Genome-wide association study for reproduction traits in maternal pig breeds

The number of piglets born alive (NBA) is one of the most important reproduction traits due to its influence on pig production efficiency. It was shown in several studies that NBA has an antagonistic relationship with later fattening performance of the pig. To clarify the genetic background of NBA and to detect possible pleiotropic effects with the production traits growth (ADG), lean meat percentage (LMP) and backfat (BF), Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) using estimated breeding values (EBVs) as phenotypes were performed. Therefore, 4,012 Large White (LW) and Landrace (LR) pigs from herdbook and commercial breeding companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were genotyped with the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip. The aims of the first study were a) to reveal genetic similarities and differences between LW and LR populations, b) to identify significant associated SNPs with NBA, and c) to clarify the biological relevance of these markers. Because of genetic distances between and within the two breeds, GWAS were performed within each breed and five further sub-clusters for each breed. In total, 17 significant markers affecting NBA were found in regions with known effects on female fertility. No overlapping significant chromosome areas or QTLs for both breeds were detected. In the second step, GWAS was performed for NBA and production traits (LMP, ADG, BF) to identify possible pleiotropic effects. In a first approach univariate GWAS was performed and resulting SNP positions of all traits were compared. The second approach was based on a principal component analyses (PCA). All EBVs were condensed into representative, uncorrelated principal components (PCs) and used as new phenotype in multivariate GWAS. The relevance of each EBV within a PC was quantified by their corresponding loading. Using univariate method 79 SNPs were identified and only one SNP with potential pleiotropic effects were found. Using the multivariate approach, 98 significant SNPs with partly antagonistic relationships between reproduction and production traits were identified. In conclusion, population specific SNPs with a significant influence on analyzed traits were identified. Only some of the SNPs were confirmed in direct sub-clusters. Multivariate approach resulted in a higher number of detected pleiotropic effects compared to univariate method. Due to genetic distances between the different populations and the lower number of significant SNPs when GWAS was performed in breeding organization overlapping data sets, a combination of different data sets would not be beneficial.Die Anzahl lebend geborenen Ferkel (LGF) ist aufgrund der ökonomischen Bedeutung eines der wichtigsten Reproduktionsmerkmale. Frühere Studien zeigten antagonistische Beziehungen zwischen LGF und späteren Mastleistungen der Schweine. Um den genetischen Hintergrund der LGF und pleiotrope Effekte mit den Produktionsmerkmalen tägl. Zunahme (TGZ), Muskelfleischanteil (MFA) und Rückenspeckdicke (RSD) zu klären, wurden genomweite Assoziationsstudien (GWAS) mit dem Zuchtwert als Phänotyp durchgeführt. Dafür wurden 4.012 Edelschwein (LW) und Landrasse (LR) Schweine von Herdbuch und kommerziellen Zuchtorganisationen aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz mit dem Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip genotypisiert. Das Ziel der ersten Studie war a) genetische Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen LW und LR Populationen aufzudecken, b) die Identifizierung von SNPs mit signifikanten Einfluss auf LGF, und c) die Klärung der biologischen Relevanz dieser Marker. Aufgrund genetischer Distanzen zwischen und innerhalb beider Rassen wurden die GWAS innerhalb jeder Rasse und in fünf Sub-Clustern je Rasse durchgeführt. Insgesamt wurden 17 signifikante SNPs identifiziert, die innerhalb bekannter Regionen mit Einfluss auf Reproduktion lagen. Gemeinsame signifikante Chromosomen Regionen oder QTLs für beide Rassen wurden nicht identifiziert. Im zweiten Schritt wurden GWAS für LGF und MFA, TGZ und RSD durchgeführt, um mögliche pleiotrope Effekte zu finden. Im ersten Schritt wurden univariate GWAS durchgeführt und die Ergebnisse aller Merkmale miteinander verglichen. Der zweite Schritt basierte auf einer principal component Analyse (PCA). Alle Zuchtwerte wurden dafür in unkorrelierte principal components (PCs) kondensiert und als neuer Phänotyp für die GWAS genutzt. Die Bedeutung jedes Zuchtwertes innerhalb der PCs wurde anhand des entsprechenden loadings quantifiziert. Mittels des univariaten Ansatzes wurden 79 SNPs gefunden und nur ein SNP zeigte pleiotrope Effekte. Die multivariaten Analysen ergaben 98 SNPs mit zum Teil antagonistischen Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Merkmalskomplexen. Es lässt sich zusammenfassen, dass signifikante populationsspezifische SNPs für alle untersuchten Merkmale identifiziert wurden. Diese Marker konnten teilweise in direkten Sub-Clustern bestätigt werden. Der multivariate Ansatz ergab eine höhere Anzahl an pleiotropen SNPs im Vergleich zu univariaten Analysen. Aufgrund Poulationsstratifikationen und der niedrigeren Anzahl an signifikanten Markern in Analysen mit überlappenden Datensätzen, kann gefolgert werden, dass eine Kombination der Datensätze nicht vorteilhaft ist

Film architecture and the transnational imagination: set design in 1930s European cinema

Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination presents for the first time a comparative study of European film set design in the late 1920s and 1930s; based on a wealth of designers' drawings, film stills and archival documents, the book offers a new insight into the development and significance of trans-national artistic collaboration during this period. European cinema from the late 1920s to the late 1930s is famous for its attention to detail in terms of set design and visual effect. Focusing on developments in Britain, France, and Germany, Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination: Set Design in 1930s European Cinema provides a comprehensive analysis of the practices, styles, and function of cinematic production design during this period, and its influence on subsequent filmmaking patterns

International films and international markets: the globalisation of Hollywood entertainment, c.1921-1951

The international appeal of Hollywood films through the twentieth century has been a subject of interest to economic and film historians alike. This paper employs some of the methods of the economic historian to evaluate key arguments within the film history literature explaining the global success of American films. Through careful analysis of both existing and newly constructed data sets, the paper examines the extent to which Hollywood's foreign earnings were affected by: film production costs; the extent of global distribution networks; and also the international orientation of the films themselves. The paper finds that these factors influenced foreign earnings in quite distinct ways, and that their relative importance changed over time. The evidence presented here suggests a degree of interaction between the production and distribution arms of the major US film companies in their pursuit of foreign markets that would benefit from further archival-based investigation

Structured film-viewing preferences and practices : a quantitative analysis of hierarchies in screen and content selection amongst young people in Flanders

Aleit Veenstra, Philippe Meers and Daniel Biltereyst address a specific segment of a typical small-market audience—Flemish youth film viewers. Their study “Structured Film Viewing Preferences and Practices: A Quantitative Analysis of Hierarchies in Screen and Content Selection among Young People in Flanders” deals with one of the symptomatic problems of the era of convergent audiences, the multiplication of screens used for domestic consumption of audiovisual content. Building an intriguing empirical design, Veenstra and her colleagues aim to identify patterns of screen selection and their relation to the perceived value of Hollywood, European and domestic Flemish films. Their conclusion is that there are well-articulated hierarchies applied by the audience members in the selection of both film titles and reception screens and that, to put it simply, in the case of screens, size matters