SWOT Analysis and Recommended Policies and Strategies of Eritrean Fisheries

Eritrea is resource rich but low capitalized country. The Red Sea of Eritrea is one of the most underexploited fisheries sectors in the world. This present study attempts to capture the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Eritrean fisheries sector. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis has been used for deriving the reasons for the poor exploitation of the fisheries resources of Eritrea. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis is important because it delivers the information of a given sector in all its ramifications which enables a policy maker to make a quick, yet studied judgment of the sector within a limited time frame. The factors identified are used to formulate and recommend suitable policies and strategies for development and proper exploitation of the Eritrean fisheries sector. The study also used the compound growth rate and performance analysis of the fish production as pre-investigative tools to develop the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis. Eritrean marine fisheries were found to be performing below the optimum registering an overall negative growth rate of 1.92 per cent and high instability of 99. Looking at the overall performance for the period 1950-2009 the situation was found to be ‘less desirable’. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve all parameters that enable efficient and higher levels of fish production in a sustainable manner.Keywords: Fisheries Management, Fisheries Economics, Management: Rents and ReturnsKeywords: Fisheries Management, Fisheries Economics, Management: Rents and Return

Predictors of survival among adult Ethiopian patients in the national ART program at Seven University Teaching Hospitals: A prospective cohort study

Background: In Ethiopia, the publicly funded antiretroviral treatment (ART) program was started in 2005. Two hundred seventy-five thousand patients were enrolled in the national ART program by 2012. However, there is limited data on mortality and predictors of death among adult patients in the ART program. The study aimed to estimate mortality and risk factors for death among adult, ART-naïve patients,  started in the national ART program from January 2009 to July 2013.Methods: Multi-site, prospective, observational cohort study of adult, age > 18 years, ART-naïve patients, started in the national ART program at seven university-affiliated hospitals from January 2009 - July 2013. Kaplan-Meier and Cox  regression analyses were used to estimate survival and determine risk factors for death.Results: A total of 976 patients, 594 females (60.9 %), were enrolled into the study. Median age of the cohort was 33years. The median CD4 count at start of ART was 144 cells/μl (interquartile range (IQR) 78-205), and 34.2% (330/965) had CD4 < 100. Sixty-three percent (536/851) had viral load greater than 5 log copies/ml (IQR 4.7-5.7) at base line. One hundred and one deaths were recorded during  follow-up period, all-cause mortality rate 10.3%; 5.4 deaths/100 person years of observation, 95% confidence interval 4.4-6.5. Seventy percent of the deaths occurred within six months of starting ART. Cox regression analyses showed that the following measures independently predicted mortality: age >51 years, (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 4.01, P=0.003), WHO stages III&IV, (AHR 1.76, p = 0.025), CD4 count, <100, (AHR 2.36, p =0.006), and viral load >5 log copies /ml (CHR 1.71, p = 0.037).Conclusion: There is high early on- ART mortality in patients presenting with advanced immunodeficiency. Detecting cases and initiating ART before onset of advanced immunodeficiency might improve survival.Key Words: Ethiopia, HIV clinical cohort, Antiretroviral therapy, Surviva

Biochemical composition of selected seaweeds from intertidal shallow waters of Southern Red Sea, Eritrea

1153-1157Seaweeds are marine plants also known as sea vegetables, used as an alternative food source with high nutritional value. Consumption of seaweeds in East Asian countries like China, Thailand and Japan had begun since ancient times. In some countries, seaweeds are consumed as raw vegetables, in the form of salad and as an additive in manufacturing of various food products. The biochemical composition of seaweeds varies with environmental state of marine ecosystem. Eritrea, with long coastline bears diversified ecosystems and abundant seaweeds. But limited knowledge on nutritional importance and processing methods mitigate the dietary utilization of seaweeds by coastal community in the country. The present study focuses mainly on the analysis of biochemical composition of various seaweeds collected around the Massawa coast of Red Sea, Eritrea. The major biochemical components like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibre and ash were determined to establish the nutritional importance of the seaweeds. The high protein content was found in green seaweed Enteromorpha clathrata (13.64 %), whereas the brown seaweed Sargassum subrepandum has reported with high carbohydrates (28.11 %) and Cystoseira myrica has shown high fibre (32.39 %) content. The green seaweed Entermorpha compressa was found to be rich in fats (1.83 %), and high ash content (50.91 %) was recorded in brown seaweed Dictyota ciliolata.</em

Data mining multiple stakeholders’ responses to declining schizothorax fishery in the lakes of Kashmir, India

This study documented the historical perspective of lake fisheries in Kashmir, India, estimated the trends in fish production using the Kane’s cross impact analysis and the stakeholders’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the restoration of Schizothorax fishery in the lakes of Kashmir. The cross impacts of introduction of carps in the lakes of Kashmir on Schizothorax fishery and total fish production are evaluated by Kane’s cross impact analysis. Considering the obvious shortcomings of logistic regression, Classification and Regression Trees (CART) has been used for data mining multiple stakeholders’ responses to make a case for sustainable development of the Schizothorax fishery in the lakes of Kashmir. On the whole, time spent on the lakes to earn their livelihoods emerged as the root node, as the single most important variable that determined WTP of stakeholders followed by income, type of stakeholder and age in the tree model. The CART analysis not only yielded the variables that determined the WTP but the pruned tree gave the hierarchy of the variables that determined WTP. The results of the study strongly made a case for a concerted multi-institutional action plan for the restoration of Schizothorax fishery in the lakes of Kashmir.Keywords: Modeling and Economic Theory, Environment: Valuation, Fisheries Economic

OX40 and 4-1BB delineate distinct immune profiles in sarcoma.

Systemic relapse after radiotherapy and surgery is the major cause of disease-related mortality in sarcoma patients. Combining radiotherapy and immunotherapy is under investigation as a means to improve response rates. However, the immune contexture of sarcoma is understudied. Here, we use a retrospective cohort of sarcoma patients, treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy, and TCGA data. We explore therapeutic targets of relevance to sarcoma, using genomics and multispectral immunohistochemistry to provide insights into the tumor immune microenvironment across sarcoma subtypes. Differential gene expression between radioresponsive myxoid liposarcoma (MLPS) and more radioresistant undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) indicated UPS contained higher transcript levels of a number of immunotherapy targets (CD73/NT5E, CD39/ENTPD1, CD25/IL2RA, and 4-1BB/TNFRSF9). We focused on 4-1BB/TNFRSF9 and other costimulatory molecules. In TCGA data, 4-1BB correlated to an inflamed and exhausted phenotype. OX40/TNFRSF4 and 4-1BB/TNFRSF9 were highly expressed in sarcoma subtypes versus other cancers. Despite OX40 and 4-1BB being described as Treg markers, we identified that they delineate distinct tumor immune profiles. This was true for sarcoma and other cancers. While only a limited number of samples could be analyzed, spatial analysis of OX40 expression identified two diverse phenotypes of OX40+ Tregs, one associated with and one independent of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs). Patient stratification is of intense interest for immunotherapies. We provide data supporting the viewpoint that a cohort of sarcoma patients, appropriately selected, are promising candidates for immunotherapies. Spatial profiling of OX40+ Tregs, in relation to TLSs, could be an additional metric to improve future patient stratification

Castor bean organelle genome sequencing and worldwide genetic diversity analysis

Castor bean is an important oil-producing plant in the Euphorbiaceae family. Its high-quality oil contains up to 90% of the unusual fatty acid ricinoleate, which has many industrial and medical applications. Castor bean seeds also contain ricin, a highly toxic Type 2 ribosome-inactivating protein, which has gained relevance in recent years due to biosafety concerns. In order to gain knowledge on global genetic diversity in castor bean and to ultimately help the development of breeding and forensic tools, we carried out an extensive chloroplast sequence diversity analysis. Taking advantage of the recently published genome sequence of castor bean, we assembled the chloroplast and mitochondrion genomes extracting selected reads from the available whole genome shotgun reads. Using the chloroplast reference genome we used the methylation filtration technique to readily obtain draft genome sequences of 7 geographically and genetically diverse castor bean accessions. These sequence data were used to identify single nucleotide polymorphism markers and phylogenetic analysis resulted in the identification of two major clades that were not apparent in previous population genetic studies using genetic markers derived from nuclear DNA. Two distinct sub-clades could be defined within each major clade and large-scale genotyping of castor bean populations worldwide confirmed previously observed low levels of genetic diversity and showed a broad geographic distribution of each sub-clade

Establishing a multicenter longitudinal clinical cohort Study in Ethiopia: Advanced Clinical Monitoring of Antiretroviral Treatment Project

Background: The purpose of this paper is to describe the establishment of the  Advanced Clinical Monitoring of ART Project in Ethiopia for monitoring and  evaluation of the longitudinal effectiveness of the ART program and to show the opportunities it presents. This cohort was established in response to the 2005 call by WHO for establishing additional mechanisms for stronger monitoring of ART and the need for creating the platform to generate evidence to guide the care given for the ever increasing number of patients on ART in Ethiopia.Method: A participatory and multi-stage process which started from a consensus building workshop and steered by a mother protocol as well as guiding documents which dictated the degree of engagement and expectations was followed. The primary and secondary aims of the study were agreed upon. A multi-site longitudinal observational clinical cohort was established by a consortium of stakeholders including seven Ethiopian medical schools and their affiliated referral hospitals, John Hopkins University, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology, US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control - CDC-Ethiopia, and the Federal Ministry of Health. Adult and adolescent cohorts covering the age range of 14+ years) and pediatric cohorts covering those below age 14 years were the two main cohorts. During the initial recruitment of these cohorts information was extracted from existing documents for a total of 2,100 adult participants. In parallel, a prospective cohort of 1,400 adult and adolescent patients were enrolled for ART initiation and follow-up. Using similar recruitment procedures, a total of 120 children were enrolled in each of retrospective and prospective cohorts. Replacement of participants were made in subsequent years based on lost follow up and death rates to maintain adequacy of the sample to be followed-up.Achievements: Between January 2005 and August 2013 a total of 4,339 patients were followed for a median of 41.6 months and data on demographic characteristics, baseline and ongoing clinical features, hospitalization history, medication and laboratory information were collected. 39,762 aliquots and 25,515 specimens of plasma and dry-blood-spots respectively were obtained and stored longitudinally from October 2009 to August 2013. The project created a research platform for researchers, policy and decision makers. Moreover, it encouraged local and international investigators to identify and answer clinically and programmatically relevant research questions using the available data and specimens. Calls for concept notes paired with multiple trainings to stimulate investigators to conduct analyses further boosted the potential for doing research.Conclusions: A comprehensive and resourceful mechanism for scientific inquiry was established to support the national HIV/ART program. With meaningful involvement and defined roles, establishment of a study, which involved multiple institutions and investigators, was possible. Since ACM is the largest multi-site clinical cohort of patients on antiretroviral treatment in Ethiopia---which can be used for research and for improving clinical management---considering options to sustain the project is crucial. Key Words: Ethiopia, HIV clinical cohort, Antiretroviral therapy, Establishing Longitudinal Cohort Study, ART Monitoring and Evaluatio

Workshop on breeding for Striga resistance in cereals

The phanerogamous root parasite Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. causes major yield reductions in the principal cereal crops of semi-arid Africa. A workshop on breeding for Striga resistance in cereals was held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (1 IT A) in I badan. Nigeria, from 18 to 20August 1999. The meeting was organized by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-A rid Tropics (ICRISAT}. I IT A, the University of Hohenheim. Eberhard-Karls University of Tubingen, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Funding was provided by the Bundesministerium fur wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (BMZ), Germany, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The 56 participants comprised 26 cereal breeders or weed specialists from national agricultural research systems (NARS) of 17 African countries, and 30 scientists or representatives from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Centre de cooperation internationale en recherche agronomique pour le developpement (CIRAD), ICRISAT, IITA. John Innes Centre (JIC), the Natural Resources Institute (NRI). Pan African Striga Control Network (PASCON), ProAgro Seed Company, the Rockefeller Foundation, Cornell University, University of Hohenheim, Purdue University, University of Sheffield. University of Tubingen, West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), and the Weizmann Institute of Science

Abiotic Stress‐Related Expressed Sequence Tags from the Diploid Strawberry Fragaria vesca

Strawberry ( spp.) is a eudicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Rosaceae family, which includes other agronomically important plants such as raspberry ( L.) and several tree-fruit species. Despite the vital role played by cultivated strawberry in agriculture, few stress-related gene expression characterizations of this crop are available. To increase the diversity of available transcriptome sequence, we produced 41,430 L. expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from plants growing under water-, temperature-, and osmotic-stress conditions as well as a combination of heat and osmotic stresses that is often found in irrigated fields. Clustering and assembling of the ESTs resulted in a total of 11,836 contigs and singletons that were annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Furthermore, over 1200 sequences with no match to available Rosaceae ESTs were found, including six that were assigned the “response to stress” GO category. Analysis of EST frequency provided an estimate of steady state transcript levels, with 91 sequences exhibiting at least a 20-fold difference between treatments. This EST collection represents a useful resource to advance our understanding of the abiotic stress-response mechanisms in strawberry. The sequence information may be translated to valuable tree crops in the Rosaceae family, where whole-plant treatments are not as simple or practical

Araya196.pdf

Eritrea is resource rich but low capitalized country. The Red Sea of Eritrea is one of the most underexploited fisheries sectors in the world. This present study attempts to capture the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Eritrean fisheries sector. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis has been used for deriving the reasons for the poor exploitation of the fisheries resources of Eritrea. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis is important because it delivers the information of a given sector in all its ramifications which enables a policy maker to make a quick, yet studied judgment of the sector within a limited time frame. The factors identified are used to formulate and recommend suitable policies and strategies for development and proper exploitation of the Eritrean fisheries sector. The study also used the compound growth rate and performance analysis of the fish production as pre-investigative tools to develop the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis. Eritrean marine fisheries were found to be performing below the optimum registering an overall negative growth rate of 1.92 per cent and high instability of 99. Looking at the overall performance for the period 1950-2009 the situation was found to be ‘less desirable’. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve all parameters that enable efficient and higher levels of fish production in a sustainable manner