When is the price right?

Demand and Price Analysis,

Crop management in rows.

Trial 87M71 Effect of row spacing and stubble retention on the yield of wheat. Location: Merredin Research Station. Treatments, site management and results from 1987, 1988 and 1989 have been described in previous experimental summaries. Four row spacings (9, 18, 27 and 36 cm) are compared in either burnt or stubble retained plots, on a red brown earth on the Merredin Research Station. There are six replicates laid out in a randomised block design. Trial 90ME32 Effect of row spacing and variety on the yield of wheat. Location: duplex site at Crooks (see 1989 Experimental Summary) This trial was carried out on the duplex soil site at Crooks (see 1989 Experimental Summary); in 1990, the wheat crop was sown after lupins, and aimed to look at the interaction between row spacing and variety of wheat. Varieties which differ in their canopy characteristics might be expected to differ in the rate at which they develop ground cover, and might therefore influence the partitioning of ET between soil evaporation and crop transpiration. The varieties Kuhn (low tillering, small leaf area) and Aroona (higher tillering, larger leaf area) were compared at row spacings of 9, 18 and 36 cm

Direct demonstration of an HLA-DR allotypic determinant on the low molecular weight (beta) subunit using a mouse monoclonal antibody specific for DR3

A murine monoclonal antibody directed against a human B cell surface antigen with the characteristics of HLA-DR is described. The antigen detected is tightly linked to HLA and is correlated with the alloantigen HLA-Dw/DR3. Reactivity with a fraction of Dw/DRw6 cells is also observed. The determinant recognized by this antibody has been shown to be present on the smaller molecular weight β subunit of the HLA-DR antigen

Micro-Water harvesting and soil amendment increase grain yields of barley on a Heavy-Textured alkaline sodic soil in a rainfed Mediterranean environment

This paper focuses on the adverse effects of soil sodicity and alkalinity on the growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in a rainfed environment in south-western Australia. These conditions cause the accumulation of salt (called ‘transient salinity’) in the root zone, which decreases the solute potential of the soil solution, particularly at the end of the growing season as the soil dries. We hypothesized that two approaches could help overcome this stress: (a) improved micro-water harvesting at the soil surface, which would help maintain soil hydration, decreasing the salinity of the soil solution, and (b) soil amelioration using small amounts of gypsum, elemental sulfur or gypsum plus elemental sulfur, which would ensure greater salt leaching. In our experiments, improved micro-water harvesting was achieved using a tillage technique consisting of exaggerated mounds between furrows and the covering of these mounds with plastic sheeting. The combination of the mounds and the application of a low rate of gypsum in the furrow (50 kg ha−1) increased yields of barley grain by 70% in 2019 and by 57% in 2020, relative to a control treatment with conventional tillage, no plastic sheeting and no amendment. These increases in yield were related to changes in ion concentrations in the soil and to changes in apparent electrical conductivity measured with the EM3

Flow around individual Taylor bubbles rising in stagnant CMC solutions: PIV measurements

The flow around single Taylor bubbles rising in non-Newtonian solutions of Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) polymer was studiedusing a simultaneous technique employing particle image velocimetry (PIV) and shadowgraphy. This technique solved previousproblems on finding the correct position of the bubble interface. Solutions of different polymer weight percentage, varying from0.1 to 1.0 wt% were used to cover a wide range of flow regimes. The rheological fluid properties and pipe dimension yieldedReynolds numbers between 4 and 254 and Deborah numbers between 0.012 and 0.402. The shape of the bubbles in the differentfluids was compared. The flow around the nose of the bubbles was found to be similar in all the studied conditions. Velocityprofiles in the liquid film around the bubble were measured. Different wake structures were found in the different solutionsstudied. With increasing viscosity, the wake flow varied from turbulent to laminar, being possible to observe a negative wake forthe higher polymer concentration solutions. A comparison between the different wake structures was made

Metilación de sitios CpG del virus del papiloma humano tipo 16 en el sitio de unión 1 de E2 (E2BS1), E2BS2 y el sitio de unión de Sp1 en muestras de cáncer de cuello uterino, según lo determinado por análisis de fusión de alta resolución-PCR

High-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated carcinogenesis is driven mainly by the overexpression of E7 and E6 oncoproteins following viral DNA integration and the concomitant loss of the E2 open reading frame (ORF). However, the integration of HR-HPV DNA is not systematically observed in cervical cancers. The E2 protein acts as a transcription factor that governs viral oncogene expression. The methylation of CpGs in the E2-binding sites (E2BSs) in the viral long control region abrogates E2 binding, thus impairing the E2-mediated regulation of E7/E6 transcription. Here, high-resolution melting (HRM)–PCR was developed to quantitatively analyze the methylation statuses of E2BS1, E2BS2, and the specificity protein 1 (Sp1)-binding site in 119 HPV16-positive cervical smears. This is a rapid assay that is suitable for the analysis of cervical samples. The proportion of cancer samples with methylated E2BS1, E2BS2, and Sp1-binding site CpGs was 47%, whereas the vast majority of samples diagnosed as being within normal limits, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) harbored unmethylated CpGs. Methylation levels varied widely, since some cancer samples harbored up to 60% of methylated HPV16 genomes. A pyrosequencing approach was used as a confirmation test and highlighted that quantitative measurement of methylation can be achieved by HRM-PCR. Its prognostic value deserves to be investigated alone or in association with other biomarkers. The reliability of this single-tube assay offers great opportunities for the investigation of HPV16 methylation in other HPV-related cancers, such as head and neck cancers, which are a major public health burden

A genome-wide expression analysis identifies a network of EpCAM-induced cell cycle regulators

Expression of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM is upregulated in a variety of carcinomas. This antigen is therefore explored in tumour diagnosis, and clinical trials have been initiated to examine EpCAM-based therapies. Notably, the possible intracellular effects and signalling pathways triggered by EpCAM-specific antibodies are unknown. Here, we show treatment of the mouse lung carcinoma cell line A2C12, of the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 and the human colorectal cell line Caco-2 with the monoclonal EpCAM antibody G8.8 to cause dose dependently an increase in cell proliferation, as determined by the MTS and the 5′-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling assay. Furthermore, a genome-wide approach identified networks of regulated genes, most notably cell cycle regulators, upon treatment with an EpCAM-specific antibody. Indeed, changes in the expression of cell cycle regulators agreed well with the BrdU labelling data, and an analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed the processes with the strongest over-representation of modulated genes, for example, cell cycle, cell death, cellular growth and proliferation, and cancer. These data suggest that EpCAM is involved in signal transduction triggering several intracellular signalling pathways. Knowing EpCAM signalling pathways might lead to a reassessment of EpCAM-based therapies

Subsoil contraints and their management: Overview from five years of R&D

Subsoil constraints cost the grains industry more than $1.6b in lost production each year. Diagnosing and mapping subsoil constraints (SSC) was achieved at a shire scale using the DPIRD soils database and historic surveys