The Value Chain of Farmed African Catfish in Uganda

Catfish farming has increased over the past decade in Uganda. In order for this emerging industry to be sustainable, systematic production and marketing are essential. This paper discusses the existing catfish farming industry in Uganda and its value chains. Analysis is done to answer questions on the industry structure, value chains, value distribution and how relationships among actors have influenced profitability. It further draws from the experience of established Icelandic producers to suggest value creation changes that can improve profitability in catfish farming value chains in Uganda. The main findings indicate lack of cooperation in the domestic value chain that has led to vulnerability of farmers though the chain has potential for higher income. Cooperation and governance in the regional export value chain has improved its performance in the industry with farmers having better bargaining power and price control. The paper concludes that, due to size, cooperation among actors in the domestic value chain is a must to improve profitability while consistence in supply of quality and quantity will improve competitiveness of the regional export value chain

Structural changes in the Icelandic fisheries sector - a value chain analysis

This pilot study maps the structural changes in the Icelandic fisheries sector from 1990 to present, from the general to the specific. The background is the radical and substantial changes in the structure of harvesting, production and processing; in the export activities and marketing in Icelandic fisheries. The main characteristics of the fisheries sector have changed from being a centralised, regulated and an alliance based structure to a deregulated, diversified and a vertical integrated structure. The pilot study focuses on the changes in the structure of the value chain in the Icelandic fisheries analyzing the main forces of these changes. The study addresses the impact of macro-environmental changes on the seafood value chain and the seafood sectors reaction to these changes. The methodology is built on the analysis of organisational theory and on statistical analysis and micro-economic assessment. The value chains are described and analysed for selected major types of products according to the relative share of each of these products in the total production of seafood. The focus will be on the individual segments (levels) in the value chain

The Role of Fish-Markets in the Icelandic Value Chain of Cod

The two main pillars of the Icelandic fishing industry are the large vertically integrated fishing companies and the SMEs, specialised in fishing, producing or marketing. In order to understand how they are able to function side by side and at the same time secure a relatively high value added for the domestic part of the Icelandic value chain of cod, a closer look at the functions and operations of the Icelandic fish markets is needed. In the authors’ recent studies on structural changes in the fisheries value chain in Iceland from 1990 to 2007, six dissimilar main operational strategies were identified. Common to all of those was the need for an efficient use of the Icelandic fish markets. Three distinctive effects of fish markets were identified: firstly, specialisation, where large and small fisheries companies use the fish markets to swap or sell all other species than needed in their specialised production (usually to SMEs producers specializing in those species); secondly, to gain stability in sourcing, where companies source raw material from the fish markets and top-up when there is lack of certain species (or sizes) from the companies’ own boats and; thirdly, the market driven function or effect (market orientated value creation). To study this facilitating and supporting effect of fish markets on the on the progress of the Icelandic fisheries sector further, the focus is now the importance of fish markets from the time of their establishment in Iceland in 1987. The research is based on semi-structured and in-depth interviews with managers of a number of Icelandic fishing and processing companies and is a part of an ongoing research on the value chain structure and on organisational- and productivity changes in the Icelandic fisheries sector.Keywords: Markets and Trade, Fisheries Economics, Supply and Value ChainsKeywords: Markets and Trade, Fisheries Economics, Supply and Value Chain

The Value Chain of Yellow Fin Tuna in Sri Lanka

The fishing industry is particularly important for Sri Lankans for the domestic supply but there is also a small but growing export market for high value products. The potential for economic development lies there with yellowfin tuna as the most important specie. In this research the efficiency and productivity of the yellowfin tuna value chain in Sri Lanka was studied. The main method emphasis was on interviews with value chain actors (primary data) but secondary data analysis was also used when available. The lack of reliable secondary data from Sri Lanka fisheries made the use of primary data necessary. Interviews were conducted from late 2007 until July 2008. The conclusion is that two different value chains are characteristic for the Sri Lankan yellowfin tuna industry; the domestic market value chain and the export market value chain. The local market is highly regulated and price oriented with low emphasis on quality. The export market is characterized by demand for quality and high prices. It relies heavily on the landings of foreign vessels. Additional emphasis on the export market could increase revenues of the sector but for that structural changes are essential. The local vessels are generally too small and poorly equipped to meet the quality requirements of the export market. For the local fleet there are considerable opportunities for improving quality and reducing costs. Main obstacles are the lack of knowledge and unstructured flow of information between fishermen and processors/exporters, as well as the lack of trust between actors.Keywords: Markets and Trade, Fisheries Economics, Supply and Value ChainsKeywords: Markets and Trade, Fisheries Economics, Supply and Value Chain

Deep Sea Fishing in Sri Lanka

The deep sea fisheries in Sri Lanka have been in existence since the late 1980s. After 2000 a significant growth has been experienced in the industry. This has mostly been due to the rapid increase of new vessels with modern technology and the development of export market opportunities. The Sri Lankan deep sea fishing totalled 102 kMT in 2008 or around 41% of the country’s marine fisheries catch that year. The authors’ research aimed at both determining the economic efficiency and estimating critical operational factors for different length groups of the deep sea fisheries vessels operating in Sri Lanka. Building on studies from Merrilene Peramune in 2005 and Gunnar Thordarson in 2008, a new interview survey was conducted. A cross sectional questionnaire survey interview data, taken during January through August of 2009 on operating costs, income and trip length of deep sea vessels was undertaken in order to collect data from a convenience sample. The sample consisted of 89 captains operating on multiday boats out of the 3,318 deep sea vessels operating in 2008. The findings suggest a strong link between size and revenue supporting earlier conclusions that most of the multi-day boats (smaller than 40 feet) are unsuitable for providing fish quality fulfilling export standards. This is mostly due to the poor fish preservation systems of the smaller deep sea vessels and the lack of coordinated fishing and marketing. It is suggested that in order to improve the quality of the catch collective fishing and information sharing should be implemented

A Comparison of the Icelandic Cod Value Chain and the Yellow Fin Tuna Value Chain in Sri Lanka

Research of value chains in fish industries indicates that there is great difference in value creation of the domestic part of the value chain between countries with underdeveloped fish industries and developed fish industries. This comparison is founded on the authors´ research on the value chains of Icelandic cod and Yellow fin tuna in Sri Lanka. The research is done in cooperation between the University of Akureyri, the United Nations University - Fisheries Training Programme and the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) in Sri Lanka. The main emphasis was to uncover underlying causes for the possible differences in the value creation in the chains. The results show a great difference of the relative domestic value creation for the two countries, where the valued retention of the domestic part is relatively much greater for the Icelandic value chain. Similar result for comparable value chains has been shown in 2006 by Gudmundsson, Ashe and Nielsen in their paper on the Revenue distribution through the Seafood value chain. The research indicates that this difference can partly be traced to the different structure of the value chains, highlighting differences in relationships between actors and in trust. The difference in flow of information and knowledge is also an important factor in explaining the dissimilarity as well as different strategic positioning, investment opportunities and fishery policies.Keywords: Markets and Trade, Supply and Value Chains, Fisheries EconomicsKeywords: Markets and Trade, Supply and Value Chains, Fisheries Economic

NAC blocks Cystatin C amyloid complex aggregation in a cell system and in skin of HCCAA patients.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadHereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy is a dominantly inherited disease caused by a leucine to glutamine variant of human cystatin C (hCC). L68Q-hCC forms amyloid deposits in brain arteries associated with micro-infarcts, leading ultimately to paralysis, dementia and death in young adults. To evaluate the ability of molecules to interfere with aggregation of hCC while informing about cellular toxicity, we generated cells that produce and secrete WT and L68Q-hCC and have detected high-molecular weight complexes formed from the mutant protein. Incubations of either lysate or supernatant containing L68Q-hCC with reducing agents glutathione or N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) breaks oligomers into monomers. Six L68Q-hCC carriers taking NAC had skin biopsies obtained to determine if hCC deposits were reduced following NAC treatment. Remarkably, ~50-90% reduction of L68Q-hCC staining was observed in five of the treated carriers suggesting that L68Q-hCC is a clinical target for reducing agents.Artic Therapeutics LLC Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM). Spai

Computer controlled TorqEaser

Í þessari ritgerð er skoðaður fýsileiki þess að setja upp svokallaðan tölvustýrðan vægislétti, sem stýrir rafhleðslu inn á rafgeyma með púlsvíddarmótuðum hætti (PWM). Þessi tölvustýrði vægisléttir nýtist við rafhleðslu í vindrafstöðvum og sólarrafstöðvum úti á landsbyggðinni, í símstöðvar, fjarstýrðar sendistöðvar (fjallastöðvar sem dæmi), endurvarpsstöðvar, sumarbústaði, ljósvita, flug- og sjóvita, fyrirtæki, hjólhýsi, báta og fleiri staði. Þetta er aðferð sem miðar að því að gera vindrafstöðvar að betri kosti. Vægisléttir auðveldar framleiðslu á rafmagni við lítinn vindstyrk. Til þess að kanna hentugleika og nákvæmni búnaðarins var búin til smækkuð útgáfa af rafstöð til þess að líkja eftir vindrafstöð. Lítil rafvél knýr lítinn þriggja fasa rafal til þess að herma eftir vindrafstöðinni. Þessi rafall er tengdur við vægislétti með tilheyrandi hleðslufyrirkomulagi í gegnum þriggja fasa heilbylgju afriðil. Þessi vægisléttir er stýrður af forritaðri örtölvu. Í gegnum vægisléttinn fer rafmagn frá rafalinum, sem hleður upp rafgeymi. Niðurstöður sýna að hægt er að nota vægislétti til þess að létta gang vindrafstöðva. Vel gekk að meta magn framleiðslu á rafmagni yfir rafgeyminn við prufukeyrslu líkansins með uppsettum tölvustýrðum vægislétti með viðeigandi mælitækjum. Með þessu móti var tilgáta um gagnsemi vægisléttis sannprófuð. Til frekari staðfestingar var útbúin aflmeiri útgáfa af samsvarandi vægislétti