History, status and genetic characteristics of native cattle breeds from the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This work provides a comprehensive review of the history, status, and genetic characteristics of cattle breeds in Kazakhstan. The current breeding status is analysed, including information on popular breeds such as Kazakh white-headed, Auliekol, Alatau, Aulieata, and Kalmyk, their production and economic significance. An overview of genetic studies using DNA fingerprinting, microsatellites, and SNPs aimed at identifying unique characteristics, genetic diversity, and genes under selection, as well as markers of economically important and productive traits of Kazakh cattle breeds, is also provided.

Sex-Specific Effects of THRβ Signaling on Metabolic Responses to High Fat Diet in Mice.

Thyroid hormone (TH) plays a crucial role in regulating the functions of both bone and adipose tissue. Given that TH exerts its cholesterol-lowering effects in hepatic tissue through the TH receptor-β (TRβ), we hypothesized that TRβ agonist therapy using MGL3196 (MGL) would be effective in treating increased adiposity and bone loss in response to a 12-week high-fat diet (HFD) in adult C57BL/6J mice. Transcriptional and serum profiling revealed that HFD-induced leptin promoted weight gain in both males and females, but MGL only suppressed leptin induction and weight gain in males.

Influence of breed and environment on leukocyte telomere length in cattle.

High milk yield is associated with reduced longevity in high-producing dairy cattle breeds. Pre-term culling leads to high replacement heifer demand and economic losses for the dairy industry. Selection for this trait is limited because of low heritability and difficulties in phenotype measurement.

Modeling the risk of aquatic species invasion spread through boater movements and river connections.

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are one of the greatest threats to the functioning of aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Once an invasive species has been introduced to a new region, many governments develop management strategies to reduce further spread. Nevertheless, managing AIS in a new region is challenging because of the vast areas that need protection and limited resources.

Improving species distribution forecasts by measuring and communicating uncertainty: An invasive species case study.

Forecasting invasion risk under future climate conditions is critical for the effective management of invasive species, and species distribution models (SDMs) are key tools for doing so. However, SDM-based forecasts are uncertain, especially when correlative statistical models extrapolate to nonanalog environmental domains, such as future climate conditions. Different assumptions about the functional form of the temperature-suitability relationship can impact predicted habitat suitability under novel conditions.

Implementation of an Electronic Clinical Decision Support System for the Early Recognition and Management of Dysglycemia in an Inpatient Mental Health Setting Using CogStack: Protocol for a Pilot Hybrid Type 3 Effectiveness-Implementation Randomized Controlled Cluster Trial.

Background: Severe mental illnesses (SMIs), including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and major depressive disorder, are associated with an increased risk of physical health comorbidities and premature mortality from conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Digital technologies such as electronic clinical decision support systems (eCDSSs) could play a crucial role in improving the clinician-led management of conditions such as dysglycemia (deranged blood sugar levels) and associated conditions such as diabetes in people with a diagnosis of SMI in mental health settings.

Objective: We have developed a real-time eCDSS using CogStack, an information retrieval and extraction platform, to automatically alert clinicians with National Health Service Trust-approved, guideline-based recommendations for dysglycemia monitoring and management in secondary mental health care.

Applying Lessons From Ars Moriendi to Foster Dying Well in Acute Care Settings.

Medical and technological advances have made it possible to keep people alive well beyond what was once possible, leading health care providers to focus on life-sustaining measures rather than questioning the futility of such measures and considering quality of life. In the midst of the struggle to foster dying well in a medicalized environment, acute care nurses may be challenged with shifting the focus to providing optimal end-of-life care because of lack of training, time, and resources. A remedy for the current western societal approach to medicalized dying is to look back in history to a time during the late Middle Ages, when death was an accepted part of medieval life.

Association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms in the LPIN1 gene with milk production traits in cows of the Yaroslavl breed.

Lipin-1 is a member of the evolutionarily conserved family of proteins and is expressed predominantly in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. On the one hand, lipin-1 is an enzyme that catalyzes the dephosphorylation of phosphatidic acid to diacylglycerol (DAG) and thus participates in the metabolic pathways of biosynthesis of storage lipids in the cell, membrane phospholipids, and intracellular signaling molecules. On the other hand, lipin-1 is able to be transported from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and is a coactivator of lipid metabolism gene transcription.

A within-lake occupancy model for starry stonewort, Nitellopsis obtusa, to support early detection and monitoring.

To efficiently detect aquatic invasive species early in an invasion when control may still be possible, predictions about which locations are likeliest to be occupied are needed at fine scales but are rarely available. Occupancy modeling could provide such predictions given data of sufficient quality and quantity. We assembled a data set for the macroalga starry stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) across Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA, where it is a new and high-priority invader.

syntenyPlotteR: a user-friendly R package to visualize genome synteny, ideal for both experienced and novice bioinformaticians.

Motivation: The rapid increase in the number of chromosome-scale genome assemblies has renewed interest in chromosome evolution studies. The visualization of syntenic relationships between genomes is a crucial initial step in the study of chromosome rearrangements and evolution. There are few tools available that serve this purpose, and they can be difficult to learn.

Candidate genes for domestication and resistance to cold climate according to whole genome sequencing data of Russian cattle and sheep breeds.

It is known that different species of animals, when living in the same environmental conditions, can form similar phenotypes. The study of the convergent evolution of several species under the influence of the same environmental factor makes it possible to identify common mechanisms of genetic adaptation. Local cattle and sheep breeds have been formed over thousands of years under the influence of domestication, as well as selection aimed at adaptation to the local environment and meeting human needs.

A Multibreed Genome-Wide Association Study for Cattle Leukocyte Telomere Length.

Telomeres are terminal DNA regions of chromosomes that prevent chromosomal fusion and degradation during cell division. In cattle, leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with longevity, productive lifespan, and disease susceptibility. However, the genetic basis of LTL in this species is less studied than in humans.

Comparative studies of X chromosomes in Cervidae family.

The family Cervidae is the second most diverse in the infraorder Pecora and is characterized by variability in the diploid chromosome numbers among species. X chromosomes in Cervidae evolved through complex chromosomal rearrangements of conserved segments within the chromosome, changes in centromere position, heterochromatic variation, and X-autosomal translocations. The family Cervidae consists of two subfamilies: Cervinae and Capreolinae.

Perturbation of endoplasmic reticulum proteostasis triggers tissue injury in the thyroid gland.

Defects in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis have been linked to diseases in multiple organ systems. Here we examined the impact of perturbation of ER proteostasis in mice bearing thyrocyte-specific knockout of either HRD1 (to disable ER-associated protein degradation [ERAD]) or ATG7 (to disable autophagy) in the absence or presence of heterozygous expression of misfolded mutant thyroglobulin (the most highly expressed thyroid gene product, synthesized in the ER). Misfolding-inducing thyroglobulin mutations are common in humans but are said to yield only autosomal-recessive disease - perhaps because misfolded thyroglobulin protein might undergo disposal by ERAD or ER macroautophagy.

Evolutionary history shapes grassland productivity through opposing effects on complementarity and selection.

Phylogenetic diversity (PD), the evolutionary history of the organisms comprising a community, is increasingly recognized as an important driver of ecosystem function. However, biodiversity-ecosystem function experiments have rarely included PD as an a priori treatment. Thus, PD's effects in existing experiments are often confounded by covarying differences in species richness and functional trait diversity (FD).

Compilation and functional classification of telomere length-associated genes in humans and other animal species.

Telomeres are the terminal regions of chromosomes that ensure their stability while cell division. Telomere shortening initiates cellular senescence, which can lead to degeneration and atrophy of tissues, so the process is associated with a reduction in life expectancy and predisposition to a number of diseases. An accelerated rate of telomere attrition can serve as a predictor of life expectancy and health status of an individual.

Diagnosis and management of keratoconus in the paediatric age group: a review of current evidence.

The diagnosis and management of keratoconus in the paediatric age group presents additional challenges to those encountered in adults. The most significant of these, encountered in some young patients, are delayed presentation of unilateral disease, more advanced disease at diagnosis, difficulty in obtaining reliable corneal imaging, faster rates of disease progression and challenges in contact lens management. The stabilisation effect of corneal cross-linking (CXL), more extensively studied in adults with randomised trials and long-term follow-up, has been much less rigorously examined in children and adolescents.

Lack of Skeletal Effects in Mice with Targeted Disruptionof Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain 1 () Gene Expressed in Chondrocytes.

The critical importance of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)s in the regulation of endochondral bone formation is now well established. HIF protein levels are closely regulated by the prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein (PHD) mediated ubiquitin-proteasomal degradation pathway. Of the three PHD family members expressed in bone, we previously showed that mice with conditional disruption of the Phd2 gene in chondrocytes led to a massive increase in the trabecular bone mass of the long bones.

Dinosaurs: Comparative Cytogenomics of Their Reptile Cousins and Avian Descendants.

Reptiles known as dinosaurs pervade scientific and popular culture, while interest in their genomics has increased since the 1990s. Birds (part of the crown group Reptilia) are living theropod dinosaurs. Chromosome-level genome assemblies cannot be made from long-extinct biological material, but dinosaur genome organization can be inferred through comparative genomics of related extant species.

Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials Evaluating Surgical Innovations in Ophthalmology: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Surgical innovations are necessary to improve patient care. After an initial exploratory phase, novel surgical technique should be compared with alternative options or standard care in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, surgical RCTs have unique methodological challenges.