The North Wyke Farm Platform: effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture contents, runoff and associated water quality dynamics

This is the final version of the article. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The North Wyke Farm Platform was established as a United Kingdom national capability for collaborative research, training and knowledge exchange in agro-environmental sciences. Its remit is to research agricultural productivity and ecosystem responses to different management practices for beef and sheep production in lowland grasslands. A system based on permanent pasture was implemented on three 21-ha farmlets to obtain baseline data on hydrology, nutrient cycling and productivity for 2 years. Since then two farmlets have been modified by either (i) planned reseeding with grasses that have been bred for enhanced sugar content or deep-rooting traits or (ii) sowing grass and legume mixtures to reduce nitrogen fertilizer inputs. The quantities of nutrients that enter, cycle within and leave the farmlets were evaluated with data recorded from sensor technologies coupled with more traditional field study methods. We demonstrate the potential of the farm platform approach with a case study in which we investigate the effects of the weather, field topography and farm management activity on surface runoff and associated pollutant or nutrient loss from soil. We have the opportunity to do a full nutrient cycling analysis, taking account of nutrient transformations in soil, and flows to water and losses to air. The NWFP monitoring system is unique in both scale and scope for a managed land-based capability that brings together several technologies that allow the effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture levels, runoff and associated water quality dynamics to be studied in detail. HIGHLIGHTS: Can meat production systems be developed that are productive yet minimize losses to the environment?The data are from an intensively instrumented capability, which is globally unique and topical.We use sensing technologies and surveys to show the effect of pasture renewal on nutrient losses.Platforms provide evidence of the effect of meteorology, topography and farm activity on nutrient loss.The North Wyke Farm Platform is a UK National Capability supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC BB/J004308/1)

Population Synthesis in the Blue I. Synthesis of the Integrated Spectrum of 47 Tucanae from its Color-Magnitude Diagram

We perform an empirical synthesis of the blue integrated spectrum of the metal-rich globular cluster 47 Tucanae, based directly on the color-magnitude diagram of the cluster coupled to a moderately high-resolution spectral library. Freed from any significant dependence on theory, we are able to perform a fundamental test of the adequacy of the spectral library and its associated stellar parameters. Excellent fits are achieved for almost all absorption-line indices studied, provided the computations are corrected for two limitations of the spectral library, namely, the lack of a representative set of metal-poor giants and the absence of CN-strong stars. The latter effect is corrected by means of spectrum synthesis from model photospheres, considering the abundance pattern of CN-strong and CN-normal stars. We also need to perform a slight correction of the metallicity of the cluster (by --0.05 dex in relation to the standard value [Fe/H]=-0.7) in order to match the metal-line index measurements in the cluster spectrum. After these relatively small adjustments, the overall spectral agreement is good. Good fits are achieved for Hbeta, Hgamma, Mgb, , Ca4227 and Fe4383, and only Hdelta_F is overpredicted. Thus, ages inferred from Hdelta_F are slightly older than the ages based on the other Balmer lines, by ~ 3 Gyrs. The success of this exercise suggests that previous failures to synthesize the spectrum of 47 Tuc must have arisen from inadequacies in the theoretical evolutionary isochrones and/or luminosity functions. Such a possibility is considered in a companion paper

Persistent work-life conflict and health satisfaction - A representative longitudinal study in Switzerland

Background: The objectives of the present study were (1) to track work-life conflict in Switzerland during the years 2002 to 2008 and (2) to analyse the relationship between work-life conflict and health satisfaction, examining whether long-term work-life conflict leads to poor health satisfaction. Methods: The study is based on a representative longitudinal database (Swiss Household Panel), covering a six-year period containing seven waves of data collection. The sample includes 1261 persons, with 636 men and 625 women. Data was analysed by multi-level mixed models and analysis of variance with repeated measures. Results: In the overall sample, there was no linear increase or decrease of work-life conflict detected, in either its time-based or strain-based form. People with higher education were more often found to have a strong work-life conflict (time- and strain-based), and more men demonstrated a strong time-based work-life conflict than women (12.2% vs. 5%). A negative relationship between work-life conflict and health satisfaction over time was found. People reporting strong work-life conflict at every wave reported lower health satisfaction than people with consistently weak work-life conflict. However, the health satisfaction of those with a continuously strong work-life conflict did not decrease during the study period. Conclusions: Both time-based and strain-based work-life conflict are strongly correlated to health satisfaction. However, no evidence was found for a persistent work-life conflict leading to poor health satisfaction

Roles of instrumented farm-scale trials in trade-off assessments of pasture-based ruminant production systems

For livestock production systems to play a positive role in global food security, the balance between their benefits and disbenefits to society must be appropriately managed. Based on the evidence provided by field-scale randomised controlled trials around the world, this debate has traditionally centred on the concept of economic-environmental trade-offs, of which existence is theoretically assured when resource allocation is perfect on the farm. Recent research conducted on commercial farms indicates, however, that the economic-environmental nexus is not nearly as straightforward in the real world, with environmental performances of enterprises often positively correlated with their economic profitability. Using high-resolution primary data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, an intensively instrumented farm-scale ruminant research facility located in southwest United Kingdom, this paper proposes a novel, information-driven approach to carry out comprehensive assessments of economic-environmental trade-offs inherent within pasture-based cattle and sheep production systems. The results of a data-mining exercise suggest that a potentially systematic interaction exists between 'soil health', ecological surroundings and livestock grazing, whereby a higher level of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is associated with a better animal performance and less nutrient losses into watercourses, and a higher stocking density with greater botanical diversity and elevated SOC. We contend that a combination of farming system-wide trials and environmental instrumentation provides an ideal setting for enrolling scientifically sound and biologically informative metrics for agricultural sustainability, through which agricultural producers could obtain guidance to manage soils, water, pasture and livestock in an economically and environmentally acceptable manner. Priority areas for future farm-scale research to ensure long-term sustainability are also discussed

Inferring Binding Energies from Selected Binding Sites

We employ a biophysical model that accounts for the non-linear relationship between binding energy and the statistics of selected binding sites. The model includes the chemical potential of the transcription factor, non-specific binding affinity of the protein for DNA, as well as sequence-specific parameters that may include non-independent contributions of bases to the interaction. We obtain maximum likelihood estimates for all of the parameters and compare the results to standard probabilistic methods of parameter estimation. On simulated data, where the true energy model is known and samples are generated with a variety of parameter values, we show that our method returns much more accurate estimates of the true parameters and much better predictions of the selected binding site distributions. We also introduce a new high-throughput SELEX (HT-SELEX) procedure to determine the binding specificity of a transcription factor in which the initial randomized library and the selected sites are sequenced with next generation methods that return hundreds of thousands of sites. We show that after a single round of selection our method can estimate binding parameters that give very good fits to the selected site distributions, much better than standard motif identification algorithms

The impact on sleep of a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural pain management programme: a pilot study

Background: Reduced sleep quality is a common complaint among patients with chronic pain, with 50-80% of patients reporting sleep disturbance. Improvements in pain and quality of life measures have been achieved using a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme (CBT-PMP) that aims to recondition attitudes to pain, and improve patients' self-management of their condition. Despite its high prevalence in patients with chronic pain, there is very limited objective evidence for the effect of this intervention on sleep quality. The primary research objective is to investigate the short-term effect of a multidisciplinary CBTPMP on subjective (measured by Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index) and objective sleep quality (measured by Actigraphy) in patients with chronic pain by comparison with a control group. The secondary objectives will investigate changes in function and mood, and then explore the relationship between objective and subjective sleep quality and physical and psychological outcome measures. Methods/Design: Patients who fulfil the inclusion criteria for attendance on the multidisciplinary CBT-PMP in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin and are currently listed on the PMP waiting list will be invited to participate in this pilot study. Potential patients will be screened for sleep disturbance [determined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)]. Those patients with a sleep disturbance (PSQI >5) will be assigned to either the intervention group (immediate treatment), or control group (deferred treatment, i.e. the PMP they are listed for is more than six months away) based on where they appear on the waiting list. Baseline measures of sleep, function, and mood will be obtained using a combination of self-report questionnaires (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Short Form 36 health survey, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia), and functional outcome measures. Sleep will be measured for seven days using actigraphy (Actiwatch 7). These measures will be repeated after the four week multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme, and at a two month follow-up. The waiting list control group will be assessed at baseline, and two months later. Analysis for the primary outcome will include between group differences of subjective and objective sleep parameters from baseline to follow-up using Independent T-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. The secondary outcomes establishing relationships between the sleep variables and physical and psychological outcome measures will be established using multiple linear regression models. Discussion: This pilot study will evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary CBT-PMP on both subjective and objective measures of sleep in patients with chronic pain and provide guidance for a larger clinical trial. Trial Registration: Current controlled trial ISRCTN: ISRCTN7491359

A latent growth curve model to estimate electronic screen use patterns amongst adolescents aged 10 to 17 years

Background: High quality, longitudinal data describing young people's screen use across a number of distinct forms of screen activity is missing from the literature. This study tracked multiple screen use activities (passive screen use, gaming, social networking, web searching) amongst 10- to 17-year-old adolescents across 24 months. Methods: This study tracked the screen use of 1948 Australian students in Grade 5 (n = 636), Grade 7 (n = 672), and Grade 9 (n = 640) for 24 months. At approximately six-month intervals, students reported their total screen time as well as time spent on social networking, passive screen use, gaming, and web use. Patterns of screen use were determined using latent growth curve modelling. Results: In the Grades 7 and 9 cohorts, girls generally reported more screen use than boys (by approximately one hour a day), though all cohorts of boys reported more gaming. The different forms of screen use were remarkably stable, though specific cohorts showed change for certain forms of screen activity. Conclusion: These results highlight the diverse nature of adolescent screen use and emphasise the need to consider both grade and sex in future research and policy

Identification of Spt5 Target Genes in Zebrafish Development Reveals Its Dual Activity In Vivo

Spt5 is a conserved essential protein that represses or stimulates transcription elongation in vitro. Immunolocalization studies on Drosophila polytene chromosomes suggest that Spt5 is associated with many loci throughout the genome. However, little is known about the prevalence and identity of Spt5 target genes in vivo during development. Here, we identify direct target genes of Spt5 using fogsk8 zebrafish mutant, which disrupts the foggy/spt5 gene. We identified that fogsk8 and their wildtype siblings differentially express less than 5% of genes examined. These genes participate in diverse biological processes from stress response to cell fate specification. Up-regulated genes exhibit shorter overall gene length compared to all genes examined. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation in zebrafish embryos, we identified a subset of developmentally critical genes that are bound by both Spt5 and RNA polymerase II. The protein occupancy patterns on these genes are characteristic of both repressive and stimulatory elongation regulation. Together our findings establish Spt5 as a dual regulator of transcription elongation in vivo and identify a small but diverse set of target genes critically dependent on Spt5 during development

Effects of Acacia seyal and biochar on soil properties and sorghum yield in agroforestry systems in South Sudan

We studied the effects of Acacia seyal Del. intercropping and biochar soil amendment on soil physico-chemical properties and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) yields in a two-year field experiment conducted on a silt loam site near Renk in South Sudan. A split-plot design with three replications was used. The main factor was tree-cropping system (dense acacia + sorghum, scattered acacia + sorghum, and sole sorghum) and biochar (0 and 10 Mg ha(-1)) was the subplot factor. The two acacia systems had lower soil pH, N and higher C/N ratios compared to the sole sorghum system. Biochar significantly increased soil C, exchangeable K+ contents, field capacity and available water content, but reduced soil exchangeable Ca2+ and effective CEC, and had no effect on soil pH. Acacia intercropping significantly reduced sorghum grain yields while biochar had no significant effect on sorghum yields. The land equivalent ratio (LER) for sorghum yield was 0.3 for both acacia systems in 2011, with or without biochar, but increased in 2012 to 0.6 for the scattered acacia system when combined with biochar. The reduction in sorghum yields by the A. seyal trees was probably due to a combination of competition for water and nutrients and shading. The lack of a yield response to biochar maybe due to insufficient time or too low a dosage. Further research is needed to test for the effects of tree intercropping and biochar and their interactions on soil properties and crop yields in drylands.Peer reviewe