WHEAT ACREAGE RESPONSE: A REGIONAL ECONOMETRIC INVESTIGATION

An econometric model of planted wheat acreage was estimated for five distinct production regions in the United States. This structural investigation represents an update of previous published work with specific attention given to policy program variables, weather, production cost, risk, market price influences, and program participation. Estimated results indicated regional divergence in responsiveness to government program variables. The most significant divergence occurred in the Cornbelt and Southeast - soft red winter wheat areas. Results indicate that management of the wheat program from the USDA level will contain countervailing production incentives unless these regional characteristics are taken into consideration in policy directives.Crop Production/Industries,

Review of Felix Holt, The Radical

William Baker and Kenneth Womack\u27s Felix Holt is part of the relatively recent Broadview Literary Texts series, a Canadian-based series that seeks to publish recognized canonical texts alongside less well known texts from literary history. With that in mind, coverage in the Victorian period means we have editions of often taught novels by Dickens (David Copperfield, Hard Times, and Great Expectations) and Charlotte Bronte (lane Eyre) alongside texts that hitherto have almost never been read or taught widely - Margaret Oliphant\u27s Autobiography, Browning\u27s The Ring and the Book and an edition of poems by Augusta Webster. Given the remit of the series, it is perhaps not surprising that Felix Holt is the only text by George Eliot represented in the series so far, since it has tended to be, with the exception of Romola, her most under read novel. Having said that, there is no shortage of Felix Holt on the market, and Baker and Womack\u27s edition joins two other recent, inexpensive paperbacks - A. G. van den Broek\u27s 1997 Everyman paperback edition and Linda Mugglestone\u27s 1995 Penguin Classics edition - so a revival may be under way for a new generation of readers, re-readers and students. George Eliot\u27s contemporary E. S. Dallas called Felix Holt \u27a work of rare genius\u27 in his 1866 Times review, included in the BakerlWomack edition, but literary critical opinion has generally not been so generous. Often, the novel has been regarded as flawed, owing to weakness in the characterization of Felix and an unconvincing realist plot, in particular. But as Baker and Womack suggest in their introduction, it is in the \u27multiplicity of characters and the novel\u27s intersection with a variety of themes\u27 - in the many discourses that the novel addresses, to put it in academic-speak - that readers today will find interest. Most obviously, Felix Holt takes its place alongside other condition-of-England novels, for the way George Eliot looks back to the political contexts of the Reform Bill of 1832. Yet, the novel equally can be regarded in relation to writing about radicalism in the nineteenth century or to writing about gender. It is in the many directions a reader/teacher can take the novel that will ensure that this generally understudied work becomes more of a stand-by for readers of Victorian literature

Effects of genome-wide copy number variation on expression in mammalian cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is only a limited understanding of the relation between copy number and expression for mammalian genes. We fine mapped <it>cis </it>and <it>trans </it>regulatory loci due to copy number change for essentially all genes using a human-hamster radiation hybrid (RH) panel. These loci are called copy number expression quantitative trait loci (ceQTLs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Unexpected findings from a previous study of a mouse-hamster RH panel were replicated. These findings included decreased expression as a result of increased copy number for 30% of genes and an attenuated relationship between expression and copy number on the X chromosome suggesting an <it>Xist </it>independent form of dosage compensation. In a separate glioblastoma dataset, we found conservation of genes in which dosage was negatively correlated with gene expression. These genes were enriched in signaling and receptor activities. The observation of attenuated X-linked gene expression in response to increased gene number was also replicated in the glioblastoma dataset. Of 523 gene deserts of size > 600 kb in the human RH panel, 325 contained <it>trans </it>ceQTLs with -log₁₀<it>P </it>> 4.1. Recently discovered genes, ultra conserved regions, noncoding RNAs and microRNAs explained only a small fraction of the results, suggesting a substantial portion of gene deserts harbor as yet unidentified functional elements.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Radiation hybrids are a useful tool for high resolution mapping of <it>cis </it>and <it>trans </it>loci capable of affecting gene expression due to copy number change. Analysis of two independent radiation hybrid panels show agreement in their findings and may serve as a discovery source for novel regulatory loci in noncoding regions of the genome.</p

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead