Many quantitative trait loci for feather growth in an F broiler × layer cross collocate with body weight loci

1. A genome-wide scan of 467 F progeny of a broiler x layer cross was conducted to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting the rate of growth of the tail, wing and back feathers, and the width of the breast feather tract, at three weeks of age. 2. Correlations between the traits ranged from 0·36 to 0·61. Males had longer tail and wing feathers and shorter back feathers than females. Breast feather tract width was greater in females than males. 3. QTL effects were generally additive and accounted for 11 to 45% of sex average feather lengths of the breeds, and 100% of the breast feather tract width. Positive and negative alleles were inherited from both lines, whereas the layer allele was larger than the broiler allele after adjusting for body weight. 4. A total of 4 genome-significant and 4 suggestive QTL were detected. At three or 6 weeks of age, 5 of the QTL were located in similar regions as QTL for body weight. 5. Analysis of a model with body weight at three weeks as a covariate identified 5 genome significant and 6 suggestive QTL, of which only two were coincident with body weight QTL. One QTL for feather length at 148 cM on GGA1 was identified at a similar location in the unadjusted analysis. 6. The results suggest that the rate of feather growth is largely controlled by body weight QTL, and that QTL specific for feather growth also exist

Believing is achieving: a longitudinal study of self-efficacy and positive affect in resettled refugees

Research has shown that self-efficacy can play an important role in recovery from trauma (Benight and Bandura 2004). We hypothesised that for refugees, whose (often traumatic) experiences pre- and post-resettlement have been linked to a decrease in their wellbeing (e.g., Aspinall and Watters 2010), self-efficacy would play a key role in improving wellbeing. This paper investigates the link between self-efficacy and positive affect among resettled refugees (N = 180). Research used mixed methods. The longitudinal survey with three time points confirmed that higher levels of general self-efficacy were consistently associated with better positive affect at later time points. The reverse effects, from positive affect to later self-efficacy, were not significant. In addition, qualitative interviews with a subsample provide suggestions as to how self-efficacy of refugees might be improved: that is, by improving access to employment and language classes, by clarifying how British social and cultural systems work, including the practical information necessary to navigate daily life, and by providing more opportunities to increase social networks, all suggesting the necessity of a proactive role of the receiving society

The multifunctional poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) 1 is subject to extensive dynamic post-translational modification, which molecular modelling suggests plays an important role in co-ordinating its activities

PABP1 [poly(A)-binding protein 1] is a central regulator of mRNA translation and stability and is required for miRNA (microRNA)-mediated regulation and nonsense-mediated decay. Numerous protein, as well as RNA, interactions underlie its multi-functional nature; however, it is unclear how its different activities are co-ordinated, since many partners interact via overlapping binding sites. In the present study, we show that human PABP1 is subject to elaborate post-translational modification, identifying 14 modifications located throughout the functional domains, all but one of which are conserved in mouse. Intriguingly, PABP1 contains glutamate and aspartate methylations, modifications of unknown function in eukaryotes, as well as lysine and arginine methylations, and lysine acetylations. The latter dramatically alter the pI of PABP1, an effect also observed during the cell cycle, suggesting that different biological processes/stimuli can regulate its modification status, although PABP1 also probably exists in differentially modified subpopulations within cells. Two lysine residues were differentially acetylated or methylated, revealing that PABP1 may be the first example of a cytoplasmic protein utilizing a ‘methylation/acetylation switch’. Modelling using available structures implicates these modifications in regulating interactions with individual PAM2 (PABP-interacting motif 2)-containing proteins, suggesting a direct link between PABP1 modification status and the formation of distinct mRNP (messenger ribonucleoprotein) complexes that regulate mRNA fate in the cytoplasm

Supporting hurricane inventory management decisions with consumer demand estimates

Matching supply and demand can be very challenging for anyone attempting to provide goods or services during the threat of a natural disaster. In this paper, we consider inventory allocation issues faced by a retailer during a hurricane event and provide insights that can be applied to humanitarian operations during slow-onset events. We start with an empirical analysis using regression that triangulates three sources of information: a large point-of-sales data set from a Texas Gulf Coast retailer, the retailer's operational and logistical constraints, and hurricane forecast data from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). We establish a strong association between the timing of the hurricane weather forecast, the forecasted landfall position of the storm, and hurricane sales. Storm intensity is found to have a weaker association on overall inventory decisions. Using the results of the empirical analysis and the NHC forecast data, we construct a state-space model of demand during the threat of a hurricane and develop an inventory management model to satisfy consumer demand prior to a hurricane making landfall. Based on the structure of the problem, we model this situation as a two-stage, two-location inventory allocation model from a centralized distribution center that balances transportation, shortage and holding costs. The model is used to explore the role of recourse, i.e., deferring part of the inventory allocation until observing the state of the hurricane as it moves towards landfall. Our approach provides valuable insights into the circumstances under which recourse may or may not be worthwhile in any setting where an anticipated extreme event drives consumer demand. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change : a randomised trial

This work was funded by The Scottish Government Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Sciences Division (RESAS) and supported by the Rank Prize Funds.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cultural values, moral sentiments and the fashioning of gendered migrant identities

The promotion of British cultural values to which all citizens can and should sign up to has taken on unprecedented urgency and momentum in political and public discourses. This paper explores the meanings and values attached to contemporary forms of Britishness from the perspective of migrant refugee women, and outlines the conflicting interpretations and expectations of different projects of feminine citizenship. Drawing on empirical research it suggests that gendered migrant identities and values are formed and performed in relation to real and imagined understanding of British (white) heterosexual women and can be seen, at least in part, as asserting moral value and distinctiveness. The women invoked migrant cultural pride in the form of caring, community, close family ties and heterosexuality to claim recognition and resist the lack of moral value ascribed to migrant identities. However, this is achieved through a re-inscription of gender identities in which heterosexuality and sexual restraint become technologies of regulation and control

[Editorial] Migration, adult education and learning

No description supplie

Quantitative trait loci for bone traits segregating independently of those for growth in an F-2 broiler X layer cross

An F broiler-layer cross was phenotyped for 18 skeletal traits at 6, 7 and 9 weeks of age and genotyped with 120 microsatellite markers. Interval mapping identified 61 suggestive and significant QTL on 16 of the 25 linkage groups for 16 traits. Thirty-six additional QTL were identified when the assumption that QTL were fixed in the grandparent lines was relaxed. QTL with large effects on the lengths of the tarsometatarsus, tibia and femur, and the weights of the tibia and femur were identified on GGA4 between 217 and 249 cM. Six QTL for skeletal traits were identified that did not co-locate with genome wide significant QTL for body weight and two body weight QTL did not coincide with skeletal trait QTL. Significant evidence of imprinting was found in ten of the QTL and QTL x sex interactions were identified for 22 traits. Six alleles from the broiler line for weight- and size-related skeletal QTL were positive. Negative alleles for bone quality traits such as tibial dyschondroplasia, leg bowing and tibia twisting generally originated from the layer line suggesting that the allele inherited from the broiler is more protective than the allele originating from the layer

British citizenship, gender and migration: the containment of cultural differences and the stratification of belonging

Debates about integration, British values and identity, who can belong and who can become a citizen, have been fuelled by concerns about growing cultural diversity in the United Kingdom. To promote a shared sense of national identity and claim a universal and normative citizen subject, the UK government, along with many other western nations, has introduced compulsory citizenship and language testing. This article traces and critiques the evolution of the British citizenship test since its introduction in 2005 and argues that the regime fails to recognise the gendered and segmented nature of migration, and functions as a silent and largely invisible mechanism of civic stratification and control. Drawing on Home Office data, it is argued that citizenship testing enables the government to cherry pick migrants who conform to an idealised citizen subject, while containing cultural difference by excluding others, particularly women, who are tolerated but remain symbolic non-citizens

Vacuum Cherenkov radiation and bremsstrahlung from disformal couplings

The simplest way to modify gravity is to extend the gravitational sector to include an additional scalar degree of freedom. The most general metric that can be built in such a theory includes disformal terms, so that standard model fields move on a metric which is the sum of the space time metric and a tensor constructed from first derivatives of the scalar. In such a theory gravitational waves and photons can propagate at different speeds, and these can in turn be different from the maximum speed limit for matter particles. In this work we show that disformal couplings can cause charged particles to emit Cherenkov radiation and bremsstrahlung apparently in vacuum, depending on the background evolution of the scalar field. We discuss the implications of this for observations of cosmic rays, and the constraints that arise for models of dark energy with disformal couplings