Calcium, diet and fracture risk: a prospective study of 1898 incident fractures among 34 696 British women and men

OBJECTIVE: The risk factors for fractures are incompletely understood. An outstanding question concerns the optimal amount of dietary calcium needed to minimise the risk of fracture. DESIGN: We examined the associations of dietary calcium and other nutrients with self-reported fracture risk in a prospective cohort study. Nutrient intakes were estimated using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire administered at recruitment. SETTING: The UK. Participants: A total of 26 749 women and 7947 men aged 20-89 years. RESULTS: Over an average of 5.2 years of follow-up, 1555 women and 343 men reported one or more fractures, 72% of these resulting from a fall. Among women, fracture risk was higher at lower calcium intakes, with a relative risk of 1.75 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33-2.29) among women with a calcium intake of < 525 mg day- 1 compared with women with a calcium intake of at least 1200 mg day- 1 (test for linear trend, P < 0.001). The association of dietary calcium with fracture risk was stronger among women aged under 50 years at recruitment than among women aged 50 and above. Dietary calcium intake was not associated with fracture risk in men. Fracture risk was not related to the dietary intake of any other nutrient examined. CONCLUSION: In this population, women with a low dietary calcium intake had an increased risk of bone fracture, and this association was more marked among younger women than among older women.     

A single IGF1 allele is a major determinant of small size in dogs

The domestic dog exhibits greater diversity in body size than any other terrestrial vertebrate. We used a strategy that exploits the breed structure of dogs to investigate the genetic basis of size. First, through a genome-wide scan, we identified a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 15 influencing size variation within a single breed. Second, we examined genetic variation in the 15-megabase interval surrounding the QTL in small and giant breeds and found marked evidence for a selective sweep spanning a single gene (IGF1), encoding insulin-like growth factor 1. A single IGF1 single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotype is common to all small breeds and nearly absent from giant breeds, suggesting that the same causal sequence variant is a major contributor to body size in all small dogs.     

Hydrogen sulfide causes excision of a genomic island in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas syringae</Emphasis> pv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">phaseolicola</Emphasis>

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is known to be an important signalling molecule in both animals and plants, despite its toxic nature. In plants it has been seen to control stomatal apertures, so altering the ability of bacteria to invade plant tissues. Bacteria are known to generate H₂S as well as being exposed to plant-generated H₂S. During their interaction with plants pathogenic bacteria are known to undergo alterations to their genomic complement. For example Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola (Pph) strain 1302A undergoes loss of a section of DNA known as a genomic island (PPHGI-1) when exposed to the plants resistance response. Loss of PPHGI-1 from Pph 1302A enables the pathogen to overcome the plants resistance response and cause disease. Here, with the use of H₂S donor molecules, changes induced in Pph 1302A genome, as demonstrated by excision of PPHGI-1, were investigated. Pph 1302A cells were found to be resistant to low concentrations of H₂S. However, at sub-lethal H₂S concentrations an increase in the expression of the PPHGI-1 encoded integrase gene (xerC), which is responsible for island excision, and a subsequent increase in the presence of the circular form of PPHGI-1 were detected. This suggests that H₂S is able to initiate excision of PPHGI-1 from the Pph genome. Therefore, H₂S that may emanate from the plant has an effect on the genome structure of invading bacteria and their ability to cause disease in plants. Modulation of such plant signals may be a way to increase plant defence responses for crops in the future.     

Simulation of peak-demand hydrographs in pressurized irrigation delivery systems using a deterministic–stochastic combined model. Part II: model applications

A deterministic–stochastic combined model named HydroGEN was developed, as described in a companion paper (Part I: Model development), to enable the simulation of demanded daily volumes and hourly flow rates during peak periods in pressurized irrigation delivery networks. The model was applied to a pilot large-scale irrigation system located in southern Italy for calibration and for testing its reliability in analyzing the operation of large-scale pressurized delivery systems through the simulated flow configurations. Daily input data on rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and relative humidity were gathered from a meteorological station located within the study area, whereas information on local irrigation management practices were collected through interviews with farmers and from extension specialists. The model was tested at different management levels, from district to sector and hydrants. The model testing was supported by the use of high-resolution remote-sensing imagery acquired on a single overpass date in 2006 and then classified and recoded following a ground-truthing campaign conducted during the same year. Simulations were performed to identify the 10-day peak-demand period and to generate the hydrographs of daily volumes and of hourly flow rates. Results from the different simulations were compared with historical datasets of irrigation volumes and discharges recorded during the 2008 and 2009 seasons at the upstream end of the irrigation network under study, at a sector level during the 2007 season and at selected delivery hydrants during the 2005 season. Some discrepancies between simulated and recorded data were noted that can be related to small errors in estimating crop and soil parameters, application efficiency at field level, as well as to large variability in irrigation management practices followed by local farmers. Overall, the results from testing showed that the model is capable of forecasting with good accuracy the timing of peak-demand periods, the irrigation volumes demanded during the season, as well as the hydrographs of daily volumes and hourly flow rates withdrawn by farmers during these peak-demand periods, especially when it is applied to large multi-cropped command areas.     

The space requirement of potatoes in pallet boxes and the weight loss of such potatoes during storage

Summary Over a period of 3 years potatoes in pallet based boxes, having a nominal capacity of 1016 and 508 kg, were weighed as they were placed in and removed from a ventilated store. A total of 136 boxes were weighed and a value of 1.4 m³/ton can be used for estimating the capacity of such boxes. Average weight loss/day of potatoes in the stores was between 0.03 and 0.05%. The weight loss from the individual boxes varied from 2.4 to 14.6% over a storage period of 95 to 262 days.

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Zusammenfasung Es ist wichtig, den Raumbedarf von in Kisten gelagerten Kartoffeln zu bestimmen, weil dieser Faktor einen Einfluss auf die Konstruktion eines Kartoffellagers, sowohl in Bezug auf das Gewicht der eingelagerten Kartoffeln als auch auf die n?tige W?rnmeabführung, ausüben kann. Auf zwei Betrieben wurde eine dreij?hrige Untersuchung durchgeführt, wobei die Kartoffeln in auf Paletten gestellten Kisten eingelagert waren. Die Kartoffellagerr?ume wurden mit Klimaanlagen ausgerüstet, und die Temperatur wurde zwischen 7 und 10°C gehalten. Zwei Kistengr?ssen mit einem Rauminhalt von 1016 und 508 kg wurden benutzt. Die Kisten einschliesslich Inhalt wurden bei der Ein- und Auslagerung gewogen. Der Raumbedarf der Kartoffeln war 1,4 m³/ 1000 kg für die beiden Kistengr?ssen (Tabelle 1). Der Gewichtsverlust der Kartoffeln in den Lagern belief sich auf 0,02–0.05% pro Tag. Gem?ss der Einlagerungsperiode von 95–262 Tagen lag der gesamte Verlust in den Kisten im Bereich von 2,4–14,6% (Tabelle 2). Im Herbst 1968 war das Wetter so nass, dass ein überm?ssiger Anteil an Erde mit den Kartoffeln in die Kisten gefüllt wurde. Bei den gr?sseren Kisten betrug das Nettogewicht der Kartoffeln nur 305–464 kg, d.h. unter ungünstigen Erntebedingungen k?nnte bis zur H?lfte des Inhalts eines Kartoffellagers aus Erde bestehen.

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Résumé Il est important de déterminer l'espace occupé par les pommes de terre stockées en caisses-palettes, cette donnée pouvant influencer la construction des entrepots sant du point de vue poids de pommes de terre stockées que de la quantité de chaleur à évacuer. Pendant trois années, des études ont été poursuivies dans deux fermes dans lesquelles des pommes de terre étaient stockées en caisses-palettes placées dans des entrep?ts aérés où la température contr?lée variait de 7 à 10 C. Deux types de caisses furent utilisées dont la capacité normale était de 1016 kg et 508 kg. On a pesé les caisses avec leur contenu à l'entrée et à la sortie de l'entrep?t. L'exigence en espace était de 1,4m³ pour 1000 kg de pommes de terre pour les deux types de caisses (Tableau 1). La perte de poids pour les deux types de caisses était de 0,03–0,05% par jour tandis que celle-ci pour période de stockage de 95 à 262 jours variait de 2,4 à 14,6% (Tableau 2). En automne 1968, les conditions atmosphériques étaient tellement humides qu'une quantité exagérée de terre remplissait les caisses avec les pommes de terre. Dans le cas des caisses les plus grosses le poids net des pommes de terre était seulement de 305–464 kg; ainsi dans des conditions défavorables de récolte, une quantité allant jusqu'à la moitié du contenu d'une caisse peut être constituée de terre.

     

Identifying resistance in wild and ornamental cherry towards bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae

Bacterial canker is a major disease of stone fruits and is a critical limiting factor to sweet cherry (Prunus avium) production worldwide. One important strategy for disease control is the development of resistant varieties. Partial varietal resistance in sweet cherry is discernible using shoot or whole tree inoculations; however, these quantitative differences in resistance are not evident in detached leaf assays. To identify novel sources of resistance to canker, we used a rapid leaf pathogenicity test to screen a range of wild cherry, ornamental Prunus species and sweet cherry × ornamental cherry hybrids with the canker pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae pvs syringae, morsprunorum races 1 and 2, and avii. Several Prunus accessions exhibited limited symptom development following inoculation with each of the pathogens, and this resistance extended to 16 P. syringae strains pathogenic on sweet cherry and plum. Resistance was associated with reduced bacterial multiplication after inoculation, a phenotype similar to that of commercial sweet cherry towards nonhost strains of P. syringae. Progeny resulting from a cross of a resistant ornamental species Prunus incisa with susceptible sweet cherry (P. avium) exhibited resistance indicating it is an inherited trait. Identification of accessions with resistance to the major bacterial canker pathogens is the first step towards characterizing the underlying genetic mechanisms of resistance and introducing these traits into commercial germplasm.