1,721,059 research outputs found
Analysis of the 227 bp short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) insertion of the promoter of the myostatin (MSTN) gene in different horse breeds
Full text linkThe myostatin (MSTN) gene encodes a protein known to be a negative regulator of muscle mass in mammalian species. Different polymorphisms of the horse (Equus caballus) MSTN gene have been identified, including single nucleotide polymorphisms and a short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) insertion of 227 bp within the promoter of the gene. The SINE insertion has been associated with performance traits in Thoroughbred racehorses and it was proposed as a predictor of optimum racing distance. The aims of this study were to perform in silico analysis to identify putative gains or abrogation of transcription-factor binding sites (TFBSs) generated by the SINE allele of the promoter and to analyse the frequency of the SINE insertion in horses used for racing (gallop and trot) and other purposes. The SINE insertion was genotyped in 227 horses from 10 breeds belonging to different morphological types (brachimorphic, mesomorphic, meso-dolichomorphic and dolichomorphic). The presence of the insertion was confirmed in the Quarter Horse (SINE allele frequency of 0.81) and in the Thoroughbred (0.51), whereas the SINE allele did not segregate in any of the other analysed breeds. As the SINE MSTN gene polymorphism may be population or breed specific, it is not a useful marker for association studies in all breeds
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Investigation of a short interspersed nuclear element polymorphic site in the porcine vertnin gene: allele frequencies and association study with meat quality, carcass and production traits in Italian Large White pigs
Full text linkA 291 bp short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) insertion in the porcine vertnin (VRTN) gene on porcine chromosome 7 was shown to affect vertebral number and several production traits: allele Q (with the insertion) increases vertebral number compared to the wild type allele (WT, without insertion). In this study we genotyped this polymorphism in eight pig breeds (Italian Large White, Italian Duroc, Italian Landrace, Cinta Senese, Mora Romagnola, Casertana, Apulo Calabrese, and Nero Siciliano) and in Italian wild boars to evaluate allele frequency distribution of the two alleles. Allele Q was the most frequent in Italian Landrace and Italian Duroc (0.738 and 0.545, respectively) whereas it was the less frequent in all other breeds and was absent in wild boars. Association study was carried out in two Italian Large White samples. These two groups of animals were constituted by performance tested pigs for which estimated breeding values (EBV) and random residuals (RR) for several traits (average daily gain, back fat thickness, feed:gain ratio, lean cuts and ham weight) were calculated: i) 270 pigs chosen without any criteria (random group), that were also measured for several meat quality traits; ii) 560 gilts with extreme and divergent EBV for back fat thickness. For these animals vertebral number was not available. Results of the association analyses indicated that allele Q was associated with a lower ham weight, confirming indirectly, the negative correlation reported by other studies between vertebral number and this trait. No other trait was associated with the analysed VRTN polymorphism
Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes of the protein kinase AMP-activated non-catalytic subunit gamma 3 (PRKAG3) gene on production, meat quality and carcass traits in Italian Large White pigs
No full textPRKAG3 is a major gene for meat quality and production in pigs. In this study, we investigated two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the PRKAG3 promoter region (g.-995A>G and g.-311A>G) in 381 pigs of different breeds. Association between these SNPs and three major haplotypes, constructed including other three substitutions (c.89C>A, c.154A>G and c.595G>A) and different traits (meat quality parameters: pH2h, pHu, glycogen and lactate content, glycolytic potential and cathepsin B activity of Semimembranosus muscle; estimated breeding values and random residuals for growth performances and carcass traits) were analysed in 271 Italian Large White performance tested pigs. A significant effect (P = 0.043) of the g.-995A>G SNP on cathepsin B activity and a suggestive effect (P = 0.067) of the g.-311A>G SNP on pHuwere found. The haplotype [g.-995G:g.-311G:c.89A:c.154G:c.595G] was associated with pHu(P = 0.024), glycolytic potential (P = 0.040) and cathepsin B activity (P = 0.086). This study on haplotypes, including promoter region SNPs, contribute to explain the effect of this gene on meat quality traits in pigs
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
SNPs within the beta myosin heavy chain (MYH7) and the pyruvate kinase muscle (PKM2) genes in horse
Full text linkTwo highly expressed skeletal muscle genes (the MYH7 gene encoding the myosin heavy chain slow/β-cardiac isoform and the PKM2 gene encoding the pyruvate kinase muscle isoforms) were investigated with the objective to identify DNA markers in horses. A panel of DNA samples from different horse breeds was analysed using a PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) approach. Four and two alleles were identified for the MYH7 and PKM2 loci, respectively. Mendelian inheritance of alleles of the two investigated genes was confirmed analysing horse families. Sequencing of PCR products obtained from the MYH7 and PKM2 genes made it possible to characterise two SSCP alleles for each gene. The polymorphisms found in the MYH7 and PKM2 genes were further studied in 61 and 68 horses of three (Italian Heavy Draught Horse, Italian Saddler and Murgese) and five (Franches-Montagnes, Haflinger, Italian Heavy Draught Horse, Murgese and Standardbred) breeds, respectively. Allele frequencies of the two loci varied among the considered breeds. The SNPs discovery in MYH7 and PKM2 genes makes it possible to locate new molecular markers to ECA1. The identified markers could be used in association analysis with performance traits in horses
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