44 research outputs found
A genome scan for milk production traits in dairy goats reveals two new mutations in <i>Dgat1</i> reducing milk fat content
The quantity of milk and milk fat and proteins are particularly important traits in dairy livestock.
However, little is known about the regions of the genome that influence these traits in goats. We
conducted a genome wide association study in French goats and identified 109 regions associated
with dairy traits. For a major region on chromosome 14 closely associated with fat content, the
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene turned out to be a functional and positional candidate
gene. The caprine reference sequence of this gene was completed and 29 polymorphisms were found in
the gene sequence, including two novel exonic mutations: R251L and R396W, leading to substitutions
in the protein sequence. The R251L mutation was found in the Saanen breed at a frequency of 3.5% and
the R396W mutation both in the Saanen and Alpine breeds at a frequencies of 13% and 7% respectively.
The R396W mutation explained 46% of the genetic variance of the trait, and the R251L mutation 6%.
Both mutations were associated with a notable decrease in milk fat content. Their causality was then
demonstrated by a functional test. These results provide new knowledge on the genetic basis of milk
synthesis and will help improve the management of the French dairy goat breeding program
Wages in high-tech start-ups - do academic spin-offs pay a wage premium?
Due to their origin from universities, academic spinâoffs operate at the forefront of the
technological development. Therefore, spinâoffs exhibit a skillâbiased labour demand, i.e. spinâoffs
have a high demand for employees with cutting edge knowledge and technical skills. In order to accommodate
this demand, spinâoffs may have to pay a relative wage premium compared to other
highâtech startâups. However, neither a comprehensive theoretical assessment nor the empirical
literature on wages in startâups unambiguously predicts the existence and the direction of wage differentials
between spinâoffs and nonâspinâoffs. This paper addresses this research gap and examines
empirically whether or not spinâoffs pay their employees a wage premium. Using a unique linked
employerâemployee data set of German highâtech startâups, we estimate Mincerâtype wage regressions
applying the HausmanâTaylor panel estimator. Our results show that spinâoffs do not pay a
wage premium in general. However, a notable exception from this general result is that spinâoffs that
commercialise new scientific results or methods provide higher wages to employees with linkages to
the university sector â either as university graduates or as student workers
Les établissements de stockage de céréales dans la CEE. Partie II = Grain storage facilities in the EEC. Part II. Internal information on agriculture 29, September 1968. 12752/VI/68-F
Les établissements de stockage de céréales dans la CEE. Partie I = Grain storage facilities in the EEC. Part I. Internal information on agriculture 28, September 1968. 12751/VI/68-F
The Genuine Option: What Religious Studies is Missing Concerning William James
William James is best known in the field of Religious Studies for his book Varieties of Religious Experience. It is not hard to see why given the text covers topics ranging from religion and neurology, depression and suicide, and mystical experiences among many others. It is the latter that Religious Studies tends to focus on. An overwhelming majority of what is written on James pertains solely to this one chapter in this one book. This is not a bad thing, but James has much more to offer to Religious Studies than just those fifty pages. As with any theory, as well, there will be criticisms to be made including Jamesâ lack of a religious sociology and the Western lens through which he studies religion. Perhaps these critiques are rightfully made and there are issues to be found. Yet, to focus on one single text out of the many James has published pertaining to religion can lead to misinterpretation or at the very least, the lacking of a full picture. In this paper I will go over other texts James has written on religion including The Will to Believe and The Perception of Reality as well as address common critiques of James to show where the critiques may be right, but also where they may be not fully correct. In doing this I will show what more James has to offer to the field of Religious Studies, as well show that James may just have a social aspect to religion hidden within his writings
The CÄ«varavastu of the MĆ«lasarvÄstivÄda Vinaya and Its Counterparts in Other Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes: A Comparative Survey
Breeding goal traits accounting for feed intake capacity and roughage or concentrate intake separately
Current breeding tools aiming to improve feed efficiency use definitions based on total dry matter intake (DMI); for example, residual feed intake or feed saved. This research aimed to define alternative traits using existing data that differentiate between feed intake capacity and roughage or concentrate intake, and to investigate the phenotypic and genetic relationships among these traits. The data set contained 39,017 weekly milk yield, live weight, and DMI records of 3,164 cows. The 4 defined traits were as follows: (1) Feed intake capacity (FIC), defined as the difference between how much a cow ate and how much she was expected to eat based on diet satiety value and status of the cow (parity and lactation stage); (2) feed saved (FS), defined as the difference between the measured and the predicted DMI, based on the regression of DMI on milk components within experiment; (3) residual roughage intake (RRI), defined as the difference between the measured and the predicted roughage intake, based on the regression of roughage intake on milk components and concentrate intake within experiment; and (4) residual concentrate intake (RCI), defined as the difference between the measured and the predicted concentrate intake, based on the regression of concentrate intake on milk components and roughage intake within experiment. The phenotypic correlations were â0.72 between FIC and FS, â0.84 between FS and RRI, and â0.53 between FS and RCI. Heritability of FIC, FS, RRI, and RCI were estimated to be 0.21, 0.12, 0.15, and 0.03, respectively. The genetic correlations were â0.81 between FS and FIC, â0.96 between FS and RRI, and â0.25 between FS and RCI. Concentrate intake and RCI had low heritability. Genetic correlation between DMI and FIC was 0.98. Although the defined traits had moderate phenotypic correlations, the genetic correlations between DMI, FS, FIC, and RRI were above 0.79 (in absolute terms), suggesting that these traits are genetically similar. Therefore, selecting for FIC is expected to simply increase DMI and RRI, and there seems to be little advantage in separating concentrate and roughage intake in the genetic evaluation, because measured concentrate intake was determined by the feeding system in our data and not by the genetics of the cow