Tracing the metabolic rift in Colombia's greengrocer: an environmental history of the Anaime Valley

This paper stems from research to reconstruct an environmental history of agriculture in the Anaime Canyon Valley and better understand the environmental consequences of having transformed the area into “Colombia's greengrocer”. We trace the origins and development of agro-food production and explore how commercial agriculture and dairy operations have transformed the landscape and local ecosystems in the Anaime valley, in light of Marx's concept of metabolic rift. Research is based on archival sources and a participatory reconstruction of the Anaime landscape from the historical memory of the campesinos, or rural inhabitants. The data shows how internal migration, rapid urban growth and improved transportation infrastructure in the valley during the mid-twentieth century hastened the turn toward intensive commercial agriculture. Increasing links to Colombia's urban markets have led to agricultural intensification and specialization in arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza) production in the Anaime Canyon. As a result, soils and ecosystems have been depleted and agriculture depends increasingly on chemical inputs including fertilizers, indicating a growing metabolic rift.Este artículo nace de una investigación que busca reconstruir la historia ambiental de la agricultura en el cañón de Anaime, para entender las consecuencias ambientales de su conversión en la despensa agrícola de Colombia. Rastrea la producción agroalimentaria en el cañón hasta sus inicios y explora cómo la agricultura comercial y la producción de lácteos han transformado el paisaje y los ecosistemas locales. Las transformaciones en el paisaje de Anaime se analizan a la luz del concepto de brecha metabólica de Marx. La investigación se nutre de datos procedentes de fuentes de archivo y de una reconstrucción participativa del paisaje anaimuno, a partir de la memoria histórica de sus habitantes campesinos. Los datos muestran que la migración interna, la rápida urbanización y las mejoras en la infraestructura de transporte a mediados del siglo xx aceleraron la intensificación de la agricultura en el cañón. La creciente integración de Anaime a los mercados urbanos de Colombia condujo a la intensificación agrícola y a la especialización en la producción de arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza). Como resultado, los suelos y los ecosistemas se han deteriorado, y la agricultura depende cada vez más de insumos químicos, incluidos fertilizantes, lo que evidencia una creciente brecha metabólica

Children In Foster Care: The Odds Are Against Them

Most child welfare reports that lead to removal of children from their homes are filed for neglect rather than abuse. Often, their parents want to take care of them, but are failing for one reason, or for many. Nonetheless, the lion’s share of the $30 billion annual budget of state and federal child welfare funding goes overwhelmingly to foster care and adoption services which remove the children from their parents, instead of to helping those families care for their own children. THE

Wells Fargo v. City of Oakland: A Matter of Proximate Cause

President Lyndon B. Johnson saw passage of the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) to be a fitting tribute to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had just been assassinated. The United States was in turmoil, much as it is today, with cities burning and people divided. The FHA was first introduced by Democratic senator Walter Mondale. The lobbying efforts of Republican senator Edward Brooke, the first Black senator to be elected by popular vote, and Democratic senator Edward Kennedy finally brought this legislation to fruition as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Senator Mondale remarked, “in truly integrated neighborhoods, people have been able to live in peace and harmony— and both [Blacks] and whites are richer for the experience.” Although the FHA has been “rightfully lauded as one of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement,” discriminatory lending practices have continued. These lending practices, called redlining and reverse redlining (also known as predatory lending), have not ceased to devastate individuals, families, neighborhoods and cities. In 2018, the City of Oakland, California (“Oakland”), sued Wells Fargo to address part of what the FHA set out to do: end discrimination in lending. The court quoted senator Mondale, the chief sponsor of the FHA, who cited cities’ declining tax bases as a specific injury traced to discrimination in housing. Wells Fargo appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bank of America Corporation v. City of Miami (“Miami I”), the court held that Oakland must be given a chance to prove that its harm was within the zone of interest affected by Wells Fargo’s actions

Inverter-converter automatic paralleling and protection

Electric control and protection circuits for parallel operation of inverter-converte

Load programmer, static switches, and annunciator for inverters and converters

Load programmer, switches, and annunciator for static inverters and converters operating in paralle

Omega-3 fatty acids for nutrition and medicine considering microalgae oil as a vegetarian source of EPA and DHA

Abstract: Long-chain EPA/DHA omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can be co-preventative and co-therapeutic. Current research suggests increasing accumulated long chain omega-3s for health benefits and as natural medicine in several major diseases. But many believe plant omega-3 sources are nutritionally and therapeutically equivalent to the EPA/DHA omega-3 in fish oil. Although healthy, precursor ALA bio-conversion to EPA is inefficient and production of DHA is nearly absent, limiting the protective value of ALA supplementation from flax-oil, for example. Along with pollutants certain fish acquire high levels of EPA/DHA as predatory species. However, the origin of EPA/DHA in aquatic ecosystems is algae. Certain microalgae produce high levels of EPA or DHA. Now, organically produced DHA-rich microalgae oil is available. Clinical trials with DHA-rich oil indicate comparable efficacies to fish oil for protection from cardiovascular risk factors by lowering plasma triglycerides and oxidative stress. This review discusses 1) omega-3 fatty acids in nutrition and medicine; 2) omega-3s in physiology and gene regulation; 3) possible protective mechanisms of EPA/DHA in major diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, cancer and type 2 diabetes; 4) EPA and DHA requirements considering fish oil safety; and 5) microalgae EPA and DHA-rich oils and recent clinical results

Benchmarking food environment policies for the prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases in Kenya: National expert panel’s assessment and priority recommendations

Introduction: Unhealthy food environments drive the increase of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Objective: We aimed to examine healthy food environment policies in Kenya and identify priorities for future action. Methods: Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) we collected evidence on the extent of government action to create healthy food environments across 13 policy and infrastructure support domains and 43 related good practice indicators between 2017 and 2018. A panel of 15 national experts rated the extent of government action on each indicator compared to the policy development cycle and international best practice respectively. Based on gaps found, actions to improve food environments in Kenya were identified and prioritized. Results: In the policy development cycle, 16/43 (37%) of good practice policy indicators were judged to be in ‘implementation’ phase, including: food composition targets, packaged foods’ ingredient lists/nutrient declarations; systems regulating health claims; restrictions on marketing breast milk substitutes; and school nutrition policies. Infrastructure support actions in ‘implementation’ phase included: food-based dietary guidelines; strong political support to reduce NCDs; comprehensive NCD action plan; transparency in developing food policies; and surveys monitoring nutritional status. Half (22/43) of the indicators were judged to be ‘in development’. Compared to international best practice, the Kenyan Government was judged to be performing relatively well (‘medium’ implementation) in one policy (restrictions on marketing breast milk substitutes) and three infrastructure support areas (political leadership; comprehensive implementation plan; and ensuring all food policies are sensitive to nutrition). Implementation for 36 (83.7 %) indicators were rated as ‘low’ or ‘very little’. Taking into account importance and feasibility, seven actions within the areas of leadership, food composition, labelling, promotion, prices and health-in-all-policies were prioritized. Conclusion: This baseline assessment is important in creating awareness to address gaps in food environment policy. Regular monitoring using Food-EPI may contribute to addressing the burden of diet-related NCDs in Kenya

Tyrosine phosphorylation of type Iγ phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase by Src regulates an integrin–talin switch

Engagement of integrin receptors with the extracellular matrix induces the formation of focal adhesions (FAs). Dynamic regulation of FAs is necessary for cells to polarize and migrate. Key interactions between FA scaffolding and signaling proteins are dependent on tyrosine phosphorylation. However, the precise role of tyrosine phosphorylation in FA development and maturation is poorly defined. Here, we show that phosphorylation of type Iγ phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase (PIPKIγ661) on tyrosine 644 (Y644) is critical for its interaction with talin, and consequently, localization to FAs. PIPKIγ661 is specifically phosphorylated on Y644 by Src. Phosphorylation is regulated by focal adhesion kinase, which enhances the association between PIPKIγ661 and Src. The phosphorylation of Y644 results in an ∼15-fold increase in binding affinity to the talin head domain and blocks β-integrin binding to talin. This defines a novel phosphotyrosine-binding site on the talin F3 domain and a “molecular switch” for talin binding between PIPKIγ661 and β-integrin that may regulate dynamic FA turnover