Y-chromosome descent clusters and male differential reproductive success: young lineage expansions dominate Asian pastoral nomadic populations

International audienceHigh-frequency microsatellite haplotypes of the male-specific Y-chromosome can signal past episodes of high reproductive success of particular men and their patrilineal descendants. Previously, two examples of such successful Y-lineages have been described in Asia, both associated with Altaic-speaking pastoral nomadic societies, and putatively linked to dynasties descending, respectively, from Genghis Khan and Giocangga. Here we surveyed a total of 5321 Y-chromosomes from 127 Asian populations, including novel Y-SNP and microsatellite data on 461 Central Asian males, to ask whether additional lineage expansions could be identified. Based on the most frequent eight-microsatellite haplotypes, we objectively defined 11 descent clusters (DCs), each within a specific haplogroup, that represent likely past instances of high male reproductive success, including the two previously identified cases. Analysis of the geographical patterns and ages of these DCs and their associated cultural characteristics showed that the most successful lineages are found both among sedentary agriculturalists and pastoral nomads, and expanded between 2100 BCE and 1100 CE. However, those with recent origins in the historical period are almost exclusively found in Altaic-speaking pastoral nomadic populations, which may reflect a shift in political organisation in pastoralist economies and a greater ease of transmission of Y-chromosomes through time and space facilitated by the use of horses

Configuring online problem-solving resources with the internet reasoning service

This paper describes the original specification of the Internet Reasoning Service (IRS-I), a tool providing the first implementation of a framework for the intelligent configuration and execution of semantically characterized software componments. IRS-I paved the way for the samnatic web service architectures, which are being developed at the moment, with the current version of the IRS (IRS-III) forming the core of an international standardization effort. As recorded under Output 1, this work has been the basis for huge research investment at the Open University and across Europe

OIL & UPML: A Unifying Framework for the Knowledge Web

. Currently computers are changing from single isolated devices to entry points in a world wide network of information exchange and business transactions called the World Wide Web (WWW). A prerequisite for successfully integrating various information sources are standardized and machine-processable descriptions of their semantics. In this paper, we will briefly describe two proposals and will discuss how both can be combined. First, we discuss OIL that is proposed as description language for ontology interchange. That is, it is designed for specifying static information. Second, we sketch UPML, which is developed for describing reasoning components. UPML helps to automatically configure distributed reasoning components that can be used as inference service via networks. Integrating both description types is a necessary step in the direction of a knowledge web where the distinction between static and dynamic information sources will become transparent for the user. The main contribution of the paper is the comparison of both approaches. We achieve this comparison by discussing severals ways of combining OIL and UPML. We analyze the meaning of each perspective and stress what enhancements would be necessary to improve their usefulness.

An experiment on modelling agents and knowledge for the Semantic Web

Abstract. This paper contributes to the area of software engineering for Semantic Web development. We describe how to apply MAS-CommonKADS, an agent-oriented extension of CommonKADS, to the development of the ITtalks Web Portal. Domain-specific knowledge is modelled by reusing well-known ontologies such as FOAF and RDFiCal. We also describe how to specify CommonKADS problem-solving methods as web services, expressed using the OWL-S language

A new deep branch of eurasian mtDNA macrohaplogroup M reveals additional complexity regarding the settlement of Madagascar

Abstract Background Current models propose that mitochondrial DNA macrohaplogroups M and N evolved from haplogroup L3 soon after modern humans left Africa. Increasingly, however, analysis of isolated populations is filling in the details of, and in some cases challenging, aspects of this general model. Results Here, we present the first comprehensive study of three such isolated populations from Madagascar: the Mikea hunter-gatherers, the neighbouring Vezo fishermen, and the Merina central highlanders (n = 266). Complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequences reveal several unresolved lineages, and a new, deep branch of the out-of-Africa founder clade M has been identified. This new haplogroup, M23, has a limited global distribution, and is restricted to Madagascar and a limited range of African and Southwest Asian groups. Conclusions The geographic distribution, phylogenetic placement and molecular age of M23 suggest that the colonization of Madagascar was more complex than previously thought.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are