CO-EXISTENCE COSTS UNDER GERMAN REGULATION - CASE STUDIES OF BT MAIZE

Paper prepared for presentation at the 10th ICABR International Conference on Agricultural Biotechnology: Facts, Analysis and Policies Ravello (Italy), June 29th to July 2nd, 2006Co-existence measure, GMO, Bt maize, GIS, Germany, Agricultural and Food Policy, L51, O32,

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CO-EXISTENCE MEASURES IN MAIZE CROP AND SEED PRODUCTION - A CASE STUDY OF FRANCE

Paper prepared for presentation at the Second International Conference on Coexistence between Genetically Modified (GM) and non-GM based Agricultural Supply Chains (GMCC) Montpellier (France), 14th and 15th November 2005Genetic engineering, GMO, Maize, Co-existence, Agricultural and Food Policy, L51, O32,

CO-EXISTENCE COSTS UNDER GERMAN REGULATION - CASE STUDIES OF BT MAIZE

According to the existing EU regulation co-existence between genetically modified, conventional and organically grown plants is the general principle in EU agriculture. The paper analyses the effects of this regulation in a landscape in Southern Germany which is characterized by small-scaled fields. Using GIS simulation experiments it could be shown that a substantial proportion of fields which are cultivated with non-GM varieties will be influenced by cross pollination of Bt maize in two model regions. This effect also results in economic losses or additional costs for farmers operating in these regions. Altogether, there is need for clear and easy-to-handle implementation of co-existence schemes in particular in such small-scale farming regions like Bavaria

Economics of Co-Existence Measures of GM and Conventional Maize in Spain and Germany

In this paper the costs of the two basic co-existence measures buffer strips and discard widths were investigated for the Spanish region Aragon. Furthermore for two Bavarian regions the expenses for buffer strips were analysed. We calculated the costs for each measure considering distances of 20 m, 50 m and 100 m, GM maize adoption rates of 30% and 50% as well as several economic assumptions. The results show an independency of costs from the GM adoption rate. There are however differences in costs with regard to various distances and price differences between GM and non-GM maize

Economics of Co-Existence Measures of GM and Conventional Maize in Spain and Germany

Paper prepared for presentation at the Third International Conference on Coexistence between Genetically Modified (GM) and non-GM based Agricultural Supply Chains (GMCC) Seville (Spain), 20th and 21st November 2007Genetically Modified Organisms, Agriculture, Co-Existence, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CO-EXISTENCE MEASURES IN MAIZE CROP AND SEED PRODUCTION - A CASE STUDY OF FRANCE

The paper analyses the economic effects of specific co-existence measures (like e.g. increasing isolation distances between GM and non-GM plants, changing flowering time between varieties, non-GM buffer zones) in maize crop and seed production in selected regions in France. The results are based on simulations of agronomic measures and corresponding cost calculations for specific measures and landscape simulations. In maize grain production levels of adventitious presence below 0.9 % can be achieved without any co-operation between farmers in neighbouring clusters. In case fields are located in the same cluster, additional measures have to be taken with very differing cost effects depending on the specific characteristic of the measure. Additional measures should also be taken (either by the seed company or by the commercial GM grower) for ensuring co-existence between commercial GM fields and non-GM seed production clusters, while current practices would be sufficient for ensuring co-existence between GM and non-GM maize seed production plots for a threshold of 0.5 % adventitious presence

The role of dynamics in heterogeneous catalysis: surface diffusivity and N2 decomposition on Fe(111)

<p>Data related to the molecular dynamics simulations reported in the manuscript "The role of dynamics in heterogeneous catalysis: surface diffusivity and N2 decomposition on Fe(111)"</p><p>- Inputs of the MD simulations of surface morphology and dynamics (LAMMPS)</p><p>- Inputs of the OPES simulations for N2 adsorption and dissociation (LAMMPS+PLUMED)</p><p>- MD outputs: trajectory files</p><p>- Code for analysis and post-processed data</p><p>- Jupyter notebook to reproduce the pictures reported in the manuscript</p&gt

The role of dynamics in heterogeneous catalysis: surface diffusivity and N2 decomposition on Fe(111)

The cleavage of the N2 triple bond on the Fe(111) surface is believed to be the rate limiting step of the famed Haber-Bosch ammonia catalysis. Using a combination of machine learning potentials and advanced simulation techniques, we study this important catalytic step as a function of temperature. We find that at low temperatures our results agree with the well-established picture. However, if we increase the temperature to reach operando conditions the surface undergoes a global dynamical change and the step structure of the Fe(111) surface is destroyed. The catalytic sites, traditionally associated with the Fe(111) surface appear and disappear continuously. Our simulations illuminate the danger of extrapolating low-temperature results to operando conditions and indicate that the catalytic activity can only be inferred from calculations that take dynamics fully into account. More than that, they show that it is the transition to this highly fluctuating interfacial environment that drives the catalytic process

Genomic Profiling and Functional Analysis of let-7c miRNA-mRNA Interactions Identify SOX13 to Be Involved in Invasion and Progression of Pancreatic Cancer

Background. Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease; its lethality is related to rapid growth and tendency to invade adjacent organs and metastasize at an early stage. Objective. The aim of this study was to identify miRNAs and their gene targets involved in the invasive phenotype in pancreatic cancer to better understand the biological behaviour and the rapid progression of this disease. Methods. miRNA profiling was performed in isogenic matched high invasive and low-invasive subclones derived from the MiaPaCa-2 cell line and validated in a panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines, tumour, and normal pancreas. Online miRNA target prediction algorithms and gene expression arrays were used to predict the target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs. miRNAs and potential target genes were subjected to overexpression and knockdown approaches and downstream functional assays to determine their pathological role in pancreatic cancer. Results. Differential expression analysis revealed 10 significantly dysregulated miRNAs associated with invasive capacity (Student’s t-tests; P value <0.05; fold change = ±2). The expression of top upregulated miR-135b and downregulated let-7c miRNAs correlated with the invasive abilities of eight pancreatic cancer cell lines and displayed differential expression in pancreatic cancer and adjacent normal tissue specimens. Ectopic overexpression of let-7c decreased proliferation, invasion, and colony formation. Integrated analysis of miRNA-mRNA using in silico algorithms and experimental validation databases identified four putative gene targets of let-7c. One of these targets, SOX13, was found to be upregulated in PDAC tumour compared with normal tissue in TCGA and an independent data set by qPCR and immunohistochemistry. RNAi knockdown of SOX13 reduced the invasion and colony formation ability of pancreatic cancer cells. Conclusion. The identification of key miRNA-mRNA gene interactions and networks provide potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for better treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients