The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle: A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution

To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.

On the heritability of inspection time and its covariance with IQ: A twin study

Using the classical twin design, this study investigates the influence of genetic factors on the large phenotypic variance in inspection time (IT), and whether the well established IT-IQ association can be explained by a common genetic factor. Three hundred ninety pairs of twins (184 monozygotic, MZ; 206 dizygotic, DZ) with a mean age of 16 years participated, and 49 pairs returned approximately 3 months, later for retesting. As in many IT studies, the pi figure stimulus was used and IT was estimated from the cumulative normal ogive. IT ranged from 39.4 to 774.1 ms (159 +/- 110.1 ms) with faster ITs (by an average of 26.9 ms) found in the retest session from which a reliability of .69 was estimated. Full-scale IQ (FIQ) was assessed by the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB) and ranged from 79 to 145 (111 +/- 13). The phenotypic association between IT and FIQ was confirmed (- .35) and bivariate results showed that a common genetic factor accounted for 36% of the variance in IT and 32% of the variance in FIQ. The maximum likelihood estimate of the genetic correlation was - .63. When performance and verbal IQ (PIQ & VIQ) were analysed with IT, a stronger phenotypic and genetic relationship was found between PIQ and IT than with VIQ. A large part of the IT variance (64%) was accounted for by a unique environmental factor. Further genetic factors were needed to explain the remaining variance in IQ with a small component of unique environmental variance present. The separability of a shared genetic factor influencing IT and IQ from the total genetic variance in IQ suggests that IT affects a specific subcomponent of intelligence rather than a generalised efficiency. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic covariance among measures of information processing speed, working memory, and IQ

The genetic relationship between lower (information processing speed), intermediate (working memory), and higher levels (complex cognitive processes as indexed by IQ) of mental ability was studied in a classical twin design comprising 166 monozygotic and 190 dizygotic twin pairs. Processing speed was measured by a choice reaction time (RT) task (2-, 4-, and 8-choice), working memory by a visual-spatial delayed response task, and IQ by the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery. Multivariate analysis, adjusted for test-retest reliability, showed the presence of a genetic factor influencing all variables and a genetic factor influencing 4- and 8-choice RTs, working memory, and IQ. There were also genetic factors specific to 8-choice RT, working memory, and IQ. The results confirmed a strong relationship between choice RT and IQ (phenotypic correlations: -0.31 to -0.53 in females, -0.32 to -0.56 in males; genotypic correlations: -0.45 to -0.70) and a weaker but significant association between working memory and IQ (phenotypic: 0.26 in females, 0.13 in males; genotypic: 0.34). A significant part of the genetic variance (43%) in IQ was not related to either choice RT or delayed response performance, and may represent higher order cognitive processes.

Repeated blood pressure measurements in a sample of Swedish twins: heritabilities and associations with polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system Iliadou, Anastasia, Lichtenstein, Paul, Morgenstern, Ralf, Forsberg, Lena, Svensson, Richard, de Faire, Ulf, Martin, Nicholas, Pedersen, Nancy

Background Twin and family studies have shown that genetic effects explain a relatively high amount of the phenotypic variation in blood pressure. However, many studies have not been able to replicate findings of association between specific polymorphisms and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Methods In a structural equation-modelling framework the authors investigated longitudinal changes in repeated measures of blood pressures in a sample of 298 like-sexed twin pairs from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry. Also examined was the association between blood pressure and polymorphisms in the angiotensin-I converting enzyme and the angiotensin 11 receptor type 1 with the 'Fulker' test Both linkage and association were tested simultaneously revealing whether the polymorphism is a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) or in linkage disequilibrium with the QTL. Results Genetic influences explained up to 46% of the phenotypic variance in diastolic and 63% of the phenotypic variance in systolic blood pressure. Genetic influences were stable over time and contributed up to 78% of the phenotypic correlation in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Non-shared environmental effects were characterised by time specific influences and little transmission from one time point to the next. There was no significant linkage and association between the polymorphisms and blood pressure. Conclusions There is a considerable genetic stability in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure for a 6-year period of time in adult life. Non-shared environmental influences have a small long-term effect Although associations with the polymorphisms could not be replicated, results should be interpreted with caution due to power considerations. (C) 2002 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Richard Zimler e a auto-identifica����o: o papel do tradutor na constru����o da consci��ncia do ser

A defini����o do ser baseia-se na mem��ria da heran��a das gera����es passadas. Quando se fala de heran��a cultural de um grupo ��tnico espec��fico, a tradu����o do ser pode identificar-se com a continua����o de tradi����es passadas, tendo em vista um futuro melhor. A psicologia da mem��ria coletiva no processo de auto identifica����o est�� relacionada com a preserva����o de caracter��sticas etnol��gicas, sociol��gicas e antropol��gicas que apontam para as tradi����es do grupo. Baseada na an��lise da tradu����o de ���O ��ltimo Cabalista de Lisboa���, cujo original foi escrito por Richard Zimler que �� proposta para esta abordagem, tentar-se-�� sublinhar a import��ncia dos estudos da tradu����o para clarificar a necessidade de auto identifica����o baseada na mem��ria e na express��o. A met��fora da tradu����o enquanto porta e do tradutor como uma ponte s��o conceitos chave no processo de tradu����o. Ambos podem ser a prova do papel fundamental do tradutor. A (in)visibilidade do tradutor, enquanto autor de uma obra de arte, ser�� focada como uma caracter��stica ilustrativa que pode ser (ou n��o) reveladora da auto identifica����o, tanto do autor, como do tradutor enquanto autor. Ser�� que o tradutor �� a defini����o da auto identifica����o do autor? Ser�� que a identifica����o da obra de arte �� pertinente no contexto hist��rico-liter��rio, na era contempor��nea? Ser�� que Richard Zimler �� um bom exemplo da identifica����o de um grupo minorit��rio? Ser�� que ���The Last Cabbalist of Lisbon��� �� um retrato de tradi����es ��tnicas convertido em prosa? Ser�� que a rea����o do p��blico leitor e dos cr��ticos �� respons��vel pela imagem auto definida/auto definidora da identifica����o do autor e da obra de arte? Estes e outros aspetos relacionados ser��o abordados atrav��s de uma an��lise comparativa da tradu����o com o original, para ilustrar o princ��pio da necessidade da auto identifica����o baseada na identifica����o do grupo.

Fern��o, mentes? ��� Sinto!: ecos d'a peregrina����o na viagem como aprendizagem em Richard Zimler

12-15 abril 2011 no IPM

Tonalidades e sonoridades portuguesas em���Unholy ghosts��� de Richard Zimler

O presente artigo sugere que as representa����es de Portugal na obra norte-americana Unholy Ghosts de Richard Zimler s��o filtradas pelas tem��ticas inerentes ao contexto ficcional presente, isto ��, aos Gay Studies e �� linguagem adolescente.