Can Catfish Aquaculture be Profitable in Farm Ponds?

Extensive channel catfish farming is a means of utilizing farm ponds for aquaculture production for either supplementary income of home use. This involves stocking catfish at sufficiently low densities such that a pond is able to assimilate excess feed and fish wastes without needing supplemental aeration or chemicals to keep water quality from reaching toxic levels. This is "low-tech" aquaculture and requires little producer labor/management inputs. A mathematical model of extensive catfish culture in farm ponds was presented in this paper. This model used data from Kentucky where part-time producers, with a minimum of aquaculture experience and time for pond management, are involved in culturing catfish for retail/live markets. Results of this model showed that the optimal strategy would be to stock fish at densities up to 3,000/ha/yr (1,200/ac/yr). Other results showed that breakeven prices were less than $2.20/kg ($1.00/lb), a popular retail price for whole catfish. Hence, this paper concluded that small-scale aquaculture is both feasible and profitable in farm ponds, provided the producer had access to retail markets for the product.Mathematical programming, catfish, aquaculture, farm ponds, Livestock Production/Industries,

Factors Contributing to the Problem of Student Absenteeism in a Rural School

Student attendance would seem to be a vital link in measuring student success in school. If students are not in school, they miss instruction from the teacher. Without instruction it seems incredibly difficult to complete the work needed to pass classes and be successful in school. The research explored the problem of practice of student absenteeism in a rural school. The study was conducted using mixed methods research methodology, specifically a sequential mixed methods research design. The research questions were as follows: (1) What explicit or implicit messages are parents and the school sending about school attendance? (2) What is the perceived effectiveness of the current attendance policy? (2) What is the perceived value held by teachers, administrators, and parents of student attendance in school? Quantitative data was collected to answer the question of whether or not the participating school had an attendance problem and to create a demographic profile of students who are chronically absent. Qualitative data was collected to better understand the nature of the problem, potential causes of the problem, and how to possibly create interventions to help solve the problem. In answering the research questions findings suggest the participating school does have an attendance problem and can be related to three major themes: (1) The messages sent and received by families and employees of the school, (2) the frustrating nature of an unenforced attendance policy, (3) the attitudes and values of parents and employees of the school regarding attendance and how they communicate those values with students. Specific recommendations are made to address the implications of continuing with an attendance policy perceived to be ineffective and in regards to interventions that may be successful at slowing the tide of chronic absenteeism in the participating school

Safety in Aquaculture

In this article, occupational safety interventions for agriculture-related jobs, specifically in aquaculture, are reviewed. Maintaining quality of life and avoiding economic loss are two areas in which aquaculturists can benefit by incorporating safety protocols and interventions on their farms. The information in this article is based on farm safety issues the authors identified in Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia (as well as in the United Kingdom). Extension professionals can use this information to advise farming clientele on safety measures that will increase their likelihood of avoiding injury

The budget of carbon in the farming of the Amazon river prawn and tambaqui fish in earthen pond monoculture and integrated multitrophic systems

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Effects of repeated anaesthesia on gill and general health of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

Research Councils UK (GrantNumber(s): NC/L001489/1) National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (GrantNumber(s): NC/L001489/1) Scottish Government (GrantNumber(s): AQ0080; Grant recipient(s): Catherine Collins)Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Toxic marine microalgae and shellfish poisoning in the British isles: history, review of epidemiology, and future implications

The relationship between toxic marine microalgae species and climate change has become a high profile and well discussed topic in recent years, with research focusing on the possible future impacts of changing hydrological conditions on Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species around the world. However, there is very little literature concerning the epidemiology of these species on marine organisms and human health. Here, we examine the current state of toxic microalgae species around the UK, in two ways: first we describe the key toxic syndromes and gather together the disparate reported data on their epidemiology from UK records and monitoring procedures. Secondly, using NHS hospital admissions and GP records from Wales, we attempt to quantify the incidence of shellfish poisoning from an independent source. We show that within the UK, outbreaks of shellfish poisoning are rare but occurring on a yearly basis in different regions and affecting a diverse range of molluscan shellfish and other marine organisms. We also show that the abundance of a species does not necessarily correlate to the rate of toxic events. Based on routine hospital records, the numbers of shellfish poisonings in the UK are very low, but the identification of the toxin involved, or even a confirmation of a poisoning event is extremely difficult to diagnose. An effective shellfish monitoring system, which shuts down aquaculture sites when toxins exceed regularity limits, has clearly prevented serious impact to human health, and remains the only viable means of monitoring the potential threat to human health. However, the closure of these sites has an adverse economic impact, and the monitoring system does not include all toxic plankton. The possible geographic spreading of toxic microalgae species is therefore a concern, as warmer waters in the Atlantic could suit several species with southern biogeographical affinities enabling them to occupy the coastal regions of the UK, but which are not yet monitored or considered to be detrimental

Effects of Once-Weekly Exenatide on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular effects of adding once-weekly treatment with exenatide to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown. METHODS: We randomly assigned patients with type 2 diabetes, with or without previous cardiovascular disease, to receive subcutaneous injections of extended-release exenatide at a dose of 2 mg or matching placebo once weekly. The primary composite outcome was the first occurrence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. The coprimary hypotheses were that exenatide, administered once weekly, would be noninferior to placebo with respect to safety and superior to placebo with respect to efficacy. RESULTS: In all, 14,752 patients (of whom 10,782 [73.1%] had previous cardiovascular disease) were followed for a median of 3.2 years (interquartile range, 2.2 to 4.4). A primary composite outcome event occurred in 839 of 7356 patients (11.4%; 3.7 events per 100 person-years) in the exenatide group and in 905 of 7396 patients (12.2%; 4.0 events per 100 person-years) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.00), with the intention-to-treat analysis indicating that exenatide, administered once weekly, was noninferior to placebo with respect to safety (P<0.001 for noninferiority) but was not superior to placebo with respect to efficacy (P=0.06 for superiority). The rates of death from cardiovascular causes, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal or nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, and hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, and the incidence of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and serious adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes with or without previous cardiovascular disease, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ significantly between patients who received exenatide and those who received placebo. (Funded by Amylin Pharmaceuticals; EXSCEL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01144338 .)

Dreams Are Like Fairy Tales

How do envisioning dreams like fairy tales inform the therapist’s ability to talk with their clients about dreams? Using the research methodologies of heuristics and hermeneutics, the author tended to a dream while enrolled in a graduate program in psychology. He explains his dream as an imaginative story that reflects many of the ideas and concepts of depth psychology. The mythopoetic function of the unconscious is explored in relation to archetypal, historical, and fairy tale figures appearing in the dream, such as Bilbo Baggins, Trickster, Cleopatra, the Dalai Lama, and Frederick Douglass. Threads of depth and applied psychology are woven into the discussion, creating a link between the author’s dream and fairy tales. The research suggests that dreams, when envisioned as imaginary tales, are less frightening and more palatable, inviting selfdiscovery and transformation in the process of psychotherapy