Traditional Tropical Root Crop Technology: Some Interactions with Modern Science

RESUMEN Tecnología tradicional de las cosechas raiceras en los trópicos: ciertas interacciones con la ciencia moderna En la humedad tropical, las cosechas raiceras tales como mandioca, ñame y batata, junto con varias cosechas de rafíces aroides, son muy preferidas a los céréales como alimentos corrientes, ya que son m´s eficaces desde el punto de vista alimenticio en estos ecosistemas. Se ha estimado que constituyen la dieta corriente de unos 400 a 500 millones de personas. Los científicos agrícolas han prestado muy poca atención a los problemas de almacenamiento y tratamiento posterior a la cosecha de estos productos, pero las sociedades tradicionales que tanto dependen de ellos han evolucionado unos sistemas muy eficaces, con recursos muy limitados. Estas sociedades suelen ser ecocéntricas en lugar de tecnocéntricas y podrían beneficiarse por interacción con la moderna technología, siempre y cuando esta última no domine ni destruya los sistemas tradicionales. SUMMARY In the humid tropics, root crops such as cassava, yams, sweet and white potatoes and a variety of aroid root crops are widely preferred to grains as staple foods, as they are often more efficient food producers under these ecosystems. They have been estimated to provide the staple food of some 400?500 mn people. Little attention has been given by agricultural scientists to the post?harvest storage and processing problems of these crop products, but traditional societies dependent on them have evolved effective systems, with very limited resources. These societies are usually ecocentric rather than technocentric, and could benefit by interaction with modern technology so long as this neither dominates nor destroys the traditional systems. RÉSUMÉ La technologie tradionnelle des cultures tropicales de racines alimentaires; quelques interactions avec la science moderne Sous les tropiques humides, les cultures de racines alimentaires telles que manioc, igname, patates et pommes de terre blanches ainsi qu'une diversité de cultures de racines aracées ont en grande mesure la préférence sur les graines en tant que nourriture de base, vu qu'elles sont souvent des productrices d'aliments plus efficaces sous ces écosystèmes. On a calculé qu'elles assurent la nourriture de base à environ 400 à 500 millions de personnes. Les techniciens agronomes se sont peu penchés sur les problèmes d'emmagasinage et de traitement des produits se ces récoltes, mais les sociétés traditionnelles qui en dépendent ont mis au point des systèmes efficaces, avec des ressources de plus limitées. Ces sociétés sont d'habitude écocentriques plutôt que tecnnocentriques, et pourraient bénéficier de l'interaction avec la technologie moderne pour autant que cette dernière ni domine ni détruise les systèmes traditionnels

Measuring the costs of outreach motivational interviewing for smoking cessation and relapse prevention among low-income pregnant women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Economic theory provides the philosophical foundation for valuing costs in judging medical and public health interventions. When evaluating smoking cessation interventions, accurate data on costs are essential for understanding resource consumption. Smoking cessation interventions, for which prior data on resource costs are typically not available, present special challenges. We develop a micro-costing methodology for estimating the real resource costs of outreach motivational interviewing (MI) for smoking cessation and relapse prevention among low-income pregnant women and report results from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) employing the methodology. Methodological standards in cost analysis are necessary for comparison and uniformity in analysis across interventions. Estimating the costs of outreach programs is critical for understanding the economics of reaching underserved and hard-to-reach populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Randomized controlled trial (1997-2000) collecting primary cost data for intervention. A sample of 302 low-income pregnant women was recruited from multiple obstetrical sites in the Boston metropolitan area. MI delivered by outreach health nurses vs. usual care (UC), with economic costs as the main outcome measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The total cost of the MI intervention for 156 participants was $48,672 or$312 per participant. The total cost of $311.8 per participant for the MI intervention compared with a cost of$4.82 per participant for usual care, a difference of $307 ([CI],$289.2 to $322.8). The total fixed costs of the MI were$3,930 and the total variable costs of the MI were $44,710. The total expected program costs for delivering MI to 500 participants would be 147,430, assuming no economies of scale in program delivery. The main cost components of outreach MI were intervention delivery, travel time, scheduling, and training.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Grounded in economic theory, this methodology systematically identifies and measures resource utilization, using a process tracking system and calculates both component-specific and total costs of outreach MI. The methodology could help improve collection of accurate data on costs and estimates of the real resource costs of interventions alongside clinical trials and improve the validity and reliability of estimates of resource costs for interventions targeted at underserved and hard-to-reach populations.</p

Menthol cigarette smoking and obesity in young adult daily smokers in Hawaii

This study investigates 1) the relationship between menthol cigarette smoking and obesity and 2) the association of body mass index with the nicotine metabolite ratio among menthol and non-menthol daily smokers aged 18-35 (n = 175). A brief survey on smoking and measures of height and weight, carbon monoxide, and saliva samples were collected from participants from May to December 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Multiple regression was used to estimate differences in body mass index among menthol and non-menthol smokers and the association of menthol smoking with obesity. We calculated the log of the nicotine metabolite ratio to examine differences in the nicotine metabolite ratio among normal, overweight, and obese smokers. Sixty-eight percent of smokers used menthol cigarettes. Results showed that 62% of normal, 54% of overweight, and 91% of obese smokers used menthol cigarettes (p =.000). The mean body mass index was significantly higher among menthol compared with non-menthol smokers (29.4 versus 24.5, p =.000). After controlling for gender, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, and race/ethnicity, menthol smokers were more than 3 times as likely as non-menthol smokers to be obese (p =.04). The nicotine metabolite ratio was significantly lower for overweight menthol smokers compared with non-menthol smokers (16 versus.26, p =.02) in the unadjusted model, but was not significant after adjusting for the covariates. Consistent with prior studies, our data show that menthol smokers are more likely to be obese compared with non-menthol smokers. Future studies are needed to determine how flavored tobacco products influence obesity among smokers