Rhizosphere Ph and Phosphatase Activity in Orthic Allophanic Soil Under Pinus Radiata Seedlings Grown with Broom and Ryegrass

Under Pinus radiata plantations where the tree spacing is wider and most soils are phosphorus (P) deficient, the radiata tree response to P fertilizer is expected to be more influenced by the interaction between the applied P fertilizer, the tree and understorey vegetation. Therefore, a better understanding of the soil P chemistry under radiata pine trees in association with other plants is required. We investigated the effect of broom (Cytisus scoparius L.) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) grown with radiata seedlings in Orthic Allophanic Soil treated with 0, 50, and 100 μg P g-1 soil of TSP on the pH and phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soils under glasshouse condition. The pHs of radiata rhizosphere soils either grown with broom or grass were lower than those in the bulk soils and the bulk and rhizosphere soils of grass and broom, whether they were grown alone or grown with radiata at the applications of 50 and 100 μg P g-1 soil. These results suggest that P application enhanced root induced acidification in a P-deficient Allophanic Soil under radiata. The soils in the rhizosphere of grass and broom, grown in association with radiata, were also acidified by the effect of radiata roots. Acid phosphatase activity in soils under radiata, grass and broom decreased with an increased rate of P application. At all P rates, acid phosphatase activity was higher in the rhizosphere of radiata grown with broom than in the bulk soils. The phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil of radiata grown with broom was also higher than that of radiata grown with grass, but it was slightly lower than that in the rhizosphere of broom grown alone. These results suggest that broom may have also contributed to the higher phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soils than in the bulk soils of broom and radiata when they were grown togethe

The soils of Audrain County, Missouri

Caption title.At head of title: University of Missouri, Agricultural Experiment Station ... U. S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Soils ... Soil survey of Missouri

‘‘Two-Week Waits”—Are They Leading to Earlier Diagnosis of Soft-Tissue Sarcomas?

Introduction. The ‘‘two-week wait” was established as a potential means of diagnosing malignant tumours earlier. This paper investigated whether these clinics are leading to earlier diagnosis of malignant soft-tissue lumps. Method. We identified all referrals to our centre from a database over a 4-year period. Results. 2225 patients were referred to our unit for investigation of a soft-tissue mass. 576 (26%) were referred under the ‘‘two-week wait” criteria. 153 (27%) of which were found to have a malignant or borderline malignant diagnosis. 1649 patients were referred nonurgently. 855 (52%) of which were diagnosed with a malignant or borderline lesion. The average size at diagnosis was 9.4 cm with no difference in size between the different referral routes. Conclusion. There is little evidence that the two-week wait clinic is leading to earlier diagnosis of soft-tissue sarcomas with the majority still being referred nonurgently

Longitudinal Growth Following Treatment for Osteosarcoma

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyse the height at diagnosis and growth in 72 skeletally immature children who had been treated for osteosarcoma in the area of the knee

Associations between cannabis use, polygenic liability for schizophrenia, and cannabis-related experiences in a sample of cannabis users

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Risk for cannabis use and schizophrenia is influenced in part by genetic factors, and there is evidence that genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with subclinical psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). Few studies to date have examined whether genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with cannabis-related PLEs. STUDY DESIGN: We tested whether measures of cannabis involvement and polygenic risk scores (PRS) for schizophrenia were associated with self-reported cannabis-related experiences in a sample ascertained for alcohol use disorders (AUDs), the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). We analyzed 4832 subjects (3128 of European ancestry and 1704 of African ancestry; 42% female; 74% meeting lifetime criteria for an AUD). STUDY RESULTS: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) was prevalent in this analytic sample (70%), with 40% classified as mild, 25% as moderate, and 35% as severe. Polygenic risk for schizophrenia was positively associated with cannabis-related paranoia, feeling depressed or anhedonia, social withdrawal, and cognitive difficulties, even when controlling for duration of daily cannabis use, CUD, and age at first cannabis use. The schizophrenia PRS was most robustly associated with cannabis-related cognitive difficulties (β = 0.22, SE = 0.04, P = 5.2e-7). In an independent replication sample (N = 1446), associations between the schizophrenia PRS and cannabis-related experiences were in the expected direction and not statistically different in magnitude from those in the COGA sample. CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals who regularly use cannabis, genetic liability for schizophrenia-even in those without clinical features-may increase the likelihood of reporting unusual experiences related to cannabis use