Yak are crossed with Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle, including common local cattle breeds (via natural service) and via artificial insemination of frozen-thawed semen from improved breeds (e.g. Holstein Friesian). Female hybrids reach puberty and mate a year earlier than pure yaks. Nonpregnant F1 females usually have several estrus cycles in the same season and will generally calve every yea...

There is a paucity of data on the beef production potential of Norwegian Red (NOR) compared with 'modern' Holstein-Friesian (HF) cattle. The present study used a total of 64 bulls in a 2 × 2 factorial design study encompassing two breeds (HF and NOR) and two slaughter ages (485; E, and 610; L, days). The mean initial age and live weight of the HF bulls were 179 (s.d. 47.1) days and 203 (s.d. 64...

The various relations between q-deformed oscillators algebras and the q-deformed su(2) algebras are discussed. In particular, we exhibit the similarity of the q-deformed su(2) algebra obtained from q-oscillators via Schwinger construction and those obtained from q-Holstein-Primakoff transformation and show how the relation between su √ q (2) and Hong Yan q-oscillator can be regarded as an speci...

KEY POINTS Hyperekplexia or startle disease is a serious neurological condition affecting newborn children and usually involves dysfunctional glycinergic neurotransmission. Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are major mediators of inhibition in the spinal cord and brainstem. A missense mutation, replacing asparagine (N) with lysine (K), at position 46 in the GlyR α1 subunit induced hyperekplexia followi...

In pasture-based seasonal calving systems, failure to become pregnant during the breeding season results in important economic losses as maximum profit is attained by minimising costs and increasing the proportion of grass in the diet of the lactating dairy cow. In the United States, dairy producers primarily strive to maximise production potential but are becoming increasingly aware of the eco...

The arterivirus porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) contains four glycoproteins, GP(2a), GP(3), GP(4) and GP(5), the functions of which are still largely unresolved. In this study, the significance of the N-glycosylation of the GP(2a) and GP(5) proteins of PRRSV strain LV was investigated. Both glycoproteins contain two predicted N-glycosylation sites that are highly con...