Identification of retrotransposon-like sequences in Iranian river buffalo

Retrotransposon elements are peculiar genetic elements raised through copy and paste mechanism by retrotransposition. Their ability to move and/or replicate inside the genome is an important evolutionaryforce responsible for the increase of genome size and the regulation of gene expression. In this paper, molecular identification of  retrotransposon-like elements including seven LTR and non-LTR (LINE andSINE) like sequences, which were characterised by cloning RAPD fragments in Iranian river buffalo, is reported. The analysis demonstrated the presence of partial sequences of SINEs (MIRb, Bov-A2, BovtA2, CHR-2_BT and CHR-2B), LINE (L1_Carn7) and LTR (ERVL-B4) in the target genome. The sequences of Bov-tA2 and CHR-2 like elements contain the whole promoter boxes of RNA polymerase III and tRNArelated region with few differences in their nucleotides. This may occur by mutations and extinction of elements during evolution. The identification of these retrotransposable elements for the first time in Iranian river buffalo represents an important step towards the understanding of mechanisms of genome evolution within the species and perhaps will be useful in other related studies on population genetics, speciation and genome manipulation of this species

Development of polymorphic microsatellite loci for Iranian river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Microsatellite loci were developed using PCR-based isolation of microsatellite arrays (PIMA) for Iranian river buffalo. Blood samples of eighty unrelated individuals from four buffalo populations (Khuzestan,Mazandaran, Guilan and Azarbayejan) were taken and following DNA extraction, isolation of microsatellite loci initiated using enrichment with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. RAPD-PCR fragments were ligated into PTZ57R TA cloning vector and transformed into DH5competent cells. Obtained colonies were screened for presence of repetitive elements by repeatspecific and M13 forward and reverse primers. After designing primer pairs for repeat containing fragments, they were tested in all buffalo populations. Two microsatellite loci (RBBSI and RBBSII) were informative and polymorphic. Number of alleles for RBBSI and RBBSII in 80 individuals was 5 and 6, respectively. Expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.65 to 0.81. Significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectation occurred for both loci in all populations, but 37.5% of locus/population combination showed the deviation. We postulate that the two newly isolated microsatellite loci during this study could be useful for population genetic studies in Bubalus bubalis

Negative Energies in the Dirac equation

It is easy to check that both algebraic equation Det (hat p - m) =0 and Det (hat p + m) =0 for u- and v- 4-spinors have solutions with p_0= pm E_p = pm sqrt bf p^2 +m^2. The same is true for higher-spin equations. Meanwhile, every book considers the equality p_0=E_p for both u- and v- spinors of the (1/2,0)+(0,1/2)) representation only, thus applying the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg procedure for elimination of the negative-energy solutions. The recent Ziino works (and, independently, the articles of several others) show that the Fock space can be doubled. We re-consider this possibility on the quantum field level for both s=1/2 and higher spin particles.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Accepted in Zeitschrift fur Naturforschun

Statistical Mechanics Analysis of LDPC Coding in MIMO Gaussian Channels

Using analytical methods of statistical mechanics, we analyse the typical behaviour of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian channel with binary inputs under LDPC network coding and joint decoding. The saddle point equations for the replica symmetric solution are found in particular realizations of this channel, including a small and large number of transmitters and receivers. In particular, we examine the cases of a single transmitter, a single receiver and the symmetric and asymmetric interference channels. Both dynamical and thermodynamical transitions from the ferromagnetic solution of perfect decoding to a non-ferromagnetic solution are identified for the cases considered, marking the practical and theoretical limits of the system under the current coding scheme. Numerical results are provided, showing the typical level of improvement/deterioration achieved with respect to the single transmitter/receiver result, for the various cases.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

On encoding symbol degrees of array BP-XOR codes

Low density parity check (LDPC) codes, LT codes and digital fountain techniques have received significant attention from both academics and industry in the past few years. By employing the underlying ideas of efficient Belief Propagation (BP) decoding process (also called iterative message passing decoding process) on binary erasure channels (BEC) in LDPC codes, Wang has recently introduced the concept of array BP-XOR codes and showed the necessary and sufficient conditions for MDS [k + 2,k] and [n,2] array BP-XOR codes. In this paper, we analyze the encoding symbol degree requirements for array BP-XOR codes and present new necessary conditions for array BP-XOR codes. These new necessary conditions are used as a guideline for constructing several array BP-XOR codes and for presenting a complete characterization (necessary and sufficient conditions) of degree two array BP-XOR codes and for designing new edge-colored graphs. Meanwhile, these new necessary conditions are used to show that the codes by Feng, Deng, Bao, and Shen in IEEE Transactions on Computers are incorrect

Forced Solid-State Interactions for the Selective “Turn-On” Fluorescence Sensing of Aluminum Ions in Water Using a Sensory Polymer Substrate

Selective and sensitive solid sensory substrates for detecting Al(III) in pure water are reported. The material is a flexible polymer film that can be handled and exhibits gel behavior and membrane performance. The film features a chemically anchored salicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone derivative as an aluminum ion fluorescence sensor. A novel procedure for measuring Al(III) at the ppb level using a single solution drop in 20 min was developed. In this procedure, a drop was allowed to enter the hydrophilic material for 15 min before a 5 min drying period. The process forced the Al(III) to interact with the sensory motifs within the membrane before measuring the fluorescence of the system. The limit of detection of Al(III) was 22 ppm. Furthermore, a water-soluble sensory polymer containing the same sensory motifs was developed with a limit of detection of Al(III) of 1.5 ppb, which was significantly lower than the Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for drinking water.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2011-22544) and by the Consejería de Educación - Junta de Castilla y León (BU232U13)