Investigation of a steady-state cylindrical magnetron discharge for plasma immersion treatment

Ion current distribution in a system with crossed magnetic and electrical fields for plasma immersion ion implantation has been investigated. It is found that the ion current to a target has a nonmonotonic behavior with bias voltage when a magnetic field is applied. For instance, the current density has a maximum of about 150 A/m2 at bias voltage of about 1 kV in the case of a magnetic field parallel to the target of about 0.035 T. These results are explained in terms of ionization by magnetized electrons in the E×BE×B system. Our findings suggest that the system with crossed fields can be used for intense plasma immersed processing. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71124/2/JAPIAU-94-3-1408-1.pd

News: To Russia with love; The Spectre of a return trip

Developing Kent–Russia connections in April 2015 CISoR's Dr Michael Romanov and our collaborator Dr Denis Larkin, of the Royal Veterinary College, London, visited the All-Russian Research Institute for Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding in Pushkin and St Petersburg State University. In October 2015, Mike and Denis (both Russians by birth) were re-invited for an extension seminar course followed by an international scientific meeting at the All-Russian Research Institute for Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding in Pushkin

Microchromosome organization in birds

Interchromosomal rearrangements involving microchromosomes are rare events in birds. To date, they have been found mostly in Neognathae and Neoaves (e.g., Psittaciformes, Falconiformes, and Cuculiformes), although only a few orders have been analyzed. Hence, cytogenomic studies focusing on microchromosomes in species belonging to different bird orders are essential to shed more light on the avian chromosome and karyotype evolution. Relevant hypothetical Neognathae, Neoaves and other ancestral karyotypes can be reconstructed to trace these rearrangements. In a more recent study, a comparative chromosome mapping for chicken microchromosomes 10 to 28 was performed using interspecies BAC-based FISH hybridization in five species, representing four Neoaves orders (Caprimulgiformes, Piciformes, Suliformes, and Trogoniformes). These results suggest that the ancestral microchromosomal syntenies are conserved in Pteroglossus inscriptus (Piciformes), Ramphastos tucanus tucanus (Piciformes), and Trogon surrucura surrucura (Trogoniformes). On the other hand, chromosome reorganization in Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Suliformes) and Hydropsalis torquata (Caprimulgiformes) included fusions involving both macro- and microchromosomes. Fissions in macrochromosomes were observed in P. brasilianus and H. torquata. No interchromosomal rearrangement involving microchromosomes were found to be shared between avian orders where rearrangements were detected. These findings suggest that convergent evolution involving microchromosomal change is a rare event in birds and may be appropriate in cytotaxonomic inferences in orders where these rearrangements occurred

British Sheep Breed Diversity

The UK can be proud of the fact that numerous native breeds of sheep have been developed here that possess unique phenotypic features and excellent productivity and are utilized throughout the world. Their remarkable popularity and further sustainable breeding on grass pastures of British Isles and elsewhere can benefit from genomic applications. At present, there is a rich arsenal of genetic and genomic resources, tools and applications used for livestock assessment, breeding and production including, first of all, genetic profiling of diverse breeds, and search for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes in farm animals. These genomic advances facilitate breed improvement and understanding of the genetic processes in the course of domestication and breed evolution

Gallus GBrowse: a unified genomic database for the chicken

Gallus GBrowse (http://birdbase.net/cgi-bin/gbrowse/gallus/) provides online access to genomic and other information about the chicken, Gallus gallus. The information provided by this resource includes predicted genes and Gene Ontology (GO) terms, links to Gallus In Situ Hybridization Analysis (GEISHA), Unigene and Reactome, the genomic positions of chicken genetic markers, SNPs and microarray probes, and mappings from turkey, condor and zebra finch DNA and EST sequences to the chicken genome. We also provide a BLAT server (http://birdbase.net/cgi-bin/webBlat) for matching user-provided sequences to the chicken genome. These tools make the Gallus GBrowse server a valuable resource for researchers seeking genomic information regarding the chicken and other avian species