In this study the radii of 34 juveniles from Wharram Percy, a British medieval site, were measured for bone mineral density (BMD) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in order to investigate evidence of stress including Harris lines, cribra orbitalia and deficient cortical index, which is usually attributed to poor nutrition. BMD measurements are used in modern children to assess growth and development and generally correlate with linear growth. Only rare chronic illnesses affect bone mineral accrual in children. Radiographs of the radii were examined to assess cortical index and of the femora and radii for Harris lines. The results indicate that BMD is well correlated with dental age and linear growth, but is poorly correlated with cortical index. The variability in cortical index indicates the influence of environmental factors. There is no relationship between BMD and the presence or absence of Harris lines or cribra orbitalia. Thus, despite obvious evidence of skeletal stress in this juvenile population, bone was not under-mineralised and bone mineral accrual proceeded normally with growth. This reinforces the conclusion that cortical index is a more sensitive indicator of environmental stress than either Harris lines or cribra orbitalia, and may be compared with BMD measurements to assess the effect of stress on growth.

The current morbidity in the elderly as a result of osteoporotic fractures has led to interest in the incidence of this condition in past populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technique of scanning of the distal radius with DXA in archaeological bone. The radius is often better preserved in archaeological contexts than bone with higher trabecular content such as the femoral neck or vertebrae. Adult radii (101) from the deserted medieval village site of Wharram Percy were scanned. These skeletal remains represent an homogenous rural population. The scanned individuals were divided into 3 age groups; 18-29, 30-49, and 50+. In both males and females bone loss was statistically significant in the highly trabecular ultra-distal region and the more cortical mid-region after age 50. Only females lost bone in the largely cortical one-third site before age 50. This is in accordance with modern clinical studies in which this loss is attributed to the effects of menopause. In order to assess whether there were differences in bone loss between weight and non-weight-bearing bones, the results were also compared with those from an earlier study of the femoral neck. In both sexes trabecular bone was lost at both anatomical sites after age 50. However, scanning the radius also had the advantage of assessing cortical bone loss. Additionally, despite demonstrable bone loss, there were no Colles or hip fractures in this paleopopulation, suggesting that although an active lifestyle such as that spent in agricultural activity, does not prevent bone loss, it may protect against osteoporotic fracture.

A half diallel was made amongst five wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes of which one was susceptible, while the others had adult-plant resistance, to stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis West.). The five parent and ten F1 progeny were grown in the glasshouse and were inoculated with three rust pathotypes at the seedling stage. The latent period was measured on the first leaf. Two procedures were used to analyze the half diallel. Both methods showed that the average effects of alleles were of much greater importance than was dominance in conditioning resistance in response to two of the pathotypes, while for the third pathotype dominance was important. Resistance was conditioned by partial dominance for two pathotypes whereas for the third it was determined by full dominance. Broad-sense heritabilities range from 60-73% and the number of genes involved was different (from 1 to 4), depending on the pathotype.

It had been shown previously that wheat plants, which had been sprayed with auxin herbicide al flowering lime, produced seeds with extra shoots. These shoots have now been found lo belong So new, and relatively normal, embryos formed in the lower part of the scutellum.

The nutritional value of two recently developed New Zealand cultivars of triticale, 'Aranui' and 'Karere', was determined by chemical analysis of the grain and by animal feeding studies. Four trials were carried out using rats to determine protein quality, apparent digestibility of protein and amino acids, apparent digestible energy (ADE) and apparent metabolisable energy (AME), and the capacity of triticale to support growth of rats followed by postmortem examination of the carcasses. Pigs were used to determine ADE and AME, and cockerels were used to determine true metabolisable energy (TME). Protein quality, as assessed by amino acid analysis (i.e., amino acid score) and determined by the rat bioassay procedure of relative protein value (RPV), was not different between cultivars. Rat ileal apparent digestibilities of amino acids were also not different between cultivars except for methionine and arginine. The ADE and AME bioassays using the rat and pig, and the TME bioassay using the cockerel, all showed a higher content of DE and ME in 'Karere'. 'Aranui' and 'Karere' supported similar rates of liveweight gain of rats given diets containing the same levels of crude protein. Postmortem examination of the carcasses showed no gross differences in the appearance of tissues and organs of rats fed triticale and control (lactalbumin) diets. The crude protein content of the two samples of triticale used in the evaluation was higher in 'Karere'. Five additional pairs of triticale samples from other localities showed a consistently higher level of crude protein in 'Karere'. From a nutritional standpoint, 'Karere' was the preferred cultivar because of a higher crude protein, DE, and ME content. The nutritional parameters determined with triticale were compared with corresponding literature or measured values for barley and bread wheat.