Rapid Evolution of the Fine-scale Recombination Landscape in Wild House Mouse (Mus musculus) Populations.

Meiotic recombination is an important evolutionary force and an essential meiotic process. In many species, recombination events concentrate into hotspots defined by the site-specific binding of PRMD9. Rapid evolution of Prdm9\u27s zinc finger DNA-binding array leads to remarkably abrupt shifts in the genomic distribution of hotspots between species, but the question of how Prdm9 allelic variation shapes the landscape of recombination between populations remains less well understood. Wild house mice (Mus musculus) harbor exceptional Prdm9 diversity, with \u3e150 alleles identified to date, and pose a particularly powerful system for addressing this open question. We employed a coalescent-based approach to construct broad- and fine-scale sex-averaged recombination maps from contemporary patterns of linkage disequilibrium in nine geographically isolated wild house mouse populations, including multiple populations from each of three subspecies. Comparing maps between wild mouse populations and subspecies reveals several themes. First, we report weak fine- and broad-scale recombination map conservation across subspecies and populations, with genetic divergence offering no clear prediction for recombination map divergence. Second, most hotspots are unique to one population, an outcome consistent with minimal sharing of Prdm9 alleles between surveyed populations. Finally, by contrasting aggregate hotspot activity on the X versus autosomes, we uncover evidence for population-specific differences in the degree and direction of sex dimorphism for recombination. Overall, our findings illuminate the variability of both the broad- and fine-scale recombination landscape in M. musculus and underscore the functional impact of Prdm9 allelic variation in wild mouse populations

Cytokines That Serve as Embryokines in Cattle.

The term embryokine has been used to denote molecules produced by the endometrium, oviduct, or by embryo itself that will influence embryo development. Several cytokines have been identified as embryokines in cattle and other mammals. This review will describe how these cytokines function as embryokines, with special emphasis being placed on their actions on in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos. Embryokines are being explored for their ability to overcome the poor development rates of IVP embryos and to limit post-transfer pregnancy retention efficiencies that exist in IVP embryos. This review will focus on describing two of the best-characterized cytokines, colony-stimulating factor 2 and interleukin 6, for their ability to modify bovine embryo quality and confirmation, promote normal fetal development, and generate healthy calves. Additional cytokines will also be discussed for their potential to serve as embryokines

Multi-agent systems in industry: current trends & future challenges

This paper introduces the multi-agent systems paradigm and presents some industrial applications of this AI approach, namely in manufacturing, handling and logistics domains. The road-blockers for the current weak adoption of this technology in industry are also discussed, and finally the current trends and several future challenges are pointed out to increase the wider dissemination and acceptance of the multi-agent technology in industry

On the role of monoterpene chemistry in the remote continental boundary layer

The formation of organic nitrates (RONO[subscript 2]) represents an important NO[subscript x] (NO[subscript x] = NO + NO[subscript 2]) sink in the remote and rural continental atmosphere, thus impacting ozone production and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. In these remote and rural environments, the organic nitrates are primarily derived from biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) such as isoprene and monoterpenes. Although there are numerous studies investigating the formation of SOA from monoterpenes, there are few studies investigating monoterpene gas-phase chemistry. Using a regional chemical transport model with an extended representation of organic nitrate chemistry, we investigate the processes controlling the production and fate of monoterpene nitrates (MTNs) over the boreal forest of Canada. MTNs account for 5–12% of total oxidized nitrogen over the boreal forest, and production via NO[subscript 3] chemistry is more important than production via OH when the NO[subscript x] mixing ratio is greater than 75 pptv. The regional responses are investigated for two oxidation pathways of MTNs: one that returns NO[subscript x] to the atmosphere and one that converts MTNs into a nitrate that behaves like HNO[subscript 3]. The likely situation is in between, and these two assumptions bracket the uncertainty about this chemistry. In the case where the MTNs return NO[subscript x] after oxidation, their formation represents a net chemical NO[subscript x] loss that exceeds the net loss to peroxy nitrate formation. When oxidation of MTNs produces a molecule that behaves like HNO[subscript 3], HNO[subscript 3] and MTNs are nearly equal chemical sinks for NO[subscript x]. This uncertainty in the oxidative fate of MTNs results in changes in NO[subscript x] of 8–14%, in O[subscript 3] of up to 3%, and in OH of 3–6% between the two model simulations.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX08AR13G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Earth Systems Science Fellowship

An Experimental and Computational Investigation of n-Dodecane Ignition and Chemical Kinetics

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90619/1/AIAA-2011-90-831.pd

Student teamwork: developing virtual support for team projects

In the 21st century team working increasingly requires online cooperative skills as well as more traditional skills associated with face to face team working. Virtual team working differs from face to face team working in a number of respects, such as interpreting the alternatives to visual cues, adapting to synchronous communication, developing trust and cohesion and cultural interpretations. However, co-located student teams working within higher education can only simulate team working as it might be experienced in organisations today. For example, students can learn from their mistakes in a non-threatening environment, colleagues tend to be established friends and assessing teamwork encourages behaviour such as “free-riding”. Using a prototyping approach, which involves students and tutors, a system has been designed to support learners engaged in team working. This system helps students to achieve to their full potential and appreciate issues surrounding virtual teamwork. The Guardian Agent system enables teams to allocate project tasks and agree ground rules for the team according to individuals’ preferences. Results from four cycles of its use are presented, together with modifications arising from iterations of testing. The results show that students find the system useful in preparing for team working, and have encouraged further development of the system

A Project Based Approach to Statistics and Data Science

In an increasingly data-driven world, facility with statistics is more important than ever for our students. At institutions without a statistician, it often falls to the mathematics faculty to teach statistics courses. This paper presents a model that a mathematician asked to teach statistics can follow. This model entails connecting with faculty from numerous departments on campus to develop a list of topics, building a repository of real-world datasets from these faculty, and creating projects where students interface with these datasets to write lab reports aimed at consumers of statistics in other disciplines. The end result is students who are well prepared for interdisciplinary research, who are accustomed to coping with the idiosyncrasies of real data, and who have sharpened their technical writing and speaking skills