UK energy policy promotes biomass energy crops as potentially significant contributors to renewable energy targets, but few farmers have planted these crops. Amongst the many possible explanations for this disconnect between policy ambitions and delivery on the ground, the role of farmers' socio-cultural identity has received little attention. This study focuses on the Lockerbie area in southwest Scotland, a potentially favourable location for perennial energy crops because (i) it is biophysically suitable for short rotation coppice (SRC) willow, and (ii) Britain's first wood-fueled power station provides a significant local market. A survey in 2009 explored farmers' perceptions of SRC willow, and the key reasons why they adopt or reject perennial energy crops. The results show that most farmers regard SRC willow as a financially risky, overly committing and inappropriate crop for their farms. Whilst financial factors are influential, even large potential profits would be insufficient to persuade many farmers to adopt SRC. Non-financial factors related to identity, lifestyle, farming culture and the perceived priority of food production powerfully shape the overwhelmingly negative attitudes of farmers to SRC. These findings suggest that biomass energy policy, especially regarding woody crops like SRC willow, needs to be more precisely tailored to influential social factors such as socio-cultural identity and local producer culture.

We investigated the expression of components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by cancer stem cell (CSC) subpopulations in metastatic head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (mHNcSCC). Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated expression of prorenin receptor (PRR), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and angiotensin II receptor 2 (AT2R) in all cases and angiotensinogen in 14 cases; however, renin and ACE2 were not detected in any of the 20 mHNcSCC tissue samples. Western blotting showed protein expression of angiotensinogen in all six mHNcSCC tissue samples, but in none of the four mHNcSCC-derived primary cell lines, while PRR was detected in the four cell lines only. RT-qPCR confirmed transcripts of angiotensinogen, PRR, ACE, and angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1R), but not renin or AT2R in all four mHNcSCC tissue samples and all four mHNcSCC-derived primary cell lines, while ACE2 was expressed in the tissue samples only. Double immunohistochemical staining on two of the mHNcSCC tissue samples showed expression of angiotensinogen by the SOX2+ CSCs within the tumor nests (TNs), and immunofluorescence showed expression of PRR and AT2R by the SOX2+ CSCs within the TNs and the peritumoral stroma (PTS). ACE was expressed on the endothelium of the tumor microvessels within the PTS. We demonstrated expression of angiotensinogen by CSCs within the TNs, PRR, and AT2R by the CSCs within the TNs and the PTS, in addition to ACE on the endothelium of tumor microvessels in mHNcSCC.