Heritabilities and genetic trends for reproductive traits in a population of Romosinuano cattle in Colombia

ABSTRACT Objective. The aim of this study was to estimate heritabilities and genetic trends for reproductive traits in a beef cattle population Romosinuano. Material and methods. Age at first calving (AFC), first calving interval (FCI), and second calving interval (SCI) were evaluated from a database generated from 1951 to 2011 by Research Center Turipana. Unicaracter animal model was used, which included fixed of contemporary group (year-season), random direct genetic additives effects and residual. Estimates of variance components and genetic parameters were obtained through Restricted Maximum Likelihood procedure, using AIREMLF90 program. Genetic trends were calculated as a linear regression of weighted averages of breeding values over the years, using the REG procedure of Statistical Analysis System. Results. The indices of heritability for additive genetic effects were 0.04 ± 0.05 for AFC, 0.06 ± 0.06 for FCI, and 0.09 ± 0.06 for SCI. Conclusions. Low heritabilities indicating that should improve nutritional and management conditions in the herd, so that they can better express the traits evaluated. The estimated genetic trends were near zero, which shows that the objective of the CI Turipaná regarding this population has complied fully preserving the genetic variability of the breed Romosinuano. RESUMEN Objetivo. Estimar heredabilidades y tendencias genéticas para características reproductivas en una población de ganado Romosinuano. Materiales y métodos. Se evaluaron los registros de edad al primer parto (EPP), primer intervalo entre partos (PIEP) y segundo intervalo entre partos (SIEP), desde el año 1951 hasta 2011 de ganado Romosinuano del Centro de Investigación Turipaná. Se empleó un modelo animal unicaracter que incluyó los efectos fijos del grupo contemporáneo (año-época de nacimiento), efectos aleatorios genéticos aditivos directos del animal y residual. Las estimaciones de los componentes de varianza y los parámetros genéticos se obtuvieron a través del procedimiento de Máxima Verosimilitud Restringida, mediante el programa de AIREMLF90. Las tendencias genéticas fueron calculadas como una regresión lineal de las medias ponderadas de los valores genéticos sobre los años, usando el procedimiento REG de Statistical Analysis System. Resultados. Los índices de heredabilidad para efectos genéticos aditivos directos fueron 0.04±0.05 para EPP, 0.06±0.06 para PIEP y 0.09±0.06 para SIEP. Conclusiones. Las heredabilidades bajas indican que se debe mejorar las condiciones de nutrición y de manejo en el hato para que se puedan expresar mejor las características evaluadas. Las tendencias genéticas estimadas arrojaron valores cercanos a cero, lo cual demuestra que el objetivo del C.I Turipaná con respecto a esta población se ha cumplido a cabalidad, preservando la variabilidad genética de la raza Romosinuano

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Bioengineering a Single-Protein Junction

Bioelectronics moves toward designing nanoscale electronic platforms that allow <i>in vivo</i> determinations. Such devices require interfacing complex biomolecular moieties as the sensing units to an electronic platform for signal transduction. Inevitably, a systematic design goes through a bottom-up understanding of the structurally related electrical signatures of the biomolecular circuit, which will ultimately lead us to tailor its electrical properties. Toward this aim, we show here the first example of bioengineered charge transport in a single-protein electrical contact. The results reveal that a single point-site mutation at the docking hydrophobic patch of a Cu-azurin causes minor structural distortion of the protein blue Cu site and a dramatic change in the charge transport regime of the single-protein contact, which goes from the classical Cu-mediated two-step transport in this system to a direct coherent tunneling. Our extensive spectroscopic studies and molecular-dynamics simulations show that the proteins’ folding structures are preserved in the single-protein junction. The DFT-computed frontier orbital of the relevant protein segments suggests that the Cu center participation in each protein variant accounts for the different observed charge transport behavior. This work is a direct evidence of charge transport control in a protein backbone through external mutagenesis and a unique nanoscale platform to study structurally related biological electron transfer

Directed Self-Assembly of Colloidal Particles onto Nematic Liquid Crystalline Defects Engineered by Chemically Patterned Surfaces

In exploiting topological defects of liquid crystals as the targeting sites for trapping colloidal objects, previous work has relied on topographic features with uniform anchoring to create defects, achieving limited density and spacing of particles. We report a generalizable strategy to create topological defects on chemically patterned surfaces to assemble particles in precisely defined locations with a tunable interparticle distance at nanoscale dimensions. Informed by experimental observations and numerical simulations that indicate that liquid crystals, confined between a homeotropic-anchoring surface and a surface with lithographically defined planar-anchoring stripes in a homeotropic-anchoring background, display splay-bend deformation, we successfully create pairs of defects and subsequently trap particles with controlled spacing by designing patterns of intersecting stripes aligned at 45° with homeotropic-anchoring gaps at the intersections. Application of electric fields allows for dynamic control of trapped particles. The tunability, responsiveness, and adaptability of this platform provide the opportunities for assembly of colloidal structures toward functional materials

DFT Study on the Cycloreversion of Thietane Radical Cations

The molecular mechanism of the cycloreversion (CR) of thietane radical cations has been analyzed in detail at the UB3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. Results have shown that the process takes place via a stepwise mechanism leading to alkenes and thiobenzophenone; alternatively, formal [4 + 2] cycloadducts are obtained. Thus, the CR of radical cations 1a, b(center dot+) is initiated by C2-C3 bond breaking, giving common intermediates INa,b. At this stage, two reaction pathways are feasible involving ion molecule complexes IMCa,b (i) or radical cations 4a,b(center dot+) (ii). Calculations support that 1a(center dot+) follows reaction pathway (leading to the formal [4 + 2] cycloadducts 5a). By contrast, 1b(center dot+) follows pathway i, leading to trans-stilbene radical cation (2b(center dot+)) and thiobenzophenone.The Spanish Government (Grants No. CTQ2009-11027 and CTQ2009-13699), the UPV (Grant No. 20100994), and Fundacion CajaMurcia (postdoctoral fellowship to R.P.-R.) are gratefully acknowledged.Domingo, LR.; Pérez Ruiz, R.; Arguello, JE.; Miranda Alonso, MÁ. (2011). DFT Study on the Cycloreversion of Thietane Radical Cations. Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 115(21):5443-5448. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp200177aS544354481152

Surgeons’ practice and preferences for the anal fissure treatment: results from an international survey

The best nonoperative or operative anal fissure (AF) treatment is not yet established, and several options have been proposed. Aim is to report the surgeons' practice for the AF treatment. Thirty-four multiple-choice questions were developed. Seven questions were about to participants' demographics and, 27 questions about their clinical practice. Based on the specialty (general surgeon and colorectal surgeon), obtained data were divided and compared between two groups. Five-hundred surgeons were included (321 general and 179 colorectal surgeons). For both groups, duration of symptoms for at least 6 weeks is the most important factor for AF diagnosis (30.6%). Type of AF (acute vs chronic) is the most important factor which guide the therapeutic plan (44.4%). The first treatment of choice for acute AF is ointment application for both groups (59.6%). For the treatment of chronic AF, this data is confirmed by colorectal surgeons (57%), but not by the general surgeons who prefer the lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS) (31.8%) (p = 0.0001). Botulin toxin injection is most performed by colorectal surgeons (58.7%) in comparison to general surgeons (20.9%) (p = 0.0001). Anal flap is mostly performed by colorectal surgeons (37.4%) in comparison to general surgeons (28.3%) (p = 0.0001). Fissurectomy alone is statistically significantly most performed by general surgeons in comparison to colorectal surgeons (57.9% and 43.6%, respectively) (p = 0.0020). This analysis provides useful information about the clinical practice for the management of a debated topic such as AF treatment. Shared guidelines and consensus especially focused on operative management are required to standardize the treatment and to improve postoperative results