Crop Updates 2008 - Farming Systems

This session covers thirty nine papers from different authors: PLENARY 1. Developments in grain end use, Dr John de Majnik, New Grain Products, GRDC, Mr Paul Meibusch, New Farm Products and Services, GRDC, Mr Vince Logan, New Products Executive Manager, GRDC PRESENTATIONS 2. Global warming potential of wheat production in Western Australia: A life cycle assessment, Louise Barton1, Wahid Biswas2 and Daniel Carter3, 1School of Earth & Geographical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 2Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Division of Science and Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, 3Department of Agriculture and Food 3. How much fuel does your farm use for different farm operations? Nicolyn Short1, Jodie Bowling1, Glen Riethmuller1, James Fisher2 and Moin Salam1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Muresk Institute, Curtin University of Technology 4. Poor soil water storage and soil constraints are common in WA cropping soils, Stephen Davies, Jim Dixon, Dennis Van Gool and Alison Slade, Department of Agriculture and Food, Bob Gilkes, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western Australia 5. Developing potential adaptations to climate change for low rainfall farming system using economic analysis tool. STEP, Megan Abrahams, Caroline Peek, Dennis Van Gool, Daniel Gardiner and Kari-Lee Falconer, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. What soil limitations affect the profitability of claying on non-wetting sandplain soils? David Hall1, Jeremy Lemon1, Harvey Jones1, Yvette Oliver2 and Tania Butler1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2CSIRO Div Sustainable Ecology, Perth 7. Farming systems adapting to a variable climate; Two case studies, Kari-Lee Falconer, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Importance of accounting for variation in crop yield potential when making fertiliser decisions, Michael Robertson and Yvette Oliver, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Floreat 9. Soil acidity is a widespread problem across the Avon River Basin, Stephen Carr1, Chris Gazey2, David York1 and Joel Andrew1, 1Precision SoilTech, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 10. The use of soil testing kits and ion-selective electrodes for the analysis of plant available nutrients in Western Australian soils, Michael Simeoni and Bob Gilkes School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western Australia 11. Redlegged earth mite resistance and integrated strategies for their control in Western Australia, Mangano G. Peter and Micic Svetlana, Department of Agriculture and Food 12. The economics of treating soil pH (liming), Chris Gazey, Steve Davies, Dave Gartner and Adam Clune, Department of Agriculture and Food, 13. Health benefits – A future differentiator for high value grains, Matthew Morell, Theme Leader, CSIRO Food Futures Flagship 14. Carbon in Sustralian cropping soils – We need to be realistic, Alan Umbers (M Rur Sc), GRDC/DAFF Sustainable Industries Initiative Project 15. AGWEST® Bartolo bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum) − a low cost annual pasture legume for the wheat/sheep zone, Angelo Loi, Brad Nutt and Clinton Revell, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Maximising the value of point based soil sampling: Monitering trends in soil pH through time, Joel Andrew1, David York1, Stephen Carr1 and Chris Gazey2, 1Precision SoilTech, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 17. Improved crop root growth and productivity with deep ripping and deep placed lime, Stephen Davies1, Geoff Kew2*, Chris Gazey1, David Gartner1 and Adam Clune1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Earth and Geographical Sciences University of Western Australia, *Presenting author 18. The role of pastures in hosting Root Lesion Nematode (RLN, Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Ali Bhatti and Ming Pei You, Department of Agriculture and Food 19. To rip or not to rip. When does it pay? Imma Farre, Bill Bowden and Stephen Davies, Department of Agriculture and Food 20. Can yield be predicted from remotely sensed data, Henry Smolinski, Jane Speijers and John Bruce, Department of Agriculture and Food 21. Rotations for profit, David McCarthy and Gary Lang, Facey Group, Wickepin, WA 22. Rewriting rules for the new cropping economics, David Rees, Consultant, Albany 23. Reducing business risk in Binnu! – A case study, Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture and Food 24. Does improved ewe management offer grain farmers much extra profit? John Young, Farming Systems Analysis Service, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and Food, and UWA, Chris Oldham, Department of Agriculture and Food RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 25. Crop establishment and productivity with improved root zone drainage, Dr Derk Bakker, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food 26. Will wheat production in Western Australia be more risky in the future? Imma Farre and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture and Food PAPERS 27. Building farmers’ adaptive capacity to manage seasonal variability and climate change, David Beard, Department of Agriculture and Food 28. Precision placement increases crop phosphorus uptake under variable rainfall: Simulation studies, Wen Chen1 2, Richard Bell1, Bill Bowden2, Ross Brennan2, Art Diggle2 and Reg Lunt2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 29. What is the role of grain legumes on red soil farms? Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture and Food 30. Fertiliser placement influences plant growth and seed yield of grain crops at different locations of WA, Qifu Ma1, Zed Rengel1, Bill Bowden2, Ross Brennan2, Reg Lunt2 and Tim Hilder2, 1Soil Science & Plant Nutrition, University of Western Australia, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 31. A review of pest and disease occurrences for 2007, Peter Mangano and Dusty Severtson, Department of Agriculture and Food 32. Effect of stocking rates on grain yield and quality of wheat in Western Australia in 2007, Shahajahan Miyan, Sam Clune, Barb Sage and Tenielle Martin, Department of Agriculture and Food 33. Storing grain is not ‘set and forget’ management, Chris Newman, Department of Agriculture and Food 34. Improving understanding of soil plant available water capacity (PAWC): The WA soil water database (APSoil), Yvette Oliver, Neal Dalgliesh and Michael Robertson, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 35. The impact of management decisions in drought on a low rainfall northern wheatbelt farm, Caroline Peek and Andrew Blake, Department of Agriculture and Food 37. Cullen – A native pasture legume shows promise for the low-medium rainfall cropping zone, Megan Ryan, Richard Bennett, Tim Colmer, Daniel Real, Jiayin Pang, Lori Kroiss, Dion Nicol and Tammy Edmonds-Tibbett, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia and Future Farm Industries CRC 38. Climate risk management tools – useful, or just another gadget? Lisa Sherriff, Kari-Lee Falconer, Daniel Gardiner and Ron McTaggart Department of Agriculture and Food 39. Benefits of crop rotation for management of Root Lesion Nematode (RLN, Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Sean Kelly and Helen Hunter, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Effects of alirocumab on types of myocardial infarction: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial

Aims  The third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) Task Force classified MIs into five types: Type 1, spontaneous; Type 2, related to oxygen supply/demand imbalance; Type 3, fatal without ascertainment of cardiac biomarkers; Type 4, related to percutaneous coronary intervention; and Type 5, related to coronary artery bypass surgery. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors reduces risk of MI, but less is known about effects on types of MI. ODYSSEY OUTCOMES compared the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and elevated LDL-C (≥1.8 mmol/L) despite intensive statin therapy. In a pre-specified analysis, we assessed the effects of alirocumab on types of MI. Methods and results  Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Myocardial infarction types were prospectively adjudicated and classified. Of 1860 total MIs, 1223 (65.8%) were adjudicated as Type 1, 386 (20.8%) as Type 2, and 244 (13.1%) as Type 4. Few events were Type 3 (n = 2) or Type 5 (n = 5). Alirocumab reduced first MIs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.95; P = 0.003], with reductions in both Type 1 (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99; P = 0.032) and Type 2 (0.77, 0.61–0.97; P = 0.025), but not Type 4 MI. Conclusion  After ACS, alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy favourably impacted on Type 1 and 2 MIs. The data indicate for the first time that a lipid-lowering therapy can attenuate the risk of Type 2 MI. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction below levels achievable with statins is an effective preventive strategy for both MI types.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz299</p

Addressing the climate challenge

In 2021, colleagues from across the University of Birmingham community were invited to write articles about topics relevant to the COP26 climate change summit. In this series of articles, experts from across many different disciplines provide new insight and evidence on how we might all understand and tackle climate change

Effect of alirocumab on mortality after acute coronary syndromes. An analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomized clinical trial

Background: Previous trials of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9) inhibitors demonstrated reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, but not death. We assessed the effects of alirocumab on death after index acute coronary syndrome. Methods: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab) was a double-blind, randomized comparison of alirocumab or placebo in 18 924 patients who had an ACS 1 to 12 months previously and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite intensive statin therapy. Alirocumab dose was blindly titrated to target achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between 25 and 50 mg/dL. We examined the effects of treatment on all-cause death and its components, cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death, with log-rank testing. Joint semiparametric models tested associations between nonfatal cardiovascular events and cardiovascular or noncardiovascular death. Results: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Death occurred in 334 (3.5%) and 392 (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the alirocumab and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98; P=0.03, nominal P value). This resulted from nonsignificantly fewer cardiovascular (240 [2.5%] vs 271 [2.9%]; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.05; P=0.15) and noncardiovascular (94 [1.0%] vs 121 [1.3%]; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.01; P=0.06) deaths with alirocumab. In a prespecified analysis of 8242 patients eligible for ≥3 years follow-up, alirocumab reduced death (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients with nonfatal cardiovascular events were at increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths (P<0.0001 for the associations). Alirocumab reduced total nonfatal cardiovascular events (P<0.001) and thereby may have attenuated the number of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths. A post hoc analysis found that, compared to patients with lower LDL-C, patients with baseline LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L) had a greater absolute risk of death and a larger mortality benefit from alirocumab (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.90; Pinteraction=0.007). In the alirocumab group, all-cause death declined wit h achieved LDL-C at 4 months of treatment, to a level of approximately 30 mg/dL (adjusted P=0.017 for linear trend). Conclusions: Alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy has the potential to reduce death after acute coronary syndrome, particularly if treatment is maintained for ≥3 years, if baseline LDL-C is ≥100 mg/dL, or if achieved LDL-C is low. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01663402

Depletion of RIPK1 in hepatocytes exacerbates PolyIC and Murine Hepatitis Virus induced liver damage

International audienc

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Emergence in Diabetic Mice with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Depends on Diet and Is Delayed in Liver Exhibiting an Active Immune Response

International audienceThe increase of the sedentary lifestyle and high-calorie diet have modified the etiological landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a recrudescence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially in Western countries. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of high-fat diet feeding on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) establishment and HCC development. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic male mice were fed with high-fat-high-cholesterol diet (HFHCD) or high-fat-high-sugar diet (HFHSD) from 1 to 16 weeks. Even if liver tumors appear regardless of the high-fat diet, two distinct physiopathological patterns were evidenced, with much more severe NASH hallmarks (liver injury, inflammation and fibrosis) in diabetic mice fed with HFHCD. The mild hepatic injury, weak inflammation and fibrosis observed in HFHSD were interestingly associated with earlier emergence of more numerous liver tumors. When activated helper and cytotoxic T cells, detected by flow cytometry, infiltrated the liver of HFHCD-fed diabetic mice, a delay in the appearance of tumor nodules and a limitation of their numbers were observed, suggesting that the immune activities partly controlled tumor emergence. These data highlighted two different mouse models of HCC progression in diabetic mice depending on diet, which could be useful to evaluate new therapeutic approaches for HCC by targeting the immune response

Depletion of RIPK1 in hepatocytes exacerbates liver damage in fulminant viral hepatitis

Abstract The protein kinase RIPK1 plays a crucial role at the crossroad of stress-induced signaling pathways that affects cell’s decision to live or die. The present study aimed to define the role of RIPK1 in hepatocytes during fulminant viral hepatitis, a worldwide syndrome mainly observed in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected patients. Mice deficient for RIPK1, specifically in liver parenchymal cells (Ripk1 LPC-KO) and their wild-type littermates (Ripk1 fl/fl), were challenged by either the murine hepatitis virus type 3 (MHV3) or poly I:C, a synthetic analog of double-stranded RNA mimicking viral pathogen-associated molecular pattern. Ripk1 LPC-KO mice developed more severe symptoms at early stage of the MHV3-induced fulminant hepatitis. Similarly, administration of poly I:C only triggered increase of systemic transaminases in Ripk1 LPC-KO mice, reflecting liver damage through induced apoptosis as illustrated by cleaved-caspase 3 labeling of liver tissue sections. Neutralization of TNF-α or prior depletion of macrophages were able to prevent the appearance of apoptosis of hepatocytes in poly I:C-challenged Ripk1 LPC-KO mice. Moreover, poly I:C never induced direct hepatocyte death in primary culture whatever the murine genotype, while it always stimulated an anti-viral response. Our investigations demonstrated that RIPK1 protects hepatocytes from TNF-α secreted from macrophages during viral induced fulminant hepatitis. These data emphasize the potential worsening risks of an HBV infection in people with polymorphism or homozygous amorphic mutations already described for the RIPK1 gene