Twenty paternal half-sib families of a granddaughter design were genotyped for 265 genetic markers, most of them microsatellites. These were 16 Holstein families, 3 Simmental families, and 1 Brown Swiss family. The number of sires per breed was 872, 170, and 32, respectively. Two-point recombination rates were estimated both jointly for all breeds and each single breed separately. Of 1168 marker i

A total of 1 130 bulls belonging to 20 half-sib families of German dairy cattle were genotyped for 229 microsatellite markers on 30 chromosomes. The data were used in an attempt to map quantitative trait loci applying regression as multiple-marker regression. For association analysis with a granddaughter design, the estimated breeding values for 3 milk traits were used: milk production, fat produc

The aim of this paper is to present the construction of a male genetic linkage map as a result of the bovine genome mapping project, which is a common effort of the German cattle breeding federation (ADR), four animal breeding institutes, three blood group laboratories and two animal data and breeding value evaluation centres. In total 20 grandsires with 1074 sires were provided from the German ca

The proportion of unpigmented coat on the trunk was determined from photographs of 38 German Simmental and 627 German Holstein bulls distributed over three generations. All 665 animals were members of 18 Holstein and 3 Simmental half-sib families. A Bayesian estimation of heritability yielded a posterior mean of 0.88 and a standard error of 0.08. A quantitative trait loci (QTL) scan over all chrom

The report of the bovine chromosome 4 (BTA4) workshop is presented. Six laboratories contributed a total of 30168 informative meioses from 62 loci. Twenty-two loci were typed by at least two independent laboratories and were used to construct a consensus linkage map of BTA4. The remaining 40 loci were subsequently incorporated into a comprehensive map. The sex-averaged consensus map covered 131.4

To further our understanding of inherited susceptibility to Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), we performed a meta-analysis of seven genome-wide association studies totalling 5,325 HL cases and 22,423 controls. We identify five new HL risk loci at 6p21.31 (rs649775, P = 2.11 × 10-10), 6q23.3 (rs1002658, P = 2.97 × 10-8), 11q23.1 (rs7111520, P = 1.44 × 10-11), 16p11.2 (rs6565176, P = 4.00 × 10-8) and 20q13.12

BACKGROUND: Recent identification of 10 germline variants predisposing to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) explicates genetic dependency of this asymptomatic precursor condition with multiple myeloma (MM). Yet much of genetic burden as well as functional links remain unexplained. We propose a workflow to expand the search for susceptibility loci with genome-wide interactio

High blood pressure is a highly heritable and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We report the largest genetic association study of blood pressure traits (systolic, diastolic and pulse pressure) to date in over 1 million people of European ancestry. We identify 535 novel blood pressure loci that not only offer new biological insights into blood pressure regulation but also highligh

BACKGROUND: Clinical cancer trials are crucial for the implementation of new treatments in the clinical setting, but it is equally crucial that patients are given the opportunity to make a well-informed decision about participation. The inclusion process is complex, including both oral and written information about the trial. The process of patients' decision-making regarding clinical cancer trial

Strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in combination with a lack of inversion symmetry and exchange magnetic interaction proves to be a sophisticated instrument allowing efficient control of the spin orientation, energy and trajectories of two-dimensional (2D) electrons and holes trapped at surfaces or interfaces. Exploiting Kondo-related phenomena and crystal-electric-field effects at reduced dimensio

Natural light-harvesting is performed by pigment–protein complexes, which collect and funnel the solar energy at the start of photosynthesis. The identity and arrangement of pigments largely define the absorption spectrum of the antenna complex, which is further regulated by a palette of structural factors. Small alterations are induced by pigment–protein interactions. In light-harvesting systems

Background: Treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis is challenging. Unloader braces have been developed with various success. Unloader One® Knee Brace is light, easily-fitted and shown to be effective by the unloading of the affected compartment. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical outcome of the brace vs. a placebo on patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Initially 150 pa

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), a bone-derived hormone that regulates phosphorus and vitamin D metabolism, contributes to the pathogenesis of mineral and bone disorders in CKD and is an emerging cardiovascular risk factor. Central elements of FGF23 regulation remain incompletely understood; genetic variation may help explain interindividual differences.METHODS: We performed a meta

Recent advances in tracking technology are based on the use of miniature sensors for recording new aspects of individual migratory behaviour. In this study, we have used activity data loggers with barometric and temperature sensors to record the flight altitudes as well as ground elevations during stationary periods of migratory songbirds. We tracked one individual of red-backed shrike and one gre

We report on the structural characterization of GaAs nanowires integrated on Si(001) by template-assisted selective epitaxy. The nanowires were grown in lateral SiO2 templates along [110] with varying V/III ratios and temperatures using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The nanowires have been categorized depending on the growth facets which typically consisted of (110) and (111)B planes. N

Förster theory describes electronic exciton energy migration in molecular assemblies as an incoherent hopping process between donor and acceptor molecules. The rate is expressed in terms of the overlap integral between donor fluorescence and acceptor absorption spectra. Typical time scales for systems like photosynthetic antennae are on the order of a few picoseconds. Prior to transfer, it is assu

Background: Cell therapy constitutes an attractive alternative to treat stress urinary incontinence. Although promising results have been demonstrated in this field, the procedure requires further optimization. The most commonly proposed cell types for intraurethral injections are muscle derived cells (MDCs) and mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect

A new strategy towards tubular hydrogen-bonded polymers based on the self-assembly of isocytosine tautomers in orthogonal directions is proposed and experimentally verified, including by 1H fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR. The molecular tubes obtained possess large internal diameter and tailor-made outer functionalities rendering them potential candidates for a number of applicatio