Genetic determinants of telomere length from 109,122 ancestrally diverse whole-genome sequences in TOPMed

Genetic studies on telomere length are important for understanding age-related diseases. Prior GWAS for leukocyte TL have been limited to European and Asian populations. Here, we report the first sequencing-based association study for TL across ancestrally-diverse individuals (European, African, Asian and Hispanic/Latino) from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We used whole genome sequencing (WGS) of whole blood for variant genotype calling and the bioinformatic estimation of telomere length in n=109,122 individuals. We identified 59 sentinel variants (p-value OBFC1indicated the independent signals colocalized with cell-type specific eQTLs for OBFC1 (STN1). Using a multi-variant gene-based approach, we identified two genes newly implicated in telomere length, DCLRE1B (SNM1B) and PARN. In PheWAS, we demonstrated our TL polygenic trait scores (PTS) were associated with increased risk of cancer-related phenotypes

Evaluation of AGP, SSA concentration with the relationship of antibody titer in broiler chicken vaccinated with IBD virus

Gumboro or Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the most important diseases in poultry industry. IBD causes economic losses as a result to mortality and reduction in performance and medicine expenses(de S. B. Fróes et al., 2018). IBD is Severe acute disease of 3-6-week-old birds is associated with high mortality, but a less acute or subclinical disease is common in 0-3-week-old birds (Sali, 2019). IBD virus causes lymphoid depletion of the bursa and if this occurs in the first 2 weeks of life, significant depression of the humoral antibody response may result. The current study aims to measurement of antibody titer and acute phase proteins (AGP and SSA) in broiler chickens subjected to the Gumboro vaccine to explore the intensity of the vaccine strain and the response of both the early innate immune response and late humoral immune responses (antibody titers) raised against the vaccine. A handed Ross 308 chicks were divided into three groups, control, intermediate and intermediate plus vaccine. At 10 days old, the chicks were vaccinated and then blood samples collected at 12, 24 hours, and 10 and 15 days.&nbsp

Assessment of energy audit and environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of barley production under different irrigation systems

This study aims to assess the energy audit and environmental impact of barley production throughout its life cycle under different irrigation systems. The case study focuses on the comparison of three irrigation systems: flood (FI), sprinkler (SI) and drip (DI). Data for the study will be collected from a barley farm in a representative region. Field measurements, interviews with farmers, and literature reviews will be conducted to gather the necessary information. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology will be used to analyze the energy audit and environmental impacts of each irrigation system. The energy audit will analyze the energy inputs and outputs at each stage of barley production, including land preparation, planting, irrigation, fertilization, pest control, harvesting, and transportation. The energy inputs will be quantified in terms of fossil fuel consumption, electricity usage, and other energy sources. The energy outputs will be measured in terms of barley yield and energy content. The environmental impacts assessment will consider various environmental indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, soil erosion, and pesticide use. These indicators will be quantified for each irrigation system to determine their environmental footprint. The results of this study will provide valuable insights into the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of different irrigation systems. It will help farmers, policymakers, and stakeholders make informed decisions regarding irrigation practices and promote sustainable agriculture. The findings can also be used to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to save energy and reduce environmental impacts in barley production

Energy audit and management of environmental GHG emissions based on multi-objective genetic algorithm and data envelopment analysis: An agriculture case

This study aimed to address the challenges of energy consumption and environmental emissions in the mushroom production sector through an energy audit analysis and life cycle assessment approach. The main objective of the study was to estimate energy and environmental indicators, optimize their outputs using multi-objective genetic algorithm and data envelopment analysis methods, and identify opportunities for energy savings in the mushroom production process. The energy flow analysis revealed that the total input energy for mushroom production was 1022537.82 MJ/m2, while the total output energy was only 11125.94 MJ/m2, resulting in an energy use efficiency rate of 0.01, indicating significant energy imbalance and inefficiency. Electrical energy consumption had the largest share of total consumed energy, approximately 80.6%. The life cycle assessment results showed that the mushroom production chain emits about 8.50 × 10+3kg of CO2 GHG. The results of energy optimization demonstrate that between 6.5% and 25% reductions in energy utilization can be achieved during mushroom production. Among the input energies, compost had the largest quota in energy savings of almost 7% and 26% by data envelopment analysis and multi-objective genetic algorithm techniques, respectively. Thus, it is recommended to implement the multi-objective genetic algorithm technique to identify opportunities for energy savings and reduce environmental emissions in the mushroom production sector, which can lead to significant energy savings and contribute to environmental sustainability while reducing operating costs