Proteomic profiling of bovine M. longissimus lumborum from Crossbred Aberdeen Angus and Belgian Blue sired steers varying in genetic merit for carcass weight

Bovine skeletal muscle is a tissue of significant value to the beef industry and global economy. Proteomic analyses offer the opportunity to detect molecular mechanisms regulating muscle growth and intramuscular fat accumulation. The current study aimed to investigate differences in protein abundance in skeletal muscle tissue of cattle from two breeds of contrasting maturity (early vs. late maturing), adiposity, and muscle growth potential, namely, Belgian Blue (BB) × Holstein Friesian and Aberdeen Angus (AA) × Holstein Friesian. Twenty AA (n = 10) and BB (n = 10) sired steers, the progeny of sires of either high or low genetic merit, expressed as expected progeny difference for carcass weight (EPDcwt), and bred through AI, were evaluated as 4 genetic groups, BB-High, BB-Low, AA-High, and AA-Low (n = 5 per treatment). Chemical composition analysis of M. longissimus lumborum showed greater protein and moisture and decreased lipid concentrations for BB-sired compared with AA-sired steers. To investigate the effects of both sire breed and EPDcwt on M. longissimus lumborum, proteomic analysis was performed using 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometry. Proteins were identified from their peptide sequences, using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Swiss-prot databases. Metabolic enzymes involved in glycolysis (glycogen phosphorylase, phosphoglycerate mutase) and the citric acid cycle (aconitase 2, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase) were increased in AA- vs. BB-sired steers. Expression of proteins involved in cell structure, such as myosin light chain isoforms and troponins I and T, were also altered due to sire breed. Furthermore, heat shock protein β-1 and peroxiredoxin 6, involved in cell defense, had increased abundance in muscle of AA-sired relative to BB-sired steers. Protein abundance of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, enolase-3, and pyruvate kinase was greater in AA-sired animals of High compared with Low EPDcwt. Changes in the expression of these proteins were supported by gene expression analysis using quantitative real-time PCR. This information will aid in our understanding of genetic infl uences controlling muscle growth and fat accumulation and could contribute to future breeding programs to increase lean tissue gain of beef cattle

Cross-National Logo Evaluation Analysis: An Individual Level Approach

The universality of design perception and response is tested using data collected from ten countries: Argentina, Australia, China, Germany, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, and the United States. A Bayesian, finite-mixture, structural-equation model is developed that identifies latent logo clusters while accounting for heterogeneity in evaluations. The concomitant variable approach allows cluster probabilities to be country specific. Rather than a priori defined clusters, our procedure provides a posteriori cross-national logo clusters based on consumer response similarity. To compare the a posteriori cross-national logo clusters, our approach is integrated with Steenkamp and Baumgartner’s (1998) measurement invariance methodology. Our model reduces the ten countries to three cross-national clusters that respond differently to logo design dimensions: the West, Asia, and Russia. The dimensions underlying design are found to be similar across countries, suggesting that elaborateness, naturalness, and harmony are universal design dimensions. Responses (affect, shared meaning, subjective familiarity, and true and false recognition) to logo design dimensions (elaborateness, naturalness, and harmony) and elements (repetition, proportion, and parallelism) are also relatively consistent, although we find minor differences across clusters. Our results suggest that managers can implement a global logo strategy, but they also can optimize logos for specific countries if desired.adaptation;standardization;Bayesian;international marketing;design;Gibbs sampling;concomitant variable;logos;mixture models;structural equation models

Stem cell factor (SCF) and c-kit in the ovine fetal testis in normal and nutrition perturbed pregnancies

Stem cell factor (SCF) and c-kit in the ovine fetal testis in normal and nutrition perturbed pregnancie

Dynamics of ions in the selectivity filter of the KcsA channel

The statistical and dynamical properties of ions in the selectivity filter of the KcsA ion channel are considered on the basis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the KcsA protein embedded in a lipid membrane surrounded by an ionic solution. A new approach to the derivation of a Brownian dynamics (BD) model of ion permeation through the filter is discussed, based on unbiased MD simulations. It is shown that depending on additional assumptions, ion’s dynamics can be described either by under-damped Langevin equation with constant damping and white noise or by Langevin equation with a fractional memory kernel. A comparison of the potential of the mean force derived from unbiased MD simulations with the potential produced by the umbrella sampling method demonstrates significant differences in these potentials. The origin of these differences is an open question that requires further clarifications

Molecular vibration in cold collision theory

Cold collisions of ground state oxygen molecules with Helium have been investigated in a wide range of cold collision energies (from 1 $\mu$K up to 10 K) treating the oxygen molecule first as a rigid rotor and then introducing the vibrational degree of freedom. The comparison between the two models shows that at low energies the rigid rotor approximation is very accurate and able to describe all the dynamical features of the system. The comparison between the two models has also been extended to cases where the interaction potential He - O$_2$ is made artificially stronger. In this case vibration can perturb rate constants, but fine-tuning the rigid rotor potential can alleviate the discrepancies between the two models.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Cross-National Logo Evaluation Analysis: An Individual Level Approach

The universality of design perception and response is tested using data collected from ten countries: Argentina, Australia, China, Germany, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, and the United States. A Bayesian, finite-mixture, structural-equation model is developed that identifies latent logo clusters while accounting for heterogeneity in evaluations. The concomitant v

Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy of the Lower Solar Atmosphere During Solar Flares

The extreme ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum contains a wealth of diagnostic tools for probing the lower solar atmosphere in response to an injection of energy, particularly during the impulsive phase of solar flares. These include temperature and density sensitive line ratios, Doppler shifted emission lines and nonthermal broadening, abundance measurements, differential emission measure profiles, and continuum temperatures and energetics, among others. In this paper I shall review some of the advances made in recent years using these techniques, focusing primarily on studies that have utilized data from Hinode/EIS and SDO/EVE, while also providing some historical background and a summary of future spectroscopic instrumentation.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Solar Physics as part of the Topical Issue on Solar and Stellar Flare

Learning through 'prosuming': Insights from media literacy programmes in Asia

10.1177/097172180801300205Science, Technology and Society132259-27

Determination of Population Structure of Wheat Core Collection for Association Mapping

The microsatellites, as one of the most robust markers for identification of wheat varieties, were used for assessment of genetic diversity and population structure to promote effective use of genetic resources. In this study, the set of 284 wheat varieties were genotyped using 30 microsatellite markers. The chosen SSR markers were located among almost all linkage groups and covered all three genomes. The genotypes used originate from 24 different breeding centers worldwide and are included in an extensive core collection of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. The total number of detected alleles was 349 at all analyzed loci. The average number of detected allelic variant per locus was 11.5. The mean value of polymorphic information content was 0.68. According to the probability of data obtained by program Structure, the results have shown presence of 6 subpopulations within the studied set of genotypes. The population structure positively correlated to some extent with geographic origin. The available pedigree data were included for additional explanation of population structure. The results of this study should provide valuable information for future association studies using the diverse wheat breeding material