A bibliography on post-harvest losses in cereals and pulses with particular reference to tropical and subtropical countries (G110)

Several excellent reviews on losses which occur during storage have been published in the last 10 to 15 years but very little has been written on losses which occur at all points in the post harvest system (from the mature crop in the field to the time of consumption). This bibliography encompasses the complete system for losses i11 cereals and pulses in an attempt to fill in some of the gaps but perhaps as important, it also shows where information is lacking. The list of references is by no means exhaustive and only includes those references which the author had to hand by the end of July 1976. An updating volume may be published when sufficient additional references have been collected

A guide to the objective and reliable estimation of food losses in small scale farmer storage

Losses in storage are of different types and the ultimate use of any estimates must be considered when conducting loss assessments. Selection of areas, farmers, and grain samples should be made using standard procedures. The grain sample may be analysed using several alternative methods to yield an estimate of loss within the sample. This information is then combined with data on consumption to produce an estimate of total loss for a storage season. The main causes of loss are insect and vertebrate pests, and fungi, The guide is based mainly on experience with maize in Africa

The evaluation of losses in maize stored on a selection of small farms in Zambia, with particular reference to methodology

A report on research into quantitative and qualitative losses incurred during maize storage on selected small farms is summarised. Various methods of analysing samples for loss were tested. The best estimate of loss within a sample was obtained by comparing the weight of a standard volume of grain from the sample with that of a reference sample obtained at the time of storage. Estimates of loss over a storage season were obtained by integrating losses within samples with the pattern of consumption over the storage period. Monetary values were placed on these losses. Methods for evaluating changes in storage practices are described and the costs and benefits of a simple improved storage technique are calculated

The evaluation of losses in maize stored on a selection of small farms in Zambia with particular reference to the development of methodology (G109)

The terms of reference for this project were: (1) to develop a satisfactory methodology to evaluate the extent of losses; (2) to establish reasonably reliable cost- benefit relationships for a simple improved farm storage technique; and (3) to recommend whether a longer term project should be undertaken over a wider area to evaluate cost-benefit relationships of improved storage techniques for the purpose of planning development programmes. Following these criteria the report makes a detailed study of various methods of assessing losses. These methods are then applied to maize stored by small farmers in selected areas of Zambia and an evaluation made of the costs and benefits to these farmers of adopting an improved storage technique

UK Research Spotlight [2019]

Simplifying Grain Drill Calibration J.M. Buckman, H. Adams, and C.D. Teutsch Performance of Stockers Grazing Diverse Summer Annual Forage Mixtures K.M. Mercier, C.D. Teutsch, S.R. Smith, E.L. Ritchey, K.H. Burdine, and E.S. Vanzant Nitrogen Application on Diverse Summer Annual Forage Mixtures K.M. Mercier, C.D. Teutsch, S.R. Smith, E.L. Ritchey, K.H. Burdine, and E.S. Vanzant Cultivar X Aphicide Interactions C.D. Teutsch, R.T. Villanueva, Z.J. Vilora, G.L Olson, and S.R. Smith Using Summer Annuals to Transform Forage Systems in Western Kentucky H. Adams, J.M. Buckman, and C.D. Teutsch Can Targeted Management Reduce Nimblewill in Pastures? K. Lea and S.R. Smith Nutritive Value and Dry Matter Yield of reduced-Lignin Alfalfa in Grass Mixtures S.R. Smith, J.H. Cherney, C.C. Sheaffer, D.J.R. Cherney, and M.S. Wells Using the Kentucky Forage Council Board to Set University of Kentucky Extension Programming and Agent Training Priorities J. Henning, S.R. Smith, C. Teutsch, and T. Missu

Hugues Faure, 1928–2003: The unique adventure of his life

Hugues Faure was not only one of the greatest pioneers of the study of the Quaternary and a man of outstanding personality, with the highest integrity, an uncommon strength of character, with a lot of kindness and generosity, but also a man who made his dreams, conceived in the inhospitable solitudes of the Sahara, come true. He was very young when he chose his way: barely 10 years old and his passion for geology already filled his life. It was in Africa, a continent he discovered at his earliest years as a field-geologist, and deeply loved, that he nursed and matured many of his most stimulating ideas on Quaternary environmental change. It was in the desert that he built up his exceptional personality and found his truth, which finally allowed him to accomplish his destiny. Hugues Faure was born in Paris, on the 11th March 1928, the son of a jeweller. The comfortable circumstances of the family were darkened by his father's death when Hugues was only 3 years old. As a consequence of this sad event, Hugues used to spend in England most of his school holidays far from his family. Then during World War 2, he lived the exodus on the roads of France, cycling under the bombs, with his dog in his basket. He was 12 years old, and it was the end of his youth. His passion for earth sciences had began before the age of ten, when he started collecting flint and fossils from the chalk of the Paris Basin, and decided to stop playing piano, so as to devote himself to Geology. Hugues graduated in Mathematics from Lycée Jacques-Decour in 1948, and in Sciences from the Faculté des Sciences de Paris Sorbonne in 1949. On the same year he enrolled as a geologist of the “France of Overseas”, then as a hydrogeologist at the French Geological Survey (BRGM) (1949–1963), so as to work in Africa

Foreword: Control and Conservation of Lampreys Beyond 2020 – Proceedings from the 3rd Sea Lamprey International Symposium (SLIS III)

This special issue summarizes outcomes from the 3rd Sea Lamprey International Symposium (SLIS III; Fig. 1) held 28 July – 2 August 2019 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. The first two symposia (SLIS I and SLIS II) were held 30 July – 8 August 1979 at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan and 14–18 August 2000 at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, respectively. The published volumes from these symposia in 1980 (Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Volume 37, Issue 11) and 2003 (Journal of Great Lakes Research Volume 29, Supplement 1) have been invaluable references for the broader scientific community and for management agencies around the Laurentian Great Lakes; cited over 4800 and 3300 times, respectively. SLIS III was attended by over 150 scientists, biologists, resource managers, graduate students, and Commission advisors, including participants from Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Fig. 2). Similar to SLIS I and SLIS II, the goals of SLIS III were to provide a forum to (i) update and publish information on sea lamprey control and research on lampreys since SLIS II, (ii) exchange knowledge and ideas to bring practitioners to a common plateau of understanding, and (iii) develop innovative initiatives and stimulate new vigor in efforts to control sea lamprey in the Great Lakes and to conserve lampreys in their native ranges. The emphasis on conservation of lampreys is unique to SLIS III and reflects a heightened international recognition that scientific and management advances supporting sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes can benefit the global effort to conserve native lampreys and vice versa

Targeting apoptosis signaling in pancreatic cancer

The ability to escape apoptosis or programmed cell death is a hallmark of human cancers, for example pancreatic cancer. This can promote tumorigenesis, since too little cell death by apoptosis disturbs tissue homeostasis. Additionally, defective apoptosis signaling is the underlying cause of failure to respond to current treatment approaches, since therapy-mediated antitumor activity requires the intactness of apoptosis signaling pathways in cancer cells. Thus, the elucidation of defects in the regulation of apoptosis in pancreatic carcinoma can result in the identification of novel targets for therapeutic interference and for exploitation for cancer drug discovery. Keywords: apoptosis; pancreatic cancer; TRAIL; IAPs; mitochondri

The Impact of Selective-Logging and Forest Clearance for Oil Palm on Fungal Communities in Borneo

Tropical forests are being rapidly altered by logging, and cleared for agriculture. Understanding the effects of these land use changes on soil fungi, which play vital roles in the soil ecosystem functioning and services, is a major conservation frontier. Using 454-pyrosequencing of the ITS1 region of extracted soil DNA, we compared communities of soil fungi between unlogged, once-logged, and twice-logged rainforest, and areas cleared for oil palm, in Sabah, Malaysia. Overall fungal community composition differed significantly between forest and oil palm plantation. The OTU richness and Chao 1 were higher in forest, compared to oil palm plantation. As a proportion of total reads, Basidiomycota were more abundant in forest soil, compared to oil palm plantation soil. The turnover of fungal OTUs across space, true β-diversity, was also higher in forest than oil palm plantation. Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal abundance was significantly different between land uses, with highest relative abundance (out of total fungal reads) observed in unlogged forest soil, lower abundance in logged forest, and lowest in oil palm. In their entirety, these results indicate a pervasive effect of conversion to oil palm on fungal community structure. Such wholesale changes in fungal communities might impact the long-term sustainability of oil palm agriculture. Logging also has more subtle long term effects, on relative abundance of EcM fungi, which might affect tree recruitment and nutrient cycling. However, in general the logged forest retains most of the diversity and community composition of unlogged forest

Co-regulation of GABAA receptors by neurosteroids and protein kinases

γ-aminobutyric acid type-A (GABAA) receptors mediate inhibitory synaptic transmission in the CNS where neurosteroids and protein kinases are their most potent endogenous modulators. Acting individually, these can either enhance or depress receptor function depending on the type of neurosteroid or kinase present, and the subunit combination of the receptor. However, in vivo, these agents probably act in concert to modulate GABAA receptors and precisely ‘fine-tune’ inhibitory neurotransmission; although how this is achieved remains unclear. Therefore, the relationship between these two modulators, at α1β3γ2L and α4β3δ GABAA receptors, expressed in HEK293 cells, was investigated using whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology. At α1β3γ2L receptors, the potentiation of GABA responses by tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC) was reduced by PKC inhibition and enhanced by PKC activation, implying a role for this kinase in regulating neurosteroid potentiation. By comparison, neurosteroid potentiation was reduced at α1β3S408A,S409Aγ2L receptors, and was unaltered by PKC inhibitors or activators indicating that phosphorylation of the β3 subunit, by PKC, is important for regulating neurosteroid activity. To determine whether ‘extrasynaptic-type’ GABAA receptors are modulated similarly, experiments were also undertaken with α4β3δ and α4β3S408A,S409Aδ receptors. Neurosteroid potentiation was significantly reduced at both receptor subtypes after treatment with the protein kinase inhibitor, staurosporine. Staurosporine was notably less effective at α4β3S408A,S409Aδ receptors, suggesting that, although β3 subunit phosphorylation may play a role in the regulation of neurosteroid potentiation at α4β3δ receptors, it does not fully account for this modulation. Biochemical experiments on α4 subunits identified a new Ser/Thr phosphorylation site (S443). THDOC-mediated potentiation at α4S443Aβ3S408A,S409Aδ receptors was unaffected by protein kinase inhibition, strongly suggesting that phosphorylation of both the α4 and β3 subunits is required for the regulation of neurosteroid activity at α4β3δ receptors. Furthermore, Western blot analysis for wild-type α1β3γ2L receptors, revealed that THDOC increased phosphorylation of β3S408,S409 implying a ‘reverse’ pathway exists for neurosteroids to modulate the phosphorylation state of the GABAA receptor. Overall, these findings provide an important insight into the regulation of GABAA receptors in vivo, and into the mechanisms by which fine-tuning of GABAergic inhibitory transmission may be achieved by two endogenous neuromodulators