DETERMINATION OF FAULT PLANE SOLUTIONS USING WAVEFORM AMPLITUDES AND RADIATION PATTERN

In the present work a modified version of the program FPFIT (Reasenberg and Oppenheimer, 1985) is developed, in order to improve the calculation of the fault plane solutions. The method is applied on selected earthquakes from short period waveform data in the Mygdonia basin (N. Greece) as recorded by the permanent network of the Seismological Station of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki during the period 1989-1999. The proposed modification of the FPFIT program was developed in order to minimize the derivation of multiple solutions, as well as the uncertainties in the location of Ρ and Τ axis of the determined fault plane solutions. Compared to the original version of FPFIT the modified approach takes also into account the radiation pattern of SV and SH waves. For each earthquake horizontal and vertical components of each station were used and the first arrivals of Ρ and S waves were picked. Using the maximum peak-to-peak amplitude of Ρ and S waves the ratio Pmax/(S/\/2max+SE2max)1/2 was estimated, where S/Vmax and SEmax are the maximum amplitudes of the two horizontal components (N-S, E-W) for the S waves and Pmax is the maximum amplitude of the vertical one for the P- waves. This ratio for the observed data, as well as the corresponding ratio Prad/iS/Aad+SlAad)1'2 of the synthetic data was used as a weight for the determination of the observed and theoretical P-wave polarities, respectively. The method was tested using synthetic data. A significant improvement of the results was found, compared to the original version of FPFIT. In particular, an improved approximation of the input focal mechanism is found, without multiple solutions and the best-estimated Ρ and Τ axes exhibit much smaller uncertainties. The addition of noise in the synthetic data didn't significantly change the results concerning the fault plane solutions. Finally, we have applied the modified program on a real data set of earthquakes that occurred in the Mygdonia basin

Copper/Zinc Superoxide Dismutase from the Crocodile Icefish Chionodraco hamatus: Antioxidant Defense at Constant Sub-Zero Temperature

In the present study, we describe the purification and molecular characterization of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) from Chionodraco hamatus, an Antarctic teleost widely distributed in many areas of the Ross Sea that plays a pivotal role in the Antarctic food chain. The primary sequence was obtained using biochemical and molecular biology approaches and compared with Cu,Zn SODs from other organisms. Multiple sequence alignment using the amino acid sequence revealed that Cu,Zn SOD showed considerable sequence similarity with its orthologues from various vertebrate species, but also some specific substitutions directly linked to cold adaptation. Phylogenetic analyses presented the monophyletic status of Antartic Teleostei among the Perciformes, confirming the erratic differentiation of these proteins and concurring with the theory of the "unclock-like" behavior of Cu,Zn SOD evolution. Expression of C. hamatus Cu,Zn SOD at both the mRNA and protein levels were analyzed in various tissues, highlighting the regulation of gene expression related to environmental stress conditions and also animal physiology. The data presented are the first on the antioxidant enzymes of a fish belonging to the Channichthyidae family and represent an important starting point in understanding the antioxidant systems of these organisms that are subject to constant risk of oxidative stress

Meeting breeding potential in organic and low-input dairy farming

Low-input (LI) dairy farming, relying heavily on grazing, is increasing in popularity for perceived sustainability, welfare and milk nutritional quality benefits. However, there is little research into the breed suitability for these systems. The popular Holstein Friesians are not well suited to LI production as, to achieve their potential high yields, they require high levels of concentrate intakes and veterinary inputs. Holstein-Friesians were traditionally bred for high milk yields, which often correlate negatively with functional traits, such as fertility and health. This drives the need for alternative breed choices and UK dairy farmers use several crossbreeding practices. Additionally, classic measures of production efficiency (kg feed /litre of milk) are not the sole priority in LI systems, which also aim for improved health, fertility, forage conversion and milk quality. This study aimed to explore the effect of breeding strategy on LI and organic production in dairy systems, collecting data from 17 farms throughout England and Wales: 7 organic and 10 low-input-conventional systems with both purebred and crossbred cows from different breeds. Records from 1070 cows were collected, including background data, health, fertility, breeding and parity. Additionally, milk was analysed on four occasions (Autumn 2011 and Winter, Spring and Summer 2012). Principal components analysis was used to visualise the effect of management, Farm ID and stage of lactation on LI-production. The analysis clustered cows by Farm ID showing that individual management practice on each farm had the greatest impact on various production traits. Cows were allocated a composite score based on their yield, health records and milk fatty acid profile and a linear mixed effects model indicated (p<0.01) that cross-bred New Zealand Friesian cows scored highest whilst Dairy Shorthorn cows scored the lowest. This paper highlights weaknesses in current breeding programmes for LI and organic farms in the UK, in terms of the alignment of breeds with husbandry practices. Additional research is needed to explore any gene by environment interactions to meet the true potential of individual cows and certain breeds under LI and organic management

Genetic prediction of ICU hospitalization and mortality in COVID-19 patients using artificial neural networks

There is an unmet need of models for early prediction of morbidity and mortality of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). We aimed to a) identify complement-related genetic variants associated with the clinical outcomes of ICU hospitalization and death, b) develop an artificial neural network (ANN) predicting these outcomes and c) validate whether complement-related variants are associated with an impaired complement phenotype. We prospectively recruited consecutive adult patients of Caucasian origin, hospitalized due to COVID-19. Through targeted next-generation sequencing, we identified variants in complement factor H/CFH, CFB, CFH-related, CFD, CD55, C3, C5, CFI, CD46, thrombomodulin/THBD, and A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS13). Among 381 variants in 133 patients, we identified 5 critical variants associated with severe COVID-19: rs2547438 (C3), rs2250656 (C3), rs1042580 (THBD), rs800292 (CFH) and rs414628 (CFHR1). Using age, gender and presence or absence of each variant, we developed an ANN predicting morbidity and mortality in 89.47% of the examined population. Furthermore, THBD and C3a levels were significantly increased in severe COVID-19 patients and those harbouring relevant variants. Thus, we reveal for the first time an ANN accurately predicting ICU hospitalization and death in COVID-19 patients, based on genetic variants in complement genes, age and gender. Importantly, we confirm that genetic dysregulation is associated with impaired complement phenotype

Correlation property of length sequences based on global structure of complete genome

This paper considers three kinds of length sequences of the complete genome. Detrended fluctuation analysis, spectral analysis, and the mean distance spanned within time $L$ are used to discuss the correlation property of these sequences. The values of the exponents from these methods of these three kinds of length sequences of bacteria indicate that the long-range correlations exist in most of these sequences. The correlation have a rich variety of behaviours including the presence of anti-correlations. Further more, using the exponent $\gamma$, it is found that these correlations are all linear ($\gamma=1.0\pm 0.03$). It is also found that these sequences exhibit $1/f$ noise in some interval of frequency ($f>1$). The length of this interval of frequency depends on the length of the sequence. The shape of the periodogram in $f>1$ exhibits some periodicity. The period seems to depend on the length and the complexity of the length sequence.Comment: RevTex, 9 pages with 5 figures and 3 tables. Phys. Rev. E Jan. 1,2001 (to appear

Measure representation and multifractal analysis of complete genomes

This paper introduces the notion of measure representation of DNA sequences. Spectral analysis and multifractal analysis are then performed on the measure representations of a large number of complete genomes. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the multifractal property of the measure representation and the classification of bacteria. From the measure representations and the values of the $D_{q}$ spectra and related $C_{q}$ curves, it is concluded that these complete genomes are not random sequences. In fact, spectral analyses performed indicate that these measure representations considered as time series, exhibit strong long-range correlation. For substrings with length K=8, the $D_{q}$ spectra of all organisms studied are multifractal-like and sufficiently smooth for the $C_{q}$ curves to be meaningful. The $C_{q}$ curves of all bacteria resemble a classical phase transition at a critical point. But the 'analogous' phase transitions of chromosomes of non-bacteria organisms are different. Apart from Chromosome 1 of {\it C. elegans}, they exhibit the shape of double-peaked specific heat function.Comment: 12 pages with 9 figures and 1 tabl

Performance and milk quality parameters of Jersey crossbreds in low-input dairy systems

Previous work has demonstrated some benefit from alternative breeds in low-input dairying, although there has been no systematic analysis of the simultaneous effect of Jersey crossbreeding on productivity, health, fertility parameters or milk nutritional quality. This work aimed to understand the effects of, and interactions/interrelations between, dairy cow genotypes (Holstein-Friesian (HF), Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbreds (HF × J)) and season (spring, summer, autumn) on milk yield; basic composition; feed efficiency, health, and fertility parameters; and milk fatty acid (FA) profiles. Milk samples (n=219) and breed/diet data were collected from 74 cows in four UK low-input dairy farms between March and October 2012. HF × J cows produced milk with more fat (+3.2 g/kg milk), protein (+2.9 g/kg milk) and casein (+2.7 g/kg milk); and showed higher feed, fat, and protein efficiency (expressed as milk, fat and protein outputs per kg DMI) than HF cows. Milk from HF × J cows contained more C4:0 (+2.6 g/kg FA), C6:0 (+1.9 g/kg FA), C8:0 (+1.3 g/kg FA), C10:0 (+3.0 g/kg FA), C12:0 (+3.7 g/kg FA), C14:0 (+4.6 g/kg FA) and saturated FA (SFA; +27.3 g/kg milk) and less monounsaturated FA (MUFA; -23.7 g/kg milk) and polyunsaturated FA (-22.3 g/kg milk). There was no significant difference for most health and fertility parameters, but HF × J cows had shorter calving interval (by 39 days). The superior feed, fat and protein efficiency of HF × J cows, as well as shorter calving interval can be considered beneficial for the financial sustainability of low-input dairy farms; and using such alternative breeds in crossbreeding schemes may be recommended. Although statistically significant, it is difficult to determine if differences observed between HF and HF × J cows in fat composition are likely to impact human health, considering average population dairy fat intakes and the relatively small difference. Thus, the HF × J cow could be used in low-input dairying to improve efficiency and productivity without impacting milk nutritional properties