A framework for assessing crop production from rotations

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). Organic farming systems rely on the management of biological cycles for the provision of nutrients, which are crucial to maximising the production from the system. Rotations based on the use of grass-legume leys are central to the concept of organic farming systems, because they have the potential to support both animal production, and a subsequent, exploitative, arable cropping phase. A major challenge in organic farming is managing the supply of nitrogen, since it has a key role in governing both productivity and environmental impact. Hence, within a rotational system, there is a need to understand the complex interactions that are occurring between crop species and management, livestock production system and the impact of soil and climate on these processes. To understand these interactions, a framework is being developed for rotational farming systems that describes the soil nitrogen, crop growth and livestock production. The framework must address questions that are relevant to researchers and extensions workers. Typical questions relate to the management of nutrients in the short and long-term. Additionally, there are concerns over the impact of weeds, pests and diseases on productivity, as well as the impact of adopting new strategies or crops on the farming system

Epigenetics and the overhealing wound: the role of DNA methylation in fibrosis

Fibrosis is a progressive and potentially fatal process that can occur in numerous organ systems. Characterised by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins such as collagens and fibronectin, fibrosis affects normal tissue architecture and impedes organ function. Although a considerable amount of research has focused on the mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis, current therapeutic options do not directly target the pro-fibrotic process. As a result, there is a clear unmet clinical need to develop new agents. Novel findings implicate a role for epigenetic modifications contributing to the progression of fibrosis by alteration of gene expression profiles. This review will focus on DNA methylation; its association with fibroblast differentiation and activation and the consequent buildup of fibrotic scar tissue. The potential use of therapies that modulate this epigenetic pathway for the treatment of fibrosis in several organ systems is also discussed

Evidence for the Magnetoionic Nature of Oblique VHF Reflections from Midlatitude Sporadic-E Layers

Mid-latitude sporadic-E (Es) is an intermittent phenomenon of the lower E region of the ionosphere. Es clouds are thin, transient, and patchy layers of intense ionization, with ionization densities which can be much higher than in the background ionosphere. Oblique reflection of radio signals in the very high frequency (VHF) range is regularly supported, but the mechanism for it has never been clearly established—specular reflection, scattering, and magnetoionic double refraction have all been suggested. This article proposes using the polarization behaviour of signals reflected from intense midlatitude sporadic-E clouds as an indicator of the true reflection mechanism. Results are presented from a measurement campaign in the summer of 2018, which gathered a large amount of data at a receiving station in the UK using 50 MHz amateur radio beacons as signal sources. In all cases the signals received were elliptically polarized, despite being transmitted with linear polarization; there were also indications that polarization behaviour varied systematically with the orientation of the path to the geomagnetic field. This represents, for all the examples recorded, clear evidence that signals were reflected from midlatitude Es by magnetoionic double refraction

Signatures of High-Intensity Compton Scattering

We review known and discuss new signatures of high-intensity Compton scattering assuming a scenario where a high-power laser is brought into collision with an electron beam. At high intensities one expects to see a substantial red-shift of the usual kinematic Compton edge of the photon spectrum caused by the large, intensity dependent, effective mass of the electrons within the laser beam. Emission rates acquire their global maximum at this edge while neighbouring smaller peaks signal higher harmonics. In addition, we find that the notion of the centre-of-mass frame for a given harmonic becomes intensity dependent. Tuning the intensity then effectively amounts to changing the frame of reference, going continuously from inverse to ordinary Compton scattering with the centre-of-mass kinematics defining the transition point between the two.Comment: 25 pages, 16 .eps figure

Depression predicts future emergency hospital admissions in primary care patients with chronic physical illness

PublishedObjective More than 15 million people currently suffer from a chronic physical illness in England. The objective of this study was to determine whether depression is independently associated with prospective emergency hospital admission in patients with chronic physical illness. Method 1860 primary care patients in socially deprived areas of Manchester with at least one of four exemplar chronic physical conditions completed a questionnaire about physical and mental health, including a measure of depression. Emergency hospital admissions were recorded using GP records for the year before and the year following completion of the questionnaire. Results The number of patients who had at least one emergency admission in the year before and the year after completion of the questionnaire were 221/1411 (15.7%) and 234/1398 (16.7%) respectively. The following factors were independently associated with an increased risk of prospective emergency admission to hospital; having no partner OR 1.49 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.15); having ischaemic heart disease OR 1.60 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.46); having a threatening experience OR 1.16 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.29) per experience; depression OR 1.58 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.40); emergency hospital admission in year prior to questionnaire completion OR 3.41 (95% CI (1.98 to 5.86). Conclusion To prevent potentially avoidable emergency hospital admissions, greater efforts should be made to detect and treat co-morbid depression in people with chronic physical illness in primary care, with a particular focus on patients who have no partner, have experienced threatening life events, and who have had a recent emergency hospital admission.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Using citizen science to identify Australia’s least known birds and inform conservation action

Citizen science is a popular approach to biodiversity surveying, whereby data that are collected by volunteer naturalists may help analysts to understand the distribution and abundance of wild organisms. In Australia, birdwatchers have contributed to two major citizen science programs, eBird (run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Birdata (run by Birdlife Australia), which collectively hold more than 42 million records of wild birds from across the country. However, these records are not evenly distributed across space, time, or taxonomy, with particularly significant variation in the number of records of each species in these datasets. In this paper, we explore this variation and seek to determine which Australian bird species are least known as determined by rates of citizen science survey detections. We achieve this by comparing the rates of survey effort and species detection across each Australian bird species? range, assigning all 581 species to one of the four groups depending on their rates of survey effort and species observation. We classify 56 species into a group considered the most poorly recorded despite extensive survey effort, with Coxen?s Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta coxeni, Letter-winged Kite Elanus scriptus, Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis, Buff-breasted Buttonquail Turnix olivii and Red-chested Buttonquail Turnix pyrrhothorax having the very lowest numbers of records. Our analyses provide a framework to identify species that are poorly represented in citizen science datasets. We explore the reasons behind why they may be poorly represented and suggest ways in which targeted approaches may be able to help fill in the gaps.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS): A novel effective treatment for temper outbursts in adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome indicated by results from a non-blind study.

Temper outbursts are a severe problem for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Previous reports indicate that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may reduce maladaptive behaviour in neurodevelopmental disorders, including PWS. We systematically investigated the effectiveness of transcutaneous VNS (t-VNS) in PWS. Using a non-blind single case repeat measures modified ABA design, with participants as their own controls, t-VNS was evaluated in five individuals with PWS [three males; age 22-41 (M = 26.8)]. After a baseline phase, participants received four-hours of t-VNS daily for 12 months, followed by one month of daily t-VNS for two-hours. The primary outcome measure was the mean number of behavioural outbursts per day. Secondary outcomes included findings from behavioural questionnaires and both qualitative and goal attainment interviews. Four of the five participants who completed the study exhibited a statistically significant reduction in number and severity of temper outbursts after approximately nine months of daily four-hour t-VNS. Subsequent two-hour daily t-VNS was associated with increased outbursts for all participants, two reaching significance. Questionnaire and interview data supported these findings, the latter indicating potential mechanisms of action. No serious safety issues were reported. t-VNS is an effective, novel and safe intervention for chronic temper outbursts in PWS. We propose these changes are mediated through vagal projections and their effects both centrally and on the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system. These findings challenge our present biopsychosocial understanding of such behaviours suggesting that there is a single major mechanism that is modifiable using t-VNS. This intervention is potentially generalizable across other clinical groups. Future research should address the lack of a sham condition in this study along with the prevalence of high drop out rates, and the potential effects of different stimulation intensities, frequencies and pulse widths

Gemini/GMOS Optical Transmission Spectroscopy of WASP-121b: signs of variability in an ultra-hot Jupiter?

We present ground-based, spectroscopic observations of two transits of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b covering the wavelength range $\approx$500 - 950 nm using Gemini/GMOS. We use a Gaussian process framework to model instrumental systematics in the light curves, and also demonstrate the use of the more generalised Student's-T process to verify our results. We find that our measured transmission spectrum, whilst showing overall agreement, is slightly discrepant with results obtained using HST/STIS, particularly for wavelengths shortward of $\approx$650 nm. In contrast to the STIS results, we find evidence for an increasing blueward slope and little evidence for absorption from either TiO or VO in our retrieval, in agreement with a number of recent studies performed at high-resolution. We suggest that this might point to some other absorbers, particularly some combination of recently detected atomic metals, in addition to scattering by hazes, being responsible for the excess optical absorption and observed vertical thermal inversion. Our results are also broadly consistent with previous ground-based photometry and 3D GCM predictions, however, these assumed different chemistry to our retrievals. In addition, we show that the GMOS observations are repeatable over short periods (days), similarly to the HST/STIS observations. Their difference over longer periods (months) could well be the result of temporal variability in the atmospheric properties (i.e. weather) as predicted by theoretical models of ultra-hot Jupiters; however, more mundane explanations such as instrumental systematics and stellar activity cannot be fully ruled out, and we encourage future observations to explore this possibility.Comment: 17 pages, 10 Figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA