Trade, food and nutrition security in South Africa: The cases of sugar and poultry

The purpose of this paper is to consider the role that trade plays in food and nutrition security in South Africa. Despite an established commercial food system, South Africans experience high levels of food and nutrition insecurity – both under-nutrition and rising rates of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines food security as ‘a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’1. This paper considers three dimensions of food security – availability, access and nutrition – and unpacks the role of trade across these dimensions at policy level and in practice in sugar and poultry, two key commodities in the food basket of resource-poor South African households. According to the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES- 1) (Shisana et al., 2013:10), 26% of households surveyed nationally reported experiencing hunger, with another 28% of households at risk of hunger. Households in ‘urban informal’ contexts, followed by those in rural formal and then rural informal settings experienced the highest levels of food insecurity. Eastern Cape and Limpopo are the provinces with the highest proportion of food insecure people. The 2005 National Consumption Survey showed that 18% of children in South Africa were stunted, with rural and then urban informal areas most severely affected. ‘Wasting’ (from poor nutrition quality, rather than insufficient food) affected 4.5% of South African children, with 9.3% of children being underweight (DAFF, 2014:9)

Trade and investment in fish and fish products between South Africa and the rest of SADC: Implications for food and nutrition security

This paper looks at the dynamics of intra-regional trade and investment in fish and fish products between South Africa and the rest of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region, and the implications of this trade for food and nutrition security. It is based on key informant interviews with people in the food industry in South Africa and Africa regional economic bodies. Imports and exports of fish in South Africa are driven by import substitution, shortfalls in local production, and meeting growing local and regional demand. Most South African fish and food processors prefer to export, rather than establish plants in other African countries, mainly due to factors of economic efficiency and the challenges of doing business in these countries. Currently, however, increasing volumes of fish are being imported into South Africa to meet demand from the African migrant community. While self-sufficiency and food sovereignty are acknowledged priorities for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), imports to meet local shortfalls and specific demand ought to be acceptable options for ensuring fish food availability and affordability. The reduction or removal of tariffs, through regional free trade agreements, promotes increased intra-regional trade. Overall, imports and exports provide for demand-led exchange of fish between SADC states, which promotes increased availability and affordability of fish; thereby contributing towards food and nutrition security. However, despite regional free trade agreements that have stipulated the removal of both technical and non-technical barriers, most small-scale traders still experience problems in conducting cross-border trade. The majority of people in both South Africa and the SADC still rely heavily on the informal sector for conduct business and buying food provisions. This includes cross-border fish trade, which is dominated by small scale-traders, the majority of whom are women. The informal sector ensures that food reaches most people in an acceptable state, form and price. In order to promote and facilitate improved and efficient fish trade delivery systems and positive benefits for food security and livelihoods, governance of crossborder trade ought to be based on flexible regulations and improved implementation of these

Food trade and investment in South Africa: Improving coherence between economic policy, nutrition and food security

South Africa must address a rising burden of diet-related chronic disease while also continuing to combat persistent food insecurity and undernutrition (Muzigaba et al. 2016). The prevalence of stunting among children in South Africa remains around 25% (Said-Mohamed et al. 2015). At the same time, the prevalence of obesity has risen to 39% among women and 11% among men, and diabetes in the adult population to 10% (Shisana et al. 2014). Addressing this double burden of malnutrition will require a comprehensive policy approach that supports demand for healthy food (including financial access) and its supply. In this paper, we focus on supply side interventions – and particularly, the need for policy across sectors to support availability of affordable, healthy food (Republic of South Africa Department of Health 2013; Government of South Africa 2014). However, growing trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), supported by binding international commitments, present governments with a challenge as they seek to intervene in the food supply to improve diets and health. Government action to regulate the food supply to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods and increase access to healthy foods becomes subject 1) to the influence of powerful investors and other industry actors, and 2) to commitments made in international trade and investment agreements (Baker et al. 2014, Thow and McGrady 2014, Schram et al. 2015, Thow et al. 2015a, Thow et al. 2015b)

Comparison of Pulmonary Involvement Between Patients Expressing Anti-PL-7 and Anti-Jo-1 Antibodies

Anti-PL-7 is an anti-tRNA synthetase antibody, and interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most frequent complication of anti-PL-7-associated antisynthetase syndrome. However, the features of ILD have not been fully elucidated. The present study retrospectively compares 7 and 15 patients who were positive for anti-PL-7 and anti-Jo-1 antibodies, respectively. The features of ILD did not significantly differ between the two groups, but the ratio of lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was higher in the Jo-1 than in the PL-7 group. High-resolution computed tomography revealed nonspecific interstitial pneumonia in all patients in the PL-7 group and organizing pneumonia in four of the 15 patients in the Jo-1 group. These findings suggest that pulmonary complications slightly differ between patients expressing anti-PL-7 and anti-Jo-1 antibodies. Further studies are required to clarify the features of ILD associated with PL-7

Characterization of the Interactions between Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Lipids: a Multitechnique Approach

Probing drug/lipid interactions at the molecular level represents an important challenge in pharmaceutical research and membrane biophysics. Previous studies showed differences in accumulation and intracellular activity between two fluoroquinolones, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin, that may actually result from their differential susceptibility to efflux by the ciprofloxacin transporter. In view of the critical role of lipids for the drug cellular uptake and differences observed for the two closely related fluoroquinolones, we investigated the interactions of these two antibiotics with lipids, using an array of complementary techniques. Moxifloxacin induced, to a greater extent than ciprofloxacin, an erosion of the DPPC domains in the DOPC fluid phase (atomic force microscopy) and a shift of the surface pressure-area isotherms of DOPC/DPPC/fluoroquinolone monolayer toward lower area per molecule (Langmuir studies). These effects are related to a lower propensity of moxifloxacin to be released from lipid to aqueous phase (determined by phase transfer studies and conformational analysis) and a marked decrease of all-trans conformation of acyl-lipid chains of DPPC (determined by ATR-FTIR) without increase of lipid disorder and change in the tilt between the normal and the germanium surface (also determined by ATR-FTIR). All together, differences of ciprofloxacin as compared to moxifloxacin in their interactions with lipids could explain differences in their cellular accumulation and susceptibility to efflux transporters

Absence of toxicity with hypofractionated 3-dimensional radiation therapy for inoperable, early stage non-small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE: Hypofractionated radiotherapy may overcome repopulation in rapidly proliferating tumors such as lung cancer. It is more convenient for the patients and reduces health care costs. This study reports our results on patients with medically inoperable, early stage, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with hypofractionation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Stage T1-2N0 NSCLC patients were treated with hypofractionation alone, 52.5 Gy/15 fractions, in 3 weeks, with 3-dimensional conformal planning. T1-2N1 patients with the hilar lymphnode close to the primary tumor were also eligible for this treatment. We did not use any approach to reduce respiratory motion, but it was monitored in all patients. Elective nodal radiotherapy was not performed. Routine follow up included assessment for acute and late toxicity and radiological tumor response. Median follow up time was 29 months for the surviving patients. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients with a median age of 76 years, T1 = 15 and T2 = 17, were treated. Median planning target volume (PTV) volume was 150cc and median V16 of both lungs was 13%. The most important finding of this study is that toxicity was minimal. Two patients had grade ≤ 2 acute pneumonitis and 3 had mild (grade 1) acute esophagitis. There was no late toxicity. Actuarial 1 and 2-year overall survival rates are 78% and 56%, cancer specific survival rates (CSS) are 90% and 74%, and local relapse free survival rates are 93% and 76% respectively. CONCLUSION: 3-D planning, involved field hypofractionation at a dose of 52.5 Gy in 15 daily fractions is safe, well tolerated and easy radiation treatment for medically inoperable lung cancer patients. It shortens by half the traditional treatment. Results compare favorably with previously published studies. Further studies are needed to compare similar technique with other treatments such as surgery and stereotactic radiotherapy

Wind, waves, and acoustic background levels at Station ALOHA

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): C03017, doi:10.1029/2011JC007267.Frequency spectra from deep-ocean near-bottom acoustic measurements obtained contemporaneously with wind, wave, and seismic data are described and used to determine the correlations among these data and to discuss possible causal relationships. Microseism energy appears to originate in four distinct regions relative to the hydrophone: wind waves above the sensors contribute microseism energy observed on the ocean floor; a fraction of this local wave energy propagates as seismic waves laterally, and provides a spatially integrated contribution to microseisms observed both in the ocean and on land; waves in storms generate microseism energy in deep water that travels as seismic waves to the sensor; and waves reflected from shorelines provide opposing waves that add to the microseism energy. Correlations of local wind speed with acoustic and seismic spectral time series suggest that the local Longuet-Higgins mechanism is visible in the acoustic spectrum from about 0.4 Hz to 80 Hz. Wind speed and acoustic levels at the hydrophone are poorly correlated below 0.4 Hz, implying that the microseism energy below 0.4 Hz is not typically generated by local winds. Correlation of ocean floor acoustic energy with seismic spectra from Oahu and with wave spectra near Oahu imply that wave reflections from Hawaiian coasts, wave interactions in the deep ocean near Hawaii, and storms far from Hawaii contribute energy to the seismic and acoustic spectra below 0.4 Hz. Wavefield directionality strongly influences the acoustic spectrum at frequencies below about 2 Hz, above which the acoustic levels imply near-isotropic surface wave directionality.Funding for the ALOHA Cabled Observatory was provided by the National Science Foundation and the State of Hawaii through the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology at the University of Hawaii-Manoa (F. Duennebier, PI). Donations from AT&T and TYCOM and the cooperation of the U.S. Navy made this project possible. The WHOI-Hawaii Ocean Time series Station (WHOTS) mooring is maintained by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (PIs R. Weller and A. Plueddemann) with funding from the NOAA Climate Program Office/Climate Observation Division. NSF grant OCE- 0926766 supported R. Lukas (co-PI) to augment and collaborate on the maintenance of WHOTS. Lukas was also supported during this analysis by The National Ocean Partnership Program “Advanced Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Modeling for Improving Tropical Cyclone Prediction Models” under contract N00014-10-1-0154 to the University of Rhode Island (I. Ginis, PI).2012-09-1