Going micro: Analysing SAM multipliers for the dairy chain on Reunion Island

This poster presents a study on the multiplier effects in the dairy chain on Reunion Island. This Indian Ocean island is one of the French overseas departments. However, it struggles with similar problems as the developing areas in its neighbourhood, high levels of unemployment especially being a major concern. The agricultural sector justifies the state support it receives by stressing its role in the creation of employment and economic activity. Our focus is on the dairy sector of the Island, which is relatively recent and highly organized. Local milk production has increased over the years and our aim is to calculate the economywide impact of this trend. We use a social accounting matrix with disaggregated accounts for the dairy sector to calculate the impact of changes in this sector.Dairy, SAM, La Reunion, Livestock Production/Industries,

Business orientation and the food security status of small scale producers in the Venda region, South Africa

Questions addressed in this paper are: How to determine the food status of rural households; and does an agribusiness orientation enhance the food security status of farm families. A study was conducted on two groups of small scale black farmers in the Venda region: one group, agribusiness directed and generally more progressive towards technology, produces mangos and other subtropical fruits (cash crop farmers); the other group concentrates on locally consumed and sold vegetables (food crop farmers). Their food status was quantitatively determined by means of household energy, protein and fat balances and food security determinants were identified. More than 80% of the households had a negative balance for energy, protein or fat. Business orientation and farming type in this particular case study does not influence the energy, protein and fat coverage significantly. The marginal nature of farming by these small holders could explain this finding. Significant predictors of food security status were rather factors such as the household size and the availability of outside sources of income and cash to spend on food.Agribusiness, Food Security and Poverty,

Diagnostic Accuracy of Bone Turnover Markers and Bone Histology in Patients With CKD Treated by Dialysis

BACKGROUND: The management of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder requires the assessment of bone turnover, which most often is based on parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration, the utility of which remains controversial. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional retrospective diagnostic test study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 492 dialysis patients from Brazil, Portugal, Turkey, and Venezuela with prior bone biopsy and stored (-20 °C) serum. INDEX TESTS: Samples were analyzed for PTH (intact [iPTH] and whole PTH), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (bALP), and amino-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen (P1NP). REFERENCE TEST: Bone histomorphometric assessment of turnover (bone formation rate/bone surface [BFR/BS]) and receiver operating characteristic curves for discriminating diagnostic ability. RESULTS: The biomarkers iPTH and bALP or combinations thereof allowed discrimination of low from nonlow and high from nonhigh BFR/BS, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve > 0.70 but 323.0 pg/mL. The best cutoff for bALP to discriminate low from nonlow BFR/BS was <33.1 U/L, and for high from nonhigh BFR/BS, 42.1U/L. Using the KDIGO practice guideline PTH values of greater than 2 but less than 9 times the upper limit of normal, sensitivity and specificity of iPTH level to discriminate low from nonlow turnover bone disease were 65.7% and 65.3%, and to discriminate high from nonhigh were 37.0% and 85.8%, respectively. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design without consideration of therapy. Potential limited generalizability with samples from 4 countries. CONCLUSIONS: The serum biomarkers iPTH, whole PTH, and bALP were able to discriminate low from nonlow BFR/BS, whereas iPTH and bALP were able to discriminate high from nonhigh BFR/BS. Prospective studies are required to determine whether evaluating trends in biomarker concentrations could guide therapeutic decisions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bone biopsy practice patterns across Europe: the European renal osteodystrophy initiative - a position paper

Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) is a heterogeneous group of metabolic bone diseases complicating progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). Bone biomarkers and bone imaging techniques may help to assess bone health and predict fractures in CKD but do have important inherent limitations. By informing on bone turnover and mineralization, a bone biopsy may help to guide prevention and treatment of ROD and its consequences. According to a recent survey conducted among European nephrologists, bone biopsies are performed rather exceptionally, both for clinical and research purposes. Obviously, clinical research in the field of ROD is threatened by vanishing clinical and pathological expertise, small patient cohorts and scientific isolation. In March 2016, the European Renal Osteodystrophy (EU-ROD) initiative was created under the umbrella of the ERA-EDTA CKD-mineral and bone disorder (MBD) Working Group to revitalize bone biopsy as a clinically useful tool in the diagnostic workup of CKD-MBD and to foster research on the epidemiology, implications and reversibility of ROD. As such, the EU-ROD initiative aims to increase the understanding of ROD and ultimately to improve outcomes in CKD patients