Genome-Wide Meta-Analyses of Smoking Behaviors in African Americans

The identification and exploration of genetic loci that influence smoking behaviors have been conducted primarily in populations of the European ancestry. Here we report results of the first genome-wide association study meta-analysis of smoking behavior in African Americans in the Study of Tobacco in Minority Populations Genetics Consortium (n=32 389). We identified one non-coding single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs2036527[A]) on chromosome 15q25.1 associated with smoking quantity (cigarettes per day), which exceeded genome-wide significance ($\beta$=0.040, s.e.=0.007, P=1.84 × 10$^{−8}$). This variant is present in the 5′-distal enhancer region of the CHRNA5 gene and defines the primary index signal reported in studies of the European ancestry. No other SNP reached genome-wide significance for smoking initiation (SI, ever vs never smoking), age of SI, or smoking cessation (SC, former vs current smoking). Informative associations that approached genome-wide significance included three modestly correlated variants, at 15q25.1 within PSMA4, CHRNA5 and CHRNA3 for smoking quantity, which are associated with a second signal previously reported in studies in European ancestry populations, and a signal represented by three SNPs in the SPOCK2 gene on chr10q22.1. The association at 15q25.1 confirms this region as an important susceptibility locus for smoking quantity in men and women of African ancestry. Larger studies will be needed to validate the suggestive loci that did not reach genome-wide significance and further elucidate the contribution of genetic variation to disparities in cigarette consumption, SC and smoking-attributable disease between African Americans and European Americans

Combined use of ionophore and virginiamycin for finishing Nellore steers fed high concentrate diets

Zebu cattle fed high concentrate diets may present inconsistent performance due to the occurrence of metabolic disorders, like acidosis. The isolated use of ionophores and virginiamycin in high grain diets can improve animal performance and reduce the incidence of such disorders, but recent studies suggested that their combination may have an additive effect. Thus, 72 Nellore steers, 389 ± 15 kg initial body weight (BW), were confined and fed for 79 days to evaluate the combination of virginiamycin and salinomycin on performance and carcass traits. Animals were allocated to a randomized complete block design by BW, in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, with two concentrate levels (73 and 91 %) and two virginiamycin levels (0 and 15 mg kg-1), and salinomycin (13 mg kg-1) included in all diets. The interaction was not significant (p > 0.05). Dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), starch consumed, and fecal starch content were higher (p 0.05) between treatments. Starch consumed and estimated dietary net energy for maintenance (NEm) and gain (NEg) were higher (p < 0.05) for virginiamycin-treated animals, with no substantial effects on carcass traits. The inclusion of virginiamycin in finishing diets containing salinomycin reduced DMI while maintaining ADG and improving NEm and NEg, suggesting an additive effect of virginiamycin and ionophores, but without affecting carcass quality

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape : A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to similar to 2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men 50y, women 50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR= 50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may providefurther insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.Peer reviewe

TABULATIONS OF CALCULATED CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC DATA FOR ALPHA PLUTONIUM

Calculations were made of the powder pattern and of the angles between planes and directions for alpha plutonium in order to provide useful data for interpretation of x-ray patterns. The calculated powder patterns for Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Cr, and Ti K alpha radiations are tabulated. The angles between planes and the angles between directions are listed, and the standard projections are presented. (auth