Trends in the Irish Beef Market During the 1990s - Identification and Analysis of Change Drivers

This paper provides a brief review of the Irish beef market during the 1990s. It sets out to identify the key factors influencing beef consumption during this period and reviews industry/ government response to consumer needs. A number of factors influencing beef consumption are identified, including: price, safety, eating quality and health. In addition to price competitiveness, industry/government response has focused on safety and quality systems. Safety emerged as an important factor during the 1990s and various traceability, quality assurance schemes and supply chain partnerships were established to reassure the consumer. By the end of the decade such systems are a pre-requisite to market entry and increasingly the focus is on using these systems to develop and deliver product attributes demanded by target markets, improve quality and reduce costs. Increasingly, customers along the supply chain are focusing on supplier processes rather than product and thus less effort will be on product testing and more attention will be given to process auditing. In this way a customer can engage in a more strategic approach to purchasing. It is argued that future system development will evolve from a control/inspection orientation to systems focused on quality management and improvement that support competitiveness.Irish beef consumption, price, food safety, quality, supply chain, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

An assessment of the Irish speciality food enterprises’ use of the internet as a marketing tool

End of Project ReportThis study set out to explore the role of the Internet as a marketing tool for Irish speciality food producers and to research on-line speciality food sales as a business opportunity. The project achieved this through a combination of consumer focus groups, a producer web audit, producer depth interviews and an e-mailed on-line producer survey. Irish consumers acknowledged potential for on-line sales of Irish speciality food products to export and gift markets; however they could not see significant advantages for on-line sales in the domestic market. Experience with the product (and consequent importance of the purchase experience), the high delivery cost of an already premium priced product and difficulties associated with receipt of deliveries were identified as the main reasons for not purchasing on-line

Structural and agentic analysis of supply-chains: a social network analysis approach

This research adds to a body of work exploring the role of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in the study of both relational and structural characteristics of supply chain networks. Two contrasting network cases (food enterprises and digital-based enterprises) are chosen in order to elicit structural differences in business networks subject to divergences in local embeddedness and the relative materiality of the goods and services produced. Our analysis and findings draw out differences in network structure as evidenced by metrics of network centralization and cohesion, the presence of components and other sub-groupings, and the position of central actors. We relate these structural features both to the nature of the networks and to the (qualitative) experiences of the actors themselves. We find, in particular, the role of customers as co-creators of knowledge (for the Food network), the central role of infrastructure and services (for the Digital network), the importance of ICT as a source of codified knowledge inputs, along with the continuing importance of geographical proximity for the development and transfer of tacit knowledge and for incremental learning

Managing pharmaceutical shortages: an overview and classification of policy responses in Europe and the USA

This exploratory article gives a cross-sectional account of how established health-care systems have responded to the novel challenge of drug shortages. In line with previous research, our analysis confirms the existence of strong path dependence in the adoption of policy responses. This path dependence is manifested in a pronounced typology of response patterns where jurisdictional approaches to the management of drug shortages differ along two core dimensions. These are the salience attributed to the problem, and the level to which state organisations engage with the problem. These patterns are mirrored in the conceptual framing and strategic orientation of the respective drug shortage policies, with: Spanish and Irish drug shortage policies focusing on the individual product level and being largely reactive; US policies focusing on the therapeutic level, with a focus on mitigation; and German and Austrian policies seeking to address the active ingredient level, with a proactive focus on shortage prevention. Despite the importance of legacies, we find evidence of innovation and path creation particularly in relation to the US and German approaches, which we explain by the simultaneous occurrence of internal crisis and pressures from local stakeholders

Food supply chain vulnerability: a review of emerging challenges and responses

Purpose: Increasing globalisation and pressures to reduce costs and improve efficiencies have increased food supply chain complexity. This has given rise to conditions that increase food firm vulnerability to both food fraud (for economic gain) and attack (for psychological or ideological reasons), (van Ruth, et al. 2017; Spink et al., 2017). Thus it is timely to review food defence initiatives across a number of countries to determine the feasibility of incorporating specific food defence measures in supply chain risk management systems. Design/methodology/approach: Due the emergent nature of the challenges associated with food defence grey as well as academic literature were reviewed. Based on an initial scan of the literature (academic, grey and open) specific search terms and keywords, key authors, key institutions (e.g. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), FDA, WHO) and key publications were identified. Terminology used was also scanned across social media platforms (in particular Twitter). This informed the key words used in a systematic review of literature using the following databases Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, EBSCO (business complete) and Scopus and the searches were extended to non-peer reviewed publications. The “grey” literature included publications by companies involved in food safety training, industry magazines, white papers, publications of standards groups such as GFSI, SSAFE, GMA and the BRC, regulatory authorities and online blogs and websites. Findings: The development of food supply chain defence initiatives is at an early stage and represents an area of on-going activity and trial. A review of such initiatives identifies key strategies (deterrence; detection; control and countermeasures), increased and ongoing effort to develop rapid tests, and vulnerability assessment tools developed within a regulatory framework. This review points to the need for ongoing development of food supply chain actor capacity to use vulnerability tools and associated databases and to embed fraud/threat defences into their management processes. Value: A number of factors combine to increase the challenges posed by food fraud and attack in this decade. This study aims to contribute to emerging research by exploring the context, considering key characteristics of food fraud/attack and evaluating responses by companies and regulatory authorities, in the context of resilient supply chains. As such it may be of interest to researchers, policy makers and food supply chain actors. Research limitations/implications: This paper is limited to the review stage of a larger research project. Practical implications: In addition to providing an evidence base to underpin the development of a more food resilient food supply chains, this study aims to raise awareness and knowledge about the challenges posed by fraud/attack

The clinicomolecular landscape of de novo versus relapsed stage IV metastatic breast cancer

Background: de novo metastatic breast cancer (dnMBC) is responsible for 6–10% of breast cancer presentations with increasing incidence and has remained resistant to detection by mammography screening. Recent publications hypothesized that in addition to poor screening uptake, the presentation of dnMBC may be due to its unfavourable biology which remains unknown at the molecular level. Here we investigated the tumour biology of dnMBC in the form of clinicopathology, genomic alterations and differential gene expression to create a comparative landscape of de novo versus relapsed metastatic breast cancer (rMBC). Additionally, to address the current screening limitations, we conducted a preliminary biomarker investigation for early dnMBC detection. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, gene expression and clinical data were accessed from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for primary tumours of treatment-naïve patients with dnMBC (n = 17), rMBC (n = 49), and normal tissue (n = 113). The clinical and histological data were assessed categorically using Fisher's Exact-Test for significance (p < .05), or continuously using the Mann-Whitney Test (p < .05) where appropriate. The differential gene expression analysis was performed using EdgeR's negative binomial distribution model with a false discovery rate (FDR) <0.05. The resulting gene list was analysed manually for roles in metastasis as well as ontologically using STRING-DB with FDR <0.05. Results: dnMBCs showed improved median survival vs rMBC (36 vs. 12 months). dnMBCs were more likely to be hormone receptor positive, less likely to be triple negative with lower histological lymphocytic infiltrate. In terms of genome alterations, dnMBCs had 4-fold increased PTEN mutations and poor survival with ABL2 and GATA3 alterations. Expression-wise, dnMBCs down-regulated TNFa, IL-17 signalling, and chemotaxis, while up-regulating steroid biosynthesis, cell migration, and cell adhesion. Biomarker analysis detected pre-existing and novel breast cancer biomarkers. Conclusion: The comparative tumour landscape revealed significant clinical, pathological and molecular differences between dnMBC and rMBC, indicating that dnMBC may be a separate biological entity to rMBC at the primary level with differing paths to metastasis. Additionally, we provided a list of potential serum biomarkers that may be useful in detecting dnMBC in its pre-metastatic window if such a window exists

Lithium modulates autophagy in esophageal and colorectal cancer cells and enhances the efficacy of therapeutic agents in vitro and in vivo

Many epithelial cancers, particularly gastrointestinal tract cancers, remain poor prognosis diseases, due to resistance to cytotoxic therapy and local or metastatic recurrence. We have previously shown that apoptosis incompetent esophageal cancer cells induce autophagy in response to chemotherapeutic agents and this can facilitate their recovery. However, known pharmacological inhibitors of autophagy could not enhance cytotoxicity. In this study, we have examined two well known, clinically approved autophagy inducers, rapamycin and lithium, for their effects on chemosensitivity in apoptosis incompetent cancer cells. Both lithium and rapamycin were shown to induce autophagosomes in esophageal and colorectal cancer cells by western blot analysis of LC3 isoforms, morphology and FACS quantitation of Cyto-ID or mCherry-GFP-LC3. Analysis of autophagic flux indicates inefficient autophagosome processing in lithium treated cells, whereas rapamycin treated cells showed efficient flux. Viability and recovery was assessed by clonogenic assays. When combined with the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil, rapamycin was protective. In contrast, lithium showed strong enhancement of non-apoptotic cell death. The combination of lithium with 5-fluorouracil or oxaliplatin was then tested in the syngenic mouse (balb/c) colorectal cancer model-CT26. When either chemotherapeutic agent was combined with lithium a significant reduction in tumor volume was achieved. In addition, survival was dramatically increased in the combination group (p 50% of animals achieving long term cure without re-occurrence (> 1 year tumor free). Thus, combination treatment with lithium can substantially improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents in apoptosis deficient cancer cells. Induction of compromised autophagy may contribute to this cytotoxicity

Cattle farmers’ perceptions of risk and risk management strategies

This study analyzes cattle farmers’ perceptions of risk and risk management strategies in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. We use survey data from a sample of 356 farmers based on multistage random sampling. Factor analysis is employed to classify scores of risk and management strategies, and multiple regression is then used to investigate the relationship of scores and farmers’ characteristics. The results demonstrate that shortage of family labor, high price of fodder and limited farm income were perceived as the most important risks. Use of veterinary services, parasite control and loan utilization were perceived as the most important strategies to manage risks. Livestock disease and labor shortage were perceived as less of a risk by farmers who adopted the practice of zero grazing compared to other farmers, pointing to the potential of this practice for risk reduction. We find strong evidence that farmers engage in multiple risk management practices in order to reduce losses due to cattle morbidity and mortality. The results suggest that government strategies that aim at reducing farmers’ risk need to be tailored to specific farm and farmer characteristics. Findings from this study have potentially important policy implications for risk management strategies in developing countries