Myanmar seafood exports:Quick scan of the EU market potential

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the European market. The aquaculture sector in a number of Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of various captured and cultured seafood products. Since Myanmar is in a transition to democracy and the EU decided to remove most sanctions to fuel economic development, Myanmar is very interesting for the European seafood industry. The Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Import from Developing Countries (CBI) and LEI Wageningen UR decided to conduct this quick scan to analyse the EU market potential of the seafood sector in Myanmar

The Bangladeshi seafood sector : a value chain analysis

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. Over the period 2005-2010 in particular, the aquaculture sector in some Asian countries became an important producer as well as exporter of whitefish and shrimps. Within the Asian region CBI is currently studying the possibilities of developing integrated programmes for the seafood sector for specific countries. For the development of these programmes, a good understanding of the current situation in the supply and demand side of the industry is essential

Pakistan seafood exports: Quick scan of the EU market potential

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. The aquaculture sector in some Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of white fish and shrimp, especially during the past five years. Within the Asian region CBI is currently developing an integrated programme for the seafood sector. For the development of this programme, a good understanding of the supply and de-mand side of the industry is necessary. In order to investigate whether it is advisable for CBI to invest in a programme to support further export growth of the seafood sectors of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, additional research is needed

The Philippine seafood sector : a value chain analysis

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. Over the period 2005-2010 in par-ticular, the aquaculture sector in some Asian countries became an important producer as well as exporter of whitefish and shrimps. Within the Asian region CBI is currently studying the possibilities of developing in-tegrated programmes for the seafood sector for specific countries. This follows up on CBI’s current sea-food activities in Indonesia with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and the Surabaya Seafood Centre

Sri Lanka seafood exports; Quick scan of the EU market potential

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. During the past five years in particular, the aquaculture sector in some Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of white fish and shrimp. CBI is currently developing an integrated programme for the seafood sector in the Asian region. For the development of this programme, a good understanding of the supply and demand side of the industry is necessary. In order to decide on a programme to support further export growth of the seafood sectors of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, CBI has asked LEI to provide information on the sector in Sri Lanka

Pangasius in the EU market; Prospects for the position of (ASC-certified) pangasius in the EU retail and food service sector

The objective of this market study is to investigate the potential short- and long-term benefits for investors to invest in the production of pangasius with a trademark based on ASC certification, for the retail and food service market segments in the EU market

The Indonesian seafood sector; a value chain analysis

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. Over the past five years in par-ticular, the aquaculture sector in some Asian countries has become an important producer as well as ex-porter of whitefish and shrimps. Within the Asian region, CBI is currently studying the possibilities of developing integrated programmes for the seafood sector for specific countries. This follows up on CBI's current seafood activities in Indonesia with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and the Su-rabaya Seafood Centre. For the development of these programmes, a good understanding of the supply and demand side of the industry is essential. For CBI to support further export growth of the seafood sec-tor of Indonesia, additional research on the value chains of the most relevant seafood products in Indone-sia is require

Glucose-induced fibronectin and collagen type III expression in renal fibroblasts can occur independent of TGF-β1

Glucose-induced fibronectin and collagen type III expression in renal fibroblasts can occur independent of TGF-β1.BackgroundVarious renal cell types have been shown to contribute to the excessive matrix deposition observed in diabetic nephropathy. The present study examined the effect of high ambient glucose and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) on matrix production by human renal fibroblasts.MethodsHuman renal fibroblasts (TK173) were used to examine the effects of high glucose and TGF-β1 on fibronectin and collagen type III expression. Stable transfectants were generated of TK173 cells expressing a dominant negative TGF-β type II receptor. Matrix components were measured in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).ResultsFibronectin secretion by renal fibroblasts was increased upon exposure to high glucose, but with delayed kinetics compared to TGF-β1-induced fibronectin. Exposure to high glucose resulted in an increased secretion of latent TGF-β1. However, treatment with neutralizing pan-specific anti-TGF-β antibodies could not attenuate the effects of glucose. Furthermore, collagen type III was up-regulated by high glucose, but not by TGF-β1. Importantly, fibroblasts expressing a dominant negative TGF-β type II receptor were defective in TGF-β1-induced fibronectin production, whereas glucose-induced fibronectin and collagen type III were unaffected.ConclusionsThese data show that in renal fibroblasts exposure to high glucose can increase matrix production independent of endogenous TGF-β1. Although glucose activation is accompanied by an increased production of latent TGF-β1, which can have an important role in vivo, the data suggest involvement of alternative growth factors in the mechanism by which hyperglycemic conditions can modulate matrix accumulation in diabetic nephropathy

The Effect of Multidisciplinary Lifestyle Intervention on the Pre- and Postprandial Plasma Gut Peptide Concentrations in Children with Obesity

Objective. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a multidisciplinary treatment of obesity on plasma concentrations of several gut hormones in fasting condition and in response to a mixed meal in children. Methods. Complete data were available from 36 obese children (age 13.3 ± 2.0 yr). At baseline and after the 3-month multidisciplinary treatment, fasting and postprandial blood samples were taken for glucose, insulin, ghrelin, peptide YY (PYY), and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Results. BMI-SDS was significantly reduced by multidisciplinary treatment (from 4.2 ± 0.7 to 4.0 ± 0.9, P < .01). The intervention significantly increased the area under the curve (AUC) of ghrelin (from 92.3 ± 18.3 to 97.9 ± 18.2 pg/L, P < .01), but no significant changes were found for PYY or GLP-1 concentrations (in fasting or postprandial condition). The insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) remained unchanged as well. Conclusion. Intensive multidisciplinary treatment induced moderate weight loss and increased ghrelin secretion, but serum PYY and GLP-1 concentrations and insulin sensitivity remained unchanged