Additive effects of two growth QTL on cattle chromosome 14

The document attached has been archived with permission from the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production.DNA-marker technology has the potential to assist seed-stock beef producers with genetic improvement of traits that are difficult to measure, and to assist research workers in identifying chromosomal regions containing quantitative trait loci (QTL), and eventually genes, which control animal performance traits. A collaborative study was established in 1995 between AgResearch in New Zealand (NZ) and Adelaide University in Australia to search for DNA markers significantly linked to production, carcass and meat quality traits in beef cattle. The present paper reports on a sub-set of that data, namely evidence from microsatellite markers on chromosome (Chr) 14 of significant linkage to growth traits and hot carcass weight (HSCW) at a standard level of trim

Nutrition, growth, and other factors associated with early cognitive and motor development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

© 2020 The British Dietetic Association Ltd. Background: Food insecurity, poverty and exposure to infectious disease are well-established drivers of malnutrition in children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Early development of cognitive and motor skills – the foundations for learning – may also be compromised by the same or additional factors that restrict physical growth. However, little is known about factors associated with early child development in this region, which limits the scope to intervene effectively. To address this knowledge gap, we compared studies that have examined factors associated with early cognitive and/or motor development within this population. Methods: Predetermined criteria were used to examine four publication databases (PsycInfo, Embase, Web of Science and Medline) and identify studies considering the determinants of cognitive and motor development in children aged 0–8years in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results: In total, 51 quantitative studies met the inclusion criteria, reporting on 30% of countries across the region. Within these papers, factors associated with early child development were grouped into five themes: Nutrition, Growth and Anthropometry, Maternal Health, Malaria and HIV, and Household. Food security and dietary diversity were associated with positive developmental outcomes, whereas exposure to HIV, malaria, poor maternal mental health, poor sanitation, maternal alcohol abuse and stunting were indicators of poor cognitive and motor development. Discussion: In this synthesis of research findings obtained across Sub-Saharan Africa, factors that restrict physical growth are also shown to hinder the development of early cognitive and motor skills, although additional factors also influence early developmental outcomes. The study also reviews the methodological limitations of conducting research using Western methods in sub-Saharan Africa

Optimal liability sharing and court errors: an exploratory analysis

We focus in this paper on the effects of court errors on the optimal sharing of liability between firms and financiers, as an environmental policy instrument. Using a structural model of the interactions between firms, financial institutions, governments and courts we show, through numerical simulations, the distortions in liability sharing between firms and financiers that the imperfect implementation of government policies implies. We consider in particular the role played by the efficiency of the courts in avoiding Type I (finding an innocent firm guilty of inappropriate care) and Type II (finding a guilty firm innocent of inappropriate care) errors. This role is considered in a context where liability sharing is already distorted (when compared with first best values) due not only to the courts' own imperfect assessment of safety care levels exerted by firm but also to the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection in financial contracting, as well as of noncongruence of objectives between firms and financiers on the one hand and social welfare maximization on the other. Our results indicate that an increase in the efficiency of the court system in avoiding errors raises safety care levels, thereby reducing the probability of accident, and allowing the social welfare maximizing government to impose a lower liability [higher] share for firms [financiers] as well as a lower standard level of care

Discussions on stakeholder requirements for space weather related models

Participants of the 2017 European Space Weather Week in Ostend, Belgium, discussed the stakeholder requirements for space weather related models. It was emphasized that stakeholders show an increased interest in space weather related models. Participants of the meeting discussed particular prediction indicators that can provide first order estimates of the impact of space weather on engineering systems

Skin parasite landscape determines host infectiousness in visceral leishmaniasis

Increasing evidence suggests that the infectiousness of patients for the sand fly vector of visceral leishmaniasis is linked to parasites found in the skin. Using a murine model that supports extensive skin infection with Leishmania donovani, spatial analyses at macro-(quantitative PCR) and micro-(confocal microscopy) scales indicate that parasite distribution is markedly skewed. Mathematical models accounting for this heterogeneity demonstrate that while a patchy distribution reduces the expected number of sand flies acquiring parasites, it increases the infection load for sand flies feeding on a patch, increasing their potential for onward transmission. Models representing patchiness at both macro- and micro-scales provide the best fit with experimental sand fly feeding data, pointing to the importance of the skin parasite landscape as a predictor of host infectiousness. Our analysis highlights the skin as a critical site to consider when assessing treatment efficacy, transmission competence and the impact of visceral leishmaniasis elimination campaigns.Parasitemia has been considered the main determinant of visceral leishmaniasis transmission. By combining imaging, qPCR and experimental xenodiagnoses with mathematical models, Doehl et al. argue that the patchy landscape of parasites in the skin is necessary to explain infectiousness

Rational identification of a Cdc42 inhibitor presents a new regimen for long- term hematopoietic stem cell mobilization

Mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from bone marrow (BM) to peripheral blood (PB) by cytokine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or the chemical antagonist of CXCR4, AMD3100, is important in the treatment of blood diseases. Due to clinical conditions of each application, there is a need for continued improvement of HSC mobilization regimens. Previous studies have shown that genetic ablation of the Rho GTPase Cdc42 in HSCs results in their mobilization without affecting survival. Here we rationally identified a Cdc42 activity-specific inhibitor (CASIN) that can bind to Cdc42 with submicromolar affinity and competitively interfere with guanine nucleotide exchange activity. CASIN inhibits intracellular Cdc42 activity specifically and transiently to induce murine hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell egress from the BM by suppressing actin polymerization, adhesion, and directional migration of stem/progenitor cells, conferring Cdc42 knockout phenotypes. We further show that, although, CASIN administration to mice mobilizes similar number of phenotypic HSCs as AMD3100, it produces HSCs with better long-term reconstitution potential than that by AMD3100. Our work validates a specific small molecule inhibitor for Cdc42, and demonstrates that signaling molecules downstream of cytokines and chemokines, such as Cdc42, constitute a useful target for long-term stem cell mobilization