Switching Axial Progenitors from Producing Trunk to Tail Tissues in Vertebrate Embryos

The vertebrate body is made by progressive addition of new tissue from progenitors at the posterior embryonic end. Axial extension involves different mechanisms that produce internal organs in the trunk but not in the tail. We show that Gdf11 signaling is a major coordinator of the trunk-to-tail transition. Without Gdf11 signaling, the switch from trunk to tail is significantly delayed, and its premature activation brings the hindlimbs and cloaca next to the forelimbs, leaving extremely short trunks. Gdf11 activity includes activation of Isl1 to promote formation of the hindlimbs and cloaca-associated mesoderm as the most posterior derivatives of lateral mesoderm progenitors. Gdf11 also coordinates reallocation of bipotent neuromesodermal progenitors from the anterior primitive streak to the tail bud, in part by reducing the retinoic acid available to the progenitors. Our findings provide a perspective to understand the evolution of the vertebrate body plan.

Rapid Communication: Cholesterol deficiency-associated APOB mutation impacts lipid metabolism in Holstein calves and breeding bulls.

During the last months, the number of reports on Holstein calves suffering from incurable idiopathic diarrhea dramatically increased. Affected calves showed severe hypocholesterolemia and mostly died within days up to a few months after birth. This new autosomal monogenic recessive inherited fat metabolism disorder, termed cholesterol deficiency (CD), is caused by a loss of function mutation of the bovine gene. The objective of the present study was to investigate specific components of lipid metabolism in 6 homozygous for the mutation (CDS) and 6 normal Holstein calves with different genotypes. Independent of sex, CDS had significantly lower plasma concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), free cholesterol (FC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), triacylglycerides (TAG), and phospholipids (PL) compared with homozygous wild-type calves ( < 0.05). Furthermore, we studied the effect of the genotype on cholesterol metabolism in adult Holstein breeding bulls of Swissgenetics. Among a total of 254 adult males, the homozygous mutant genotype was absent, 36 bulls were heterozygous carriers (CDC), and 218 bulls were homozygous wild-type (CDF). In CDC bulls, plasma concentrations of TC, FC, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, TAG, and PL were lower compared with CDF bulls ( < 0.05). The ratios of FC:cholesteryl esters (CE) and FC:TC were higher in CDC bulls compared with CDF bulls, whereas the ratio of CE:TC was lower in CDC bulls compared with CDF bulls ( < 0.01). In conclusion, the CD-associated mutation was shown to affect lipid metabolism in affected Holstein calves and adult breeding bulls. Besides cholesterol, the concentrations of PL, TAG, and lipoproteins also were distinctly reduced in homozygous and heterozygous carriers of the mutation. Beyond malabsorption of dietary lipids, deleterious effects of apolipoprotein B deficiency on hepatic lipid metabolism, steroid biosynthesis, and cell membrane function can be expected, which may result in unspecific symptoms of reduced fertility, growth, and health.

An SDF approach to hedge funds’ tail risk: evidence from Brazilian funds

The main purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to obtain a hedge fund tail risk measure. Our measure builds on the methodologies proposed by Almeida and Garcia (2015) and Almeida, Ardison, Garcia, and Vicente (2016), which rely in solving dual minimization problems of Cressie Read discrepancy functions in spaces of probability measures. Due to the recently documented robustness of the Hellinger estimator (Kitamura et al., 2013), we adopt within the Cressie Read family, this specific discrepancy as loss function. From this choice, we derive a minimum Hellinger risk-neutral measure that correctly prices an observed panel of hedge fund returns. The estimated risk-neutral measure is used to construct our tail risk measure by pricing synthetic out-of-the-money put options on hedge fund returns of ten specific categories. We provide a detailed description of our methodology, extract the aggregate Tail risk hedge fund factor for Brazilian funds, and as a by product, a set of individual Tail risk factors for each specific hedge fund category.

Care and management of dairy bulls /

"A revision of a former edition by J.R. Dawson."

Traité des maladies du gros bétail,

Mode of access: Internet.

Cocks and bulls in Caracas; how we live in Venezuela,

Illustrated lining-papers in colors.

Carte ankologique de l'île de Gotland, indiquant les bassins, les lignes de partage des eaux et les courbes de niveau, outre un plan général de dessèchement de 22,000 hectares, avec 12 cartes de détail de districts différents de drainage, dressé, dans les années 1872-77,

Mode of access: Internet.

Cahier, contenant six differentes parties de plans de villes, avec le moyen de varier les places qui se trouvent dans les centres, de plus de quarante manières différentes : suivi d'un imprimé qui contient le détail de la forme générale et particulière de chaque objet, ainsi que le moyen de réunir ces differentes parties pour en faire des villes, de telles formes et grandeurs que l'on juge à propos /

The plates in the Getty Research Institute copy are hand-colored.

Twenty years among the bulls and bears of Wall street.

Mode of access: Internet.

Hydrology of the White Tail Butte area, northern Campbell County, Wyoming /

Shipping list no.: 87-323-P.

L'alimentation et l'élevage rationnels du bétail. Opinions du professeur A. Mallèvre,

"Les pages ... ont été déjà publiées dans les Annales de la science agronomique, sous le titre de Notes prises au cours de zootechnie de A. Mallèvre."--Verso of t.-p.

Sire pedigrees: a complete record of three generation pedigrees of bulls that have been or are in the service of members of the cooperative.

Mode of access: Internet.

Pedigrees. A complete record of two generation pedigrees of bulls that have been in the service of members of the cooperative.

Mode of access: Internet.

De la péripneumonie épizootique du gros bétail; rapport général des travaux de la Commission Scientifique instituée près le Ministère de l'Agriculture, du Commerce et des Travaux Publics.

Mode of access: Internet.