An empirical study on income and efficiency of pond fish and nursery fish production in some selected areas of Pabna, Bangladesh

The study was designed to determine the costs, returns and relative profitability of pond fish and nursery fish production. In order to attain this objective, a total of 70 producers: 35 producing pond fish and 35 producing nursery fish were selected on the basis of purposive random sampling technique from 6 villages under two Upazilas (Sujanagar and Santhia) of Pabna district. It was estimated that per hectare per year gross cost of pond fish production was Tk 65,918 while gross return and net return were Tk 91,707 and Tk 25,789 respectively. Per hectare per year gross cost of nursery fish production was Tk 87,489 while gross return and net return were Tk 1,39,272 and Tk 51,783 respectively. The findings revealed that nursery fish production was more profitable than pond fish production. Cobb-Douglas production function was applied to realize the specific effect of the factors on pond fish and nursery fish production. It was observed that most of the included variables had significant impact on pond fish and nursery fish production. Out of five variables included in the function, all the variables had positive impact on return from pond fish production but stock value of pond, material cost and pond area had positive impact on return from nursery fish production

Investment in fish seed multiplication farms in Bangladesh: Evidences of an attractive business

This study mainly evaluated the profitability of Fish Seed Multiplication Farms (FSMFs) having hatchery, nursery and hatchery-cum-nursery located in the districts of Jessore, Jhenidah and Narail in Bangladesh. The general findings of the study were that the investment in FSMFs with hatchery, nursery and hatchery-cum-nursery was highly profitable business. The results clearly indicated that the investment on hatchery was the most profitable than those of nursery and hatchery-cum-nursery operations from the viewpoints of individual investors. The results of sensitivity analysis suggested that the investment in nursery farm was a risky business with 20 per cent increase in operation and management as well was production costs or 20 per cent reduction in benefits if other things remaining the same. It was also evident from the study that the investors of FSMFs had currently been facing some crucial problems, which among others are: problems of inbreeding, shortage of brood fish, incidence of diseases, unavailability of certain inputs and lack of credit

Aquaculture for income and nutrition: Final report

The United States Agency for International Development-Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (USAID-AIN) project, implemented by WorldFish, emphasized technology development for improved fish strains, and capacity building in hatcheries and nurseries for wider dissemination and uptake among small- and medium-scale household and commercial producers. Improving nutritional benefits from household aquaculture investment was also an important activity of the project. Specifically, AIN aimed to increase aquaculture production by developing hatcheries and nurseries, disseminating improved fish and shrimp seed, enhancing farm management skills of smallholder farmers, promoting new technologies to expand commercial aquaculture, developing backward and forward market linkages, supporting policy reform and building capacity of the public and private sectors, which resulted in increased productivity and revenue for farmers. This report also highlights the major achievements of the AIN project between 2011 and 2016

Impact of ecological changes on Sydney rock oyster genetics and microbiomes

Within Australia, the Sydney rock oyster (SRO) is cultivated mainly in New South Wales and Southern Queensland. Their cultivation is now threatened by many biotic and abiotic stressors such as QX (Queensland Unknown), winter mortality, temperature and salinity variation due to rainfall. Changing environmental conditions influence the oyster's immune system along with the presence of pathogens and virulence. The microbiome also fluctuates with biotic and abiotic changes, but sometimes the relationship between host, environment and pathogens is not visible. Therefore, I have used SRO as a model to better understand their genetics and microbiomes in this thesis study. The aims of this research were to distinguish cultivated oysters from wild oysters and their inbreeding potential using molecular markers; to assess the transfer of microbiome communities in cultivated and wild oysters and their microbial composition differences; and to determine the level of salinity stressing the growth and survival rates of SRO. Two molecular markers, exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) primer pair markers, were developed and used to distinguish cultivated from wild oysters and to measure their inbreeding potential. By using the genome of Saccostrea glomerata as a reference, I therefore designed and examined 3 EPIC primer pairs for SRO. Another experiment was performed on oyster rearing in aquariums to assess if microbiome communities in cultivated and wild oysters can transfer from oyster to oyster and to determine the microbial composition differences in oysters during 3 experimental periods: microbiota of cultured SRO, microbiota of wild SRO, and microbiota of SRO in a mixed period of rearing. Two bioassay experiments were carried out to determine the level of salinity stressing the growth and survival rates of SRO

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Technology-Based Approach for Preventing Excess Weight Gain during Pregnancy among Women with Overweight

© Copyright © 2017 Chao, Srinivas, Studt, Diewald, Sarwer and Allison. Objective: Overweight/obesity and excess weight gain during pregnancy are associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Few interventions have been effective in limiting gestational weight gain among women with overweight or obesity. This pilot, randomized clinical trial compared treatment as usual (TAU) to a lifestyle modification program delivered via phone for the prevention of excess gestational weight gain in women who had overweight or obesity. Methods: Participants included 41 pregnant women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 (mean age = 28.7 ± 5.8 years; mean pre-gravid BMI = 31.2 ± 6.2 kg/m2; 54% black, 39% white). The intervention group (n = 20) received weekly telephone counseling sessions and used WiFi scales to monitor their weight from weeks 16 to 36 of pregnancy. We compared differences in weight and birth outcomes for the intervention vs. the TAU group (n = 21). Results: The intervention and TAU groups did not differ with respect to: gestational weight gain (15.5 ± 5.3 vs. 13.3 ± 6.8 kg, respectively); proportion gaining above the 2009 Institute of Medicine recommended weight range (83 vs. 70%); and weight gain from pre-pregnancy weight to 6 weeks postpartum (4.8 ± 4.6 vs. 3.0 ± 5.5 kg). Other birth and health outcomes also did not differ. Conclusion: A telemedicine intervention designed to decrease logistical burden on participants was not more successful in reducing excessive weight gain during pregnancy as compared to TAU. Future studies should examine more intensive forms of remote treatment beginning earlier in pregnancy as well as interventions promoting a healthy weight prior to pregnancy

Course of Depressive Symptoms and Treatment in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-2) Study

Objective To examine changes in depressive symptoms and treatment in the first three years following bariatric surgery. Design and Methods The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 is an observational cohort study of adults (n=2,458) who underwent a bariatric surgical procedure at one of ten US hospitals between 2006–9. This study includes 2,148 participants who completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) at baseline and ≥ one follow-up visit in years 1–3. Results At baseline, 40.4% self-reported treatment for depression. At least mild depressive symptoms (BDI score≥10) were reported by 28.3%; moderate (BDI score 19–29) and severe (BDI score ≥30) symptoms were uncommon (4.2% and 0.5%, respectively). Mild-to-severe depressive symptoms independently increased the odds (OR=1.75; p=.03) of a major adverse event within 30 days of surgery. Compared with baseline, symptom severity was significantly lower at all follow-up time points (e.g., mild-to-severe symptomatology was 8.9%, 6 months; 8.4%, 1yr; 12.2%, 2yrs; 15.6%, 3yrs; ps<.001), but increased between 1 and 3 years postoperatively (p<.01). Change in depressive symptoms was significantly related to change in body mass index (r=.42; p<0001). Conclusion Bariatric surgery has a positive impact on depressive features. However, data suggest some deterioration in improvement after the first postoperative year

APOLO-Bari, an internet-based program for longitudinal support of bariatric surgery patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Despite evidence of successful weight loss for bariatric surgery patients, some patients experience considerable weight regain over the long term. Given the strong association between post-surgery health behaviors and outcomes, aftercare intervention to address key behaviors appears to be a reasonable relapse-prevention strategy. As the burden of obesity rates increases in healthcare centers, an internet-based program appears to be a reasonable strategy for supporting bariatric surgery patients in the long term. The primary purpose of the current project is to develop and test the efficacy and perceived utility of APOLO-Bari.Methods/design: This study is a randomized control trial, which will be conducted in two hospital centers in the North of Portugal; it includes a control group receiving treatment as usual and an intervention group receiving the APOLO-Bari program for one year in addition to treatment as usual. A total of 180 male and female participants who underwent bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve or gastric bypass surgery) for 12 to 20 months will be recruited. Both groups will complete a similar set of questionnaires at baseline, every 4 months until the end of the intervention, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Assessment includes anthropometric variables and psychological self-report measures. The primary outcome measure will be weight regain measured at the end of treatment, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The secondary aims are to test the cost-effectiveness of the intervention and to investigate psychological predictors and trajectories of weight regain. APOLO-Bari was developed to address the weight regain problem in the bariatric population by offering additional guidance to bariatric patients during the postoperative period. The program includes: (a) a psychoeducational cognitive-behavioral-based self-help manual, (b) a weekly feedback messaging system that sends a feedback statement related to information reported by the participant, and (c) interactive chat sessions scheduled witThis research was partially supported by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through a European Union COMPETE program grant to Eva Conceicao (IF/01219/2014 and PTDC/MHC-PCL/4974/2012), a doctoral scholarship to Ana Pinto-Bastos (SFRH/BD/104159/2014), a doctoral scholarship to Sofia Ramalho (SFRH/BD/104182/2014), and a postdoctoral scholarship to Ana Rita Vaz (SFRH/BPD/94490/2013), co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio