrective steps at the household level such as livelihood security schemes and income generation programs are necessary, they will not be sufficient to eliminate this problem; state intervention is required in order to assure food security for the urban poor. The Government of India has drafted a Food Security Bill; but the criteria for determining which households are vulnerable and deserving are still being debated. The findings of this study highlight the urgency of corrective action and also provide pointers for the identification of vulnerable or priority sub-groups. Food security policies and programs have to be implemented immediately and effectively in order to ensure that subsidies and food items are allocated to the households of the vulnerable urban poor.     

Quantitative risk assessment for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in frozen ground beef patties consumed by young children in French households

A quantitative risk assessment for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in frozen ground beef patties consumed by children under 10 years of age in French households was conducted by a national study group describing an outbreak which occurred in France in 2005. Our exposure assessment model incorporates results from French surveys on consumption frequency of ground beef patties, serving size and consumption preference, microbial destruction experiments and microbial counts on patties sampled from the industrial batch which were responsible for the outbreak. Two different exposure models were proposed, respectively for children under the age of 5 and for children between 5 and 10 years. For each of these two age groups, a single-hit dose-response model was proposed to describe the probability of hemolytic and uremic syndrome (HUS) as a function of the ingested dose. For each group, the single parameter of this model was estimated by Bayesian inference, using the results of the exposure assessment and the epidemiological data collected during the outbreak. Results show that children under 5 years of age are roughly 5 times more susceptible to the pathogen than children over 5 years. Exposure and dose-response models were used in a scenario analysis in order to validate the use of the model and to propose appropriate guidelines in order to prevent new outbreaks. The impact of the cooking preference was evaluated, showing that only a well-done cooking notably reduces the HUS risk, without annulling it. For each age group, a relation between the mean individual HUS risk per serving and the contamination level in a ground beef batch was proposed, as a tool to help French risk managers.     

烟草中“仲丁灵”残留量及其向烟气中的转移率

为测定烟草中"仲丁灵"残留量及向烟气中的转移率,建立了正己烷饱和的乙腈提取,石墨-氨基固相萃取柱净化,3∶1(体积比)乙腈+甲苯混合液洗脱,GC-MS/MS检测方法,并采用该方法测定了12个不同施药量烤烟烟叶及其烟气样品。结果表明:①方法的检测限为0.87 ng/mL,烟叶、烟气的"仲丁灵"平均回收率分别为101.02%和96.59%,RSD为6.11%和6.79%;②相同部位,随着田间"仲丁灵"施药量的增加,烟叶中"仲丁灵"的残留量及在烟气中的含量均增加;③在施药量相同的情况下,烟叶中"仲丁灵"的残留量及在烟气中的含量为下部中部上部;④"仲丁灵"向主流烟气的转移率为10.49%~14.28%,平均12.76%。该法可用于烟草中"仲丁灵"残留量及其向烟气中转移率的测定。     

城乡居民收入与食品消费相得益彰

<正> 根据国家统计局对城镇居民和农村居民家庭收支抽样调查资料显示,1998年与1997年相比,城镇居民人均食品消费支出减少15.7元,下降0.81％,在总消费支出中所占份额由46.41％下降到44.48％;农村居民人均食品消费支出减少40.64元,下降4.56％,在总生活消费性支出中所占份额由55.05％下降到53.43％。     

烟草膨胀及对其化学成分的影响研究进展

综述了烟草膨胀的目的和作用、烟草膨胀方法的分类,和各种烟草膨胀方法以及膨胀对烟草化学成分的影响。     

Tobacco Sorter和Tobacco Scan 6000烟草异物剔除系统的比较

对TobaccoSorter和TobaccoScan 60 0 0系列的烟草异物剔除系统进行了对比 ,从系统组成、烟叶单层化及稳定传送装置、图像获取方式及识别算法、异物的剔除方法、照明光源等方面进行了详细的比较和分析 ,由此看出 :随着相关技术的快速发展 ,应用线性CCD摄像机作为检测装置的异物剔除系统将具有越来越明显的优势。     

烟叶生物酶活性与其等级和醇化时间的相关性

以云南烤烟K326为研究对象,对不同醇化时间和等级烟叶中的4种生物酶(蛋白酶、纤维素酶、淀粉酶和蔗糖酶)进行了检测.结果表明:不同醇化烟叶的蛋白酶、淀粉酶、纤维素酶和蔗糖酶的活性范围分别为4.3～10.3 U、1.7～4.2 U、7.7～18.7 U和0.8～3.8 U.醇化时间对生物酶的活性有较大影响,醇化时间较短的烟叶生物酶活性相对较高,随着醇化时间的延长,生物酶的活性逐渐下降.同时,烟叶部位等级与生物酶活性间存在显著相关性,相同醇化时间的烟叶中,中部烟叶(C3F)的生物酶活性均高于上部(B3F)和下部烟叶(X3F),上部与下部烟叶中生物酶活性差异不明显.     

再造烟叶原料烟梗中果胶的去除

为减少果胶对再造烟叶吸味的不利影响,改善其内在品质,以除糖后的硫酸咔唑果胶分析方法为定量基础,考察了水、EDTA溶液、六偏聚磷酸钠溶液、磷酸氢二铵溶液、草酸铵溶液等提取助剂对烟梗中果胶的去除效果,并结合生产工艺和节约能耗的因素,建立二次作差响应曲面实验分析方法,优化烟梗果胶浸提条件,得到最佳工艺条件为:1.20％草酸铵溶液,液料比为10∶1,提取温度为60℃,时间为30 min.     

Vulnerability of smallholder rural households to food insecurity in Eastern Ethiopia

Although several empirical methodologies as to how best assess vulnerability to food insecurity have been proposed in the literature, none of these has evolved into a unanimously accepted approach. This article contributes to this literature by adapting the Vulnerability as Expected Poverty approach from poverty analysis methodology with the aim of scrutinizing factors determining household level vulnerability to food insecurity based on cross-section data collected from 277 randomly selected households in eastern Ethiopia. Vulnerability to food insecurity was strongly associated with several factors which included family size, size of cultivated landholding, soil fertility status of plots, access to irrigation, number of extension visits, use of fertilizer and improved seed. The probability that any given household??s food consumption expenditure would fall below a specified cut-off level has also been computed and vulnerable households identified. The total number of vulnerable households (111) was found to be greater than those who are currently food insecure (103). This implies that design and implementation of food security policies and strategies need to focus not only on those who are observed to be currently food insecure, but also on setting up social protection mechanisms to help prevent households from falling more deeply into food insecurity in the future.     

Ochratoxin A reduction in meat sausages using processing methods practiced in households

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibilities of ochratoxin A (OTA) reduction in home-made meat products. Meat sausages (n = 50) produced from raw materials coming from pigs exposed to OTA-contaminated feed, were subject to common heat processes practiced in households (cooking, frying and baking). Concentrations of OTA in pre- and post-processed products were quantified using a validated immunoassay method, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and confirmed using a high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. In line with the differences in recipes used and the degree of OTA accumulation in raw materials, OTA concentrations established in Mediterranean and roast sausages were lower than those found in liver and blood sausages. Baking of contaminated sausages at the temperatures of 190–220°C (for 60 min) resulted in significant reduction of OTA levels (75.8%), while 30-min cooking (at 100°C) and frying (at 170°C) proved to be significantly less effective (e.g. yielding OTA reductions of 7.4% and 12.6%, respectively). The results pointed out that despite high OTA stability, heat processes are capable of reducing its concentration in home-made meat products, depending on the processing modality used.