Effects of different simplified milk recording methods on genetic evaluation with test-day animal model

The aims of the present study were to compare estimated breeding values (EBV) for milk yield using different testing schemes with a test-day animal model and to evaluate the effect of different testing schemes on the ranking of top sheep. Alternative recording schemes that use less information than that currently obtained with a monthly test-day schedule were employed to estimate breeding values. A random regression animal mixed model that used a spline function of days in milk was fitted. EBVs obtained with alternative recording schemes showed different degrees of Spearman correlation with EBVs obtained using the monthly recording scheme. These correlations ranged from 0.77 to 0.92. A reduction in accuracy and intensity of selection could be anticipated if these alternative schemes are used; more research in this area is needed to reduce the costs of test-day recording

Masses and decay constants of Bc(∗)B_c^{(*)} mesons with Nf=2+1+1N_f=2+1+1 twisted mass fermions

We present a preliminary lattice determination of the masses and decay constants of the pseudoscalar and vector mesons $B_c$ and $B_c^*$. Our analysis is based on the gauge configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ flavors of dynamical quarks. We simulated at three different values of the lattice spacing and with pion masses as small as 210 MeV. Heavy-quark masses are simulated directly on the lattice up to $\sim 3$ times the physical charm mass. The physical b-quark mass is reached using the ETMC ratio method. Our preliminary results are: $M_{B_c} = 6341\,(60)$ MeV, $f_{B_c} = 396\,(12)$ MeV, $M_{B_c^*} / M_{B_c} = 1.0037\,(39)$ and $f_{B_c^*} / f_{B_c} = 0.987\,(7)$.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; contribution to the proceedings of the XXXVI Int'l Workshop on Lattice Field Theory (LATTICE2018), July 22-28, 2018, East Lansing, Michigan State University (Michigan, USA

Cross-Border Investment, Conflict of Laws, and the Privatization of Securities Law

The rapid acceleration of transnational investing is occurring in an environment in which emerging markets, and foreign interest in these markets, are exploding. The issues involved with cross-border investment, conflict of laws and the privatization of securities law are examined

Handle-hand compatibility effects for the right and left hand using reach-to-touch movements

In stimulus-response compatibility tasks, performance is better when the handle of an object is oriented on the same side of the response than when the handle is oriented on the opposite side. Two major alternative accounts, the motor affordance and spatial accounts, have been proposed to explain this handle-hand compatibility effect. In two experiments, we tested between these two accounts by administering a go/no-go task to right-handed participants. Handled objects presented on a touchscreen were used as stimuli. Half of the participants had to reach-to-touch the stimuli by using their dominant hand, the other half by using their nondominant hand. Liftoff times (LTs), movement times (MTs) and spatial coordinates of the movement endpoints were recorded. Results from the LTs and MTs analyses showed no evidence of handle-hand compatibility effects. In contrast, the analyses of the spatial coordinates revealed that participants' touches were shifted more laterally towards the handle when the handles were oriented on the same side of the responding hand (Experiments 1 and 2). Furthermore, the right-hand touches landed higher (towards the handle) than the left-hand touches, especially when the vertical object dimension was particularly salient (Experiment 1). Overall, these results are in line with the activation of hand motor programs to reach and grasp the object as predicted by the motor account, at least for the right/dominant hand

Analysis of the emergent climate change mitigation technologies

A climate change mitigation refers to efforts to reduce or prevent emission of greenhouse gases. Mitigation can mean using new technologies and renewable energies, making older equipment more energy efficient, or changing management practices or consumer behavior. The mitigation technologies are able to reduce or absorb the greenhouse gases (GHG) and, in particular, the CO2 present in the atmosphere. The CO2 is a persistent atmospheric gas. It seems increasingly likely that concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will overshoot the 450 ppm CO2 target, widely seen as the upper limit of concentrations consistent with limiting the increase in global mean temperature from pre-industrial levels to around 2◦C. In order to stay well below to the 2◦C temperature thus compared to the pre-industrial level as required to the Paris Agreement it is necessary that in the future we will obtain a low (or better zero) emissions and it is also necessary that we will absorb a quantity of CO2 from the atmosphere, by 2070, equal to 10 Gt/y. In order to obtain this last point, so in order to absorb an amount of CO2 equal to about 10 Gt/y, it is necessary the implementation of the negative emission technologies. The negative emission technologies are technologies able to absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere. The aim of this work is to perform a detailed overview of the main mitigation technologies possibilities currently developed and, in particular, an analysis of an emergent negative emission technology: the microalgae massive cultivation for CO2 biofixation

Casein haplotype variability in Sicilian dairy goat breeds

In the Mediterranean region, goat milk production is an important economic activity. In the present study, 4 casein genes were genotyped in 5 Sicilian goat breeds to 1) identify casein haplotypes present in the Argentata dell'Etna, Girgentana, Messinese, Derivata di Siria, and Maltese goat breeds; and 2) describe the structure of the Sicilian goat breeds based on casein haplotypes and allele frequencies. In a sample of 540 dairy goats, 67 different haplotypes with frequency >or=0.01 and 27 with frequency >or=0.03 were observed. The most common CSN1S1-CSN2-CSN1S2-CSN3 haplotype for Derivata di Siria and Maltese was FCFB (0.17 and 0.22, respectively), whereas for Argentata dell'Etna, Girgentana and Messinese was ACAB (0.06, 0.23, and 0.10, respectively). According to the haplotype reconstruction, Argentata dell'Etna, Girgentana, and Messinese breeds presented the most favorable haplotype for cheese production, because the casein concentration in milk of these breeds might be greater than that in Derivata di Siria and Maltese breeds. Based on a cluster analysis, the breeds formed 2 main groups: Derivata di Siria, and Maltese in one group, and Argentata dell'Etna and Messinese in the other; the Girgentana breed was between these groups but closer to the latter

Masses and decay constants of Bc(∗)B_c^{(*)} mesons with Nf=2+1+1N_f=2+1+1 twisted mass fermions

We present a preliminary lattice determination of the masses and decay constants of the pseudoscalar and vector mesons $B_c$ and $B_c^*$. Our analysis is based on the gauge configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ flavors of dynamical quarks. We simulated at three different values of the lattice spacing and with pion masses as small as 210 MeV. Heavy-quark masses are simulated directly on the lattice up to $\sim 3$ times the physical charm mass. The physical b-quark mass is reached using the ETMC ratio method. Our preliminary results are: $M_{B_c} = 6341\,(60)$ MeV, $f_{B_c} = 396\,(12)$ MeV, $M_{B_c^*} / M_{B_c} = 1.0037\,(39)$ and $f_{B_c^*} / f_{B_c} = 0.987\,(7)$.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; contribution to the proceedings of the XXXVI Int'l Workshop on Lattice Field Theory (LATTICE2018), July 22-28, 2018, East Lansing, Michigan State University (Michigan, USA

SAX J1808.4-3658, an accreting millisecond pulsar shining in gamma rays?

We report the detection of a possible gamma-ray counterpart of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The analysis of ~6 years of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi-LAT) within a region of 15deg radius around the position of the pulsar reveals a point gamma-ray source detected at a significance of ~6 sigma (Test Statistic TS = 32), with position compatible with that of SAX J1808.4-3658 within 95% Confidence Level. The energy flux in the energy range between 0.6 GeV and 10 GeV amounts to (2.1 +- 0.5) x 10-12 erg cm-2 s-1 and the spectrum is well-represented by a power-law function with photon index 2.1 +- 0.1. We searched for significant variation of the flux at the spin frequency of the pulsar and for orbital modulation, taking into account the trials due to the uncertainties in the position, the orbital motion of the pulsar and the intrinsic evolution of the pulsar spin. No significant deviation from a constant flux at any time scale was found, preventing a firm identification via time variability. Nonetheless, the association of the LAT source as the gamma-ray counterpart of SAX J1808.4-3658 would match the emission expected from the millisecond pulsar, if it switches on as a rotation-powered source during X-ray quiescence.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRA

Bipolar Quantum Molecular Resonance versus Blunt Dissection tonsillectomy

Bipolar Quantum Molecular Resonance versus Blunt Dissection tonsillectomy. Objectives: This study compared a quantum molecular resonance tonsillectomy (QMRT) to a standard blunt dissection tonsillectomy (BDT) for effectiveness and safety. Methodology: From January 2011 to September 2012, we recruited 80 children (ages 3 to 16 y) with paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and/or recurrent tonsillitis. Patients were randomly assigned to receive QMRT (N = 40) or BDT (N = 40). The operating time and blood loss during surgery were evaluated. During the first postoperative week, the patients' parents completed a questionnaire to evaluate bleeding, ear and neck pain, nausea, vomiting, interrupted sleep, oral liquid intake or discomfort in fluid assumption, and analgesic consumption. Results: The average tonsillectomy duration was significantly shorter in the QMRT group (22.07 min \ub1 9.05) than in the BDT group (35.12 min \ub1 13.32; p < 0.000005). The average blood loss during tonsillectomy was significantly lower for the QMRT group (5.62 ml \ub1 7.44) than for the BDT group (43 ml \ub1 33.20; p < 000000001). However, the BDT group reported significantly lower pain scores than the QMRT group on days 2 (p < 0.05), 5 (p < 0.05), and 6 (p < 0.05); on other days, the groups were not significantly different. The BDT group reported two early and one late bleeding episodes; the QMRT group recorded only two late bleeding episodes. Conclusions: QMRT significantly reduced the operating time and intra-operative blood loss. No significant differences were found between the two techniques in postoperative pain or bleeding