Fast growing tree species in alley cropping systems and their influence on microclimate in Germany

Paper presented at the 13th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held June 19-21, 2013 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.In Poppy, L., Kort, J., Schroeder, B., Pollock, T., and Soolanayakanahally, R., eds. Agroforestry: Innovations in Agriculture. Proceedings, 13th North American Agroforestry Conference, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, June 19-21, 2013.The production of energy wood on arable land has been increased in Germany during the last years. In this context, agroforestry systems keep a prominent position in agriculture, since they allow the simultaneous production of energy wood and food or feed on the same field. Fast growing trees arranged in hedge structures (alley cropping) can have positive effects on microclimate. Results of different research studies carried out in several alley cropping sites located in eastern Germany show that wind velocity can be reduced by more than 50 percent, even though tree hedgerows were not higher than four meters. The observed reduction of wind speed was depending on the distance to trees, on the orientation of tree hedges as well as on the width of the crop alleys. Potentially negative effects on crop yield were expected due to the shading the peripheries of crop alleys by trees. However, first results indicate that the reduction of the global radiation by short rotation trees did no show any negative effect on crop yield. As an exception, the crop yield on a post-mining site was evenly higher near trees compared to the center of crop alleys. In summary, the establishment of alley cropping with fast growing trees have positive effects on microclimate and hence on the yield stability of crops cultivated in between the tree hedgerows without any significantly negative impact on the recent practice of land management.Christian B�hm (1), Michael Kanzler (1) and Dirk Freese (1) ; 1. Brandenburg University of Technology, Chair of Soil Protection and Recultivation, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 6, D-03046 Cottbus, Germany.Includes bibliographical references

Is It Distress, Depression, or Both? Exploring Differences in the Diabetes Distress Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire in a Diabetes Specialty Clinic

IN BRIEF Patients (n = 314) completed the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Diabetes Distress Scale as part of standard care. Although most patients (70.4%) had no symptoms of depression or diabetes-related distress, 23.9% scored high on the distress questionnaire in at least one of its four domains. Regular screening for distress related to the demands of living with diabetes is crucial in identifying and preventing poor health outcomes associated with diabetes-related distress

A prospective, non-randomized phase II trial of Trastuzumab and Capecitabine in patients with HER2 expressing metastasized pancreatic cancer

Background: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer related death in Western countries. Advantages in surgical techniques, radiation and chemotherapy had almost no impact on the long term survival of affected patients. Therefore, the need for better treatment strategies is urgent. HER2, a receptor tyrosine kinase of the EGFR family, involved in signal transduction pathways leading to cell growth and differentiation is overexpressed in a number of cancers, including breast and pancreatic cancer. While in breast cancer HER2 has already been successfully used as a treatment target, there are only limited data evaluating the effects of inhibiting HER2 tyrosine kinases in patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods: Here we report the design of a prospective, non-randomized multi-centered Phase II clinical study evaluating the effects of the Fluoropyrimidine-carbamate Capecitabine (Xeloda (R)) and the monoclonal anti-HER2 antibody Trastuzumab (Herceptin (R)) in patients with non-resectable, HER2 overexpressing pancreatic cancer. Patients eligible for the study will receive Trastuzumab infusions on day 1, 8 and 15 concomitant to the oral intake of Capecitabine from day 1 to day 14 of each three week cylce. Cycles will be repeated until tumor progression. A total of 37 patients will be enrolled with an interim analysis after 23 patients. Discussion: Primary end point of the study is to determine the progression free survival after 12 weeks of bimodal treatment with the chemotherapeutic agent Capecitabine and the anti-HER2 antibody Trastuzumab. Secondary end points include patient's survival, toxicity analysis, quality of life, the correlation of HER2 overexpression and clinical response to Trastuzumab treatment and, finally, the correlation of CA19-9 plasma levels and progression free intervals

Creating agroforestry innovation and best practice leaflets

A key output of the EU FP7 project AGFORWARD was a series of 46 agroforestry innovation and 10 agroforestry best practice leaflets for European farmers and other stakeholders. This paper describes the process of over 80 people working together to create the leaflets and the overall result

Agroforestry in Europe. Practice, research and policy

Agroforestry in Europe: Practice, Research and Policy Content 1. The practice of agroforestry in Europe 2.Some research from the AGFORWARD project 3.Some important policy issuesN/

The Toll-Like Receptor Gene Family Is Integrated into Human DNA Damage and p53 Networks

In recent years the functions that the p53 tumor suppressor plays in human biology have been greatly extended beyond “guardian of the genome.” Our studies of promoter response element sequences targeted by the p53 master regulatory transcription factor suggest a general role for this DNA damage and stress-responsive regulator in the control of human Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene expression. The TLR gene family mediates innate immunity to a wide variety of pathogenic threats through recognition of conserved pathogen-associated molecular motifs. Using primary human immune cells, we have examined expression of the entire TLR gene family following exposure to anti-cancer agents that induce the p53 network. Expression of all TLR genes, TLR1 to TLR10, in blood lymphocytes and alveolar macrophages from healthy volunteers can be induced by DNA metabolic stressors. However, there is considerable inter-individual variability. Most of the TLR genes respond to p53 via canonical as well as noncanonical promoter binding sites. Importantly, the integration of the TLR gene family into the p53 network is unique to primates, a recurrent theme raised for other gene families in our previous studies. Furthermore, a polymorphism in a TLR8 response element provides the first human example of a p53 target sequence specifically responsible for endogenous gene induction. These findings—demonstrating that the human innate immune system, including downstream induction of cytokines, can be modulated by DNA metabolic stress—have many implications for health and disease, as well as for understanding the evolution of damage and p53 responsive networks

LICC: L-BLP25 in patients with colorectal carcinoma after curative resection of hepatic metastases--a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter, multinational, double-blinded phase II trial

Background: 15-20% of all patients initially diagnosed with colorectal cancer develop metastatic disease and surgical resection remains the only potentially curative treatment available. Current 5-year survival following R0-resection of liver metastases is 28-39%, but recurrence eventually occurs in up to 70%. To date, adjuvant chemotherapy has not improved clinical outcomes significantly. The primary objective of the ongoing LICC trial (L-BLP25 In Colorectal Cancer) is to determine whether L-BLP25, an active cancer immunotherapy, extends recurrence-free survival (RFS) time over placebo in colorectal cancer patients following R0/R1 resection of hepatic metastases. L-BLP25 targets MUC1 glycoprotein, which is highly expressed in hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. In a phase IIB trial, L-BLP25 has shown acceptable tolerability and a trend towards longer survival in patients with stage IIIB locoregional NSCLC. Methods: This is a multinational, phase II, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a sample size of 159 patients from 20 centers in 3 countries. Patients with stage IV colorectal adenocarcinoma limited to liver metastases are included. Following curative-intent complete resection of the primary tumor and of all synchronous/metachronous metastases, eligible patients are randomized 2:1 to receive either L-BLP25 or placebo. Those allocated to L-BLP25 receive a single dose of 300 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide (CP) 3 days before first L-BLP25 dose, then primary treatment with s.c. L-BLP25 930 mug once weekly for 8 weeks, followed by s.c. L-BLP25 930 mug maintenance doses at 6-week (years 1&2) and 12-week (year 3) intervals unless recurrence occurs. In the control arm, CP is replaced by saline solution and L-BLP25 by placebo. Primary endpoint is the comparison of recurrence-free survival (RFS) time between groups. Secondary endpoints are overall survival (OS) time, safety, tolerability, RFS/OS in MUC-1 positive cancers. Exploratory immune response analyses are planned. The primary endpoint will be assessed in Q3 2016. Follow-up will end Q3 2017. Interim analyses are not planned. Discussion: The design and implementation of such a vaccination study in colorectal cancer is feasible. The study will provide recurrence-free and overall survival rates of groups in an unbiased fashion. Trial Registration EudraCT Number 2011-000218-2

Can mHealth Technology Help Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

n/