Food Transfer Research Articles

The effect of individual and food characteristics on food retrieval and food sharing in captive Guinea baboons (Papio papio).

Access to food is of major importance to the fitness and survival of every individual, particularly in group-living animals, in which individual characteristics and food distribution can affect food intake. Additionally, several species of primates are known to share food under certain conditions. Such unresisted transfer of food from one individual to another appears to be adaptive, for instance as a tool to maintain and reinforce social bonds. In this study, we aimed to test how food retrieval and food sharing varies depending on the social relationship between individuals, and on the characteristics of the food. In six different test conditions, we provided a captive group of Guinea baboons (Papio papio, N = 23) with multiple food items, differing in quality, quantity, density, monopolizability, and effort required to obtain it. We further used behavioral observations to assess individual relationships and possible variations in grooming exchanges linked to food sharing events. Out of 424 events in which food items were retrieved by the subjects, we detected no instances of active food sharing and only 17 of passive food sharing. The way food was retrieved was affected by individual and food characteristics (i.e., quantity, quality, and monopolizability of food): Males and central individuals (i.e., those connected to many partners, and/or having partners with many connections in the social network) were more likely to retrieve food during test conditions. In particular, events of passive food sharing mostly happened when the quality of food was low, and between individuals belonging to the same community (i.e., having close relationships). No other food characteristics affected the probability to share food, and the occurrence of food sharing had no immediate effect on grooming exchanges. Overall, our findings suggest that food sharing is relatively rare in Guinea baboons unless the food has a low quality and individuals form close social bonds.

Comparing the Productive Effects of Cash and Food Transfers in a Crisis Setting: Evidence from a Randomised Experiment in Yemen

The productive impacts of transfer programmes have been receiving increased attention. However, little is known about such effects in emergency and crisis settings. Even less is known about whether transfer type – a food basket or a cash grant – influences the productive potential of such transfers. Theory suggests that cash transfers can relieve liquidity constraints associated with investments, but subsidised food provision, by acting as a form of insurance, may prevent households from retreating to conservative income-generating strategies during volatile periods. This report contrasts the effects of transfer modality during a randomised field experiment in Yemen. The results demonstrate a modest productive impact of both modalities and suggest a role for liquidity and price risk channels. Cash transfer recipients invested relatively more in activities with higher liquidity requirements (livestock), while food recipients incorporated higher-return crops into their agricultural portfolios.

Begging and social tolerance: Food solicitation tactics in young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the wild

Abstract The substantial role of food sharing in human evolution has been widely recognized, and food-soliciting tactics may have been critical in facilitating these transfers. Great apes, our closest living relatives, also use different food-soliciting tactics to obtain food from both kin and non-kin. However, the individual and social factors involved in requests for and subsequent transfers of food have been relatively little studied. Here, we examined which tactics (e.g., tactile gestures, taking actions, and vocalizations) infant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) employ to solicit food as well as the success of obtaining food from their conspecifics. Using a multimodal approach, we focused on food-related interactions in 14 chimpanzee infants of two different subspecies (P. t. schweinfurthii/verus) living in the communities of Kanyawara, Uganda, and Tai South, Cote d'Ivoire. Overall, we found that infants' solicitation tactics included mainly visual or tactile gestural requests and taking attempts, while vocalizations and gestures involving auditory components were rarely used. With increasing age, infants used more visual gestures when soliciting food from conspecifics other than the mother. If food was solicited from mothers or maternal kin, infants predominantly begged for food via (mechanically effective) taking attempts. In terms of subsequent food transfers, taking attempts were more successful than gestures. In light of the prevalent use of non-contact begging despite low rates of success, food solicitation in young great apes might also function to facilitate social tolerance and gain social information. We thus conclude that the food sharing context might represent a critical platform to learn and practice social rules underlying cooperative interactions, which can later be generalized across collaborative domains.

Rural-Urban Linkages: The Case of Rural Migrants from Upper West Region to Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region, Ghana

In migration studies, research on backward linkages has received a lot of attention. However, research on rural-urban forward linkages is scanty. This article explored the forward linkages from rural households in the Upper West Region of Ghana to urban migrants in the mining town of Obuasi, which has a long history of attracting migrant workers. The study employed a qualitative research design using in-depth interviews to gather data from 26 respondents in Tizza, Kojokpere, Issa, Kaleo and Jang; and 13 urban migrants in Obuasi. Four focus group discussions were conducted in Obuasi to support and validate the in-depth interviews conducted in the rural communities. The study shows that the resource ows from Tizza, Kojokpere, Issa, Kaleo and Jang to urban migrants in Obuasi are in the form of social support, nancial and food transfers. The rural households view the resource ows as necessary for sustaining the livelihoods of their migrant family members and for maintaining aective ties. The study establishes that reverse ows put nancial and social burdens on rural households and this burden drains resources of rural households. Keywords : Forward Linkages, Livelihood Strategy, Migrants, Obuasi, Upper West Region

In the Form of Bread? A Randomized Comparison of Cash and Food Transfers in Yemen

Debate over the implementation of food assistance programs and the role of in‐kind food aid has intensified in recent years. Within that context, we study a randomized control trial of rural communities in Yemen. From 2011 to 2012, poor households in half of the communities received assistance in the form of in‐kind food (wheat flour and oil), and households in the other half received an equal valued cash transfer. On average, those that received cash exhibited greater dietary diversity, with differences driven largely by increases in consumption of protein‐rich foods like meat and fish. However, food households consumed, on average, approximately 150 more calories per person per day than cash recipients, due largely to higher wheat flour and oil consumption. Modality type did not significantly affect non‐food consumption, including usage of qat, a mildly narcotic leaf consumed widely in Yemen, and cash cost less to deliver than food.

A power-law liquid food flowing through an uneven channel with non-uniform suction/injection

In filtration/permeation, precipitation and accumulation of impurities in fluids will lead to uneven walls in a filter duct, which in turn causes non-uniform suction/injection. In the present article, we numerically investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer of a power-law fluid food in the heating process through an uneven channel with non-uniform suction/injection. Three different sets of channel surfaces and boundary suction/injection conditions are considered: the channel surface and the permeability are depicted as linear functions, quadratic functions, and trigonometric functions, respectively. This study investigates a traditional Chinese condiment, oyster sauce, a typical type of power-law fluid. The velocity, temperature, and pressure fields are investigated under the impacts of various parameters, such as the power-law index n and the suction/injection parameter vw. The findings reveal that the velocity and temperature curves have peaks and troughs, which differ from those obtained with a uniform suction/injection and even boundary surface.

Social contributions to the foraging behavior of young wild golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia): Age-related changes and partner preferences.

In cooperatively breeding species, group members other than the parents contribute to the care of the young. The costs and benefits to caregiving may vary with the type of care provided and with caregiver characteristics such as age, sex, reproductive status, and foraging ability. Here I examine the relative contributions of parents, helpers and same-aged twins to the foraging and feeding activities of the young in a longitudinal study of wild golden lion tamarins, specifically with regard to direct food transfer, tolerance for coforaging or cofeeding by immatures and signaling young as to the location of profitable prey-foraging sites. I found that the type of food-related assistance varied as a function of the age of the immature and among group members. Rates of food transfer steadily declined as immatures aged, while coforaging rates peaked when juveniles were in the middle age group. Mothers and fathers were the most generous in terms of providing food to begging young. Mothers most often directed juveniles to productive foraging sites, and female helpers never did. Older siblings did not vary caregiving effort according to sex or age. Adult and subadult foraging ability was not a strong predictor of the rates at which prey was given to the young or the rates at which caregivers tolerated coforaging by immatures on plant and prey resources. Thus, foraging ability did not appreciably influence generosity to or tolerance of the young.

Antibacterial effect of Ag nanoparticles into the paper coatings

Abstract Food packaging is the most important output of the printing industry. Giving antibacterial effect to the papers used in food packaging will extend the shelf life of the product and food transfer in healthier conditions. The nanoparticles with known antibacterial activity are nanosilver, nanogold, nanosilica. Binders used in paper coating provide a good nutrient medium for bacteria. In this study, Ag nanoparticles was first synthesized as monodisperse in 10 nm size with polyvinyl pyrrolidone and sodium boron reaction which will give antibacterial properties to paper coatings. The chemical structure of the synthesized Ag nanoparticles is illuminated by fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). Different paper coating formulations containing varying amounts of Ag nanoparticles were prepared with starch binder. Using these mixtures; papers coated with a laboratory-type paper coating machine onto 80 g/m2 paper. Color, gloss, contact angle, surface energy, antibacterial properties of the paper against the E. coli bacteria and S. aureus bacteria were examined. As a result, Ag nanoparticles has been successfully synthesized and used in paper coating. Antibacterial and printability properties were improved by increasing the amount of Ag nanoparticles.

A Systems Approach To Assess Trade Dependencies in U.S. Food-Energy-Water Nexus.

We present a network model of the United States (U.S.) interstate food transfers to analyze the trade dependency with respect to participating regions and embodied irrigation impacts from a food-energy-water (FEW) nexus perspective. To this end, we utilize systems analysis methods including the pointwise mutual information (PMI) measure to provide an indication of interdependencies by estimating probability of trade between states. PMI compares observed trade with a benchmark of what is statistically expected given the structure and flow in the network. This helps assess whether dependencies arising from empirically observed trade occur due to chance or preferential attachment. The implications of PMI values are demonstrated by using Texas as an example, the largest importer in the U.S. grain transfer network. We find that strong dependencies exist not only just with states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska) providing high volume of transfer to Texas but also with states that have comparatively lower trade (New Mexico). This is due to New Mexico's reliance on Texas as an important revenue source compared to its other connections. For Texas, import interdependencies arise from geographical proximity to trade. As these states primarily rely on the commonly shared High Plains aquifer for irrigation, overreliance poses a risk for water shortage for food supply in Texas. PMI values also indicate the capacity to trade more (the states are less reliant on each other than expected), and therefore provide an indication of where the trade could be shifted to avoid groundwater scarcity. However, some of the identified states rely on GHG emission intensive fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline for irrigation, highlighting a potential tradeoff between crop water footprint and switching to lower emissions pumping fuels.

Stable-isotope dilution LC-MS/MS method for quantitative determination of microcystin conjugates with cysteine and glutathione in biotic matrices.

Microcystins are cyclic peptide toxins with hepatotoxic and tumor-promoting properties, which are produced in significant quantities (up to tens of μg/L) in freshwater cyanobacterial water blooms. Several studies reported microcystin accumulation in fish with possible food transfer to humans. These compounds are further metabolized to cysteine and glutathione conjugates which can be present in tissues in significant concentrations. In this study, we focused on the development and evaluation of robust and highly sensitive SPE-LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of microcystin conjugates in fish tissue samples. For the first time, we demonstrate the use of isotopically labeled internal standards which are essential for accurate and precise determination of analytes in complex biotic matrices. LLOQs of respective microcystin conjugates (signal-to-noise ratio; S/N > 10, peak-to-peak method) ranged from 3.3 to 5.0ng/g of tissue fresh weight (FW). The calibration was linear within a range of concentrations from 1 to 70ng/mL for all analyzed conjugates. The precision and repeatability of the method were very good with recoveries in the range of 88.5-107.6% and relative standard deviations between 8.8 and 13.2% for all analytes. In the follow-up study, fully validated method was used for the determination of microcystin conjugate levels in common carp exposed to microcystin-containing cyanobacterial biomass under controlled conditions. Significant amounts of microcystin conjugates (up to 55ng/g) were found in the tissues of fish after 7weeks of exposure. Our method was shown to be robust, sensitive, selective, and suitable for the determination of trace levels of microcystin conjugates in fish tissues.

Heat Transfer of Power-Law Liquid Food in a Tank with Varying Stirrer Settings

Abstract In this article, we explore the heat transfer of non-Newtonian liquid food in the heating process in a channel connecting a tank. To achieve a rapid heat diffusion, several cylindrical agitators are inserted into the tank. We pay special attention to a Chinese traditional food, i.e. the black sesame paste, which is predicted by the power-law model. The fluid flow and heat transfer are investigated numerically, under the impacts of the angular velocity of cylinder, the stirrer size and the rotational direction. Three different settings are investigated: the two-stirrer, the three-stirrer, and the 2 × 2 stirrer settings. Several applicable strategies could be applied to improve the heat transfer in food engineering practices, including changing the size, the rotational velocity, the direction, and the number of stirrers in the heat exchanger.

Effects of short-term cash and food incentives on food insecurity and nutrition among HIV-infected adults in Tanzania.

Food insecurity impedes antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. We previously demonstrated that short-term cash and food incentives increased ART possession and retention in HIV services in Tanzania. To elucidate potential pathways that led to these achievements, we examined whether incentives also improved food insecurity. Three-arm randomized controlled trial. From 2013 to 2015, 805 food-insecure adult ART initiates (≤90 days) at three clinics were randomized to receive cash or food transfers (∼$11 per month for ≤6 months, conditional on visit attendance) or standard-of-care (SOC) services. We assessed changes from baseline to 6 and 12 months in: food insecurity (severe; access; dietary diversity), nutritional status (body weight; BMI), and work status. Difference-in-differences average treatment effects were estimated using inverse-probability-of-censoring-weighted longitudinal regression models. The modified intention-to-treat analysis included 777 nonpregnant participants with 41.6% severe food insecurity. All three study groups experienced improvements from baseline in food insecurity, nutritional status, and work status. After 6 months, severe food insecurity declined within the cash (-31.4% points to 11.5%) and food (-30.3 to 10.4%) groups, but not within the SOC. Relative to the SOC, severe food insecurity decreased by an additional 24.3% points for cash (95% CI -45.0 to -3.5) and 23.3% percent points for food (95% CI -43.8 to -2.7). Neither intervention augmented improvements in severe food insecurity at 12 months, nor food access, dietary diversity, nutritional status, or work status at 6 or 12 months. Small cash and food transfers provided at treatment initiation may mitigate severe food insecurity. These effects may have facilitated previously observed improvements in ART adherence.

A multisectoral approach to eradication of malnutrition in vulnerable groups: a cluster-randomised trial

Abstract Background Nutrition is essential for sustainable development. Yet in Uganda, malnutrition and poverty are still prevalent, affecting mostly women and children younger than 5 years. This pilot study tests Uganda's National Development Plan, which uses a multisectoral approach to eradicate malnutrition. We examined the effect of financial products and agricultural and health extension services on food security and nutrition of smallholder farmers. Methods The study, conducted in southwestern Uganda, used a cluster-randomised controlled design at village level. 180 villages were randomly assigned to six treatment groups (30 villages per treatment group) and 30 villages were assigned to a control group. Treatment groups were: agricultural training for the first year (treatment [T]1); agriculture (ie, T1) and health interventions (T6 and T2); agricultural credit and T2 (T3); a voucher scheme for subsidised inputs and T2 (T4); price insurance and T2 (T5); and health interventions—growth monitoring and promotion in children aged >2 years, quarterly health and nutrition community forums, and conditional food transfers to pregnant women (T6). Primary outcomes were food security, measured using the Food and Agricultural Organization's household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS), and smallholder family nutrition (as measured by prevalence of wasting, underweight, and stunting in children younger than 5 years). The HFIAS ranges from 0 to 27, with a lower scale implying higher food security. Analysis was by intention to treat. The trial was not registered. Findings We enrolled 7694 households from 210 villages; 196 households (2·55%) were lost to follow up, leaving data from 7498 households in analysis. Data were collected from April to June, 2014, and June to August, 2016. At the end of the intervention period, there was an increase in food security in group T3, compared with control. At baseline, HFIAS for the control changed from 10·5 to 6·74 while that for group T3 improved from 12·4 to 4·57 (p=0·027). Wasting was significantly reduced, compared with the control group, in only two treatment groups: T3 with a 14·22% reduction (p Interpretation The combination of agricultural and health interventions together with the voucher scheme for subsidised agricultural inputs was generally more effective in increasing food security and reducing wasting and underweight than other treatment interventions. The pilot did not achieve its objective with respect to stunting, especially in the agriculture-only treatment arm (T1). While we believe that contamination in the control group may have reduced the effect of the project, our findings do highlight the importance of health interventions in addition to simply having enough food. Funding Japan Social Development Fund, World Bank Group Africa Gender Innovation Lab.

Effect of food properties and chewing condition on the electromyographic activity of the posterior tongue.

Retraction of the posterior tongue facilitates bolus formation, food transfer and Stage II transport in chewing and swallowing. Surface electromyography of the neck region (N-EMG) enabled the evaluation of muscle function at the posterior tongue. Although previous studies showed that food hardness increased masticatory muscles EMG activity and volitional chewing altered swallowing, the effect of food properties and chewing condition on N-EMG activity has not yet been elucidated. To investigate the effect of food properties and chewing conditions on N-EMG. Twelve healthy adults (six men and six women, mean age 28.1±2.7) participated in this study. Three test foods were used: a cookie (solid food), crushed cookies adjusted using agar and water (semisolid food) and crushed cookies adjusted using thickening agent and water (soft food). Masseter and submental muscle EMG and N-EMG activity were recorded while chewing the three test foods. Participants were instructed to masticate the three test foods in three chewing conditions: (a) chewing freely, (b) chewing test foods with the same number of chewing cycles as when chewing solid food and (c) chewing with a maximum effort. Total N-EMG activity when chewing solid food was higher than that in the other two test foods regardless of the chewing condition. In soft food and semisolid food, the total N-EMG activity was increased by increasing the number of chewing cycles. The total N-EMG activity was increased while chewing hard food, which indicates the positive effect of chewing hard food on rehabilitation at the posterior tongue.

Identifying Poor Refugees for Targeting of Food and Multi-Sectoral Cash Transfers in Niger

Identifying Poor Refugees for Targeting of Food and Multi-Sectoral Cash Transfers in Niger

MODELLING THE PROGRESS AND EFFECTS OF EUTROPHICATION IN INLAND AND COASTAL WATERS

The aim of this paper is to give a detailed overview on the predictive-model building/coding techniques for simulating the progress and effects of eutrophication based on differently detailed model structures. First; historical development of predictive eutrophication modelling is reviewed. Then, a generic transport model that can be coupled with any eutrophication kinetics is described. In the following sections, ecological sub models based on eutrophication kinetics and food-web are described along with the bottom-up approach based linkage of nutrient kinetics, primary production and transfer of food to higher trophic levels are demonstrated together with an example case study based on previous studies. Finally, the paper is supported by two comprehensive appendices, one that guides the interested readers how to develop a simple eutrophication modelling tool from starch and another to that summarizes an example hydrodynamic model development for forcing the flow fields in the transport model described in this paper.

The Medium Term Impacts of Cash and In-kind Food Transfers on Learning

This paper studies the medium-term impact of early-life welfare transfers on children's learning. It studies children who were exposed to the randomized controlled trial of the Mexico's Food Support Program (the Programa de Apoyo Alimentario, PAL), in which households were assigned to receive cash, in-kind food transfers, or nothing (a control). The children are matched with administrative data on primary school standardized tests, which were taken four to 10 years after the experiment began. The findings show that in-kind transfers did not impact test scores, while cash transfers led to a significant and meaningful decrease in test scores. An analysis of the mechanisms driving these results reveals that both transfers led to an increase in child labor, which is likely detrimental to learning. In-kind food transfers, however, induced a greater consumption of several key micronutrients that are vital for brain development, which likely attenuated the negative impacts of child labor on learning.

Торговая политика администрации Трампа

Multilateral trade and economic relations are very important for U.S. economic development. U.S. trade priorities are reflected in the president's 2018 Trade Policy Agenda, which calls for negotiating better trade deals, enforcing U.S. trade laws and U.S. rights under existing trade agreements, and reforming the multilateral trading systems. The United States is one of the world's largest exporters and it has a diversified export base. Modern structure of foreign trade is corresponding to US economic and industrial potential. High technology products and services influence deeply on economic relations. The largest export category is machinery and mechanical appliances, accounting nearly a quarter of merchandise export. The share of mineral products experienced a sharp decline between 2014 and 2016, before rising again in 2017. The United States is also one is one of the world's main importers. U.S. imports are diversified: the largest import categories are machinery and mechanical appliances, vehicles and chemicals. Import share of mineral products has declined. European Union, China, Japan, Canada and Mexico are the United States main trading partners. The U.S. Congress has legislative authority over trade policy. Congress works together with executive branch, which negotiates and implements trade agreements. The president's 2018 Trade Policy Agenda is driven to achieve "free and fair trade relations", considered critical for the U.S. national security policy. It also focuses on renegotiating and revising trade deals. In terms of reforming the multinational trading system, the Agenda advocates for sensible and fair reforms of the World Trade Organization. The United States has 14 free trade agreements with 20 countries. Most of them cover both goods and services. The United States are renegotiating NAFTA, with the aims of modernizing the agreement. Support to U.S. agricultural export is authorized by "farm bills", covering a wide line of agricultural and food programmes. A programme to support food aids (Food for Peace) regulates food transfers by international humanitarian organizations. The United States is a major producer of primary energy products. The United States is net exporter of petroleum products and natural gas. Problems and possibilities of American liquid natural gas (LNG) export to Europe are being discussed in the article. There are both legal and economic barriers to normal trade development with European countries. Monetary and financial problems are being discussed in the article. US role in international financial flows is being analysed.

“Food aid is killing Himalayan farms”. Debunking the false dependency narrative in Karnali, Nepal

Abstract Food aid constitutes a heated debate in development discourse. In Nepal’s Himalayan region, it is blamed for aggravating food insecurity by inducing dependency and negatively affecting local agriculture and diet patterns. Transferring large amount of rice, a grain scantily produced locally, food aid is considered to have worsened human nutrition by directing the traditionally diverse diet to rice-based monotonous diet. The aid dependent farmers are alleged to have given up cultivating land for less preferred local grains, ultimately reducing local food production and reproducing the need for more aid. Therefore, the removal of food aid is considered indispensable to the achievement of self-sustained food security. This paper examines the dependency narrative in light of empirical data produced by a mixed-method study conducted in Humla, a highly food insecure district in western Nepal. The results show no indication of ‘dependency’ as alleged in the narrative. Despite the free/concessional food transfers, the local farms have not only maintained diverse traditional crops, recent agricultural innovation has actually increased on-farm crop diversity. On average, the local grains contribute about 65% of the total local consumption signifying a diet pattern well embedded with the local food system. Food aid transfers cover about 20% of the total food need and constitute an important resource for households suffering high food scarcity. Therefore, we argue that the idea of removing food aid in the guise of “dependency” will directly affect many poor farmers’ food access, and will also leave an increased number of Himalayan farmers vulnerable to food insecurity in the face of emerging environmental and socio-economic stresses.

Flexible communication within bird families-The consequences of behavioral plasticity for parent-offspring coadaptation.

Offspring are selected to demand more resources than what is optimal for their parents to provide, which results in a complex and dynamic interplay during parental care. Parent–offspring communication often involves conspicuous begging by the offspring which triggers a parental response, typically the transfer of food. So begging and parental provisioning reciprocally influence each other and are therefore expected to coevolve. There is indeed empirical evidence for covariation of offspring begging and parental provisioning at the phenotypic level. However, whether this reflects genetic correlations of mean levels of behaviors or a covariation of the slopes of offspring demand and parental supply functions (= behavioral plasticity) is not known. The latter has gone rather unnoticed—despite the obvious dynamics of parent–offspring communication. In this study, we measured parental provisioning and begging behavior at two different hunger levels using canaries (Serinus canaria) as a model species. This enabled us to simultaneously study the plastic responses of the parents and the offspring to changes in offspring need. We first tested whether parent and offspring behaviors covary phenotypically. Then, using a covariance partitioning approach, we estimated whether the covariance predominantly occurred at a between‐nest level (i.e., indicating a fixed strategy) or at a within‐nest level (i.e., reflecting a flexible strategy). We found positive phenotypic covariation of offspring begging and parental provisioning, confirming previous evidence. Yet, this phenotypic covariation was mainly driven by a covariance at the within‐nest level. That is parental and offspring behaviors covary because of a plastic behavioral coadjustment, indicating that behavioral plasticity could be a main driver of parent–offspring coadaptation.