An analysis of the genetic implications of maternal and grandmaternal effects in beef cattle selection programs

A study utilizing 3,220 performance records of Angus calves dropped over a 19-year period from 1957 to 1975 was undertaken in an attempt to estimate the importance of direct, maternal, and grandmaternal variances and to evaluate their interrelationship as causative factors in creating phenotypic variation in birth weight, gain from birth to weaning, weaning condition, and weaning weights. All of these records were obtained from cattle at the Ames Plantation in Tennessee and were from non-creep-fed calves. The data were adjusted by least squares procedures for the effects of year of birth, season of birth, and age of dam. These adjusted data were used to calculate the various covariances among relatives. The model for maternal effects utilized the covariances of the individual with itself and paternal half-sibs, maternal half-sibs, full-sibs, dam-offspring, and granddam offspring covariances. While the model for assessing grandmaternal genetic influences utilized, in addition to the above six, covariances between cousins, within cousins, and within paternal half-sibs. All of these were equated to their expected biological components, direct genetic variance, maternal genetic variance, grandmaternal genetic variance, covariances between direct and maternal, between direct and grandmaternal, between maternal and grandmaternal, direct environmental variance, maternal environmental variance, and the covariance between direct and maternal environmental effects. The maternal model yielded positive effects for all estimates of variances with the direct environmental variance contributing the largest fraction of the total phenotypic variances for all traits except adjusted weaning weight (6.6%). The estimates ranged quite high (up to 83.4% for birth weight); however, the heritability estimates are in line with accepted values for these traits. The direct estimates of variance, ranging from a low of 16.1% for weaning condition to a high of 41.5% for weaning weight, were, therefore, considered quite reasonable. Estimates of the maternal variance all tended to be low (from 1.4% to 4.5%); however, they are positive and do exist. The covariance between direct and maternal effects and the environmental covariances between direct and maternal effects exhibited negative signs except for the genetic covariance for birth weight (7.4% and 6.1%) and environmental covariance for weaning condition (16.4% and 17.0%). This negative covariance supports the theory of an antagonism existing between direct and maternal effects for the weaning and preweaning traits. The grandmaternal model showed the variance estimates for all effects to be positive except adjusted weaning weight and adjusted gain (-1.2 and -1.2) for the maternal environmental variance. These estimates ranged from 20.2% for birth to 42.8% for weaning weight for direct effects, while the maternal variances were in the 6% to 16% range as to their influence upon the total phenotypic variance. The estimates of the grandmaternal variance were in the range of 5% to 10%, thus very evident as to their importance upon the total phenotypic variance. The estimates for grandmaternal genetic variance were all fairly large in magnitude and were thought to play an important role in validating the alternate generation phenomenon

Fiction Fix 07

https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/fiction_fix/1006/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, September 28, 2006

Anti-Racist Writer and Educator Speaks to Ursinus Community • Spinach Recall and Dining at Ursinus • Smoking Ban Introduced • Images from Annual Fringe Festival • USGA Town Hall Meeting • Shades of Clay Closes • Beyond the Condom: Guide to Safe Sex • Constitution Day: A Review • An Afternoon with Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera • Watson Fellowship • Opinions: The Core ; New Zack City • Soccer Struggles • Letter to the Editor • NCAA Drug Testinghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1719/thumbnail.jp

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Prospective CT Screening for Lung Cancer in a High-Risk Population: HIV-Positive Smokers

Background:Epidemiological evidence suggests that HIV-infected individuals are at increased risk of lung cancer, but no data exist because large computed tomography (CT) screening trials routinely exclude HIV-infected participants.Methods:From 2006 to 2013, we conducted the world's first lung cancer screening trial of 224 HIV-infected current/former smokers to assess the CT detection rates of lung cancer. We also used 130 HIV-infected patients with known lung cancer to determine radiographic markers of lung cancer risk using multivariate analysis.Results:Median age was 48 years with 34 pack-years smoked. During 678 person-years, one lung cancer was found on incident screening. Besides this lung cancer case, 18 deaths (8%) occurred, but none were cancer related. There were no interim diagnoses of lung or extrapulmonary cancers. None of the pulmonary nodules detected in 48 participants at baseline were diagnosed as cancer by study end. The heterogeneity of emphysema across the entire lung as measured by CT densitometry was significantly higher in HIV-infected subjects with lung cancer compared with the heterogeneity of emphysema in those without HIV (p ⩽ 0.01). On multivariate regression analysis, increased age, higher smoking pack-years, low CD4 nadir, and increased heterogeneity of emphysema on quantitative CT imaging were all significantly associated with lung cancer.Conclusions:Despite a high rate of active smoking among HIV-infected participants, only one lung cancer was detected in 678 patient-years. This was probably because of the young age of participants suggesting that CT screening of high-risk populations should strongly consider advanced age as a critical inclusion criterion. Future screening trials in urban American must also incorporate robust measures to ensure HIV patient compliance, adherence, and smoking cessation