Winter wheat roots grow twice as deep as spring wheat roots, is this important for N uptake and N leaching losses?

Cropping systems comprising winter catch crops followed by spring wheat could reduce N leaching risks compared to traditional winter wheat systems in humid climates. We studied the soil mineral N (Ninorg) and root growth of winter- and spring wheat to 2.5 m depth during three years. Root depth of winter wheat (2.2 m) was twice that of spring wheat, and this was related to much lower amounts of Ninorg in the 1 to 2.5 m layer after winter wheat (81 kg Ninorg ha-1 less). When growing winter catch crops before spring wheat, N content in the 1 to 2.5 m layer after spring wheat was not different from that after winter wheat. The results suggest that by virtue of its deep rooting, winter wheat may not lead to high levels of leaching as it is often assumed in humid climates. Deep soil and root measurements (below 1 m) in this experiment were essential to answer the questions we posed

Overexpression and altered glycosylation of MUC1 in malignant mesothelioma

Current interest in the MUC1/EMA mucin relates to its role in malignancy, and its potential as a therapeutic target. MUC1/EMA expression has been observed in the majority of epithelioid mesotheliomas. However, little is known of the characteristics of MUC1/EMA in mesothelioma. Herein, we studied the cell surface and soluble expression of the MUC1/EMA glycoprotein, and determined the mRNA and genomic expression profiles in mesothelioma. We found that the anti-MUC1 antibody, E29, was the most diagnostically useful of seven antibody clones examined with a sensitivity of 84% (16 out of 19 cases) and no false positive results. MUC1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in mesothelioma samples than in benign mesothelial cells. No amplification of the MUC1 gene was observed by FISH. Seven of 9 mesothelioma samples expressed MUC1-secreted mRNA isoform in addition to the archetypal MUC1/transmembrane form. CA15.3 (soluble MUC1) levels were significantly higher in the serum of mesothelioma patients than in healthy controls but were not significantly different to levels in patients with benign asbestos-related disease. CA15-3 in effusions could differentiate malignant from benign effusions but were not specific for mesothelioma. Thus, as in other cancers, alterations in MUC1 biology occur in mesothelioma and these results suggest that specific MUC1 characteristics may be useful for mesothelioma diagnosis and should also be investigated as a potential therapeutic target

Do Women Receive Worse Financial Advice?

Forthcoming at The Journal of Finance</p

The need to breed crop varieties suitable for organic farming, using wheat, tomato and broccoli as examples: A review

It is estimated that more than 95% of organic production is based on crop varieties that were bred for the conventional high-input sector. Recent studies have shown that such varieties lack important traits required under organic and low-input production conditions. This is primarily due to selection in conventional breeding programmes being carried out in the background of high inorganic fertilizer and crop protection inputs. Also, some of the traits (e.g., semi-dwarf genes) that were introduced to address problems like lodging in cereals in high-input systems were shown to have negative side-effects (reduced resistance to diseases such as Septoria, lower protein content and poorer nutrient-use efficiency) on the performance of varieties under organic and low-input agronomic conditions. This review paper, using wheat, tomato and broccoli as examples, describes (1) the main traits required under low-input conditions, (2) current breeding programmes for organic, low-input agriculture, (3) currently available breeding and/or selection approaches, and (4) the benefits and potential negative side-effects of different breeding methodologies and their relative acceptability under organic farming principles. © 2010 Royal Netherlands Society for Agricultural Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved