The private sector in fisheries: The case of Ghana

The research for this report consisted of two elements: a study of existing literature and data sets on Ghana fisheries, and a field trip to investigate the fishery first hand. The field work was divided roughly equally between key informants in the production, marketing and processing of artisanal and industrial fisheries. For individual fisherfolk, middle women and processors, a purposive sampling system was necessitated by the brevity of the period of research. Where possible, key informants were sought, such as chief fishmen, "Queen" fish mammies and heads of cooperative trading and processing bodies. The bias inherent in this approach is recognised by the authors. Other potential sources of error/bias are the lack of a seasonal perspective of the fishery, unrepresentative nature of the sample of interviews and the necessity to seek informants in accessible areas of Ghana. A number of key informants in Government institutions and agencies as well as donor agencies and universities were also interviewed in order to gain a wider perspective on the framework within which the fisheries sector operates. Where possible, a semi-structured interview format was used, with informants and groups of respondents encouraged to discuss the key issues broadly whilst allowing the flexibility to follow interesting insights as they appeared

Report on a visit to Indonesia to conduct a review of the post harvest fisheries sector

A review of post-harvest fisheries in Indonesia was undertaken for the Overseas Development Administration, by a fisheries technologist, a biologist, and an economist, during a five week visit in June and July 1988. The terms of reference were: to review post-harvest fisheries and donors' activities in the sector, and to identify a strategy for future ODA inputs. The marine fishery is the most important in terms of value, followed by tambak aquaculture (mostly shrimps and milkfish), and the inland capture fishery. Most of the harvest is sold in the domestic market as wet fish, dried fish, and pindang (fish cooked in brine). Exports of frozen shrimp, from the tambaks and the marine fishery, are becoming increasingly important. Additionally, there are exports of wet fish on ice to Singapore. The team considered that the greatest problem facing the sector is overfishing of the South Java Sea, resulting in operational fishing grounds being located at an ever increasing distance from the main markets on Java. This poses a challenge to resource management, both pre- and post-harvest. The former requiring resource surveys, and the latter, the identification of low-cost improvements to on-board handling, to ensure the supply of fish to Java's predominantly low income population. A study encompassing these aspects is proposed by the EC in collaboration with France; ODNRI, in consultation with ODA HO, will liase with the French technical agency (ORSTOM) to determine whether complementary inputs from ODNRI would be useful. A second area in which action is proposed is in reducing losses from insect infestation of sun-dried fish. Dried fish is an important protein source for low-income groups in Indonesia, and an area in which ODA could make an effective contribution. The use of household insecticides on drying fish in Indonesia has been widely publicised and the practice banned. The problem persists though, and the team recommends a follow-up programme to an existing project. The existing project has provided training to the staff of provincial quality control laboratories in loss assessment and reduction, including the use of a safe (and approved) insecticide - Minawet. Financial analysis of the use of Minawet and adoption trials will be undertaken during the final stages of the existing project. Subject to satisfactory results from these, a large-scale extension project is proposed, aimed at adoption of Minawet by fish processors. An additional element will be the provision of the necessary training and equipment in pesticide residue analysis, for the National Centre for Quality Control and Fish Processing

Dynamic communicability predicts infectiousness

Using real, time-dependent social interaction data, we look at correlations between some recently proposed dynamic centrality measures and summaries from large-scale epidemic simulations. The evolving network arises from email exchanges. The centrality measures, which are relatively inexpensive to compute, assign rankings to individual nodes based on their ability to broadcast information over the dynamic topology. We compare these with node rankings based on infectiousness that arise when a full stochastic SI simulation is performed over the dynamic network. More precisely, we look at the proportion of the network that a node is able to infect over a fixed time period, and the length of time that it takes for a node to infect half the network.We find that the dynamic centrality measures are an excellent, and inexpensive, proxy for the full simulation-based measures

Non-classical symmetries and the singular manifold method: A further two examples

This paper discusses two equations with the conditional Painleve property. The usefulness of the singular manifold method as a tool for determining the non-classical symmetries that reduce the equations to ordinary differential equations with the Painleve property is confirmed once moreComment: 9 pages (latex), to appear in Journal of Physics

Setting the stage: social-environmental and motivational predictors of optimal training engagement

In this paper, we will firstly explore the central tenets of SDT. Research that has examined the social-environmental and motivation-related correlates of optimal training, performance and health-related engagement through the theoretical lens of SDT will be reviewed. Drawing from SDT-driven work undertaken in educational, sport and dance settings, we will draw conclusions and suggest future directions from a research and applied perspective

First Astronomical Use of Multiplexed Transition Edge Bolometers

We present performance results based on the first astronomical use of multiplexed superconducting bolometers. The Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment (FIBRE) is a broadband submillimeter spectrometer that achieved first light in June 2001 at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). FIBRE'S detectors are superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers read out by a SQUID multiplexer. The Fabry-Perot uses a low resolution grating to order sort the incoming light. A linear bolometer array consisting of 16 elements detects this dispersed light, capturing 5 orders simultaneously from one position on the sky. With tuning of the Fabry-Perot over one free spectral range, a spectrum covering Δλ/λ= 1/7 at a resolution of δλ/λ ≈ 1/1200 can be acquired. This spectral resolution is sufficient to resolve Doppler-broadened line emission from external galaxies. FIBRE operates in the 350 µm and 450 µm bands. These bands cover line emission from the important star formation tracers neutral carbon [Cl] and carbon monoxide (CO). We have verified that the multiplexed bolometers are photon noise limited even with the low power present in moderate resolution spectrometry

Antibodies against HDL Components in Ischaemic Stroke and Coronary Artery Disease

Quantitative and qualitative defects of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) are important in atherogenesis. In this study, we investigated whether antibodies against HDL components had additional value to conventional cardiovascular risk factors for the diagnosis of ischaemic stroke (IS) and coronary artery disease (CAD). Cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 patients with IS, 51 with CAD and 55 healthy controls, and in vitro studies to validate findings of the clinical study. We determined serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against HDL (aHDL), apolipoproteins (aApoA-I, aApoA-II and aApoC-I) and paraoxonase-1 (aPON1) as well as PON1 activity (PON1a), total antioxidant capacity and biomarkers of endothelial activation (serum nitric oxide metabolites, 3-nitrotyrosine, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1); in vitro assays tested the capacity of IgG aHDL purified from high titer patients to inhibit PON1a and to reverse protective effect of HDL on endothelial cells. IgG aHDL, aApoA-I and aPON1 were higher in IS and CAD than controls (p < 0.001), predicted negatively PON1a and positively VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. By adding IgG aHDL and aApoA-I to a traditional cardiovascular risk factors model for IS and by adding IgG aHDL in a similar model for CAD, we obtained better discrimination of IS and CAD from healthy controls. IgG aHDL purified from IS and CAD inhibited PON1a by 38% (p < 0.01) and abrogated the protective effect of HDL on VCAM-1 expression by 126% compared with non-specific human IgG (p < 0.001). IgG against HDL components interfere with the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of HDL and may represent novel biomarkers for vascular disease that need to be investigated in prospective studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio