Search results for " BREEDING"
showing 10 items of 185 documents
Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series
2019
Summary Horse domestication revolutionized warfare and accelerated travel, trade, and the geographic expansion of languages. Here, we present the largest DNA time series for a non-human organism to date, including genome-scale data from 149 ancient animals and 129 ancient genomes (≥1-fold coverage), 87 of which are new. This extensive dataset allows us to assess the modern legacy of past equestrian civilizations. We find that two extinct horse lineages existed during early domestication, one at the far western (Iberia) and the other at the far eastern range (Siberia) of Eurasia. None of these contributed significantly to modern diversity. We show that the influence of Persian-related horse …
GeneticParameters for Milk Somatic Cell Score and Relationships with Production Traits in Primparous Dairy Sheep
2007
A total of 13,066 first-lactation test-day records of 2,277 Valle del Belice ewes from 17 flocks were used to estimate genetic parameters for somatic cell scores (SCS) and milk production traits, using a repeatability test-day animal model. Heritability estimates were low and ranged from 0.09 to 0.14 for milk, fat, and protein yields, and contents. For SCS, the heritability of 0.14 was relatively high. The repeatabilities were moderate and ranged from 0.29 to 0.47 for milk production traits. The repeatability for SCS was 0.36. Flock-test-day explained a large proportion of the variation for milk production traits, but it did not have a big effect on SCS. The genetic correlations of fat and …
No synergy needed: ecological constraints favor the evolution of eusociality.
2015
In eusocial species, some individuals sacrifice their own reproduction for the benefit of others. It has been argued that the evolution of sterile helpers in eusocial insects requires synergistic efficiency gains through cooperation that are uncommon in cooperatively breeding vertebrates and that this precludes a universal ecological explanation of social systems with alloparental care. In contrast, using a model that incorporates realistic ecological mechanisms of population regulation, we show here that constraints on independent breeding (through nest-site limitation and dispersal mortality) eliminate any need for synergistic efficiency gains: sterile helpers may evolve even if they are …
Characterisation and radiolysis of modified lithium orthosilicate pebbles with noble metal impurities
2017
Modified lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) pebbles with additions of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are suggested as an alternative tritium breeding ceramic for the European solid breeder test blanket module. The noble metals – platinum (Pt), gold (Au) and rhodium (Rh), can be introduced into the modified Li4SiO4 pebbles during the melt-based process, due to the corrosion of Pt-Rh and Pt-Au alloy crucible components. In this study, the surface microstructure, chemical and phase composition of the modified Li4SiO4 pebbles with different contents of the noble metals was analysed. The influence of the noble metals on the radiolysis was evaluated after irradiation with accelerated electrons (E = 5 MeV),…
Thermal optimization of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding zone layout design regarding TBR enhancement
2017
Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activities, CEA-Saclay has carried out an investigation of the thermal and mechanical performances of alternative designs intended to enhance the Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) for DEMO. Neutronic calculations performed on the 2014 DEMO HCLL baseline predicted a value of TBR equal to 1.07, lower than the required value of 1.1, necessary to ensure the tritium self-sufficiency of the breeding blanket taking into account uncertainties. In order to reach the TBR target, the strategy of the steel amount reduction inside the HCLL module breeding zone (BZ) has been followed by suppressing s…
Thermo-mechanical analyses and ways of optimization of the helium cooled DEMO First Wall under RCC-MRx rules
2017
Abstract The EUROfusion Consortium develops a design of a fusion power demonstrator plant (DEMO) in the framework of the European “Horizon 2020” innovation and research program. One of the key components in the fusion reactor is the Breeding Blanket (BB) surrounding the plasma, ensuring tritium self-sufficiency, heat removal for conversion into electricity, and neutron shielding. Among the 4 candidates for the DEMO BB, 2 of them use helium as coolant (HCPB, HCLL), and another one (DCLL) uses helium to cool down the First Wall (FW) only. Due to uncertainties regarding the plasma Heat Flux (HF) load the DEMO BB integrated FW will have to cope with, a set of sensitive thermal and stress analys…
Behaviour of advanced tritium breeder pebbles under simultaneous action of accelerated electrons and high temperature
2017
The authors greatly acknowledge the technical and experimen-tal support of O. Valtenbergs and L. Avotina (Institute of Chemical Physics, University of Latvia). The work is performed in the frames of the University of Latvia financed project No. Y9-B044-ZF-N-300, “Nano, Quantum Technologies, and Innovative Materials for Eco-nomics”.
Variation in pheno-morphological and agronomic traits among burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.) populations collected in Sicily, Italy
2010
The present study assessed the diversity of pheno-morphological and agronomic traits among 31 natural populations of burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.) from different environments throughout Sicily, and analysed the patterns of phenotypic diversity in relation to the environmental parameters of each collection site. Three commercial cultivars (Cavalier, Santiago, and Anglona) were also included in the study as check cultivars. Two field experiments were performed in 2005–06 in a hilly area of the Sicilian inland. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on the sites using geographic, climatic, and pedological data to assess the differences in types of collection sites. PCA was al…
Early embryo achievement through isolated microspore culture in citrus clementina hort. Ex tan., cvs. 'Monreal Rosso' and 'nules'
2015
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Using genetically-defined rodent strains for the identification of hippocampal traits relevant for two-way avoidance behavior: a non-invasive approach
1989
Genetically-defined rodent strains permit the identification of hippocampal traits which are of functional relevance for the performance of two-way avoidance behavior. This is exemplified here by analyzing the relationship between infrapyramidal mossy fibers (a tiny projection terminating upon the basal dendrites of hippocampal pyramidal neurons) and two-way avoidance learning in about 800 animals. The necessary steps include 1) identification of structural traits sensitive to selective breeding for extremes in two-way avoidance, 2) testing the robustness of the associations found by studying individual and genetical correlations between hippocampal traits and behavior, 3) establishing caus…