Charred seeds in Mikkeli Orijärvi : A study of subsistence strategies of an Iron Age settlement in East Finland

In this study the over 350 macrofossil samples, containing over 2300 charred plant remains from an Iron Age settlement containing fossil fields in Mikkeli Orijärvi Kihlinpelto, were studied archaeobotanically. The aim was to get more information about subsistence strategies, especially agriculture and study differences in the plant combinations in the different structures and use the archaeobotanical theory to interpret these structures. The methodological question was to study the taphonomy of the charred plant material. The results gave a diverse impression of the agriculture and subsistence strategies of the settlement in Orijärvi, where barley was the most important cereal with rye, wheat and oat cultivated as minor crops. The arable weed assemblage indicates that the fields were situated in different kinds of soils and the crops were cultivated when different kind of weather conditions were prevailing. Ergot was found with the cereals, and it was growing on some of the arable crops and it also indicates wet climate. Hemp and flax were cultivated and wild plants were collected. The meadow and wetland plants found in the material derive most probably from animal fodder. Tubers of bulbous oat-grass were interesting, because they are usually found in graves. Comparison with other Iron Age settlements and graves indicates that the plant material found from the ancient field layers derives most probably from dwellings and graves, which were taken into cultivation.

The Commercial, Subsistence, and Recreational Fisheries of American Samoa

Domestic fisheries in American Samoa landed 587,000 lb of fish and invertebrates in 1991 worth $993,000. Most of the catch (78%) and value (80%) was taken by the shoreline subsistence fishery that occurs on the coral reefs surrounding the islands. Artisanal fisheries for offshore pelagic fishes (primarily skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis; and yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares) and bottomfishes (snappers, emperors, groupers) accounted for 16% and 3%, respectively, of the domestic catch. Recreational tournament catches for pelagic fishes represented the remainder (3%). While sportfishing is becoming increasingly important, other domestic fisheries have declined in recent years. The shoreline subsistence fishery has dropped by about 25% over the past decade owing to socioeconomic factors and possibly overexploitation. Artisanal fisheries have also declined precipitously in recent years owing to hurricane-related damages, attrition of fishermen, and competition with imports. Artisanal fisheries show some potential for growth, but may be constrained by marketing issues, vessel capabilities, and limited stock sizes (for bottomfish) or local availability of high-value (pelagic) fishes. In contrast to the small-scale domestic fisheries, American Samoa is also homeport to a distant-water fleet of large purse seiners and longliners that fish beyond the EEZ and deliver about 160,000-220,000 short tons of tuna per year to local canneries.

Assessment of contaminant body burdens and histopathology of fish and shellfish species frequently used for subsistence food by Alaskan Native communities

Subsistence food items can be a health concern in rural Alaska because community members often rely on fish and wildlife resources not routinely monitored for persistent bioaccumulative contaminants and pathogens. Subsistence activities are a large part of the traditional culture, as well as a means of providing protein in the diets for Tribal members. In response to the growing concerns among Native communities, contaminant body burden and histopathological condition of chum and sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus keta and Oncorhynchus nerka) and the shellfish cockles and softshell clams (Clinocardium nuttallii and Mya arenaria) were assessed. In the Spring of 2010, the fish and shellfish were collected from traditional subsistence harvest areas in the vicinity of Nanwalek, Port Graham, and Seldovia, AK, and were analyzed for trace metals and residues of organic contaminants routinely monitored by the NOAA National Status & Trends Program (NS&T). Additionally, the fish and shellfish were histologically characterized for the presence, prevalence and severity of tissue pathology, disease, and parasite infection. The fish and shellfish sampled showed low tissue contamination, and pathologic effects of the parasites and diseases were absent or minimal. Taken together, the results showed that the fish and shellfish were healthy and pose no safety concern for consumption. This study provides reliable chemistry and histopathology information for local resource managers and Alaska Native people regarding subsistence fish and shellfish use and management needs.

Evaluating Alternative Nutrient Sources in Subsistence-Level Aquaponic Systems

Many food production methods are both economically and environmentally unsustainable. Our project investigated aquaponics, an alternative method of agriculture that could address these issues. Aquaponics combines fish and plant crop production in a symbiotic, closed-loop system. We aimed to reduce the initial and operating costs of current aquaponic systems by utilizing alternative feeds. These improvements may allow for sustainable implementation of the system in rural or developing regions. We conducted a multi-phase process to determine the most affordable and effective feed alternatives for use in an aquaponic system. At the end of two preliminary phases, soybean meal was identified as the most effective potential feed supplement. In our final phase, we constructed and tested six full-scale aquaponic systems of our own design. Data showed that soybean meal can be used to reduce operating costs and reliance on fishmeal. However, a more targeted investigation is needed to identify the optimal formulation of alternative feed blends.

Fumonisin B-1 as a Urinary Biomarker of Exposure in a Maize Intervention Study Among South African Subsistence Farmers

Background: The consumption of maize highly contaminated with carcinogenic fumonisins has been linked to high oesophageal cancer rates. The aim of this study was to validate a urinary fumonisin B-1 (UFB1) biomarker as a measure of fumonisin exposure and to investigate the reduction in exposure following a simple and culturally acceptable intervention.

Methods: At baseline home-grown maize, maize-based porridge, and first-void urine samples were collected from female participants (n = 22), following their traditional food practices in Centane, South Africa. During intervention the participants were trained to recognize and remove visibly infected kernels, and to wash the remaining kernels. Participants consumed the porridge prepared from the sorted and washed maize on each day of the two-day intervention. Porridge, maize, and urine samples were collected for FB1 analyses.

Results: The geometric mean (95% confidence interval) for FB1 exposure based on porridge (dry weight) consumption at baseline and following intervention was 4.84 (2.87-8.14) and 1.87 (1.40-2.51) mg FB1/kg body weight/day, respectively, (62% reduction, P < 0.05). UFB1C, UFB1 normalized for creatinine, was reduced from 470 (295-750) at baseline to 279 (202-386) pg/mg creatinine following intervention (41% reduction, P = 0.06). The UFB1C biomarker was positively correlated with FB1 intake at the individual level (r - 0.4972, P < 0.01). Urinary excretion of FB1 was estimated to be 0.075% (0.054%-0.104%) of the FB1 intake.

Conclusion: UFB1 reflects individual FB1 exposure and thus represents a valuable biomarker for future fumonisin risk assessment.

Impact: The simple intervention method, hand sorting and washing, could positively impact on food safety and health in communities exposed to fumonisins. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(3); 483-9. (C)2011 AACR.

Simple intervention method to reduce fumonisin exposure in a subsistence maize-farming community in South Africa

In the Centane magisterial area of South Africa, high rates of oesophageal cancer have been associated with home-grown maize contaminated with fumonisins. The aim of this study was to implement a simple intervention method to reduce fumonisin exposure in a subsistence-farming community. The hand-sorting and washing procedures, based on traditional maize-based food preparation practices, were previously customised under laboratory-controlled conditions. Home-grown maize and maize-based porridge collected at baseline were analysed for fumonisin B1, B2 and B3. The geometric mean (95% confidence interval) of fumonisin contamination in the home-grown maize at baseline was 1.67 (1.21-2.32) mg kg-1 and 1.24 (0.75-2.04) mg kg -1 (dry weight) in the porridge. Fumonisin exposure was based on individual stiff porridge consumption and the specific fumonisin levels in the porridge (dry weight) consumed. Porridge (dry weight) consumption at baseline was 0.34 kg day-1 and fumonisin exposure was 6.73 (3.90-11.6) mu g kg-1 body weight day-1. Female participants (n = 22) were trained to recognise and remove visibly infected/damaged kernels and to wash the remaining maize kernels. The discarded kernels represented 3.9% by weight and the fumonisins varied from 17.1 to 76.9 mg kg-1. The customised hand-sorting and washing procedures reduced fumonisin contamination in the maize and porridge by 84 and 65%, respectively. The intervention reduced fumonisin exposure by 62% to 2.55 (1.94-3.35) mu g kg-1 body weight day-1. This simple intervention method has the potential to improve food safety and health in subsistence-farming communities consuming fumonisin-contaminated maize as their staple diet.

Multiple mycotoxin exposure determined by urinary biomarkers in rural subsistence farmers in the former Transkei, South Africa

Subsistence farmers are exposed to a range of mycotoxins. This study applied novel urinary multi-mycotoxin LC-MS/MS methods to determine multiple exposure biomarkers in the high oesophageal cancer region, Transkei, South Africa. Fifty-three female participants donated part of their maize-based evening meal and first void morning urine, which was analysed both with sample clean-up (single and multi-biomarker) and by a 'dilute-and-shoot' multi-biomarker method. Results were corrected for recovery with LOD for not detected. A single biomarker method detected fumonisin B1 (FB1) (87% incidence; mean±standard deviation 0.342±0.466 ng/mg creatinine) and deoxynivalenol (100%; mean 20.4±49.4 ng/mg creatinine) after hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase. The multi-biomarker 'dilute-and-shoot' method indicated deoxynivalenol-15-glucuronide was predominantly present. A multi-biomarker method with β-glucuronidase and immunoaffinity clean-up determined zearalenone (100%; 0.529±1.60 ng/mg creatinine), FB1 (96%; 1.52±2.17 ng/mg creatinine), α-zearalenol (92%; 0.614±1.91 ng/mg creatinine), deoxynivalenol (87%; 11.3±27.1 ng/mg creatinine), β-zearalenol (75%; 0.702±2.95 ng/mg creatinine) and ochratoxin A (98%; 0.041±0.086 ng/mg creatinine). These demonstrate the value of multi-biomarker methods in measuring exposures in populations exposed to multiple mycotoxins. This is the first finding of urinary deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, their conjugates, ochratoxin A and zearalenols in Transkei.

From Subsistence Agriculture to Commercial Enterprise: Community management of green technologies for resilient food production

The aim of this paper is to emphasize the capacity and resilience of rural communities in regard to sustainable food security by adopting innovative approaches to irrigation. The shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture is promoted as a means to sustainable development. An analysis of the efficacy of irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe suggests that, in terms of providing sustainable agricultural production, they have neither been cost-effective nor have they provided long-term food security to their beneficiaries. This is certainly true of Shashe Scheme and most others in Beitbridge District. The Shashe Irrigation Scheme project represents a bold attempt at developing a fresh approach to the management of communal land irrigation schemes through a Private Public Community Partnership. The model illustrated represents a paradigm shift from subsistence agriculture to a system based on new technologies, market linkages and community ownership that build resilience and lead to sustainable food security and economic prosperity.

Structural adjustment and subsistence industry: artisanal gold mining in Ghana

Since the implementation of Ghana's national Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), policies associated with the programme have been criticized for perpetuating poverty within the country's subsistence economy. This article brings new evidence to bear on the contention that the SAP has both fuelled the uncontrolled growth of informal, poverty-driven artisanal gold mining and further marginalized its impoverished participants. Throughout the adjustment period, it has been a central goal of the government to promote the expansion of large-scale gold mining through foreign investment. Confronted with the challenge of resuscitating a deteriorating gold mining industry, the government introduced a number of tax breaks and policies in an effort to create an attractive investment climate for foreign multinational mining companies. The rapid rise in exploration and excavation activities that has since taken place has displaced thousands of previously-undisturbed subsistence artisanal gold miners. This, along with a laissez faire land concession allocation procedure, has exacerbated conflicts between mining parties. Despite legalizing small-scale mining in 1989, the Ghanaian government continues to implement procedurally complex and bureaucratically unwieldy regulations and policies for artisanal operators which have the effect of favouring the interests of established large-scale miners.

Reaching the underbanked and unbanked in subsistence markets at the nexus of the formal and informal economy

It is estimated that globally over 2 billion people do not have a bank account, with many more in the developed and developing worlds ‘under-banked’, meaning they have limited access to financial services. Reaching the unbanked and underbanked with appropriate financial services is widely recognised as critical for future global economic growth and prosperity. Drawing upon multidimensional understandings of poverty, and framed by literature on poverty pools, traps and cycles, this paper explores the use of financial products and services in the developing world and critically reflects on their potential role in poverty alleviation and wider sustainable development. Discussions are illustrated with reference to qualitative empirical research undertaken in East and Southern Africa, and a sense-making of the lived financial experiences of low income individuals, households and communities.

The Usefulness of Caries Frequency, Depth, and Location in Determining Cariogenicity and Past Subsistence: A Test on Early and Later Agriculturalists From the Peruvian Coast

Dental markers have been used to unravel particularities of paleodiet, subsistence, social structure, and health. This article aims to compare oral pathology among four pre-Columbian groups with different degrees of agricultural and socio-cultural development but comparable ecological conditions who lived on the coastal desert of Peru. Three of these groups are assigned to distinct phases of the Formative Period (2500-1 BC), a time critical for our understanding of the development of agriculture and social complexity. The fourth group corresponds to the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1470 AD), when agriculture had its apogee and society was highly stratified. In this study we test whether there is an increase (1) in the frequency of carious lesions and (2) in caries depth, and (3) if there is a shift from occlusal to extra-occlusal caries locations with the development of agriculture. Therefore, we analyze the frequencies of carious lesions and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), the caries distributions by age, sex, and type of tooth, as well as the tissues affected by, and the location of the carious lesions. Since there are no significant differences in the frequencies of carious lesions and AMTL between the groups, we reject hypothesis 1. In contrast, caries depth does increase, and caries location changes from occlusal to extra-occlusal sites with agricultural development. However, we can only corroborate hypothesis 2 and 3 when taking into consideration dental wear. Thus, we recommend that caries depth and locations should be used with evaluations of dental wear to reconstruct subsistence in ancient populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:75-91, 2010. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The life conditions of Australian ex-prisoners : an analysis of intrapersonal, subsistence, and support conditions

Successful reintegration of ex-prisoners into the community is multifaceted. The life conditions of 36 adult Australian ex-prisoners (20 male and 16 female) were examined via a questionnaire administered at 1 to 4 weeks post release, and a subset of 19 of the original respondents were interviewed again at 3 to 4 months post release. Interviews focused on intrapersonal conditions (physical and psychological health and substance use), subsistence conditions (housing, employment, and finance), and support conditions (social support, support services/program participation, and criminal justice support). The majority of ex-prisoners self-reported chronic physical and mental health problems as well as a history of substance use and/or current substance use. Although the housing conditions of ex-prisoners were largely favourable and constant, the employment and financial conditions of this group were generally unfavourable. Level of social support was variable. Theoretical implications and practical applications of the present investigation for reintegration theory are discussed.