Traditional milk market in Assam: Potential for income and employment generation

The integrated food supply chains have emerged as the fastest growing and widely visible market phenomenon. Yet in most developing countries, small scale milk market agents and chains supplying fresh milk and traditionally processing dairy products play a major role. They are the key outlets for small holder dairy producers and are the main source of fresh milk supply for consumers. These traditional small-scale markets account for over 80 per cent of the marketed milk in many countries in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America (Omore et al., 2004). In India too, more than 80 per cent of milk marketed still passes through these traditional milk marketing channels (Steven et al., 2008). The much hyped co-operative dairy development in India has also not been able to significantly affect the dominance of these traditional milk marketing channels. But, the functioning of the traditional milk market and its potential in income and employment generation has not been conceived properly in India. The understanding of the traditional milk marketing and processing chains are helpful in evolving policies and developmental strategies for creating an efficient milk marketing system. A study was planned in one of the backward states of India, namely Assam. In this state, 97 per cent of milk marketing is controlled by traditional milk market agents. (Kumar et al., 2007; Sirohi et al., 2009). The organised marketing and processing of milk in Assam remains insignificant. Formal milk pasteurisation and dairy product processing channels, both under co-operative and private sectors, account for hardly 3 per cent of the total locally marketed milk. The smallholder producers in the state have poor market access. The lack of alternative market options forces them to sell in the traditional market. In this backdrop, this study was undertaken with the objectives of (i) examining the costs and returns in traditional milk marketing and processing, (ii) estimating the milk producer's share in consumer rupee and marketing margins of different actors in the marketing chain, (iii) assessing the potential of traditional milk market in employment generation, and (iv) identifying the factors for scaling up the volume of business of the informal milk market agents in the state. The paper is organised as follows. Section II presents the data and methodology used in the study. The economics of traditional milk marketing and processing are discussed in Section III. Section IV deliberates on the potential of employment generation in the traditional milk market, while important determinants of the volume of milk handled by the traditional milk market agents have been discussed in Section V. The last section draws the conclusion and policy implications of the study

The pork value chain in Vietnam: Emerging trends and implications for smallholder competitiveness

Pig production in Vietnam has increased in response to the rise in demand, at about 8 percent annually, on average, during the last decade. At least 80% of annual production is still contributed by household‐based pig producers (i.e., those with less than 10 pigs). Along with the rise in production, the number and types of actors in the pork supply chain have also increased. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted to obtain an overview of pig value chains in Vietnam. Market actor surveys were then implemented in three representative sites in three provinces located in three regions. Each survey was preceded by a stakeholder consultation workshop organized in each province with participation of various market actors in the pork supply chain. Semi‐structured interviews of 47 different types of market actors were carried out subsequently to collect detailed information about input and output volumes, sources and outlets of products and information, preferred attributes of inputs and outputs, costs incurred, and constraints faced. Key findings indicate that smallholder pig producers have the comparative advantage to supply pork with the preferred attributes of being fresh and unchilled. Pig traders are the dominant players in the chain in terms of their strong influence on prices and the coordination role they perform in directing supply of pigs and carcass according to market demand. In informal markets for fresh pork, quality control is based on trust. Personal relationships with meat retailers in traditional markets built from repeated transactions over time can supplant any formal certification and labelling. The estimated value added generated in pork value chains where household‐based pig producers are participating is 11,700 VND or about $0.62 per kg liveweight of output. Pig producers capture about half of the value added. These results highlight the importance of smallholder producers' continued inclusion in these chains from a livelihoods perspective. This contribution is significant in the context of pro‐poor pig sector development in particular and the broader rural development agenda in general. Policy interventions to enhance smallholder participation in emerging pork value chains given their relative importance in supply and employment generation will need to be explored

Global Regulator SATB1 Recruits β-Catenin and Regulates TH2 Differentiation in Wnt-Dependent Manner

Chromatin organizer SATB1 and Wnt transducer β-catenin form a complex and regulate expression of GATA3 and TH2 cytokines in Wnt-dependent manner and orchestrate TH2 lineage commitment

Glutathione and Adaptive Immune Responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Healthy and HIV Infected Individuals

Glutathione (GSH), a tripeptide antioxidant, is essential for cellular homeostasis and plays a vital role in diverse cellular functions. Individuals who are infected with Human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) are known to be susceptible to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) infection. We report that by enhancing GSH levels, T-cells are able to inhibit the growth of M. tb inside macrophages. In addition, those GSH-replenished T cell cultures produced increased levels of Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-12 (IL-12), and Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), cytokines, which are known to be crucial for the control of intracellular pathogens. Our study reveals that T lymphocytes that are derived from HIV infected individuals are deficient in GSH, and that this deficiency correlates with decreased levels of Th1 cytokines and enhanced growth of M. tb inside human macrophages

How contemporary bioclimatic and human controls change global fire regimes

Anthropogenically driven declines in tropical savannah burnt area have recently received attention due to their effect on trends in global burnt area. Large-scale trends in ecosystems where vegetation has adapted to infrequent fire, especially in cooler and wetter forested areas, are less well understood. Here, small changes in fire regimes can have a substantial impact on local biogeochemistry. To investigate trends in fire across a wide range of ecosystems, we used Bayesian inference to quantify four primary controls on burnt area: fuel continuity, fuel moisture, ignitions and anthropogenic suppression. We found that fuel continuity and moisture are the dominant limiting factors of burnt area globally. Suppression is most important in cropland areas, whereas savannahs and boreal forests are most sensitive to ignitions. We quantify fire regime shifts in areas with more than one, and often counteracting, trends in these controls. Forests are of particular concern, where we show average shifts in controls of 2.3–2.6% of their potential maximum per year, mainly driven by trends in fuel continuity and moisture. This study gives added importance to understanding long-term future changes in the controls on fire and the effect of fire trends on ecosystem function

Adaptation of the protein translational apparatus during ATDC5 chondrogenic differentiation.

IntroductionRibosome biogenesis is integrated with many cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and oncogenic events. Chondrogenic proliferation and differentiation require a high cellular translational capacity to facilitate cartilaginous extracellular matrix production. We here investigated the expression dynamics of factors involved in ribosome biogenesis during in vitro chondrogenic differentiation and determined whether protein translation capacity adapts to different phases of chondrogenic differentiation.MaterialsSnoRNA expression during ATDC5 differentiation was analyzed by RNA sequencing of samples acquired from day 0 (progenitor stage), 7 (chondrogenic stage) and day 14 (hypertrophic stage). RT-qPCR was used to determine expression of fibrillarin, dyskerin, UBF-1, Sox9, Col2a1, Runx2, Col10a1 mRNAs and 18S, 5.8S and 28S rRNAs. Protein expression of fibrillarin, dyskerin and UBF-1 was determined by immunoblotting. Ribosomal RNA content per cell was determined by calculating rRNA RT-qPCR signals relative to DNA content (SYBR Green assay). Total protein translational activity was evaluated with a puromycilation assay and polysome profiling.ResultsAs a result of initiation of chondrogenic differentiation (Δt0-t7), 21 snoRNAs were differentially expressed (DE). Hypertrophic differentiation caused DE of 23 snoRNAs (Δt7-t14) and 43 when t0 was compared to t14. DE snoRNAs, amongst others, target nucleotide modifications in the 28S rRNA peptidyl transferase center and the 18S rRNA decoding center. UBF-1, fibrillarin and dyskerin expression increased as function of differentiation and displayed highest fold induction at day 5-6 in differentiation. Ribosomal RNA content per cell was significantly increased at day 7, but not at day 14 in differentiation. Similar dynamics in translational capacity and monosomal ribosome fraction were observed during differentiation.ConclusionThe expression of a great number of ribosome biogenesis factors is altered during chondrogenic differentiation of ATDC5 cells, which is accompanied by significant changes in cellular translational activity. This elucidation of ribosome biogenesis dynamics in chondrogenic differentiation models enables the further understanding of the role of ribosome biogenesis and activity during chondrocyte cell commitment and their roles in human skeletal development diseases

Cost-effectiveness of postural exercise therapy versus physiotherapy in computer screen-workers with early non-specific work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD); a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise therapies generate substantial costs in computer workers with non-specific work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD).</p> <p>Aims</p> <p>To study if postural exercise therapy is cost-effective compared to regular physiotherapy in screen-workers with early complaints, both from health care and societal perspective.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prospective randomized trial including cost-effectiveness analysis; one year follow-up. Participants: Eighty-eight screen-workers with early non-specific WRULD; six drop-outs. Interventions: A ten week postural exercise program versus regular physiotherapy. Outcome measures: Effectiveness measures: Pain: visual analogous scale (VAS), self-perceived WRULD (yes/no). Functional outcome: Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand- Dutch Language Version (DASH-DLV). Quality of life outcome: EQ-5D.</p> <p>Economic measures: health care costs including patient and family costs and productivity costs resulting in societal costs. Cost-effectiveness measures: health care costs and societal costs related to the effectiveness measures. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline; three, six and twelve months after baseline.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline both groups were comparable for baseline characteristics except scores on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and comparable for costs. No significant differences between the groups concerning effectiveness at one year follow-up were found. Effectiveness scores slightly improved over time. After one year 55% of participants were free of complaints. After one year the postural exercise group had higher mean total health care costs, but lower productivity costs compared to the physiotherapy group. Mean societal costs after one year (therefore) were in favor of postural exercise therapy [- €622; 95% CI -2087; +590)]. After one year, only self- perceived WRULD seemed to result in acceptable cost-effectiveness of the postural exercise strategy over physiotherapy; however the probability of acceptable cost-effectiveness did not exceed 60%.</p> <p>Considering societal costs related to QALYs, postural exercise therapy had a probability of over 80% to be cost-effective over a wide range of cost-effectiveness ceiling ratios; however based on a marginal QALY-difference of 0.1 over a 12 month time frame.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although our trial failed to find significant differences in VAS, QALYs and ICERs based on VAS and QALYs at one-year follow-up, CEACs suggest that postural exercise therapy according to Mensendieck/Cesar has a higher probability of being cost-effective compared to regular physiotherapy; however further research is required.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN 15872455</p