Potential of Endangered Local Donkey Breeds in Meat and Milk Production

The problem of the erosion of animal genetic resources is evident in certain local donkey breeds, and their long-term sustainability can be achieved by economically repositioning them. To develop alternative and sustainable commercial programs, the meat and milk production characteristics of Istrian donkey and Littoral Dinaric donkey breeds were investigated. The meat production characteristics were examined in mature males, whose carcasses were dissected, and meat composition was determined using NIT spectrophotometry and gas chromatography. Milk yield and milk composition were determined in jennies in second or subsequent lactations by measuring milk volume and using infrared spectrometry and gas chromatography. Compared to the Littoral Dinaric donkey, the Istrian donkey has a higher carcass weight and dressing percentage (p < 0.001). The share of boneless meat in relation to live weight was 28.27% in the Istrian donkey and 26.18% in the Littoral Dinaric donkey. The absolute masses of primal cuts of meat in E, I, and II classes were significantly greater in Istrian donkeys than in Littoral Dinaric donkeys (p < 0.01), although the differences in the proportions of primal cuts were not significant. The breed did not have a significant impact on the color, pH, or meat composition. A significant influence of breed on milk yield, lactose, protein, and the fat content of milk was observed (p < 0.01). A significant influence of breed on the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA fatty acids in donkey milk was observed (p = 0.002). The values of the atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes were favorable, considering potential beneficial effects of donkey milk and meat on consumer health. The findings of this research suggest that local donkey breeds hold significant potential for meat and milk production, focusing on the uniqueness and quality of their products rather than the quantity of meat and milk they can produce

Accelerated recent warming and temperature variability over the past eight centuries in the central Asian Altai from blue intensity in tree rings

Funding: National Science Foundation (NSF). Grant Number: 1737788 and NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoc Fellow Program. Grant Number: NA18NWS4620043B.Warming in Central Asia has been accelerating over the past three decades and is expected to intensify through the end of this century. Here, we develop a summer temperature reconstruction for western Mongolia spanning eight centuries (1269–2004 C.E.) using delta blue intensity measurements from annual rings of Siberian larch. A significant cooling response is observed in the year following major volcanic events and up to five years post-eruption. Observed summer temperatures since the 1990s are the warmest over the past eight centuries, an observation that is also well captured in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) climate model simulations. Projections for summer temperature relative to observations suggest further warming of between ∼3°C and 6°C by the end of the century (2075–2099 cf. 1950–2004) under the representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) emission scenarios. We conclude that projected future warming lies beyond the range of natural climate variability for the past millennium as estimated by our reconstruction.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Many-electron tunneling in atoms

A theoretical derivation is given for the formula describing N-electron ionization of atom by a dc field and laser radiation in tunneling regime. Numerical examples are presented for noble gases atoms.Comment: 11 pages, 1 EPS figure, submitted to JETP (Jan 99

Solar-like oscillations in low-luminosity red giants: first results from Kepler

We have measured solar-like oscillations in red giants using time-series photometry from the first 34 days of science operations of the Kepler Mission. The light curves, obtained with 30-minute sampling, reveal clear oscillations in a large sample of G and K giants, extending in luminosity from the red clump down to the bottom of the giant branch. We confirm a strong correlation between the large separation of the oscillations (Delta nu) and the frequency of maximum power (nu_max). We focus on a sample of 50 low-luminosity stars (nu_max > 100 muHz, L <~ 30 L_sun) having high signal-to-noise ratios and showing the unambiguous signature of solar-like oscillations. These are H-shell-burning stars, whose oscillations should be valuable for testing models of stellar evolution and for constraining the star-formation rate in the local disk. We use a new technique to compare stars on a single echelle diagram by scaling their frequencies and find well-defined ridges corresponding to radial and non-radial oscillations, including clear evidence for modes with angular degree l=3. Measuring the small separation between l=0 and l=2 allows us to plot the so-called C-D diagram of delta nu_02 versus Delta nu. The small separation delta nu_01 of l=1 from the midpoint of adjacent l=0 modes is negative, contrary to the Sun and solar-type stars. The ridge for l=1 is notably broadened, which we attribute to mixed modes, confirming theoretical predictions for low-luminosity giants. Overall, the results demonstrate the tremendous potential of Kepler data for asteroseismology of red giants.Comment: accepted by ApJ Letters, to appear in special Kepler issue. Updated reference

Predicting the detectability of oscillations in solar-type stars observed by Kepler

Asteroseismology of solar-type stars has an important part to play in the exoplanet program of the NASA Kepler Mission. Precise and accurate inferences on the stellar properties that are made possible by the seismic data allow very tight constraints to be placed on the exoplanetary systems. Here, we outline how to make an estimate of the detectability of solar-like oscillations in any given Kepler target, using rough estimates of the temperature and radius, and the Kepler apparent magnitude.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication Astrophysical Journa

Asteroseismology

Asteroseismology is the determination of the interior structures of stars by using their oscillations as seismic waves. Simple explanations of the astrophysical background and some basic theoretical considerations needed in this rapidly evolving field are followed by introductions to the most important concepts and methods on the basis of example. Previous and potential applications of asteroseismology are reviewed and future trends are attempted to be foreseen.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, to appear in: "Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems", eds. T. D. Oswalt et al., Springer Verla

The COMPARE Data Hubs

Data sharing enables research communities to exchange findings and build upon the knowledge that arises from their discoveries. Areas of public and animal health as well as food safety would benefit from rapid data sharing when it comes to emergencies. However, ethical, regulatory and institutional challenges, as well as lack of suitable platforms which provide an infrastructure for data sharing in structured formats, often lead to data not being shared or at most shared in form of supplementary materials in journal publications. Here, we describe an informatics platform that includes workflows for structured data storage, managing and pre-publication sharing of pathogen sequencing data and its analysis interpretations with relevant stakeholders

Ensemble Asteroseismology of Solar-Type Stars with the NASA Kepler Mission

In addition to its search for extra-solar planets, the NASA Kepler Mission provides exquisite data on stellar oscillations. We report the detections of oscillations in 500 solartype stars in the Kepler field of view, an ensemble that is large enough to allow statistical studies of intrinsic stellar properties (such as mass, radius and age) and to test theories of stellar evolution. We find that the distribution of observed masses of these stars shows intriguing differences to predictions from models of synthetic stellar populations in the Galaxy.Comment: 20 pages, including on-line supporting materia

Complexity of the Genetics and Clinical Presentation of Spinocerebellar Ataxia 17

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 17 (SCA17) is a rare autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the TATA-box binding protein gene (TBP). The disease has a varied age at onset and clinical presentation. It is distinct from other SCAs for its association with dementia, psychiatric symptoms, and some patients presenting with chorea. For this reason, it is also called Huntington’s disease-like 4 (HDL-4). Here we examine the distribution of SCA17 allele repeat sizes in a United Kingdom-based cohort with ataxia and find that fully penetrant pathogenic alleles are very rare (5 in 1,316 chromosomes; 0.38%). Phenotype-genotype correlation was performed on 30 individuals and the repeat structure of their TBP genes was examined. We found a negative linear correlation between total CAG repeat length and age at disease onset and, unlike SCA1, there was no correlation between the longest contiguous CAG tract and age at disease onset. We were unable to identify any particular phenotypic trait that segregated with particular CAG/CAA repeat tract structures or repeat lengths. One individual within the cohort was homozygous for variable penetrance range SCA17 alleles. This patient had a similar age at onset to heterozygotes with the same repeat sizes, but also presented with a rapidly progressive dementia. A pair of monozygotic twins within the cohort presented 3 years apart with the sibling with the earlier onset having a more severe phenotype with dementia and chorea in addition to the ataxia observed in their twin. This appears to be a case of variable expressivity, possibly influenced by other environmental or epigenetic factors. Finally, there was an asymptomatic father with a severely affected child with an age at onset in their twenties. Despite this, they share the same expanded allele repeat sizes and sequences, which would suggest that there is marked difference in the penetrance of this 51-repeat allele. We therefore propose that the variable penetrance range extend from 48 repeats to incorporate this allele. This study shows that there is variability in the presentation and penetrance of the SCA17 phenotype and highlights the complexity of this disorder

Complexity of the Genetics and Clinical Presentation of Spinocerebellar Ataxia 17

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 17 (SCA17) is a rare autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the TATA-box binding protein gene (TBP). The disease has a varied age at onset and clinical presentation. It is distinct from other SCAs for its association with dementia, psychiatric symptoms, and some patients presenting with chorea. For this reason, it is also called Huntington’s disease-like 4 (HDL-4). Here we examine the distribution of SCA17 allele repeat sizes in a United Kingdom-based cohort with ataxia and find that fully penetrant pathogenic alleles are very rare (5 in 1,316 chromosomes; 0.38%). Phenotype-genotype correlation was performed on 30 individuals and the repeat structure of their TBP genes was examined. We found a negative linear correlation between total CAG repeat length and age at disease onset and, unlike SCA1, there was no correlation between the longest contiguous CAG tract and age at disease onset. We were unable to identify any particular phenotypic trait that segregated with particular CAG/CAA repeat tract structures or repeat lengths. One individual within the cohort was homozygous for variable penetrance range SCA17 alleles. This patient had a similar age at onset to heterozygotes with the same repeat sizes, but also presented with a rapidly progressive dementia. A pair of monozygotic twins within the cohort presented 3 years apart with the sibling with the earlier onset having a more severe phenotype with dementia and chorea in addition to the ataxia observed in their twin. This appears to be a case of variable expressivity, possibly influenced by other environmental or epigenetic factors. Finally, there was an asymptomatic father with a severely affected child with an age at onset in their twenties. Despite this, they share the same expanded allele repeat sizes and sequences, which would suggest that there is marked difference in the penetrance of this 51-repeat allele. We therefore propose that the variable penetrance range extend from 48 repeats to incorporate this allele. This study shows that there is variability in the presentation and penetrance of the SCA17 phenotype and highlights the complexity of this disorder