Desaturase (Patent US 2003/0152983 A1)

This invention relates to cDNA sequences encoding DELTA5-fatty acid desaturases comprising the sequences shown in SEQ.1 and SEQ.2

Clotting factor concentrates given to prevent bleeding and bleeding-related complications in people with hemophilia A or B

The hallmark of severe hemophilia is recurrent bleeding into joints and soft tissues with progressive joint damage, notwithstanding on-demand treatment. Prophylaxis has long been used but not universally adopted because of medical, psychosocial, and cost controversies. To determine the effectiveness of clotting factor concentrate prophylaxis in the management of people with hemophilia A or B. We searched the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group's Coagulopathies Trials Register. In addition, we searched major electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL), handsearched relevant journals and abstract books and reference lists of relevant articles.Last search of Group's Coagulopathies Trials Register: 07 April 2011. Randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised controlled trials evaluating people with severe hemophilia A or hemophilia B receiving prophylactic clotting factor concentrates. Two authors independently reviewed studies for eligibility, assessed risk of bias and extracted data. Six studies (including 142 participants) were eligible for inclusion. Two compared three-times-a-week prophylactic administration with on-demand treatment in children with hemophilia. Pooled results from these two studies showed a rate ratio of 0.30 (95% confidence interval; 0.12 to 0.76) for all bleedings and 0.22 (95% confidence interval 0.08 to 0.63) for joint bleedings favouring prophylaxis. Results on the number of patients with preserved joints after three to seven years of follow-up were not pooled due to significant heterogeneity. Three of the remaining four studies evaluated hemophilia A; one showed a statistically significant decrease in frequency of joint bleeds with prophylaxis compared to placebo, with a rate difference of -10.73 (95% confidence interval -16.55 to -4.91) bleeds per year. Two studies compared two prophylaxis regimens, failing to demonstrate an advantage of one regimen over the other in terms of bleeding frequency. The fourth study evaluated hemophilia B and showed fewer joint bleeds with weekly (15 IU/kg) versus bi-weekly (7.5 IU/kg) prophylaxis, rate difference -3.30 (95% confidence interval -5.50 to -1.10) bleeds per year. Non-significant increases in both inhibitor and infectious complications were observed in patients on prophylaxis, which occurred more often when using long-term venous access. There is strong evidence from randomised controlled trials and observational trials that prophylaxis preserves joint function in children with hemophilia as compared to on-demand treatment. There is insufficient evidence from randomised controlled trials to confirm the observational evidence that prophylaxis decreases bleeding and related complications in patients with existing joint damage. Well-designed randomised controlled trials and prospective observational controlled studies are needed to establish the best prophylactic regimen and to assess the effectiveness of prophylactic clotting factor concentrates in adult patients

Low Temperature Combustion Optimization and Cycle-by-Cycle Variability Through Injection Optimization and Gas-to-Liquid Fuel-Blend Ratio

The advent of common rail technology alongside powerful control systems capable of delivering multiple accurate fuel charges during a single engine cycle has revolutionized the level of control possible in diesel combustion. This technology has opened a new path enabling low-temperature combustion (LTC) to become a viable combustion strategy. The aim of the research work presented within this paper is the understanding of how various engine parameters of LTC optimize the combustion both in terms of emissions and in terms of fuel efficiency. The work continues with an investigation of in-cylinder pressure and IMEP cycle-by-cycle variation. Attention will be given to how repeatability changes throughout the combustion cycle, identifying which parts within the cycle are least likely to follow the mean trend and why. Experiments were conducted on a single-cylinder 510cc boosted diesel engine. LTC was affected over varying rail pressure and combustion phasing. Single and split injection regimes of varying dwell-times were investigated. All injection conditions were phased across several crank-angles to demonstrate the interaction between emissions and efficiency. These tests were then repeated with blends of 30% and 50% gas-to-liquid (GTL)-diesel blends in order to determine whether there is any change in the trends of repeatability and variance with increasing GTL blend ratio. The experiments were evaluated in terms of emissions, fuel efficiency, and cyclic behavior. Specific attention was given to how the NO x -PM trade-off changes through increased injection complexity and increasing GTL blend ratio. The cyclic behavior was analyzed in terms of in-cylinder pressure standard deviation. This gives a behavior profile of the repeatability of in-cylinder pressure in comparison to the mean. Each condition was then compared to the behavior of equivalent injection conditions in conventional diesel combustion. Short-dwell split injection was shown to be beneficial for LTC, while NO x was shown to be reduced by the substitution of GTL in the fuel. In-cylinder pressure cyclic behavior was also shown to be comparable or superior to conventional combustion in every case examined. GTL improved this further, but not in proportion to its blend ratio

Using legume-based mixtures to enhance the nitrogen use efficiency and economic viability of cropping systems - Final report (LK09106/HGCA3447)

As costs for mineral fertilisers rise, legume-based leys are recognised as a potential alternative nitrogen source for crops. Here we demonstrate that including species-rich legume-based leys in rotations helps to maximise synergies between agricultural productivity and other ecosystem services. By using functionally diverse plant species mixtures, these services can be optimised and fine-tuned to regional and farm-specific needs. Replicated field experiments were conducted over three years at multiple locations, testing the performance of 12 legume species and 4 grass species sown in monocultures, as well as in a mixture of 10 of the legumes and all 4 grasses (called the All Species Mix, ASM). In addition, we compared this complex mixture to farmer-chosen ley mixtures on 34 sites across the UK. The trials showed that there is a large degree of functional complementarity among the legume species. No single species scored high on all evaluation criteria. In particular, the currently most frequently used species, white clover, is outscored by other legume species on a number of parameters such as early development and resistance to decomposition. Further complementarity emerged from the different responses of legume species to environmental variables, with soil pH and grazing or cutting regime being among the more important factors. For example, while large birdsfoot trefoil showed better performance on more acidic soils, the opposite was true for sainfoin, lucerne and black medic. In comparison with the monocultures, the ASM showed increased ground cover, increased above-ground biomass and reduced weed biomass. Benefits of mixing species with regard to productivity increased over time. In addition, the stability of biomass production across sites was greater in the ASM than in the legume monocultures. Within the on-farm trials, we further found that on soils low in organic matter the biomass advantage of the ASM over the Control ley was more marked than on the soils with higher organic matter content. Ecological modelling revealed that the three best multifunctional mixtures all contained black medic, lucerne and red clover. Within the long term New Farming Systems (NFS) rotational study, the use of a clover bi-crop showed improvement to soil characteristics compared to current practice (e.g. bulk density and water infiltration rate). Improvements in wheat yield were also noted with respect to the inclusion of a clover bi-crop in 2010, but there was evidence of a decline in response as the N dose was increased. Cumulatively, over both the wheat crop and the spring oilseed rape crop, the clover bi-crop improved margin over N. The highest average yield response (~9%) was associated with the ASM legume species mix cover cropping approach