Long-term agricultural experiments inform the development of climate-smart agricultural practices

California's Mediterranean agro-ecosystems are a major source of U.S. fruits and vegetables, and vulnerable to future extremes of precipitation and temperature brought on by climate change, including increased drought and flooding, and more intense and longer heat waves. To develop resilience to these threats, strategies are necessary for climate-smart management of soil and water. Long-term, large-scale, replicated ecological experiments provide unique testbeds for studying such questions. At the UC Davis Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility (RRSAF), the 100-year Century Experiment, initiated in 1992, is investigating the effects of multiple farming practices in a farm-scale replicated study of 10 row crop cropping systems. It includes different fertility management systems: organic, conventional and hybrid (conventional plus winter cover crop) systems; different crops: wheat, tomatoes, corn, alfalfa, cover crops and grasslands; and different irrigation systems: rainfed, flood irrigated and drip irrigated. We briefly describe and report on a selection of long-term experiments conducted at RRSAF investigating soil management and irrigation practices, which are an important focus for developing climate-smart strategies in Mediterranean systems. For example, long-term monitoring of soil carbon content revealed that most crop systems have experienced a small increase in soil carbon since 1993, and increases in organically managed plots were substantially higher. As RRSAF continues to build upon this rich dataset from one of a very few long-term row crop experiments in Mediterranean ecosystems, it provides a testbed for identifying climate-smart solutions for these agronomically important ecosystems

GWAS meta-analysis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy implicates multiple hepatic genes and regulatory elements

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder affecting 0.5–2% of pregnancies. The majority of cases present in the third trimester with pruritus, elevated serum bile acids and abnormal serum liver tests. ICP is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including spontaneous preterm birth and stillbirth. Whilst rare mutations affecting hepatobiliary transporters contribute to the aetiology of ICP, the role of common genetic variation in ICP has not been systematically characterised to date. Here, we perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analyses for ICP across three studies including 1138 cases and 153,642 controls. Eleven loci achieve genome-wide significance and have been further investigated and fine-mapped using functional genomics approaches. Our results pinpoint common sequence variation in liver-enriched genes and liver-specific cis-regulatory elements as contributing mechanisms to ICP susceptibility

The small finds from the Baths Basilica Wroxeter: a digital resource

The excavations in the Baths Basilica at Wroxeter were published as Barker, P., White, R. Pretty, K., Bird, H. and Corbishley, M. 1997. The Baths Basilica Wroxeter: Excavations 1966-90, English Heritage Archaeological Report 8, (London). The large small finds assemblage was only selectively published there, although extensive work had been carried out on it during the post-excavation period. The aim of the archive project was to make this dataset fully available to researchers. It consists of a database table with details of each find and their contexts. Supporting text files provide typological background and a full concordance of all the contexts which phasing and cross references to the published report. All of the drawings of the objects that exist (c. 2000 items) are provided as high resolution scans that can be re-used in either letterpress or digital resources. There are also over photographs (over 300). The resource will be of use to people studying the sub-Roman period, regionality in Roman Britain and those with interests in particular categories of finds

Unlocking the potential of NHS primary care dental datasets

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Nikki Dodds and Kirsty Grey at the NHS Business Services Authority; Jennifer McCrea, James McGregor, Martin Mayock and Alan Harbinson at the HSC Business Services Organisation; and Ahmed Mahmoud at Public Health Scotland, for their help and support in scoping the contents of and access to the NHS dental activity datasets. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the the listed organisations or the Department of Health and Social Care.Peer reviewedPostprin