MITOCHONDRIAL DNA POLYMORPHISMS AND FERTILITY IN BEEF CATTLE

Two regions of mitochondrial DNA, D-loop and ND-5 were characterized using polymerase chain reaction – restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) involving 422 beef cattle of Hereford and composite breeds from Wokalup’s research station. ANOVA models (model I, II) were used to estimate associations between molecular haplotypes and quantitative traits. The phenotypic data used were records on calving rate, defined as the mean number of live calves born over four years, while the genotypic data used were the result of PCR-RFLP analysis in both regions of mitochondrial DNA using 7 restriction enzymes. The results of the present study have provided evidence that mitochondrial polymorphisms in the D-loop and ND-5 regions are associated significantly with fertility. This is the first report of a correlation between mitochondrial polymorphism in D-loop and ND-5 on fertility in beef cattle. Key words: PCR-RFLP, bovine mitochondrial DNA, D-loop, ND-5

The neural mechanisms able to predict future emotion regulation decisions

Emotion regulation is crucial in maintaining healthy psychological wellbeing, and its dysregulation is often linked to a range of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. The neurobiological underpinnings of cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, have been shown to include the amygdala and regions of the prefrontal cortex. A novel study by Doré, Weber, and Ochsner (2017) has demonstrated that neural activity in these regions during uninstructed visualization of affective stimuli can successfully predict which individuals are more likely to subsequently employ emotion regulation, and under what circumstances

Low-cost, precision, self-alignment technique for coupling laser and photodiode arrays to polymer waveguide arrays on multilayer PCBs

The first, to our knowledge, passive, precision, self-alignment technique for direct coupling of vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and photodiode (PD) arrays to an array of polymer buried channel waveguides on a rigid printed circuit board (PCB) is reported. It gives insertion losses as good as the best achieved previously, to within experimental measurement accuracy, but without the need for costly active alignment nor waveguide facet polishing and so is a major step towards a commercially realizable low cost connector. Such an optical connector with four duplex channels each operating at 10 Gb/s (80 Gb/s aggregate) was designed, constructed, and its alignment precision assessed. The alignment technique is applicable to polymer waveguide interconnections on both rigid and flexible multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs). The dependence of optical coupling loss on mis-alignments in x, y and z of the VCSEL and PD arrays allows the precision of alignment to be assessed and its reproducibility on multiple mating cycles of the connector is reported. The first recorded measurements of crosstalk between waveguides when the connector is misaligned are reported. Lateral misalignments of the connector to within its tolerance are shown to have no effect on the signal to crosstalk ratio (SCR), to within experimental measurement accuracy. The insertion loss repeatability is similar to that of single mode fiber mechanically transferable (MT) connectors

Interview with David Armstrong

Interview with David Armstrong for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant

Interview with John Pope

Interview with John Pope for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant

Interview with Frank Keith

Interview with Frank Keith for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant

Interview with Carl Haslett

Interview with Carl Haslett for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant

Interview with Conrad Haber

Interview with Conrad Haber for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant

Interview with Herb and Sandy Schwartz

Interview with Herb and Sandy Schwartz for the RCA Heritage Program Oral History grant