Value Chain Analysis of Bamboo Production: The Case of Bule Woreda, Gedeo Zone, Snnprs

Bamboo plays very important role socially, economically and ecologically. Despite the fact that bamboo play important role in improving the livelihood of the local community it has an insignificant contribution due to the products are at a very rudimentary level and inexistence of well established bamboo industry. These situations hampered the opportunity of the potential of bamboo that will improve the poor living standards and hence sustainable utilization of the resources. This study was initiated to analyze the existing bamboo market chain in Bule Woreda Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations Nationalities and Regional State. The focus of the study was to  analyze the determinants of marketable supply of Bamboo, identify actors involved in the processes and what do they actually do, investigate the costs incurred by each participants and the benefits driven by each. The data were collected by using a semi-structured questionnaires together with secondary data gathered from agricultural bureau offices and other unpublished sources. Robust Ordinary least square regression econometric model was used to analyze the determinants of market supply of bamboo. The results from this analysis indicates that price of bamboo culm, educational level of producers, distance to the nearest market, and access to market information were found to be  significant variables influencing bamboo supply to the market. A significant amount (70.16%) of bamboo produced is channeled through producers- traders- processors- consumers chain. The concentration ratio of two firms measures of market structure indicated there exist  super tight oligopolistic nature of bamboo market. Moreover, marketing margins also indicate that the producers get much lower benefit than any other market chain actors. The major problems of the production identified by bamboo producers in the study area arised from road infrastructure and market information. Therefore improving road infrastructure, provision of formal education and market information,  and improving the existing chain through creating appropriate market linkage are recommended. Keywords: Value chain, value chain analysis, structure- conduct- performance, concentration ratio, marketing channel and marketing margin

Transcriptional activation of pericentromeric satellite repeats and disruption of centromeric clustering upon proteasome inhibition

Heterochromatinisation of pericentromeres, which in mice consist of arrays of major satellite repeats, are important for centromere formation and maintenance of genome stability. The dysregulation of this process has been linked to genomic stress and various cancers. Here we show in mice that the proteasome binds to major satellite repeats and proteasome inhibition by MG132 results in their transcriptional de-repression; this de-repression is independent of cell-cycle perturbation. The transcriptional activation of major satellite repeats upon proteasome inhibition is accompanied by delocalisation of heterochromatin protein 1 alpha (HP1α) from chromocentres, without detectable change in the levels of histone H3K9me3, H3K4me3, H3K36me3 and H3 acetylation on the major satellite repeats. Moreover, inhibition of the proteasome was found to increase the number of chromocentres per cell, reflecting destabilisation of the chromocentre structures. Our findings suggest that the proteasome plays a role in maintaining heterochromatin integrity of pericentromeres

Cross-generational trans fat intake exacerbates UV radiation-induced damage in rat skin

AbstractWe evaluated the influence of dietary fats on ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced oxidative damage in skin of rats. Animals from two consecutive generations born of dams supplemented with fats during pregnancy and breastfeeding were maintained in the same supplementation: soybean-oil (SO, rich in n-6 FA, control group), fish-oil (FO, rich in n-3 FA) or hydrogenated-vegetable-fat (HVF, rich in TFA). At 90days of age, half the animals from the 2nd generation were exposed to UVR (0.25J/cm2) 3×/week for 12weeks. The FO group presented higher incorporation of n-3 FA in dorsal skin, while the HVF group incorporated TFA. Biochemical changes per se were observed in skin of the HVF group: greater generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lower mitochondrial integrity and increased Na+K+-ATPase activity. UVR exposure increased skin wrinkles scores and ROS generation and decreased mitochondrial integrity and reduced-glutathione levels in the HVF group. In FO, UVR exposure was associated with smaller skin thickness and reduced levels of protein–carbonyl, together with increased catalase activity and preserved Na+K+-ATPase function. In conclusion, while FO may be protective, trans fat may be harmful to skin health by making it more vulnerable to UVR injury and thus more prone to develop photoaging and skin cancer

Drought tolerance in grapevine rootstocks: an association genetics approach

Water deficit is widely recognized as one of the major constraint in the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions where a large part of the world's premium wines are produced. Since the introduction of new varieties in the wine industry is not so straightforward, breeding grapevine rootstocks for tolerance to drought is becoming a key strategy for the future. A Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) and a Candidate Gene (CG) approach were used to investigate the genetic basis of drought response mechanisms in an ad hoc core-collection consisting of 96 different genotypes of Vitis spp. and hybrids, selected to ensure the maximum genetic variability of a larger population of commercial, germplasm and new bred rootstocks. The physiological and growth responses to water deficit of more than 500 one-year old potted cuttings were evaluated over 30 days in semi-controlled conditions. For each genotype, three well-watered control plants were mantained at 90% of the Field Capacity (FC) determined by gravimetric method and three plants were subjected to water stress. After 7 days, water deficit was gradually established to reach first a moderate stable water deficit (50% FC for 7 days) and then a more severe and stable water deficit (30% FC for 7 days). Finally, stressed plants were fully irrigated to evaluate the level of plant recovery. Stomatal conductance was correlated with plant growth evaluation (leaves and shoots biometric measures) to define different response classes and thermal infrared imaging was implemented for the first time as a valuable remote sensing tool for high-throughput phenotyping in a GWAS experiment. Acknowledgements: Italian "Progetto AGER, bando Viticoltura da Vino" (SERRES, 2010-2105

Alimentação do jundiá com dietas contendo óleos de arroz, canola ou soja.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência de óleos vegetais no desenvolvimento corporal e composição do filé de jundiás. Foram testadas seis dietas (32%PB), sendo avaliados óleos de arroz, canola ou soja com 5 ou 10% de inclusão, durante 90 dias. Os peixes (180, peso inicial=71,0±0,8g) foram distribuídos ao acaso em 18 caixas (280L) de um sistema de recirculação de água, com temperatura controlada. Para avaliação de desempenho, estimaram-se variáveis como peso, comprimentos totais, padrão, altura caudal, sobrevivência, taxa de crescimento específico, fator de condição, consumo diário, conversão alimentar aparente e rendimento de partes comestíveis. Além disso, foram avaliadas a composição centesimal e taxas de deposição de proteína e gordura nos filés. Não houve diferenças entre os óleos e os níveis sobre o crescimento dos peixes; entretanto, os jundiás alimentados com 10% de óleo depositaram mais gordura no filé. Conclui-se que os óleos de canola, arroz e soja proporcionam bom crescimento e rendimento de partes comestíveis. As dietas contendo óleo de canola, com 5% de inclusão, possibilitam menor deposição de gordura no filé

Lethal effect of high concentrations of Parecoxib and Flunixin meglumine on the in vitro culture of bovine embryos

Abstract Since cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors have been pointed out as potential treatments to increase pregnancy rates after embryo transfer, the present experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of flunixin meglumine (FM) and parecoxib (P), a COX-1 and 2 or COX-2 specific inhibitor, respectively, on the development of bovine embryos until the hatched blastocyst stage. In vitro produced bovine embryos were cultured in media with different concentrations of FM (0.14; 1.4; 14; 140 or 1400 µg/ml) or P (0.09; 0.9; 9; 90 or 900 µg/ml) and the production rates were evaluated. Concentrations of FM ≤14 µg/ml and P ≤90 µg/ml did not impair embryo development, although compiled data from non-lethal FM concentrations (≤14 µg/ml) indicated a toxic effect enough to decrease the hatching rate of blastocysts. Concentrations of FM at 140 and 1400 µg/ml and P at 900 µg/ml were lethal as no cleavage was detected on presumptive zygotes