The aquaculture supply chain in the time of covid-19 pandemic: Vulnerability, resilience, solutions and priorities at the global scale.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has had severe, unpredictable and synchronous impacts on all levels of perishable food supply chains (PFSC), across multiple sectors and spatial scales. Aquaculture plays a vital and rapidly expanding role in food security, in some cases overtaking wild caught fisheries in the production of high-quality animal protein in this PFSC. We performed a rapid global assessment to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related emerging control measures on the aquaculture supply chain. Socio-economic effects of the pandemic were analysed by surveying the perceptions of stakeholders, who were asked to describe potential supply-side disruption, vulnerabilities and resilience patterns along the production pipeline with four main supply chain components: a) hatchery, b) production/processing, c) distribution/logistics and d) market. We also assessed different farming strategies, comparing land- vs. sea-based systems; extensive vs. intensive methods; and with and without integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, IMTA. In addition to evaluating levels and sources of economic distress, interviewees were asked to identify mitigation solutions adopted at local / internal (i.e., farm-site) scales, and to express their preference on national / external scale mitigation measures among a set of a priori options. Survey responses identified the potential causes of disruption, ripple effects, sources of food insecurity, and socio-economic conflicts. They also pointed to various levels of mitigation strategies. The collated evidence represents a first baseline useful to address future disaster-driven responses, to reinforce the resilience of the sector and to facilitate the design reconstruction plans and mitigation measures, such as financial aid strategies.

Meeting the food and nutrition needs of the poor: the role of fish and the opportunities and challenges emerging from the rise of aquaculture.

People who are food and nutrition insecure largely reside in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and for many, fish represents a rich source of protein, micronutrients and essential fatty acids. The contribution of fish to household food and nutrition security depends upon availability, access and cultural and personal preferences. Access is largely determined by location, seasonality and price but at the individual level it also depends upon a person's physiological and health status and how fish is prepared, cooked and shared among household members. The sustained and rapid expansion of aquaculture over the past 30 years has resulted in >40% of all fish now consumed being derived from farming. While aquaculture produce increasingly features in the diets of many Asians, it is much less apparent among those living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here, per capita fish consumption has grown little and despite the apparently strong markets and adequate biophysical conditions, aquaculture has yet to develop. The contribution of aquaculture to food and nutrition security is not only just an issue of where aquaculture occurs but also of what is being produced and how and whether the produce is as accessible as that from capture fisheries. The range of fish species produced by an increasingly globalized aquaculture industry differs from that derived from capture fisheries. Farmed fishes are also different in terms of their nutrient content, a result of the species being grown and of rearing methods. Farmed fish price affects access by poor consumers while the size at which fish is harvested influences both access and use. This paper explores these issues with particular reference to Asia and Africa and the technical and policy innovations needed to ensure that fish farming is able to fulfil its potential to meet the global population's food and nutrition needs.

Tacrine and rate of progression in Alzheimer's disease--relation to ApoE allele genotype.

Today, cognitive impairment can be successfully treated with acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (AChE-I) in many, but not all, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate the relation between tacrine treatment, inheritance of ApoE epsilon4 alleles, and rate of progression, the differences in MMSE and CIBIC scores (efficacy parameters) after 6 and 12 months of tacrine (an AChE-I) treatment were investigated in 145 AD patients. Of these, 84 were ApoE epsilon4-positive (ApoE4) and 61 were ApoE epsilon4-negative (ApoE2-3). No differences were found after 6 months of treatment, but after 12 months the CIBIC scores revealed that the ApoE4 patients had declined more than the ApoE2-3 patients (p < 0.05). No differences were found for the last 6 months of treatment. The results primarily suggest a faster rate of decline in the ApoE4 AD compared to the ApoE2-3, but may also reflect that ApoE epsilon4 genotype inheritance is a negative predictor of treatment effect of tacrine in AD patients.

Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies.

Global production of farmed fish and shellfish has more than doubled in the past 15 years. Many people believe that such growth relieves pressure on ocean fisheries, but the opposite is true for some types of aquaculture. Farming carnivorous species requires large inputs of wild fish for feed. Some aquaculture systems also reduce wild fish supplies through habitat modification, wild seedstock collection and other ecological impacts. On balance, global aquaculture production still adds to world fish supplies; however, if the growing aquaculture industry is to sustain its contribution to world fish supplies, it must reduce wild fish inputs in feed and adopt more ecologically sound management practices.

Epidemiological evaluation of the salmonella-controlling effect of a nationwide use of a competitive exclusion culture in poultry.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the salmonella contamination-controlling effect of a nationwide use of a competitive exclusion culture in poultry. During a 5-yr period, a bacterial flora from caecum of adult birds was given to broiler chickens in order to control salmonella infection. The culture was given on 144 occasions to a total of 2.86 million chickens. The base for the evaluation was the compulsory and regular control for salmonella contamination conducted according to the salmonella control program applied to Sweden. Epidemiological evaluation, especially in relation to the use of the culture during a period when salmonella was spread from a feed factory, strongly supports the conclusion that the culture has a salmonella contamination-preventing effect under field conditions, as earlier had been found in laboratory studies. Questionnaires answered by producers did not indicate significant adverse effects of the treatment.

Animal consumption of antibiotics and chemotherapeutic drugs in Sweden during 1980, 1982 and 1984.

The total animal consumption of antibiotic and chemotherapeutic drugs in Sweden during 1980, 1982 and 1984 has been studied. The study also included coccidiostatic, antiparasitic and antimycotic drugs. The total animal consumption during the years mentioned was 66.1, 68.8 and 72.6 tons of active substance, respectively, and the amount of antibacterial drugs for therapy was 28.7 (43.4%), 29.1 (42.5%) and 34.1 (47.0%) tons, respectively. Tetracycline, penicillin, sulphonamide and aminoglycoside were the four major groups of antibiotics used for therapy of bacterial infections in animals. The consumption was related to the metabolic bodyweights of animals which were the potential consumers. A comparison was also made with the corresponding human consumption during 1980. The data on antibiotic consumption can be divided by county and compared to the animal population and disease situation in each county. This study thus offers a good base for further investigations on different aspects of the use of antibiotics.

Benefit/cost aspects on voluntary control of bovine leukosis.

An organized voluntary control of bovine leukosis, motivated by export interests, has existed in Sweden since 1969. Owing to reduced prospects for export, the economic justification for the control has been questioned. The present study comprises programs and economical calculations for a twenty-year period and considering three different modes of action, namely A. Continued organized control. B. Discarding of all precautionary measures. C. Private voluntary control based on herd examination and certain precautions in restocking routines. Cost/benefit ratios, net present value (NPV), and effective interest rate (IRR) have been calculated. Profitability throughout was found to be worst in alternative A, similar in the B and C alternatives at a low export rate, and best in alternative C in the case where exports comprise at least 60 animals per year.