An overview on the role and potential of forage production on lowland organic livestock farms

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). This paper outlines some of the factors influencing the level of forage production on organic lowland farms. Optimal forage production is achieved by maintaining soil fertility, providing a balance between N-fixing and N-demanding crops and producing sufficient quantities of quality feed to meet the requirements of the organic livestock enterprise. A key objective for organic systems is to increase the efficiency of forage production by improving the nutrient input/output balance of the wholefarm system. Improving forage quality reduces the requirement for external feed sources, leading to increased self-sufficiency in the wholefarm system. Legumes provide the main source of nitrogen for forage production with energy shortage and an erratic supply of protein the main limiting factors in the provision of balanced diets from home-grown crops

Biobank: Who'd bank on it?

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included

Complement Receptor Type 1 (CR1, CD35) Is a Receptor for C1q

AbstractMolecular definition of the cellular receptor for the collagen domain of C1q has been elusive. We now report that C1q binds specifically to human CR1 (CD35), the leukocyte C3b/C4b receptor, and the receptor on erythrocytes for opsonized immune complexes. Biotinylated or radioiodinated C1q (*C1q) bound specifically to transfected K562 cells expressing cell surface CR1 and to immobilized recombinant soluble CR1 (rsCR1). *C1q binding to rsCR1 was completely inhibited by unlabeled C1q and the collagen domain of C1q and was partially inhibited by C3b dimers. Kinetic analysis in physiologic saline of the interaction of unlabeled C1q with immobilized rsCR1 using surface plasmon resonance yielded an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant (Keq2) of 3.9 nM. Thus, CR1 is a cellular C1q receptor that recognizes all three complement opsonins, namely, C1q, C3b, and C4b

Quality, morale and the new contract with GPs

In UK general practice the goodwill that has sustained the GP workforce is waning

Variability and trends in surface seawater pCO2 and CO2 flux in the Pacific Ocean

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 44 (2017): 5627–5636, doi:10.1002/2017GL073814.Variability and change in the ocean sink of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) have implications for future climate and ocean acidification. Measurements of surface seawater CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and wind speed from moored platforms are used to calculate high-resolution CO2 flux time series. Here we use the moored CO2 fluxes to examine variability and its drivers over a range of time scales at four locations in the Pacific Ocean. There are significant surface seawater pCO2, salinity, and wind speed trends in the North Pacific subtropical gyre, especially during winter and spring, which reduce CO2 uptake over the 10 year record of this study. Starting in late 2013, elevated seawater pCO2 values driven by warm anomalies cause this region to be a net annual CO2 source for the first time in the observational record, demonstrating how climate forcing can influence the timing of an ocean region shift from CO2 sink to source.NOAA, OAR, CPO, OOMD Grant Number: 100007298; NOAA, OAR, CPO, OOMD Grant Number: NA09OAR4320129; Ocean Observation and Monitoring Division (OOMD) Grant Number: NA09OAR4320129; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Grant Number: 1000072982017-12-1

A comparison of buoy meteorological systems

During May and June 2000, an intercomparison was made of buoy meteorological systems from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the Japanese Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC). Two WHOI systems mounted on a 3 m discus buoy, two PMEL systems mounted on separate buoy tower tops and one JAMSTEC system mounted on a wooden platform were lined parallel to, and 25 m from Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. All systems used R. M. Young propeller anemometers, Rotronic relative humidity and air temperature sensors and Eppley short-wave radiation sensors. The PMEL and WHOI systems used R. M.Young self-siphoning rain gauges, while the JAMSTEC system used a Scientific Technology ORG-115 optical rain gauge. The PMEL and WHOI systems included an Eppley PIR long-wave sensor, while the JAMSTEC had no longwave sensor. The WHOI system used an AIR DB-1A barometric pressure sensor. PMEL and JAMSTEC systems used Paroscientific Digiquartz sensors. The Geophysical Instruments and Measurements Group (GIM) from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) installed two Portable Radiation Package (PRP) systems that include Eppley short-wave and long-wave sensors on a platform near the site. It was apparent from the data that for most of the sensors, the correlation between data sets was better than the absolute agreement between them. The conclusions made were that the sensors and associated electronics from the three different laboratories performed comparably.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant Number NA96GPO429

Dupilumab significantly improves sleep in adults with atopic dermatitis: results from the 12-week placebo-controlled period of the 24-week phase 4 randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled DUPISTAD study

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance is a prominent symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD) and can result in insomnia, daytime fatigue, drowsiness, reduced productivity and impaired quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVES The Dupilumab Effect on Sleep in AD Patients (DUPISTAD) phase IV randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study evaluated the impact of dupilumab treatment on sleep and other patient- and physician-reported outcomes. METHODS Adults with moderate-to-severe AD were randomized 2 : 1 to dupilumab 300 mg once every 2 weeks (q2w) or placebo for 12 weeks; concomitant topical corticosteroids were permitted. Patients subsequently entered an open-label phase and received dupilumab 300 mg q2w for a further 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the percentage change in sleep quality from baseline to week 12, assessed using a novel numeric rating scale (NRS). Secondary and exploratory endpoints included percentage change in peak pruritus NRS (PP NRS), change in SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), SCORAD sleep visual analogue scale (VAS), Eczema Area and Severity Index, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) sleep-related impairment T-score and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep diary and wrist actigraphy measurements were recorded throughout the study. RESULTS In total, 127 patients received dupilumab and 61 patients received placebo. Demographic and baseline disease characteristics were balanced between groups. Sleep quality NRS significantly improved in patients treated with dupilumab by week 12 vs. placebo [least squares mean of the difference (LSMD) -15.5%, P < 0.001]. PP NRS (LSMD -27.9%, P < 0.001), SCORAD (LSMD -15.1, P < 0.001), SCORAD sleep VAS (LSMD -2.1, P < 0.001) and PROMIS T-score (LSMD -3.6, P < 0.001) were also significantly improved at week 12 with dupilumab vs. placebo. The overall percentage of patients reporting treatment-emergent adverse events was lower in the dupilumab group (56.7%) than in the placebo group (67.2%). CONCLUSIONS Dupilumab significantly improved sleep quality and perception of sleep continuity, itch, metrics of AD severity and QoL in adults with moderate-to-severe AD, with an acceptable safety profile compared with placebo