Utilización de soja integral en la ración de acabado del ternero tradicional de raza rubia gallega: I. Efecto sobre la calidad de la carne

Se utilizaron 16 terneros rubios gallegos para estudiar el efecto del aca- bado con pienso, que contiene soja integral sobre el peso y las característi- cas de la canal y de la carne del ternero tradicional producido en un siste- ma de pastoreo. Se controlo el peso vivo, el peso al sacrificio, el peso canal, la conformación y el estado de engrasamiento de la canal y en la carne a 24 horas postmorten, el pH, el color L* (luminosidad) a* (índice de rojo) y b* (índice de amarillo) (CIE 1978), la composición química por espectroscopia NIRS, las pérdidas de agua por cocción, la textura midiendo la fuerza máxi- ma de corte, resistencia al corte y trabajo total y el contenido en pigmentos hemínicos. Los resultados se analizaron mediante ANOVA con el programa SPSS 8.0. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre tratamientos en ninguno de los parámetros estudiados de peso vivo y características de la canal y de la carne. Se concluye que la sustitución de la soja desengrasada por soja integral en la ración de acabado no afecta al crecimiento y a las características de la canal y de la carne del ternero tradicional Gallego

The structural effects of mutations can aid in differential phenotype prediction of beta-myosin heavy chain (Myosin-7) missense variants

MOTIVATION: High-throughput sequencing platforms are increasingly used to screen patients with genetic disease for pathogenic mutations, but prediction of the effects of mutations remains challenging. Previously we developed SAAPdap (Single Amino Acid Polymorphism Data Analysis Pipeline) and SAAPpred (Single Amino Acid Polymorphism Predictor) that use a combination of rule-based structural measures to predict whether a missense genetic variant is pathogenic. Here we investigate whether the same methodology can be used to develop a differential phenotype predictor, which, once a mutation has been predicted as pathogenic, is able to distinguish between phenotypes-in this case the two major clinical phenotypes (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, HCM, and dilated cardiomyopathy, DCM) associated with mutations in the beta-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) gene product (Myosin-7). RESULTS: A random forest predictor trained on rule-based structural analyses together with structural clustering data gave a Matthews' correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.53 (accuracy, 75%). A post hoc removal of machine learning models that performed particularly badly, increased the performance (MCC = 0.61, Acc = 79%). This proof of concept suggests that methods used for pathogenicity prediction can be extended for use in differential phenotype prediction

Defect identification based on first-principles calculations for deep level transient spectroscopy

Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is used extensively to study defects in semiconductors. We demonstrate that great care should be exercised in interpreting activation energies extracted from DLTS as ionization energies. We show how first-principles calculations of thermodynamic transition levels, temperature effects of ionization energies, and nonradiative capture coefficients can be used to accurately determine actual activation energies that can be directly compared with DLTS. Our analysis is illustrated with hybrid functional calculations for two important defects in GaN that have similar thermodynamic transition levels, and shows that the activation energy extracted from DLTS includes a capture barrier that is temperature dependent, unique to each defect, and in some cases large in comparison to the ionization energy. By calculating quantities that can be directly compared with experiment, first-principles calculations thus offer powerful leverage in identifying the microscopic origin of defects detected in DLTS.Comment: Main text and Supplementary Materia

Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing in Young Athletes with T-wave Inversion.

Background -T-wave inversion (TWI) is common in patients with cardiomyopathy. However, up to 25% of athletes of African/Afro-Caribbean descent (black athletes) and 5% of white athletes also have TWI of unclear clinical significance despite comprehensive clinical evaluation and long-term follow-up. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic yield from genetic testing, beyond clinical evaluation, when investigating athletes with TWI. Methods -We investigated 50 consecutive asymptomatic black and 50 white athletes aged 14-35-years-old with TWI and a normal echocardiogram who were referred to a UK tertiary center for cardiomyopathy and sports cardiology. Subjects underwent exercise testing, 24-hour ECG, signal-averaged ECG, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and a blood-based analysis of a comprehensive 311 gene panel for cardiomyopathies including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, left ventricular non-compaction, and ion channel disorders such as long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome. Results -In total, 21 athletes (21%) were diagnosed with cardiac disease on the basis of comprehensive clinical investigations. Of these, 8 (38.1%) were gene positive (MYPBC3, MYH7, GLA, and ACTC1 genes) and 13 (61.9%) were gene negative. Of the remaining 79 athletes (79%), 2 (2.5%) were gene positive (TTR and SCN5A genes) in the absence of a clinical phenotype. The prevalence of newly diagnosed cardiomyopathy was higher in white athletes compared with black athletes (30.0% vs. 12%, P=0.027). Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy accounted for 90.5% of all clinical diagnoses. All black athletes and 93.3% of white athletes with a clinical diagnosis of cardiomyopathy or a genetic mutation capable of causing cardiomyopathy exhibited lateral TWI as opposed to isolated anterior or inferior TWI; the genetic yield of diagnoses from lateral TWI was 14.0%. Conclusions -Up to 10% of athletes with TWI revealed mutations capable of causing cardiac disease. Despite the substantial cost, the positive diagnostic yield from genetic testing was one-half of that from clinical evaluation (10% vs. 21%) and contributed to additional diagnoses in only 2.5% of athletes with TWI in the absence of a clear clinical phenotype, making it of negligible use in routine clinical practice

Co-exposure of the organic nanomaterial fullerene C60 with benzo[a]pyrene in Danio rerio (zebrafish) hepatocytes: Evidence of toxicological interactions

Compounds from the nanotechnology industry, such as carbon-based nanomaterials, are strong candidates to contaminate aquatic environments because their production and disposal have exponentially grown in a few years. Previous evidence shows that fullerene C60, a carbon nanomaterial, can facilitate the intake of metals or PAHs both in vivo and in vitro, potentially amplifying the deleterious effects of these toxicants in organisms. The present work aimed to investigate the effects of fullerene C60 in a Danio rerio (zebrafish) hepatocyte cell lineage exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in terms of cell viability, oxidative stress parameters and BaP intracellular accumulation. Additionally, a computational docking was performed to investigate the interaction of the fullerene C60 molecule with the detoxificatory and antioxidant enzyme πGST. Fullerene C60 provoked a significant (p 0.05) alter the enzyme activity when added to GST purified extracts from the zebrafish hepatocyte cells. These results show that fullerene C60 can increase the intake of BaP into the cells, decreasing cell viability and impairing the detoxificatory response by phase II enzymes, such as GST, and this latter effect should be occurring at the transcriptional level.Fil: Ribas Ferreira, Josencler L.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Lonné, María Noelia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: França, Thiago A.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Maximilla, Naiana R.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Lugokenski, Thiago H.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Departamento de Química; BrasilFil: Costa, Patrícia G.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Fillmann, Gilberto. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Soares, Félix A.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Departamento de Química; BrasilFil: de la Torre, Fernando Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas; ArgentinaFil: Monserrat, José María. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Nanomateriais de Carbono; Brasi

Antioxidant, phase II and III responses induced by lipoic acid in the fish Jenynsia multidentata (Anablapidae) and its influence on endolsulfan accumulation and toxicity

Antioxidants like lipoic acid (LA) are known to trigger augmented antioxidant and phase II and III responses. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of LA in P-glycoprotein (Pgp) expression, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, total antioxidant competence, levels of lipid peroxides (TBARS) and accumulation of the organochlorine insecticide endosulfan (Endo: α-, β-isomers and sulfate metabolite) in different organs of the fish Jenynsia multidentata. One hundred and twenty females (1.55 ± 0.07 g) were fed during 8 days with (n = 60) or without (n = 60) a LA enriched ration (6000 mg/kg). Four experimental groups were defined: −LA/−Endo; +LA/−Endo; −LA/+Endo; and +LA/+Endo. Endo groups were exposed during 24 h to 1.4 μg of insecticide/L. Results showed that only LA induced a significant increment in liver Pgp expression. GST activity was augmented in liver after exposure to LA or Endo. TBARS levels were lowered in liver and gills after LA pre-treatment. Total antioxidant capacity was lowered in liver of Endo exposed fish, a result that was reversed by LA pre-treatment. It is concluded that LA induced the expected effects in terms of Pgp expression, GST activity and reduced TBARS levels although favored α-Endo accumulation in brain. However, the Endo metabolism to the more persistent endosulfan sulfate was not facilitated by LA pre-treatment.Fil: Monserrat, José María. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasil. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; BrasilFil: Garcia, M. L.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasil. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; BrasilFil: Ventura Lima, J.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasil. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; BrasilFil: Gonzalez, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Ballesteros, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Miglioranza, Karina Silvia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Amé, María Valeria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Wunderlin, Daniel Alberto. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentin

The pulsating hot subdwarf Balloon 090100001: results of the 2005 multisite campaign

We present the results of a multisite photometric campaign on the pulsating sdB star Balloon 090100001. The star is one of the two known hybrid hot subdwarfs with both long- and short-period oscillations. The campaign involved eight telescopes with three obtaining UBVR data, four B-band data, and one Stromgren uvby photometry. The campaign covered 48 nights, providing a temporal resolution of 0.36microHz with a detection threshold of about 0.2mmag in B-filter data. Balloon 090100001 has the richest pulsation spectrum of any known pulsating subdwarf B star and our analysis detected 114 frequencies including 97 independent and 17 combination ones. The strongest mode (f_1) in the 2.8mHz region is most likely radial while the remaining ones in this region form two nearly symmetric multiplets: a triplet and quintuplet, attributed to rotationally split \ell=1 and 2 modes, respectively. We find clear increases of splitting in both multiplets between the 2004 and 2005 observing campaigns, amounting to 15% on average. The observed splittings imply that the rotational rate in Bal09 depends on stellar latitude and is the fastest on the equator. We use a small grid of models to constrain the main mode (f_1), which most likely represents the radial fundamental pulsation. The groups of p-mode frequencies appear to lie in the vicinity of consecutive radial overtones, up to the third one. Despite the large number of g-mode frequencies observed, we failed to identify them, most likely because of the disruption of asymptotic behaviour by mode trapping. The observed frequencies were not, however, fully exploited in terms of seismic analysis which should be done in the future with a larger grid of reliable evolutionary models of hot subdwarfs.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Book review

Teresa MORENO and Wes GIBBONS (eds.), The Geology of Chile. London: Geological Society, 2007

A framework for the probabilistic analysis of meteotsunamis

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Natural Hazards 74 (2014): 123-142, doi:10.1007/s11069-014-1294-1.A probabilistic technique is developed to assess the hazard from meteotsunamis. Meteotsunamis are unusual sea-level events, generated when the speed of an atmospheric pressure or wind disturbance is comparable to the phase speed of long waves in the ocean. A general aggregation equation is proposed for the probabilistic analysis, based on previous frameworks established for both tsunamis and storm surges, incorporating different sources and source parameters of meteotsunamis. Parameterization of atmospheric disturbances and numerical modeling is performed for the computation of maximum meteotsunami wave amplitudes near the coast. A historical record of pressure disturbances is used to establish a continuous analytic distribution of each parameter as well as the overall Poisson rate of occurrence. A demonstration study is presented for the northeast U.S. in which only isolated atmospheric pressure disturbances from squall lines and derechos are considered. For this study, Automated Surface Observing System stations are used to determine the historical parameters of squall lines from 2000 to 2013. The probabilistic equations are implemented using a Monte Carlo scheme, where a synthetic catalog of squall lines is compiled by sampling the parameter distributions. For each entry in the catalog, ocean wave amplitudes are computed using a numerical hydrodynamic model. Aggregation of the results from the Monte Carlo scheme results in a meteotsunami hazard curve that plots the annualized rate of exceedance with respect to maximum event amplitude for a particular location along the coast. Results from using multiple synthetic catalogs, resampled from the parent parameter distributions, yield mean and quantile hazard curves. Further refinements and improvements for probabilistic analysis of meteotsunamis are discussed

O(N) methods in electronic structure calculations

Linear scaling methods, or O(N) methods, have computational and memory requirements which scale linearly with the number of atoms in the system, N, in contrast to standard approaches which scale with the cube of the number of atoms. These methods, which rely on the short-ranged nature of electronic structure, will allow accurate, ab initio simulations of systems of unprecedented size. The theory behind the locality of electronic structure is described and related to physical properties of systems to be modelled, along with a survey of recent developments in real-space methods which are important for efficient use of high performance computers. The linear scaling methods proposed to date can be divided into seven different areas, and the applicability, efficiency and advantages of the methods proposed in these areas is then discussed. The applications of linear scaling methods, as well as the implementations available as computer programs, are considered. Finally, the prospects for and the challenges facing linear scaling methods are discussed.Comment: 85 pages, 15 figures, 488 references. Resubmitted to Rep. Prog. Phys (small changes