The effect of supplemented light on certain production parameters of young beef bulls fed intensively

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2006The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplemented light on average daily gain (ADG), back fat thickness, eye muscle area (EMA), P8 (fat layer on the rump), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body dimensions (by means of body measurements) of animals exposed to different levels of light supplementation. Thirty young Bonsmara bulls from the same farm were randomly divided into three homogeneous groups that consisted of 10 animals per group and were subjected to three different levels of light treatment (16 h, 24 h and normal photoperiod). The additional lights provided an average light intensity of 124 lux measured at eye level. The animals were housed in open pens and fed intensively ad libitum on a diet containing 11 MJ ME/kg DM and 14% CP for 84 days. An accredited operator did the ultrasound scanning, using a PIE Medical Falco 100 scanner to measure subcutaneous fat depth between the 12th and 13th rib, longissimus dorsi (eye muscle area) and P8 on days 1, 22, 51, 62 and 84 (end of the trial). Other data collected included body weight (taken every seven days starting on day one of the trial), shoulder height, body length and heart girth. The ADG, FCR and feed intake were calculated at the end of the trial. Results of this study demonstrate that light supplementation was significantly effective in improving the ADG and FCR, mostly at 24 h photoperiod. No differences between the groups were evident for body measurements and ultrasound parameters. The correlations between the ultrasound measurements and FCR, ADG and FI obtained in this study were low, except for the correlation between ADG and EMA which was high (0.64) (P<0.0001). A correlation of 0.66 was found between FCR and heart girth (HG), while HG and ADG showed a correlation of 0.58. The final results of this study concluded that supplemented light (24 h) led to an improvement in ADG and FCR of young beef bulls fed under intensive conditions

Three periods of one and a half decade of ischemic stroke susceptibility gene research: lessons we have learned

Candidate gene association studies, linkage studies and genome-wide association studies have highlighted the role of genetic factors in the development of ischemic stroke. This research started over a decade ago, and can be separated into three major periods of research. In the first wave classic susceptibility markers associated with other diseases (such as the Leiden mutation in Factor V and mutations in the prothrombin and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genes) were tested for their role in stroke. These first studies used just a couple of hundred samples or even less. The second and still ongoing period bridges the two other periods of research and has led to a rapid increase in the spectrum of functional variants of genes or genomic regions, discovered primarily in relation to other diseases, tested on larger stroke samples of clinically better stratified patients. Large numbers of these alleles were originally discovered by array-based genome-wide association studies. The third period of research involves the direct array screening of large samples; this approach represents significant progress for research in the field. Research into susceptibility genes for stroke has taught us that careful stratification of patients is critical, that susceptibility alleles are often shared between diseases, and that not all susceptibility factors that associate with clinical traits that are themselves risk factors for stroke (such as increase of triglycerides) necessarily represent susceptibility for stroke. Research so far has been mainly focused on large- and small-vessel associated stroke, and knowledge on other types of stroke, which represent much smaller population samples, is still very scarce. Although some susceptibility allele tests are on the palette of some direct-to-consumer companies, the clinical utility and clinical validity of these test results still do not support their use in clinical practice

Bildung für die Qualität der Lehre - Ein hochschuldidaktischer Lehrgang an der JKU Linz

Im Jahre 2004 startet an der Johannes Kepler Universität (JKU) Linz ein neues hochschuldidaktisches Bildungsangebot für alle Lehrenden, an dem alle nach dem 1.1.2004 Angestellten laut Dienstvertrag teilnehmen müssen. Der in diesem Beitrag vorgestellte Lehrgang "Bildung für die Qualität der Lehre" wird vom Zentrum für soziale und interkulturelle Kompetenz der JKU angeboten. Das Konzept für den Lehrgang wurde in den letzten Monaten von einer interdisziplinären Arbeitsgruppe erstellt. Im Beitrag skizzieren wir zunächst die Rahmenbedingungen und die Ausgangspunkte des Konzeptes. Im Zentrum steht die Vorstellung des geplanten Lehrgangs, der im Juni 2004 begonnen hat. Im Ausblick versprechen wir unter anderem einen Bericht über die Evaluation des ersten Lehrgangs. 08.12.2004 | Martin Heinrich, Nicole Kronberger, Jürgen Maasz & Walter Ötsch (Linz

Computing on Authenticated Data for Adjustable Predicates

The notion of P-homomorphic signatures, introduced by Ahn et al. (TCC 2012), generalizes various approaches for public computations on authenticated data. For a given predicate P anyone can derive a signature for a message m\u27 from the signatures of a set of messages M, as long as P(M,m\u27)=1. This definition hence comprises notions and constructions for concrete predicates P such as homomorphic signatures and redactable signatures. In our work we address the question of how to combine Pi-homomorphic schemes for different predicates P1,P2,... to create a richer and more flexible class of supported predicates. One approach is to statically combine schemes for predicates into new schemes for logical formulas over the predicates, such as a scheme for AND (P1 AND P2). The other approach for more flexibility is to derive schemes which allow the signer to dynamically decide which predicate to use when signing a message, instead of supporting only a single, fixed predicate. We present two main results. One is to show that one can indeed devise solutions for the static combination for AND, and for dynamically adjustable solutions for choosing the predicate on the fly. Moreover, our constructions are practical and add only a negligible overhead. The other main result is an impossibility result for static combinations. Namely, we prove that, in contrast to the case of AND, many other formulas like the logical OR (P1 OR P2) and the NOT (NOT P) do not admit generic combinations through so-called canonical constructions. This implies that one cannot rely on general constructions in these cases, but must use other methods instead, like finding new predicate-specific solutions from scratch