Proposed role of w chromosome inactivation and the absence of dosage compensation in avian sex determination

Three features of avian sex chromosomes - female heterogamety (ZZ male, ZW female), the apparently inactive state of the W chromosome, and dose-dependent expression of Z-linked genes - are examined in regard to their possible relation to sex determination. It is proposed that the W chromosome is facultatively heterochromatic and that the Z and W chromosomes carry one or more homologous sex-determination genes. The absence of dosage compensation in ZZ embryos, and W inactivation in ZW embryos, would then bring about a 2n(ZZ)-n(ZW) inequality in the effective copy number of such genes. The absence of dosage compensation of Z-linked genes in ZZ embryos is viewed as a means by which two copies of Z-W homologous sex determination genes are kept active to meet the requirements of testis determination. W inactivation may promote ovarian development by reducing the effective copy number of these genes from 2n to n. If there is a W-specific gene for femaleness, spread of heterochromatization to this gene in cells forming the right gonadal primordium may explain the latter's normally undifferentiated state; reversal of heterochromatization may similarly explain the development of the right gonad into a testis following left ovariectomy.

Sex and physiological state influence the rate of resource acquisition and monopolisation in urban free-ranging dogs, Canis familiaris

In animal populations, the constraints of energy and time can cause intraspecific variation in foraging behaviour. The proximate developmental mediators of such variation are often the mechanisms underlying perception and associative learning. Here, experience-dependent changes in foraging behaviour and their consequences were investigated in an urban population of free-ranging dogs, Canis familiaris by continually challenging them with the task of food extraction from specially crafted packets. Typically, males and pregnant/lactating (PL) females extracted food using the sophisticated `gap widening' technique, whereas non-pregnant/non-lactating (NPNL) females, the relatively underdeveloped `rip opening' technique. In contrast to most males and PL females (and a few NPNL females) that repeatedly used the gap widening technique and improved their performance in food extraction with experience, most NPNL females (and a few males and PL females) non-preferentially used the two extraction techniques and did not improve over successive trials. Furthermore, the ability of dogs to sophisticatedly extract food was positively related to their ability to improve their performance with experience. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that factors such as sex and physiological state can cause differences among individuals in the likelihood of learning new information and hence, in the rate of resource acquisition and monopolization.

Dynamic Site Characterization and Correlation of Shear Wave Velocity with Standard Penetration Test `N' Values for the City of Agartala, Tripura State, India

Seismic site characterization is the basic requirement for seismic microzonation and site response studies of an area. Site characterization helps to gauge the average dynamic properties of soil deposits and thus helps to evaluate the surface level response. This paper presents a seismic site characterization of Agartala city, the capital of Tripura state, in the northeast of India. Seismically, Agartala city is situated in the Bengal Basin zone which is classified as a highly active seismic zone, assigned by Indian seismic code BIS-1893, Indian Standard Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, Part-1 General Provisions and Buildings. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi (2002), it is the highest seismic level (zone-V) in the country. The city is very close to the Sylhet fault (Bangladesh) where two major earthquakes (M (w) > 7) have occurred in the past and affected severely this city and the whole of northeast India. In order to perform site response evaluation, a series of geophysical tests at 27 locations were conducted using the multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) technique, which is an advanced method for obtaining shear wave velocity (V (s)) profiles from in situ measurements. Similarly, standard penetration test (SPT-N) bore log data sets have been obtained from the Urban Development Department, Govt. of Tripura. In the collected data sets, out of 50 bore logs, 27 were selected which are close to the MASW test locations and used for further study. Both the data sets (V (s) profiles with depth and SPT-N bore log profiles) have been used to calculate the average shear wave velocity (V (s)30) and average SPT-N values for the upper 30 m depth of the subsurface soil profiles. These were used for site classification of the study area recommended by the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) manual. The average V (s)30 and SPT-N classified the study area as seismic site class D and E categories, indicating that the city is susceptible to site effects and liquefaction. Further, the different data set combinations between V (s) and SPT-N (corrected and uncorrected) values have been used to develop site-specific correlation equations by statistical regression, as `V (s)' is a function of SPT-N value (corrected and uncorrected), considered with or without depth. However, after considering the data set pairs, a probabilistic approach has also been presented to develop a correlation using a quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plot. A comparison has also been made with the well known published correlations (for all soils) available in the literature. The present correlations closely agree with the other equations, but, comparatively, the correlation of shear wave velocity with the variation of depth and uncorrected SPT-N values provides a more suitable predicting model. Also the Q-Q plot agrees with all the other equations. In the absence of in situ measurements, the present correlations could be used to measure V (s) profiles of the study area for site response studies.

Cubicity of Interval Graphs and the Claw Number

Let G(V, E) be a simple, undirected graph where V is the set of vertices and E is the set of edges. A b-dimensional cube is a Cartesian product l(1) x l(2) x ... x l(b), where each l(i) is a closed interval of unit length on the real line. The cub/city of G, denoted by cub(G), is the minimum positive integer b such that the vertices in G can be mapped to axis parallel b-dimensional cubes in such a way that two vertices are adjacent in G if and only if their assigned cubes intersect. An interval graph is a graph that can be represented as the intersection of intervals on the real line-i.e. the vertices of an interval graph can be mapped to intervals on the real line such that two vertices are adjacent if and only if their corresponding intervals overlap. Suppose S(m) denotes a star graph on m+1 nodes. We define claw number psi(G) of the graph to be the largest positive integer m such that S(m) is an induced subgraph of G. It can be easily shown that the cubicity of any graph is at least log(2) psi(G)]. In this article, we show that for an interval graph G log(2) psi(G)-]<= cub(G)<=log(2) psi(G)]+2. It is not clear whether the upper bound of log(2) psi(G)]+2 is tight: till now we are unable to find any interval graph with cub(G)> (log(2)psi(G)]. We also show that for an interval graph G, cub(G) <= log(2) alpha], where alpha is the independence number of G. Therefore, in the special case of psi(G)=alpha, cub(G) is exactly log(2) alpha(2)]. The concept of cubicity can be generalized by considering boxes instead of cubes. A b-dimensional box is a Cartesian product l(1) x l(2) x ... x l(b), where each I is a closed interval on the real line. The boxicity of a graph, denoted box(G), is the minimum k such that G is the intersection graph of k-dimensional boxes. It is clear that box(G)<= cub(G). From the above result, it follows that for any graph G, cub(G) <= box(G)log(2) alpha]. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 323-333, 2010