Soil CO2 emissions in cropland with fodder maize (Zea mays L.) with and without riparian buffer strips of differing vegetation.

Vegetated land areas play a significant role in determining the fate of carbon (C) in the global C cycle. Riparian buffer vegetation is primarily implemented for water quality purposes as they attenuate pollutants from immediately adjacent croplands before reaching freashwater systems. However, their prevailing conditions may sometimes promote the production and subsequent emissions of soil carbon dioxide (CO2). Despite this, the understanding of soil CO2 emissions from riparian buffer vegetation and a direct comparison with adjacent croplands they serve remain elusive. In order to quantify the extent of CO2 emissions in such an agro system, we measured CO2 emissions simultaneously with soil and environmental variables for six months in a replicated plot-scale facility comprising of maize cropping served by three vegetated riparian buffers, namely: (i) a novel grass riparian buffer; (ii) a willow riparian buffer, and; (iii) a woodland riparian buffer. These buffered treatments were compared with a no-buffer control. The woodland (322.9 ± 3.1 kg ha- 1) and grass (285 ± 2.7 kg ha- 1) riparian buffer treatments (not significant to each other) generated significantly (p = < 0.0001) the largest CO2 compared to the remainder of the treatments. Our results suggest that during maize production in general, the woodland and grass riparian buffers serving a maize crop pose a CO2 threat. The results of the current study point to the need to consider the benefits for gaseous emissions of mitigation measures conventionally implemented for improving the sustainability of water resources.

The North Wyke Farm Platform: effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture contents, runoff and associated water quality dynamics.

The North Wyke Farm Platform was established as a United Kingdom national capability for collaborative research, training and knowledge exchange in agro-environmental sciences. Its remit is to research agricultural productivity and ecosystem responses to different management practices for beef and sheep production in lowland grasslands. A system based on permanent pasture was implemented on three 21-ha farmlets to obtain baseline data on hydrology, nutrient cycling and productivity for 2 years. Since then two farmlets have been modified by either (i) planned reseeding with grasses that have been bred for enhanced sugar content or deep-rooting traits or (ii) sowing grass and legume mixtures to reduce nitrogen fertilizer inputs. The quantities of nutrients that enter, cycle within and leave the farmlets were evaluated with data recorded from sensor technologies coupled with more traditional field study methods. We demonstrate the potential of the farm platform approach with a case study in which we investigate the effects of the weather, field topography and farm management activity on surface runoff and associated pollutant or nutrient loss from soil. We have the opportunity to do a full nutrient cycling analysis, taking account of nutrient transformations in soil, and flows to water and losses to air. The NWFP monitoring system is unique in both scale and scope for a managed land-based capability that brings together several technologies that allow the effect of temperate grassland farming systems on soil moisture levels, runoff and associated water quality dynamics to be studied in detail. HIGHLIGHTS: Can meat production systems be developed that are productive yet minimize losses to the environment?The data are from an intensively instrumented capability, which is globally unique and topical.We use sensing technologies and surveys to show the effect of pasture renewal on nutrient losses.Platforms provide evidence of the effect of meteorology, topography and farm activity on nutrient loss.

Dissolved Phosphorus Retention in Buffer Strips: Influence of Slope and Soil Type.

Phosphorus (P) contributes to eutrophication of surface waters and buffer strips may be implemented to reduce its transfer from agricultural sources to watercourses. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that soil type and slope influence the retention of dissolved organic P and inorganic orthophosphate in agricultural runoff in 2-m-wide buffer strip soils. A solution, comprised of dissolved orthophosphate and the organic P compounds glucose-1-phosphate, RNA, and inositol hexakisphosphate (1.8 mg L total P) and a chloride tracer, was applied as simulated overland flow to grassland soil blocks (2 m long × 0.5 m wide × 0.35 m deep), containing intact clay or loam soils, at slope angles of 2, 5, and 10°. Phosphorus forms were determined in the surface and subsurface flow from the soil blocks. Slope had no significant effect on the hydrological behavior of the soil blocks or on the retention of any form of P at the water application rate tested. The clay soil retained 60% of the unreactive P and 21% of the reactive P applied. The loam soil retained 74% of the unreactive P applied but was a net source of reactive P (the load increased by 61%). This indicates leaching of native soil P or hydrolysis of organic compounds and complicates our understanding of P retention in buffer strip soils. Our results suggest that a 2-m buffer strip may be more effective for reducing dissolved unreactive P transfers to surface waters than for reducing the eutrophication risk posed by dissolved reactive P.

Do NO, N2O, N2 and CO2 fluxes differ in soils sourced from cropland and varying riparian buffer vegetation? An incubation study.

Riparian buffers are expedient interventions for water quality functions in agricultural landscapes. However, the choice of vegetation and management affects soil microbial communities, which in turn affect nutrient cycling and the production and emission of gases such as nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen gas (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). To investigate the potential fluxes of the above-mentioned gases, soil samples were collected from a cropland and downslope grass, willow and woodland riparian buffers from a replicated plot scale experimental facility. The soils were re-packed into cores and to investigate their potential to produce the aforementioned gases via potential denitrification, a potassium nitrate (KNO3 -) and glucose (labile carbon)-containing amendment, was added prior to incubation in a specialized laboratory DENItrification System (DENIS). The resulting NO, N2O, N2 and CO2 emissions were measured simultaneously, with the most NO (2.9 ± 0.31 mg NO m-2) and N2O (1413.4 ± 448.3 mg N2O m-2) generated by the grass riparian buffer and the most N2 (698.1 ± 270.3 mg N2 m-2) and CO2 (27,558.3 ± 128.9 mg CO2 m-2) produced by the willow riparian buffer. Thus, the results show that grass riparian buffer soils have a greater NO3 - removal capacity, evidenced by their large potential denitrification rates, while the willow riparian buffers may be an effective riparian buffer as its soils potentially promote complete denitrification to N2, especially in areas with similar conditions to the current study.

Soil N2O and CH4 emissions from fodder maize production with and without riparian buffer strips of differing vegetation.

Purpose: Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are some of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the 21st century. Vegetated riparian buffers are primarily implemented for their water quality functions in agroecosystems. Their location in agricultural landscapes allows them to intercept and process pollutants from adjacent agricultural land. They recycle organic matter, which increases soil carbon (C), intercept nitrogen (N)-rich runoff from adjacent croplands, and are seasonally anoxic. Thus processes producing environmentally harmful gases including N2O and CH4 are promoted. Against this context, the study quantified atmospheric losses between a cropland and vegetated riparian buffers that serve it. Methods: Environmental variables and simultaneous N2O and CH4 emissions were measured for a 6-month period in a replicated plot-scale facility comprising maize (Zea mays L.). A static chamber was used to measure gas emissions. The cropping was served by three vegetated riparian buffers, namely: (i) grass riparian buffer; (ii) willow riparian buffer and; (iii) woodland riparian buffer, which were compared with a no-buffer control. Results: The no-buffer control generated the largest cumulative N2O emissions of 18.9 kg ha- 1 (95% confidence interval: 0.5-63.6) whilst the maize crop upslope generated the largest cumulative CH4 emissions (5.1 ± 0.88 kg ha- 1). Soil N2O and CH4-based global warming potential (GWP) were lower in the willow (1223.5 ± 362.0 and 134.7 ± 74.0 kg CO2-eq. ha- 1 year- 1, respectively) and woodland (1771.3 ± 800.5 and 3.4 ± 35.9 kg CO2-eq. ha- 1 year- 1, respectively) riparian buffers. Conclusions: Our results suggest that in maize production and where no riparian buffer vegetation is introduced for water quality purposes (no buffer control), atmospheric CH4 and N2O concerns may result.

Assessing catchment-scale erosion and yields of suspended solids from improved temperate grassland.

This paper quantifies the yields of suspended solids (SS) from a headwater catchment managed as improved temperate grassland, providing the first direct, catchment-scale evidence of the rates of erosion from this land-use in the UK and assessing the threat posed to aquatic ecosystems. High-resolution monitoring of catchment hydrology and the concentrations of SS and volatile organic matter (VOM) were carried out in the first-order channel of the Den Brook headwater catchment in Devon (UK) during the 2006-2007 hydrological season. The widely used 'rating curve' (discharge-concentration) approach was employed to estimate yields of SS, but as demonstrated by previous researchers, this study showed that discharge is a poor predictor of SS concentrations and therefore any yields estimated from this technique are likely to be highly uncertain. Nevertheless, for the purpose of providing estimates of yields that are comparable to previous studies on other land uses/sources, this technique was adopted albeit in an uncertainty-based framework. The findings suggest that contrary to the common perception, grasslands can be erosive landscapes with SS yields from this catchment estimated to be between 0.54 and 1.21 t ha(-1) y(-1). In terms of on-site erosion problems, this rate of erosion does not significantly exceed the commonly used 'tolerable' threshold in the UK ( approximately 1 t ha(-1) y(-1)). In terms of off-site erosion problems, it is argued here that the conventional expression of SS yield as a bulk annual figure has little relevance to the water quality and ecological status of surface waters and therefore an alternative technique (the concentration-frequency curve) is developed within this paper for the specific purpose of assessing the ecological threat posed by the delivery of SS into surface waters. This technique illustrates that concentrations of SS recorded at the catchment outlet frequently exceed the water quality guidelines, such as those of the EU Freshwater Fisheries Directive (78/659/EC), and pose a serious threat to aquatic organisms. It is suggested that failure to recognise improved temperate grasslands as a potential source of particulate material could result in the non-compliance of surface waters to water quality guidelines, deterioration of ecological status and failure of water quality remediation measures.

Optically active carbon: kinetic resolution of c76 by asymmetric osmylation.

The chiral fullerene C(76) was kinetically resolved by asymmetric osmylation providing an example of an optically active allotrope of a pure element. C(76) recovered from the treatment of racemic C(76) with OsO(4) and a chiral alkaloid ligand, showed a specific rotation [alpha](D) of -4000 degrees (> 97 percent enantiomeric excess) and a circular dichroism spectrum corresponding to the ultraviolet spectrum. Regenerated C(76) formed by reducing the asymmetrically osmylated C(76) with SnCl(2) was enriched in the opposite enantiomer. Analysis of the local curvature of the C(76) molecule indicated that OsO(4) should selectively add to 2 of the 30 types of bonds in C(76). This regioselectivity was supported chromatographically and interpreted in terms of the kinetic resolution.

Crystal structure of osmylated c60: confirmation of the soccer ball framework.

An x-ray crystal structure that confirms the soccer ball-shaped carbon framework of C(60) (buckminsterfullerene) is reported. An osmyl unit was added to C(60) in order to break its pseudospherical symmetry and give an ordered crystal. The crystal structure of this derivative, C(60)(OsO(4))(4-tert-butylpyridine)(2), reveals atomic positions within the carbon cluster.

A dynamical study of a cellular automata model of the spread of HIV in a lymph node.

We conduct a mathematical study of a cellular automata model of the spread of the HIV virus in a lymph node. The model was proposed by Zorzenon dos Santos and Coutinho and captures the unique time scale of the viral spread. We give some rigorous mathematical results about the time scales and other dynamical aspects of the model as well as discuss parameter and model changes and their consequences.

Roles of instrumented farm-scale trials in trade-off assessments of pasture-based ruminant production systems.

For livestock production systems to play a positive role in global food security, the balance between their benefits and disbenefits to society must be appropriately managed. Based on the evidence provided by field-scale randomised controlled trials around the world, this debate has traditionally centred on the concept of economic-environmental trade-offs, of which existence is theoretically assured when resource allocation is perfect on the farm. Recent research conducted on commercial farms indicates, however, that the economic-environmental nexus is not nearly as straightforward in the real world, with environmental performances of enterprises often positively correlated with their economic profitability. Using high-resolution primary data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, an intensively instrumented farm-scale ruminant research facility located in southwest United Kingdom, this paper proposes a novel, information-driven approach to carry out comprehensive assessments of economic-environmental trade-offs inherent within pasture-based cattle and sheep production systems. The results of a data-mining exercise suggest that a potentially systematic interaction exists between 'soil health', ecological surroundings and livestock grazing, whereby a higher level of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is associated with a better animal performance and less nutrient losses into watercourses, and a higher stocking density with greater botanical diversity and elevated SOC. We contend that a combination of farming system-wide trials and environmental instrumentation provides an ideal setting for enrolling scientifically sound and biologically informative metrics for agricultural sustainability, through which agricultural producers could obtain guidance to manage soils, water, pasture and livestock in an economically and environmentally acceptable manner. Priority areas for future farm-scale research to ensure long-term sustainability are also discussed.

Brain magnetic resonance imaging of structural abnormalities in bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: The neuropathogenesis of bipolar disorder remains poorly described. Previous work suggests that patients with bipolar disorder may have abnormalities in neural pathways that are hypothesized to modulate human mood states. We examined differences in brain structural volumes associated with these pathways between patients with bipolar disorder hospitalized with mania and healthy community volunteers. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with bipolar disorder and mania were recruited from hospital admission records. Twenty-two healthy volunteers were recruited from the community who were similar to the patients in age, sex, race, height, handedness, and education. All subjects were scanned using a 3-dimensional radio-frequency-spoiled Fourier acquired steady state acquisition sequence on a 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Scans were analyzed using commercial software. Prefrontal, thalamic, hippocampal, amygdala, pallidal, and striatal volumetric measurements were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Patients with bipolar disorder demonstrated a significant (A = 0.64; F6,37 = 3.4; P = .009) overall difference in structural volumes in these regions compared with controls. In particular, the amygdala was enlarged in the patients. Brain structural volumes were not significantly associated with duration of illness, prior medication exposure, number of previous hospital admissions, or duration of substance abuse. Separating patients into first-episode (n = 12) and multiple-episode (n = 12) subgroups revealed no significant differences in any structure (P>.10). CONCLUSION: Patients with bipolar disorder exhibit structural abnormalities in neural pathways thought to modulate human mood.

Twelve-month outcome after a first hospitalization for affective psychosis.

BACKGROUND: We studied the 12-month course of illness after a first hospitalization for affective psychosis to identify potential outcome predictors in this rarely studied patient population. METHODS: For this study, 109 patients consecutively admitted for their first psychiatric hospitalization for treatment of affective psychosis were recruited. Diagnostic, symptomatic, and functional evaluations were obtained at the index hospitalization and at 2, 6, and 12 months after discharge to assess syndromic, symptomatic, and functional outcome predictors. Factors associated with outcome were identified by means of multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Fifty-six percent of the patients achieved syndromic recovery during the 12-month follow-up. Full treatment compliance was associated with more frequent and rapid syndromic recovery. Full compliance was more common in white patients and in patients without substance abuse. Only 35% of these patients achieved symptomatic recovery during this same 12-month interval, and, similarly, only 35% achieved functional recovery. Symptomatic recovery was delayed in patients with substance abuse and was associated with higher socioeconomic status. Higher socioeconomic status was also associated with functional recovery, as was good premorbid function. CONCLUSIONS: Few patients achieved a favorable outcome in the year after a first hospitalization for an affective psychosis. Low socioeconomic status, poor premorbid function, treatment noncompliance, and substance abuse were associated with lower rates or delayed onset of recovery.

Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults: age distribution, BCR breakpoint and prognostic significance.

Clonal karyotype, clinical and blast cell features were established in 113 adults, aged 15-68 (mean 31.2) years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The karyotypes were: Philadelphia positive (Ph+), 23 cases; t(4;11), six cases; other chromosome findings (group II), 84 cases. Ph+ patients were older (mean 39.7 years) at presentation than the group II patients (mean 28.3 years) (p less than 0.0001). Ph+ was less frequent than expected in teenagers (15-20 years) (10.3%) and patients aged 21-50 years (21.8%), and more frequent in patients over 50 years old (43.8%) (p less than 0.01). Follow-up (between 0.5 and 4.5 years) was obtained for 108 patients. Age and karyotype (Ph+ versus group II) were prognostically significant for event-free (EFS) and overall survival (S) (p less than 0.001 in each instance). Ph+ patients fared worse than group II cases in all age groups, but karyotype added prognostic significance to age only when Ph+ and t(4;11) cases were combined (group I) (group I versus group II: EFS, p = 0.054; S, p = 0.043). The Ph breakpoint location M-bcr+ (nine cases) and M-bcr- (14 cases) was irrelevant to age (mean 37.7 and 41.3, respectively) and to prognosis. The findings indicate a fundamental difference between the genetics of ALL in most older and the majority of younger patients which may partly explain the increasingly poor prognosis with age.

Molecular investigation of 19p13 in standard and variant translocations: the E12 probe recognizes the 19p13 breakpoint in cases with t(1;19) and acute leukemia other than pre-B immunophenotype.

The gene E2A has recently been cloned, mapped to 19p13 and shown to be rearranged in cases of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with t(1;19) (q23;p13). Nine cases with a 19p13 breakpoint, four having a phenotype other than pre-B, have been investigated with the E12 probe to the E2A gene. Five cases had t(1;19) (q23;p13) and C-ALL with pre-B phenotype in four out of four cases tested. Two cases had t(1;19) (q21;p13), one with Null cell phenotype, t(4;11), and 'jumping translocations' and the other with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia M5 following bone marrow transplantation for C-ALL. Variant translocations in patients with ALL were t(15;19) (q15;p13) and t(17;19) (q21;p13). Southern blotting with E12 showed rearrangement in the cases with t(1;19) (q23;p13) and t(1;19) (q21;p13), but not in other cases with variant 19p13 breakpoints. Thus rearrangement of the E2A gene is not restricted to cases with pre-B ALL but may also occur in acute leukemias with other immunological phenotypes. Failure to detect rearrangement in 19p13 variants may be due to an E2A breakpoint outside the E12 recognition region. Alternatively, there may be further genes in this location with relevance to leukemogenesis.

Dicentric (9;12) in acute lymphocytic leukemia and other hematological malignancies: report from a dic(9;12) study group.

Fourteen cases of dic(9;12)(p11-13;p11-12) in early B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and other hematological malignancies are reported with a review of the literature. Altogether 36 cases were collected for analysis: ALL at diagnosis (31 cases) or in relapse (one case), chronic myeloid leukemia in lymphoid blast crisis (two cases), T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (one case) and T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (one case). We report the first cases of dic(9;12) with a T-cell phenotype. Dic(9;12) occurs predominantly in B-progenitor ALL of childhood and young adults (age range, 1-47 years, median 12 years) but not of infancy. One or more adverse clinical features, age > 10 years, WBC > 100 x 10(9)/l, pre-B immunophenotype, platelets < 100 x 10(9)/l, were found in over 90% of cases. Additional structural chromosomal changes or trisomy 8 were frequently present. Nevertheless with a median follow-up of 5 years, 29/31 cases (94%) remain in first remission conferring an excellent prognosis to this leukemia. Additional cases are being sought to confirm the prognostic value of this cytogenetic aberration in various hematological malignancies.

First intron and M-bcr breakpoints are restricted to the lymphoid lineage in Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Knowledge of the level of commitment of the target cell in hematological malignancies may have important therapeutic and prognostic implications. Cell lineage involvement was investigated in two cases presenting with acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosed on clinical and immunological findings and having the Philadelphia translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11). DNA from cells separated into mononuclear (lymphoid) and granulocytic fractions was hybridized with Philadelphia breakpoint-specific probes. This revealed that the breakpoint giving rise to the Philadelphia chromosome in case 1 was within the major breakpoint cluster region and in case 2 was in the first intron of the BCR gene. Rearrangement was found in the lymphoid but not the granulocyte fraction in each case. It is therefore concluded that the target cell for chromosomal change in these cases was a lymphoid committed progenitor cell, irrespective of breakpoint location.

Frontosubcortical neuroanatomy and the continuous performance test in mania.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined whether Continuous Performance Test scores correlate with frontosubcortical volumes in bipolar disorder. METHOD: The subjects were 17 patients hospitalized for an acute manic episode and 12 group-matched comparison subjects. They underwent magnetic resonance imaging and completed the Continuous Performance Test. RESULTS: The patients performed worse on the Continuous Performance Test and had smaller prefrontal cortical volumes than the comparison subjects. Within the patient group, Continuous Performance Test performance significantly correlated with prefrontal and hippocampal volumes. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that certain neuroanatomic structures may be associated with attentional dysfunction in mania.

12-month outcome of patients with bipolar disorder following hospitalization for a manic or mixed episode.

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the 12-month course of illness following hospitalization for a manic or mixed episode of bipolar disorder to identify potential outcome predictors. METHOD: They recruited 134 patients with DSM-III-R bipolar disorder who were consecutively admitted for the treatment of a manic or mixed episode. Diagnostic, symptomatic, and functional evaluations were obtained at the index hospitalization. Patients were reevaluated at 2, 6, and 12 months after discharge to assess syndromic, symptomatic, and functional outcome. Factors associated with outcome were identified by using multivariate analyses. RESULTS: During the 12-month follow-up period, there were no significant differences in outcome between patients with manic compared with mixed bipolar disorder. Although syndromic recovery occurred in 48% of the overall group, symptomatic recovery occurred in only 26% and functional recovery in only 24%. Predictors of syndromic recovery included shorter duration of illness and full treatment compliance. Medication treatment compliance was inversely associated with the presence of comorbid substance use disorders. Symptomatic and functional recovery occurred more rapidly and in a greater percentage of patients from higher social classes. CONCLUSIONS: A minority of patients with bipolar disorder achieved a favorable outcome in the year following hospitalization for a manic or mixed episode. Shorter duration of illness, higher social class, and treatment compliance were associated with higher rates of recovery and more rapid recovery.

MRI analysis of the cerebellum in bipolar disorder: a pilot study.

Since qualitative CT studies have suggested decreased cerebellar size in patients with bipolar disorder, we performed a quantitative analysis of the cerebellum in patients with bipolar disorder to determine whether high-resolution, thin slice magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) morphometry would reveal similar results. Bipolar patients hospitalized for a first manic episode (n = 16), bipolar patients with prior manic episodes hospitalized for a manic episode (n = 14), and normal volunteers (n = 15) matched for age, sex, race, and education were recruited and anatomic brain scans were acquired using a Picker 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. Right and left cerebellar hemisphere volumes and vermal areas V1 (lobules I-V), V2 (lobules VI-VII), and V3 (lobules VIII-X) were measured. ANCOVA comparing each ROI, adjusting for race, sex, age, total cerebral volume, and substance abuse duration, revealed a significant group effect for vermal V3 area. Specifically, V3 area was significantly smaller in multiple-episode patients than in first-episode patients or healthy volunteers. Number of previous episodes of depression may contribute to this finding. These results suggest that cerebellar vermal atrophy may be a later neurodegenerative event in patients with bipolar disorder who have had multiple affective episodes. The confounding effects of medications are considered.

Complex hypodiploidy in acute myeloid leukaemia: a United Kingdom Cancer Cytogenetics Group study.

Forty cases of acute myeloid leukaemia with 41 hypodiploid clones were investigated in a collaborative study. Cases with -5, -7, -X or -Y either alone or in association with an established translocation were excluded. Karyotypes were reviewed in all cases and bone marrow or blood morphology was reviewed in 22 cases. Twenty-six cases were very complex (more than five abnormal chromosomes), 14 cases were complex (two to five abnormal chromosomes) and only one case was simple (one abnormal chromosome). Chromosomes 5, 7, 17 and 18 were involved in a significantly greater number of cases than expected. Only five cases had normal chromosomes 5 and 7. Chromosomes 10, X and Y were involved in significantly fewer cases than expected. Ten cases had ring chromosomes and 18 showed clonal evolution. Patients were aged between 19 and 90, median 61 years. Evidence of myelodysplasia was found on morphological review in 18/22 cases, and on clinical features in a further five cases. There was a high proportion of cases with FAB M6, 'erythroleukaemia' (9/31 cases). Only 4/16 patients treated with cytotoxic therapy achieved remission. Median survival was 2.5 months (35 patients). Survival was slightly better for patients with normal chromosomes 5 and 7, and for those with simpler karyotypes, but this was not statistically significant. This study confirms the association between hypodiploidy, complex karyotype, abnormalities of chromosomes 5 and 7 and a poor prognosis.