Characterizing Linkage Disequilibrium in Pig Populations

Knowledge of the extent and range of linkage disequilibrium (LD), defined as non-random association of alleles at two or more loci, in animal populations is extremely valuable in localizing genes affecting quantitative traits, identifying chromosomal regions under selection, studying population history, and characterizing/managing genetic resources and diversity. Two commonly used LD measures, r(2) and D', and their permutation based adjustments, were evaluated using genotypes of more than 6,000 pigs from six commercial lines (two terminal sire lines and four maternal lines) at ~4,500 autosomal SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). The results indicated that permutation only partially removed the dependency of D' on allele frequency and that r(2) is a considerably more robust LD measure. The maximum r(2) was derived as a function of allele frequency. Using the same genotype dataset, the extent of LD in these pig populations was estimated for all possible syntenic SNP pairs using r(2) and the ratio of r(2) over its theoretical maximum. As expected, the extent of LD highest for SNP pairs was found in tightest linkage and decreased as their map distance increased. The level of LD found in these pig populations appears to be lower than previously implied in several other studies using microsatellite genotype data. For all pairs of SNPs approximately 3 centiMorgan (cM) apart, the average r(2) was equal to 0.1. Based on the average population-wise LD found in these six commercial pig lines, we recommend a spacing of 0.1 to 1 cM for a whole genome association study in pig populations

Quantum Discord for Investigating Quantum Correlations without Entanglement in Solids

Quantum systems unfold diversified correlations which have no classical counterparts. These quantum correlations have various different facets. Quantum entanglement, as the most well known measure of quantum correlations, plays essential roles in quantum information processing. However, it has recently been pointed out that quantum entanglement cannot describe all the nonclassicality in the correlations. Thus the study of quantum correlations in separable states attracts widely attentions. Herein, we experimentally investigate the quantum correlations of separable thermal states in terms of quantum discord. The sudden change of quantum discord is observed, which captures ambiguously the critical point associated with the behavior of Hamiltonian. Our results display the potential applications of quantum correlations in studying the fundamental properties of quantum system, such as quantum criticality of non-zero temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

3-Anilino-N-p-tolyl­benzamide

The title compound, C20H18N2O, which crystallizes with two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit, is composed of three aromatic rings (I, II and III). The conformation of the two independent mol­ecules is slightly different. The dihedral angles between the central aromatic ring II and rings I and III are 47.13 (9) and 89.36 (9)°, respectively, for mol­ecule A, and 29.60 (9) and 70.72 (9)°, respectively, for mol­ecule B. Rings I and III are inclined to one another by 86.57 (9)° in mol­ecule A, and 64.59 (10)° in mol­ecule B. The mol­ecular structures are stabilized by intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked through inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating in the [010] direction. In addition, a number of C—H⋯π inter­actions are observed

Cooperative three- and four- player quantum games

A cooperative multi-player quantum game played by 3 and 4 players has been studied. Quantum superposed operator is introduced in this work which solves the non-zero sum difficulty in previous treatment. The role of quantum entanglement of the initial state is discussed in details.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures. To appear in Physics Letters

Progress in Durability Study of FRP Materials

During the past decades, FRP strengthened RC structures have attracted worldwide interest in both application and research. Nowadays, as more and more infrastructures are being suffered from severe corrosions due to harsh and extreme environments, the durability of FRP strengthened RC structures has generally emerged as the most important issue in research. Thus, the paper presents the latest progress in durability study of the FRP materials through an in-depth review and analysis on existing extensive investigations. The time-dependent performances of two types of FRP materials of carbon FRP (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP) under severe environments of humidity, high temperature, wet–dry cycles, freeze–thaw cycles, ultraviolet radiation exposure, and natural exposure have been compared and analyzed. The results have finally confirmed the superior corrosion resistance of FRP material, although the performance of GFRP material exhibited a slight deterioration

Evolution of Microstructural Characteristics of Carbonated Cement Pastes Subjected to High Temperatures Evaluated by MIP and SEM

The microstructural evolutions of both uncarbonated and carbonated cement pastes subjected to various high temperatures (30 degrees C, 200 degrees C, 400 degrees C, 500 degrees C, 600 degrees C, 720 degrees C, and 950 degrees C) are presented in this study by the means of mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the thermal stabilities of uncarbonated cement pastes were significantly changed from 400 to 500 degrees C due to the decomposition of portlandite at this temperature range. More large pores and microcracks were generated from 600 to 720 degrees C, with the depolymerization of C-S-H. After carbonation, the microstructures of carbonated cement pastes remained unchanged below 500 degrees C and started to degrade at 600 degrees C, due to the decompositions of calcium carbonates and calcium modified silica gel. At 950 degrees C, both uncarbonated and carbonated cement pastes showed a loosely honeycombed microstructure, composed mainly of beta-C2S and lime. It can be concluded that carbonation improves the high-temperature resistance of cement pastes up to 500 degrees C, but this advantage is lost at temperatures over 600 degrees C

Application of Local Wave Decomposition in Seismic Signal Processing

Local wave decomposition (LWD) method plays an important role in seismic signal processing for its superiority in significantly revealing the frequency content of a seismic signal changes with time variation. The LWD method is an effective way to decompose a seismic signal into several individual components. Each component represents a harmonic signal localized in time, with slowly varying amplitudes and frequencies, potentially highlighting different geologic and stratigraphic information. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the synchrosqueezing transform (SST), and variational mode decomposition (VMD) are three typical LWD methods. We mainly study the application of the LWD method especially EMD, SST, and VMD in seismic signal processing including seismic signal de‐noising, edge detection of seismic images, and recovery of the target reflection near coal seams

Electrodeposited Cobalt-Phosphorous-Derived Films as Competent Bifunctional Catalysts for Overall Water Splitting

One of the challenges to realize large-scale water splitting is the lack of active and low-cost electrocatalysts for its two half reactions: H2 and O2 evolution reactions (HER and OER). Herein, we report that cobalt-phosphorous-derived films (Co-P) can act as bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting. The as-prepared Co-P films exhibited remarkable catalytic performance for both HER and OER in alkaline media, with a current density of 10 mAcm¢2 at overpotentials of ¢94 mV for HER and 345 mV for OER and Tafel slopes of 42 and 47 mV/dec, respectively. They can be employed as catalysts on both anode and cathode for overall water splitting with 100% Faradaic efficiency, rivalling the integrated performance of Pt and IrO2. The major composition of the asprepared and post-HER films are metallic cobalt and cobalt phosphide, which partially evolved to cobalt oxide during OER