Constraints on developing organic poultry production OF0128T

This study aimed to provide MAFF with an assessment of the potential for organic poultry production in England and Wales and, in particular, to identify likely constraints on the development of organic poultry production enterprises, including physical, financial and market factors. The study will e composed of 3 specific objectives outlines as follows, together with ways in which they might be achieved: 1. Definition of the physical production parameters for alternative poultry production to organic standards, with particular emphasis on free range and perchery systems and their respective input requirements and output potential. A detailed literature review will be conducted and consultations will be made with existing organic poultry producers. Direct experience with conventional free range and perchery production systems at the National Institute of Poultry Husbandry and other published information will be utilised to identify potential areas for improvement and/or future research; 2. Investigation of market opportunities for organic poulry meat and egg production in England and Wales, through an examination of the existing market structure and an appraisal of existing and potential marketing strategies. The market for organic poultry meat and eggs will be analysed for shape, size and future potential. Alternative marketing approaches for this sector will be considered and a desk study will be conducted involving a review of trade journals and poultry sector business reports, together with consultation with key players in the sector; and 3.Formulation of an appropriate farm business plan to illustrate the relative profitability of alternative systems of organic poultry production, including the projection of cash flows under given assumptions and the application of sensitivity analyses to key variables influencing profitability. The business plan will cover a wide range of areas, including: industry and market size; producer strategy; capital requirements,; marketing strategy; projected funds; and building, labour and statutory requirements

5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia Book of Abstracts

The 5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia (CAA5) is being organised by the Asian Fisheries Society and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), in association with the Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch, from the 25th to 28th of November 2015 at Kochi, India. The event will cover an array of topics related to cage culture under the broad headings of Marine Production Systems, Inland Production Systems, Breeding and Seed Production, Nutrition and Feed, Health and Environment Management and Economics, Livelihood and Policies

cGMP Recombinant FIX for IV and Oral Hemophilia B Therapy

Three specific aims are proposed: Specific Aim # 1. Process engineer and scale-up the recovery and purification of transgenic recombinant human Factor IX. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Biological Process Development Facility will complete process development and scale-up, and produce clinical grade materials for preclinical studies. The endpoint is a proposed final product specification to help facilitate transfer to current Good Manufacturing Practices compliant production of clinical grade material to support an Investigational New Drug filing with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leading to clinical trials. Specific Aim #2. Characterize and formulate transgenic recombinant human Factor IX for intravenous dosage, and evaluate in a hemophilia B dog model. These activities are directed toward characterization of the product important to assure the provision of safe and reproducibly effective hemostasis. The results of these investigations will help support an IND filing with the FDA. Specific Aim # 3. Develop an oral dosage form of transgenic recombinant human Factor IX, and evaluate in hemophilia B mice and dog models. Oral administration of coagulation therapy will obviate the invasiveness, discomfort, potential for opportunistic infection, and complications of storage and supplies that accompany intravenous administration. Oral dosage forms of Factor IX will thus greatly increase the proportion of the patient population that can be treated. There is also published evidence suggesting that oral administration may reduce the potential for complicating immune responses to replacement therapy, especially in patients with severe hemophilia

Analysis of a short tail type in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The short tail phenotype represents one of the main causes for downgrading of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at slaughterhouses. Prevalence of short tail is variable and the aetiology is suspected to be multi-factorial. Risk factors have been identified but descriptions of the aetiology and the pathology of the condition are still rare. In the current study, a radiological and histological analysis of short tails has been performed, examining six normal and six downgraded individuals from a slaughterhouse in southern Norway. In the short tail phenotype, vertebral bodies were shifted and bent at the contact zone of adjacent vertebral bodies. Changes either affected the entire spine or were located at the medial caudal-spine. While the internal bone structure of the vertebrae was similar in deformed and non-deformed animals, a lack of intervertebral space apparently caused a shortening of the vertebral column and corresponded to an elevated condition factor in deformed individuals. Histological analysis revealed different degrees of proliferation of cartilaginous tissues, which replaced the intervertebral notochord tissue. The displacement of adjacent vertebral bodies and the development of cartilage in between vertebral bodies suggest mechanical forces as a possible cause for the observed deformations, since mechanically-induced overload and a subsequent direct contact of bones are factors that can stimulate heterotopic cartilage development and pseudoarthrosi

Marine Biotechnology: A New Vision and Strategy for Europe

Marine Board-ESF The Marine Board provides a pan-European platform for its member organisations to develop common priorities, to advance marine research, and to bridge the gap between science and policy in order to meet future marine science challenges and opportunities. The Marine Board was established in 1995 to facilitate enhanced cooperation between European marine science organisations (both research institutes and research funding agencies) towards the development of a common vision on the research priorities and strategies for marine science in Europe. In 2010, the Marine Board represents 30 Member Organisations from 19 countries. The Marine Board provides the essential components for transferring knowledge for leadership in marine research in Europe. Adopting a strategic role, the Marine Board serves its Member Organisations by providing a forum within which marine research policy advice to national agencies and to the European Commission is developed, with the objective of promoting the establishment of the European Marine Research Area

Development of protein loaded microparticles and nanoparticles for antigen delivery

An innovative approach of developing modern adjuvants is the design of particulate antigen delivery systems. These, typically polymeric, particles that are in a size range of micro- and nanoparticles can be used as drug carrier systems. Such drug carriers can target antigen presenting cells, which is crucial for long-lasting immunity. The aim of this work was the development and characterization of polymeric micro- and nanoparticles for the antigen delivery using biodegradable and biocompatible polymers. In this work poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) was used as a polymer, because PLGA-microparticles and PLGA-nanoparticles already showed a potential to be used as vaccine adjuvants

Malaria Vaccine Adjuvants: Latest Update and Challenges in Preclinical and Clinical Research

There is no malaria vaccine currently available, and the most advanced candidate has recently reported a modest 30% efficacy against clinical malaria. Although many efforts have been dedicated to achieve this goal, the research was mainly directed to identify antigenic targets. Nevertheless, the latest progresses on understanding how immune system works and the data recovered from vaccination studies have conferred to the vaccine formulation its deserved relevance. Additionally to the antigen nature, the manner in which it is presented (delivery adjuvants) as well as the immunostimulatory effect of the formulation components (immunostimulants) modulates the immune response elicited. Protective immunity against malaria requires the induction of humoral, antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) and effector and memory cell responses. This review summarizes the status of adjuvants that have been or are being employed in the malaria vaccine development, focusing on the pharmaceutical and immunological aspects, as well as on their immunization outcomings at clinical and preclinical stages.This project was partially supported by the "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion" (SAF2007-66115), the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (UFI 11/32), and FEDER funds. E. Mata thanks the Basque Government for a fellowship grant

Quantifying the Effects of Measures to Control Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in Poultry in Southeast Asia

Despite the ongoing efforts to contain its spread, H5N1 is now considered endemic within poultry in various settings worldwide, threatening both the livelihoods of those involved in poultry production in affected countries and posing a continuous public health risk. The reasons for the varying levels of success in controlling H5N1 in Southeast Asia need to be better understood. In this thesis, various different methods of quantifying the effects of individual control measures, using the types of data available in various different contexts, are discussed and applied. In the first half of this thesis a spatio-temporal survival model is fitted to H5N1 outbreak surveillance data from Vietnam and Thailand using a Bayesian framework in order to account for unobserved infection times. Following vaccination in Vietnam it was found that transmissibility had been successfully reduced but, during a wave of outbreaks in 2007, that this coincided with a reduction in the rate of at which outbreaks were reported following the introduction of infection, limiting the overall impact this reduction in transmissibility had on the total epidemic size. In Thailand, active surveillance was found to be successful in contributing to the control of infection. Furthermore, backyard producers, whilst responsible for the majority of outbreaks, were, on average, less likely to transmit infection than those involved in more intensive production. In the second half of the thesis, the use of final size methods to assess the effectiveness of vaccination from trial data is explored. This involved an investigation into the effects of different assumptions regarding the action by which vaccination confers immunity and fitting estimates of transmissibility to data collected from outbreak investigations in the context of a field trial of vaccination in Indonesia, where, making strong assumptions about the underlying infection process, a reduction in both within and between flock transmissibility was detected for outbreaks occurring in areas where vaccination was being carried out