Analysis of genome activation in early bovine embryos by bioinformatic evaluation of RNA-Seq data

During maternal-to-embryonic transition, control of embryonic development gradually switches from maternal RNAs and proteins stored in the oocyte to gene products generated after embryonic genome activation. Detailed insight into the onset of embryonic transcription is obscured by the presence of maternal transcripts and to date there is no systematic study addressing the activation of specific genes during several stages of early bovine embryo development. Using the bovine model system, comparative analyses of RNA-seq data set were performed. The sequencing libraries had been constructed starting with germinal vesicle (GV) and metaphase II (MII) oocytes and embryos at the four-cell, eight-cell, 16-cell and blastocyst stage. The embryos had been generated in vitro by fertilization of Bos taurus taurus oocytes with sperm of a Bos taurus indicus sire. In total, approximately 13,000 RNA species could be identified in oocytes and each embryonic stages. The number of identified differential abundant transcripts increased in the course of development from roughly 100 to several thousands, with a sharp rise at the eight-cell stage. A bioinformatic approach could be developed to capture maternally delivered and de novo synthesized RNA species separately. It sensitively identified actively transcribed genes despite the fact that comparative analyses failed due to presence of the huge amount of RNA provided by the oocyte. Actively transcribed RNA species could be identified for approximately 8,000 genes, the majority of them at the eight-cell stage. This finding indicated, that the majority of all RNA species provided by oocytes was de novo transcribed during early embryonic development. Furthermore, it could be shown that the de novo transcription of larger genes was initiated later in embryonic development than smaller ones. A procedure was established to identify Bos t. indicus specific SNPs in RNA-Seq datasets which identified more than 60,000 SNPs occurring in 20% of all annotated genes. A major part of these SNPs could be detected at the eight-cell stage. This procedure enables a way to capture and study allele-specific transcription during early embryonic development. The described bioinformatic approaches were used to study major genome activation, an important step in the maternal-to-embryonic transition. More than 4,000 genes were de novo transcribed during major genome activation, which was found to occur at the eight-cell stage. These genes were functionally related to transcription, translation and their regulation. In summary, this thesis created and applied a powerful tool set for bioinformatic dissection of processes occurring during development of early bovine embryos and provided unprecedented insights in major genome activation

Sonic Urbanities: Undoing the Soundscape and Aural History in Kingston, NY

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Der Multikanalvertrieb in der Automobilwirtschaft

Die Distributionssysteme in der Automobilbranche befinden sich im Umbruch. Anstöße dazu liefern z.B. die KFZ-Gruppenfreistellungsverordnung der EU vom Oktober 2003, die neue rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen setzt für vertikale Vertriebsvereinbarungen, sowie das Internet, das die Chancen für einen Direktvertrieb der Hersteller zum Endkunden grundsätzlich verbessert, der auf längere Sicht in Konkurrenz zum bisher dominierenden indirekten Vertrieb über Vertragshändler treten könnte. In diesem Beitrag werden die allgemeinen Entwicklungen in der Automobilbranche skizziert, von denen Impulse zur Umgestaltung der bestehenden vertikalen Marketing-Systeme ausgehen. Unter Berücksichtigung erster Ergebnisse einer europaweiten Delphi-Studie zur Zukunft des Automobilvertriebs werden dann relevante Handlungsoperationen der Automobilhersteller verdeutlicht, wobei dem Multikanalvertrieb das Hauptaugenmerk gilt. --

Joint optimization of land carbon uptake and albedo can help achieve moderate instantaneous and long-term cooling effects

Both carbon dioxide uptake and albedo of the land surface affect global climate. However, climate change mitigation by increasing carbon uptake can cause a warming trade-off by decreasing albedo, with most research focusing on afforestation and its interaction with snow. Here, we present carbon uptake and albedo observations from 176 globally distributed flux stations. We demonstrate a gradual decline in maximum achievable annual albedo as carbon uptake increases, even within subgroups of non-forest and snow-free ecosystems. Based on a paired-site permutation approach, we quantify the likely impact of land use on carbon uptake and albedo. Shifting to the maximum attainable carbon uptake at each site would likely cause moderate net global warming for the first approximately 20 years, followed by a strong cooling effect. A balanced policy co-optimizing carbon uptake and albedo is possible that avoids warming on any timescale, but results in a weaker long-term cooling effect.Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports - Czech RepublicSustES-Adaptation strategies for sustainable ecosystem services and food securityInstitut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-INSU)University Toulouse IIICentre National D'etudes Spatiales732 IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement)Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)United States Department of Energy (DOE)Estonian Research CouncilAustrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) LM2018123German Research Foundation (DFG) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16019/0000797Ministry of Lower-Saxony for Science and CultureMCIN/AEI/"ESF Investing in your future"FEDER/Junta de AndaluciaTerrestrial Environmental Observatories, TERENO - Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, Germany 20F120_198227Russian Science Foundation (RSF) PSG631 PSG714 INST 186/1118-1 FUGG SFB 1502/12022 450058266 ZN 3679 PID2020-117825GB-C21 PID2020-117825GB-C22 B-RNM-60-UGR20 P18-RT-3629 FPU19/01647 21-14-0020