Polymorphisms in Calpastatin and mu-Calpain Genes Are Associated with Beef Iron Content

The objective of this study was to assess the association of markers in the calpastatin and mu-calpain loci with iron in beef cattle muscle. The population consisted of 259 cross-bred steers from Beefmaster, Brangus, Bonsmara, Romosinuano, Hereford and Angus sires. Total iron and heme iron concentrations were measured. Markers in the calpastatin (referred to as CAST) and mu-calpain (referred to asCAPN4751) genes were used to assess their association with iron levels. The mean and standard error for iron and heme iron content in the population was 35.6 ± 1.3 μg and 27.1 ± 1.4 μg respectively. Significant associations (P \u3c 0.01) of markers were observed for both iron and heme iron content. For CAST, animals with the CC genotype had higher levels of iron and heme iron in longissimus dorsi muscle. ForCAPN4751, individuals with the TT genotype had higher concentrations of iron and heme iron than did animals with the CC and CT genotypes. Genotypes known to be associated with tougher meat were associated with higher levels of iron concentration

Conductivity of dielectric and thermal atom-wall interaction

We compare the experimental data of the first measurement of a temperature dependence of the Casimir-Polder force by Obrecht et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 063201 (2007)] with the theory taking into account small, but physically real, static conductivity of the dielectric substrate. The theory is found to be inconsistent with the data. The conclusion is drawn that the conductivity of dielectric materials should not be included in the model of the dielectric response in the Lifshitz theory. This conclusion obtained from the long separation measurement is consistent with related but different results obtained for semiconductors and metals at short separations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; page size is correcte

Skeletal Recovery Following Long-Duration Spaceflight Missions as Determined by Preflight and Postflight DXA Scans of 45 Crew Members

Introduction: The loss of bone mineral in astronauts during spaceflight has been investigated throughout the more than 40 years of bone research in space. Consequently, it is a medical requirement at NASA that changes in bone mass be monitored in crew members by measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This report is the first to evaluate medical data to address the recovery of bone mineral that is lost during spaceflight. Methods: DXA scans are performed before and after flight in astronauts who serve on long-duration missions (4-6 months) to ensure that medical standards for flight certification are met, to evaluate the effects of spaceflight and to monitor the restoration to preflight BMD status after return to Earth. Through cooperative agreements with the Russian Space Agency, the Bone and Mineral Lab at NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX), also had access to BMD data from cosmonauts who had flown on long-duration missions yielding data from a total of 45 individual crew members. Changes in BMD (between 56 different sets of pre- and postflight measurements) were plotted as a function of time (days after landing); plotted data were fitted to an exponential mathematical model that determined i) BMD change at day 0 after landing and ii) the number of days after which 50% of the lost bone was recovered ("Recovery Half-Life"). These fits were performed for BMD of the lumbar spine, trochanter, pelvis, femoral neck and calcaneus. Results: In sum, averaged losses of bone mineral after spaceflight ranged between 2-9% for sites in the axial and appendicular skeleton. The fitted postflight BMD values predicted a 50% recovery of bone loss for all sites within 9 months

Salt-inducible kinases (SIKs) regulate TGFβ-mediated transcriptional and apoptotic responses

The signalling pathways initiated by members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) family of cytokines control many metazoan cellular processes, including proliferation and differentiation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and apoptosis. TGFβ signalling is therefore strictly regulated to ensure appropriate context-dependent physiological responses. In an attempt to identify novel regulatory components of the TGFβ signalling pathway, we performed a pharmacological screen by using a cell line engineered to report the endogenous transcription of the TGFβ-responsive target gene PAI-1. The screen revealed that small molecule inhibitors of salt-inducible kinases (SIKs) attenuate TGFβ-mediated transcription of PAI-1 without affecting receptor-mediated SMAD phosphorylation, SMAD complex formation or nuclear translocation. We provide evidence that genetic inactivation of SIK isoforms also attenuates TGFβ-dependent transcriptional responses. Pharmacological inhibition of SIKs by using multiple small-molecule inhibitors potentiated apoptotic cell death induced by TGFβ stimulation. Our data therefore provide evidence for a novel function of SIKs in modulating TGFβ-mediated transcriptional and cellular responses.</p

Recovery of Spaceflight-induced Bone Loss: Bone Mineral Density after Long-Duration Missions as Fitted with an Exponential Function

The loss of bone mineral in NASA astronauts during spaceflight has been investigated throughout the more than 40 years of space travel. Consequently, it is a medical requirement at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) that changes in bone mass be monitored in crew members by measuring bone mineral density (BMD) with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) before and after flight on astronauts who serve on long-duration missions (4-6 months). We evaluated this repository of medical data to track whether there is recovery of bone mineral that was lost during spaceflight. Our analysis was supplemented by BMD data from cosmonauts ( by convention, a space traveler formally employed by the Russia Aviation and Space Agency or by the previous Soviet Union) who had also flown on long-duration missions. Data from a total of 45 individual crew members -- a small number of whom flew on more than one mission -- were used in this analysis. Changes in BMD (between 56 different sets of pre- and postflight measurements) were plotted as a function of time (days after landing). Plotted BMD changes were fitted to an exponential mathematical function that estimated: i) BMD change on landing day (day 0) and ii) the number of days after landing when 50% of the lost bone would be recovered ("50% recovery time") in the lumbar spine, trochanter, pelvis, femoral neck and calcaneus. In sum, averaged losses of bone mineral after long-duration spaceflight ranged between 2-9% across all sites with our recovery model predicting a 50% restoration of bone loss for all sites to be within 9 months

Hypoxia induces a phase transition within a kinase signaling network in cancer cells

Hypoxia is a near-universal feature of cancer, promoting glycolysis, cellular proliferation, and angiogenesis. The molecular mechanisms of hypoxic signaling have been intensively studied, but the impact of changes in oxygen partial pressure (pO2) on the state of signaling networks is less clear. In a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cancer cell model, we examined the response of signaling networks to targeted pathway inhibition between 21% and 1% pO_2. We used a microchip technology that facilitates quantification of a panel of functional proteins from statistical numbers of single cells. We find that near 1.5% pO_2, the signaling network associated with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1)—a critical component of hypoxic signaling and a compelling cancer drug target—is deregulated in a manner such that it will be unresponsive to mTOR kinase inhibitors near 1.5% pO2, but will respond at higher or lower pO_2 values. These predictions were validated through experiments on bulk GBM cell line cultures and on neurosphere cultures of a human-origin GBM xenograft tumor. We attempt to understand this behavior through the use of a quantitative version of Le Chatelier’s principle, as well as through a steady-state kinetic model of protein interactions, both of which indicate that hypoxia can influence mTORC1 signaling as a switch. The Le Chatelier approach also indicates that this switch may be thought of as a type of phase transition. Our analysis indicates that certain biologically complex cell behaviors may be understood using fundamental, thermodynamics-motivated principles

Sex differences in short-term mate preferences and behavioral mimicry: A semi-naturalistic experiment

Item does not contain fulltextStudies on short-term mating (STM) yield sex differences regarding preferences for attractiveness (important towomen, very important to men) and social status (very important to women, not to men) in potential mates. Additionally, men generally report a greater desire to engage in STM than women. So far, this evidence is primarily based on studies using vignettes or surveys. The current study extended the findings on sex differences in STM by examining actual behavior and STM-desires towards real people of the opposite sex. It investigated whether (1) sex differences exist in STM-desire, (2) whether this desire was affected by a confederate's attractiveness and status, and (3) if these sex differences were also reflected in interpersonal behavior (mimicry). In a pub-like laboratory, single heterosexual participants performed a task alongside a confederate of the opposite sex, who differed in attractiveness and social status. Mimicry was observed and explicit STM-desire was assessed. Results showed that men only desired STM more than women in the case of an attractive partner. Women's STMdesire did not vary as a function of status or ttractiveness of the potential partner. Men’s, but not women's, mimicry paralleled these differential STM-desires. These results underline the conditionality of sex differences in STM-desire and provide a useful paradigm to further investigate STM.10 p

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association from genomic prediction models

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies based on GBLUP models are a common practice in animal breeding. However, effect sizes of GWA tests are small, requiring larger sample sizes to enhance power of detection of rare variants. Because of difficulties in increasing sample size in animal populations, one alternative is to implement a meta-analysis (MA), combining information and results from independent GWA studies. Although this methodology has been used widely in human genetics, implementation in animal breeding has been limited. Thus, we present methods to implement a MA of GWA, describing the proper approach to compute weights derived from multiple genomic evaluations based on animal-centric GBLUP models. Application to real datasets shows that MA increases power of detection of associations in comparison with population-level GWA, allowing for population structure and heterogeneity of variance components across populations to be accounted for. Another advantage of MA is that it does not require access to genotype data that is required for a joint analysis. Scripts related to the implementation of this approach, which consider the strength of association as well as the sign, are distributed and thus account for heterogeneity in association phase between QTL and SNPs. Thus, MA of GWA is an attractive alternative to summarizing results from multiple genomic studies, avoiding restrictions with genotype data sharing, definition of fixed effects and different scales of measurement of evaluated traits.Fil: Bernal Rubio, Yeni Liliana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina. Michigan State University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gualdron Duarte, Jose Luis. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bates, R. O.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Ernst, C. W.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Nonneman, D.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Rohrer, G. A.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: King, A.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Shackelford, S. D.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Wheeler, T. L.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Cantet, Rodolfo Juan Carlos. Michigan State University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Steibel, J. P.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina. Michigan State University; Estados Unido

Perpetrating Cyber Dating Abuse: A Brief Report on the Role of Aggression, Romantic Jealousy and Gender

There is increasing evidence that the use of elec-tronic communication technology (ECT) is being integrated into romantic relationships, which can be used as a medium to control a romantic partner. Most research focuses on the vic-tims of cyber dating abuse, however, we focused on the factors that predict perpetration of cyber dating abuse. We explored whether aggression (verbal aggression, physical aggression, anger and hostility), romantic jealousy (emotional, cognitive and behavioral jealousy), and gender predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse (n = 189). We found that hostility, behav-ioral jealousy and gender significantly predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the psychological factors that drive cyber dating abuse in romantic relationships

A method for automatic segmentation and splitting of hyperspectral images of raspberry plants collected in field conditions

Abstract Hyperspectral imaging is a technology that can be used to monitor plant responses to stress. Hyperspectral images have a full spectrum for each pixel in the image, 400–2500 nm in this case, giving detailed information about the spectral reflectance of the plant. Although this technology has been used in laboratory-based controlled lighting conditions for early detection of plant disease, the transfer of such technology to imaging plants in field conditions presents a number of challenges. These include problems caused by varying light levels and difficulties of separating the target plant from its background. Here we present an automated method that has been developed to segment raspberry plants from the background using a selected spectral ratio combined with edge detection. Graph theory was used to minimise a cost function to detect the continuous boundary between uninteresting plants and the area of interest. The method includes automatic detection of a known reflectance tile which was kept constantly within the field of view for all image scans. A method to split images containing rows of multiple raspberry plants into individual plants was also developed. Validation was carried out by comparison of plant height and density measurements with manually scored values. A reasonable correlation was found between these manual scores and measurements taken from the images (r2 = 0.75 for plant height). These preliminary steps are an essential requirement before detailed spectral analysis of the plants can be achieved