Lupin split seed : a disorder of seed production in sweet, narrow-leafed lupins

Commercial seed production from narrow-leafed lupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) began in Western Australia in 1967, based on the newly-bred low alkaloid cultivar Uniwhite. The release of improved cultivars has led to the crop\u27s wide acceptance and more than 100 000 ha were sown to sweet lupins in 1975. With the greater area and wider range of soil types devoted to lupins, a developmental abnormality of the seeds, which became known as split seed , was observed in some situations

Stubble burning helps control Wimmera rye grass

In a trial at Wongan Hills Research Station, burning of wheat stubbie in a continuous cropping system, helped to control Wimmera Rye Grass in the crop and resulted in yields up to 25 bushels an acre higher than where the stubble was ploughed in. WIMMERA RYE GRASS is the most widely used annual pasture grass in the agricultural areas of Western Australia. It has proved valuable for sheep feed where legume pastures are not grown. However, it has often proved a serious weed in cereal crops, causing large yield reductions

Trace element nutrition

South Perth Long term copper trial - Newdegate Research Station – 66N14. Copper, zinc & sulphur residual with DAP for wheat – 78WH66. Copper and zinc residual with DAP – 78MO36. Zinc residual with high analysis N.P. fertilizer for wheat – 79ME22, 79ME23, 80MO8, 80NO31. Cereal responses to zinc Copper and nitrogen interactions on wheat varieties – 83GE2, 83WH1. Barley responses to drilled trace elements – 83BR4, 83BR5. Manganese on wheat – 82NO8. ESPERANCE Zinc residual with high analysis N.P. fertilizer for wheat – 83ES35. Methods of copper application on new land – 83LG6. Copper spray and nitrogen rate applications to wheat supplied with super, copper, zinc and molybdenum no. 1 – 83LG4. Copper sprays on wheat – 84LG3. Zinc sulphate, zinc chelate sprays on wheat – 84LG4. Nitrogen and Hoegrass@ on zinc nutrition of wheat grown on heavy land – 84LG30. Hoegrass@ on zinc nutrition of wheat varieties – 84LGX

Establishing pastures under wheat crops

RECENT surveys indicate that in the medium and high rainfall cereal and sheep areas as much as half the new pasture sown is sown with a crop. In the drier wheatbelt areas the figure is 20 to 30 per cent

Boron toxicity in barley.

Field trials. Intraspecific variation in Barley to Boron toxicity, 85Me55, 85SG29, 85SG33. Glasshouse experiments. Sampling techniques for Boron toxicity in Barley, 85GL2. Cartwright rating system, leaf rating system

Cereal, pasture legume and water supply prospects at Forrestania : results of experimental work east of Hyden, Western Australia

The agricultural potential of the Forrestania area appears at least equal to that of much of the settled eastern wheatbelt. The scrubplain soils of the Forrestania area have an average yield potential of at least 1 000 kg/ha wheat and carrying capacity of 1.8 to 3.7 sheep per hectare on improved pastures. The use of clover ley rotations would maintain these levels of potential yield. Partial crop failures caused by adverse seasonal conditions could be expected 10 years in every 100

The Associations Between Children's and Adolescents’ Suicidal and Self-Harming Behaviors, and Related Behaviors Within Their Social Networks: A Systematic Review

© 2017, Copyright © International Academy for Suicide Research.Social influences—including the suicidal and self-harming behaviors of others—have been highlighted as a risk factor for suicidal and self-harming behavior in young people, but synthesis of the evidence is lacking. A systematic review of 86 relevant papers was conducted. Considerable published evidence was obtained for positive associations between young people's suicidal and self-harming behavior and that of people they know, with those reporting knowing people who had engaged in suicidal or self-harming behaviors more likely to report engaging in similar behaviors themselves. Findings are discussed in relation to a number of methodological and measurement issues—including the role of normative perceptions—and implications for the prevention of suicidal and self-harming behavior are considered

"I am your mother and your father!": In vitro derived gametes and the ethics of solo reproduction

In this paper, we will discuss the prospect of human reproduction achieved with gametes originating from only one person. According to statements by a minority of scientists working on the generation of gametes in vitro, it may become possible to create eggs from men’s non-reproductive cells and sperm from women’s. This would enable, at least in principle, the creation of an embryo from cells obtained from only one individual: ‘solo reproduction’. We will consider what might motivate people to reproduce in this way, and the implications that solo reproduction might have for ethics and policy. We suggest that such an innovation is unlikely to revolutionise reproduction and parenting. Indeed, in some respects it is less revolutionary than in vitro fertilisation as a whole. Furthermore, we show that solo reproduction with in vitro created gametes is not necessarily any more ethically problematic than gamete donation—and probably less so. Where appropriate, we draw parallels with the debate surrounding reproductive cloning. We note that solo reproduction may serve to perpetuate reductive geneticised accounts of reproduction, and that this may indeed be ethically questionable. However, in this it is not unique among other technologies of assisted reproduction, many of which focus on genetic transmission. It is for this reason that a ban on solo reproduction might be inconsistent with continuing to permit other kinds of reproduction that also bear the potential to strengthen attachment to a geneticised account of reproduction. Our claim is that there are at least as good reasons to pursue research towards enabling solo reproduction, and eventually to introduce solo reproduction as an option for fertility treatment, as there are to do so for other infertility related purposes

Tumour-derived alkaline phosphatase regulates tumour growth, epithelial plasticity and disease-free survival in metastatic prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that bone-related parameters are the main prognostic factors for overall survival in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), with elevated circulating levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) thought to reflect the dysregulated bone formation accompanying distant metastases. We have identified that PCa cells express ALPL, the gene that encodes for tissue nonspecific ALP, and hypothesised that tumour-derived ALPL may contribute to disease progression. METHODS: Functional effects of ALPL inhibition were investigated in metastatic PCa cell lines. ALPL gene expression was analysed from published PCa data sets, and correlated with disease-free survival and metastasis. RESULTS: ALPL expression was increased in PCa cells from metastatic sites. A reduction in tumour-derived ALPL expression or ALP activity increased cell death, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition and reduced migration. Alkaline phosphatase activity was decreased by the EMT repressor Snail. In men with PCa, tumour-derived ALPL correlated with EMT markers, and high ALPL expression was associated with a significant reduction in disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies reveal the function of tumour-derived ALPL in regulating cell death and epithelial plasticity, and demonstrate a strong association between ALPL expression in PCa cells and metastasis or disease-free survival, thus identifying tumour-derived ALPL as a major contributor to the pathogenesis of PCa progression.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 22 December 2016; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.402 www.bjcancer.com

Validation of Melanoma Immune Profile (MIP), a Prognostic Immune Gene Prediction Score for Stage II–III Melanoma

Purpose: Biomarkers are needed to stratify patients with stage II–III melanoma for clinical trials of adjuvant therapy because, while immunotherapy is protective, it also confers the risk of severe toxicity. We previously defined and validated a 53-immune gene melanoma immune profile (MIP) predictive both of distant metastatic recurrence and of disease-specific survival (DSS). Here, we test MIP on a third independent population. Experimental Design: A retrospective cohort of 78 patients with stage II–III primary melanoma was analyzed using the NanoString assay to measure expression of 53 target genes, and MIP score was calculated. Statistical analysis correlating MIP with DSS, overall survival, distant metastatic recurrence, and distant metastasis-free interval was performed using ROC curves, Kaplan–Meier curves, and standard univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Results: MIP significantly distinguished patients with distant metastatic recurrence from those without distant metastatic recurrence using ROC curve analysis (AUC = 0.695; P = 0.008). We defined high- and low-risk groups based on the cutoff defined by this ROC curve and find that MIP correlates with both DSS and overall survival by ROC curve analysis (AUC = 0.719; P = 0.004 and AUC = 0.698; P = 0.004, respectively). Univariable Cox regression reveals that a high-risk MIP score correlates with DSS (P = 0.015; HR = 3.2). Conclusions: MIP identifies patients with low risk of death from melanoma and may constitute a clinical tool to stratify patients with stage II–III melanoma for enrollment in clinical trials