An economic survey of New Zealand wheatgrowers : financial analysis, 1981-82

The purpose of this economic analysis is to provide financial data relating to those New Zealand wheatgrowing farms that participated in the 1981-82 wheat enterprise survey. The analysis was based upon the annual financial statements prepared for wheatgrowers by their accountants

New Zealand arable sector : foreign exchange implications

This report presents the findings of a study into the foreign exchange earnings of the arable sector in New Zealand. The F.O.B. value of arable sector products (or C.I.F. value of wheat) is assessed and from this the foreign exchange component of crop inputs is deducted. The major cropping enterprises are then compared with livestock production in the arable sector. In Chapter 2 the basic concept for assessing the foreign exchange (F.E.) of on farm production costs is discussed in detail while Chapter 3 describes the arable sector in New Zealand and assesses the volume and value of arable production as well as trends in land use patterns. Chapter 4 evaluates the foreign exchange requirement (imports) of the major crop and Livestock enterprises in the arable sector while the gross foreign exchange earnings (exports) of these enterprises are assessed in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 compares the net foreign exchange earnings with the returns actually experienced by the grower and looks at the foreign exchange earnings of various band use options. Chapter 7 concludes the report

meso-4,5-Diphenyl­imidazolidin-2-one

The crystal structure determination of the title compound, C15H14N2O, confirms the cis relationship between the phenyl groups at the 4- and 5-positions on the imidazolidine ring. The dihedral angle between the two phenyl rings is 48.14 (6)°. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers. These dimers are, in turn, linked into a two-dimensional network via weak N—H⋯π(arene) inter­actions and π–π stacking inter­actions with centroid–centroid distances of 3.6937 (11) Å

Activin-A and Bmp4 Levels Modulate Cell Type Specification during CHIR-Induced Cardiomyogenesis

The use of human pluripotent cell progeny for cardiac disease modeling, drug testing and therapeutics requires the ability to efficiently induce pluripotent cells into the cardiomyogenic lineage. Although direct activation of the Activin-A and/or Bmp pathways with growth factors yields context-dependent success, recent studies have shown that induction of Wnt signaling using low molecular weight molecules such as CHIR, which in turn induces the Activin-A and Bmp pathways, is widely effective. To further enhance the reproducibility of CHIR-induced cardiomyogenesis, and to ultimately promote myocyte maturation, we are using exogenous growth factors to optimize cardiomyogenic signaling downstream of CHIR induction. As indicated by RNA-seq, induction with CHIR during Day 1 (Days 0–1) was followed by immediate expression of Nodal ligands and receptors, followed later by Bmp ligands and receptors. Co-induction with CHIR and high levels of the Nodal mimetic Activin-A (50–100 ng/ml) during Day 0–1 efficiently induced definitive endoderm, whereas CHIR supplemented with Activin-A at low levels (10 ng/ml) consistently improved cardiomyogenic efficiency, even when CHIR alone was ineffective. Moreover, co-induction using CHIR and low levels of Activin-A apparently increased the rate of cardiomyogenesis, as indicated by the initial appearance of rhythmically beating cells by Day 6 instead of Day 8. By contrast, co-induction with CHIR plus low levels (3–10 ng/ml) of Bmp4 during Day 0–1 consistently and strongly inhibited cardiomyogenesis. These findings, which demonstrate that cardiomyogenic efficacy is improved by optimizing levels of CHIR-induced growth factors when applied in accord with their sequence of endogenous expression, are consistent with the idea that Nodal (Activin-A) levels toggle the entry of cells into the endodermal or mesodermal lineages, while Bmp levels regulate subsequent allocation into mesodermal cell types

Observation of photo-thermal feed-back in a stable dual-carrier optical spring

We report on the observation of photo-thermal feed-back in a stable dual-carrier optical spring. The optical spring is realized in a 7 cm Fabry-Perot cavity comprised of a suspended 0.4 g small end mirror and a heavy input coupler, illuminated by two optical fields. The frequency, damping and stability of the optical spring resonance can be tuned by adjusting the power and detuning of the two optical fields, allowing for a precise measurement of the absorption-induced photo-thermal feedback. The magnitude and frequency dependence of the observed photo-thermal effect are consistent with predicted corrections due to transverse thermal diffusion and coating structure. While the observed photo-thermal feed-back tends to destabilize the optical spring, we also propose a small coating modification that would change the sign of the effect, making a single-carrier stable optical spring possible

Impact of \u3cem\u3eMYH6\u3c/em\u3e Variants in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a clinically and anatomically severe form of congenital heart disease (CHD). Although prior studies suggest that HLHS has a complex genetic inheritance, its etiology remains largely unknown. The goal of this study was to characterize a risk gene in HLHS and its effect on HLHS etiology and outcome. We performed next-generation sequencing on a multigenerational family with a high prevalence of CHD/HLHS, identifying a rare variant in the α-myosin heavy chain (MYH6) gene. A case-control study of 190 unrelated HLHS subjects was then performed and compared with the 1000 Genomes Project. Damaging MYH6 variants, including novel, missense, in-frame deletion, premature stop, de novo, and compound heterozygous variants, were significantly enriched in HLHS cases (P \u3c 1 × 10−5). Clinical outcomes analysis showed reduced transplant-free survival in HLHS subjects with damaging MYH6 variants (P \u3c 1 × 10−2). Transcriptome and protein expression analyses with cardiac tissue revealed differential expression of cardiac contractility genes, notably upregulation of the β-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) gene in subjects with MYH6 variants (P \u3c 1 × 10−3). We subsequently used patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model HLHS in vitro. Early stages of in vitro cardiomyogenesis in iPSCs derived from two unrelated HLHS families mimicked the increased expression of MYH7 observed in vivo (P \u3c 1 × 10−2), while revealing defective cardiomyogenic differentiation. Rare, damaging variants in MYH6 are enriched in HLHS, affect molecular expression of contractility genes, and are predictive of poor outcome. These findings indicate that the etiology of MYH6-associated HLHS can be informed using iPSCs and suggest utility in future clinical applications

An economic survey of New Zealand wheatgrowers : survey no. 2

This is survey number 2. No. 1 was know as "National wheatgrowers' survey"This Report is the second in an annual series of economic surveys of New Zealand wheatgrowing farms. These surveys have been undertaken by the Agricultural Economics Research Unit at Lincoln College on behalf of Wheat Growers Sub-Section of Federated Farmers of New Zealand Inc. Specific attention has been focused on the physical characteristics of wheatgrowing farms, the area of wheat and other crops sown, wheat yields, cultural practices and costs and returns for the 1977/78 wheat crop. An attempt has also been made to allocate plant and machinery overhead costs to the wheat enterprise on both an historical and current cost basis. The need for current and detailed information from the Survey involved two visits to the farms in the sample; one in the spring following drilling and the second in the autumn after harvest

Observation of Wigner cusps in a metallic carbon nanotube

Previous gate-dependent conductance measurements of metallic carbon nanotubes have revealed unexplainable conductance suppressions, occurring at two different gate voltages. These were previously attributed to the gate-dependency of contact resistance. Our gate-dependent conductivity measurements on a metallic nanotube with known chirality show that these bimodal conductance suppressions are the manifestations of Wigner cusps, often seen in atomic and nuclear physics experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure