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Milgram’s Obedience to Authority (OtA) studies have long been understood as demonstrating that people are prone to blindly follow the orders of authority. More recently, we have proposed an engaged followership model of obedience, which suggests that a person’s willingness to go along with the requests of an authority figure is predicated on their identification with that person and/or the cause they represent. In this paper, we present a review of our rationale for this perspective and take stock of the current evidence we have to support it. We also highlight gaps in this evidence, and set out an agenda for future research.

Background: The Public Health Department became aware of infections with in a total of nine people who had visited the same barbershop.Method: Official hygiene monitoring of the barbershop was performed on an event-related basis, during which compliance with the requirements of the “Schleswig-Holstein State Ordinance on the Prevention of Communicable Diseases (Hygiene Ordinance)” was checked. In addition, hygienic-microbiological environmental examinations of materials and surfaces were performed in cooperation with the Department of Dermatology at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel Campus.Results: Significant deficiencies in hygiene management were identified. The hygiene requirements, especially for the reprocessing of work equipment and surfaces, were not known and were therefore not complied with. Environmental testing revealed the presence of in three out of ten samples tested. Shaving equipment and a drawer used to store shaving equipment were positive.Conclusion: Barbershops can pose a relevant risk of infection, not only for pathogens that cause blood-borne infections. Barbershop operators need information and training regarding compliance with hygiene requirements. They should be included in the planning for the (random) infection hygiene monitoring of facilities by the public health department in accordance with Section 36 (2) of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG). The reprocessing frequencies established to date are not sufficient for the prevention of infections and must be adapted.

Abstract Background Bovine lactoferrin (Lf) is an iron absorbing whey protein with antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. Lactoferrin is economically valuable and has an extremely variable concentration in milk, partly driven by environmental influences such as milking frequency, involution, or mastitis. A significant genetic influence has also been previously observed to regulate lactoferrin content in milk. Here, we conducted genetic mapping of lactoferrin protein concentration in conjunction with RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and ATAC-seq data to pinpoint candidate causative variants that regulate lactoferrin concentrations in milk. Results We identified a highly-significant lactoferrin protein quantitative trait locus (pQTL), as well as a cis lactotransferrin (LTF) expression QTL (cis-eQTL) mapping to the LTF locus. Using ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq datasets representing lactating mammary tissue samples, we also report a number of regions where the openness of chromatin is under genetic influence. Several of these also show highly significant QTL with genetic signatures similar to those highlighted through pQTL and eQTL analysis. By performing correlation analysis between these QTL, we revealed an ATAC-seq peak in the putative promotor region of LTF, that highlights a set of 115 high-frequency variants that are potentially responsible for these effects. One of the 115 variants (rs110000337), which maps within the ATAC-seq peak, was predicted to alter binding sites of transcription factors known to be involved in lactation-related pathways. Conclusions Here, we report a regulatory haplotype of 115 variants with conspicuously large impacts on milk lactoferrin concentration. These findings could enable the selection of animals for high-producing specialist herds.

Schülerlabore haben unter anderem zum Ziel, die Motivation, insbesondere das Interesse – i.S. einer gegenstandsbezogenen Motivation – von Schüler*innen an MINT-Themen und -Arbeitsweisen zu fördern. Darüber hinaus konnten sie sich schneller und produktiver als die formalen Bildungsorte den Herausforderungen der digitalen Transformation stellen. Das Potenzial, Schülerlabore auch als innovative Orte der Lehrkräftefortbildung (LFB) zu nutzen und digitalisierungsbezogene Kompetenzen bei Lehrkräften aufzubauen, wurde bisher nicht ausgeschöpft. Im Verbundprojekt mit insgesamt acht Standorten werden Schülerlabore zu LFB-Labs-digital ausgebaut und die Frage nach Implementierungsvoraussetzungen gelingender Fortbildungen in der digitalen Welt im MINT-Bereich bearbeitet. In diesem Artikel werden die theoretische Fundierung, Ziele und anvisierten Forschungsarbeiten des Verbunds LFB-Labs-digital dargelegt. Zur Unterstützung der mit der forschungsbasierten Qualitätsentwicklung der MINT-bezogenen Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildung von Lehrkräften betrauten Einrichtungen in den Ländern sollen in Kooperation mit dem Kompetenzzentrum MINT des Bundes die Lernorte „Schülerlabore“ für die digitale LFB erschlossen werden, um vermittelt hierüber die Motivation von Schüler*innen für die MINT-Fächer zu fördern. Die in den Schülerlaboren evaluierten und vom fächerübergreifenden adaptiven Qualitätsmanagement für die LFB wissenschaftlich begleiteten Good-Practice-Beispiele werden zur Grundlage für den „Referenzrahmen LFB-Labs-digital“. Dieser wird – vor dem Hintergrund einer Ergebnistriangulation aus der Begleitforschung sowie den damit parallelisierten Studien zur Evidenzbasierung der Lehrkräftequalifizierung in der digitalen Welt und dem Musterqualitätshandbuch LFB – entwickelt und von einem Implementierungsbeirat mit ausgewiesenen Expert*innen in diesem Bereich auf Transferoptionen hin geprüft. Die digitale Infrastruktur für die LFB-Labs-digital-Veranstaltungsformate wird hierzu prozessbegleitend ausgebaut.

Review of Bjorn Weiler, Paths to Kingship in Medieval Latin Europe, c. 950–1200, (Cambridge: Cambrodghe University Press, 2021).

Abstract Background Hoof structure and health are essential for the welfare and productivity of beef cattle. Therefore, we assessed the genetic and genomic background of foot score traits in American (US) and Australian (AU) Angus cattle and investigated the feasibility of performing genomic evaluations combining data for foot score traits recorded in US and AU Angus cattle. The traits evaluated were foot angle (FA) and claw set (CS). In total, 109,294 and ~ 1.12 million animals had phenotypic and genomic information, respectively. Four sets of analyses were performed: (1) genomic connectedness between US and AU Angus cattle populations and population structure, (2) estimation of genetic parameters, (3) single-step genomic prediction of breeding values, and (4) single-step genome-wide association studies for FA and CS. Results There was no clear genetic differentiation between US and AU Angus populations. Similar heritability estimates (FA: 0.22–0.24 and CS: 0.22–0.27) and moderate-to-high genetic correlations between US and AU foot scores (FA: 0.61 and CS: 0.76) were obtained. A joint-genomic prediction using data from both populations outperformed within-country genomic evaluations. A genomic prediction model considering US and AU datasets as a single population performed similarly to the scenario accounting for genotype-by-environment interactions (i.e., multiple-trait model considering US and AU records as different traits), even though the genetic correlations between countries were lower than 0.80. Common significant genomic regions were observed between US and AU for FA and CS. Significant single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified on the Bos taurus (BTA) chromosomes BTA1, BTA5, BTA11, BTA13, BTA19, BTA20, and BTA23. The candidate genes identified were primarily from growth factor gene families, including FGF12 and GDF5, which were previously associated with bone structure and repair. Conclusions This study presents comprehensive population structure and genetic and genomic analyses of foot scores in US and AU Angus cattle populations, which are essential for optimizing the implementation of genomic selection for improved foot scores in Angus cattle breeding programs. We have also identified candidate genes associated with foot scores in the largest Angus cattle populations in the world and made recommendations for genomic evaluations for improved foot score traits in the US and AU.

It is important that the views of children be considered during the process of their parents' divorce. Parental divorce mediation informed by the needs of children is more likely to produce better outcomes. The ways in which divorce mediators in South Africa, Australia and Kenya consider views of the children of marriages in the process of dissolution are compared. The extent to which these three countries have domesticated and implemented relevant international law and policies is compared. Recommendations are provided for Kenya, where empirical research was undertaken to establish the practices and attitudes of Kenyan divorce mediators. The outcome of this empirical research indicates that – prior to mediating between their parents – most of Kenya's divorce mediators fail to elicit the views and wishes of the children who will be affected by the divorce. Proposals are put forward on how this may be rectified. In formulating these proposals, practices in South Africa and Australia are examined for the purposes of comparative analysis. The recommendations for Kenya include the formulation of appropriate laws and policies; the establishment of cost-effective mechanisms for hearing the voices of children prior to their parents' divorce mediation; and the education of the general public on the importance of considering the views and wishes of children when their parents are divorcing.

Over the course of its history Catholicism has generated several different conceptions of morality. The early medieval church conceived morality primarily in terms of caritas and other virtues, the modern church generated a legalistic conception of morality, and the post-Vatican II church proposes a relational conception of morality. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The essence of morality concerns natural virtues and natural moral law, which all people of goodwill can grasp, appreciate, and act upon. The distinctive conception of morality is identified with our ultimate end, the beatific vision, the theological virtues, and the ethics of discipleship centred on caritas.

Editorial and Acknowledgements, Issue 1

From his earliest writings we learn that, for Spinoza, God is not some identifiable thing (res) but is rather the ultimate activity or being (ens) by which all things are identified and differentiated. In this way Spinoza shifts the focus of the meaning of “substance” from being something that has characteristics to the activity whereby all things come to express characteristics. Like Piero Di Vona, I suggest that this ens–res distinction has its origin in Avicenna and is developed by Aquinas, Suárez, and Heereboord. Unlike Di Vona, I argue that Spinoza’s distinction of substance, attribute, and mode parallels Suárez’s distinction between (1) ens–as–noun (τò esse), (2) ens–as–participle, and (3) res, in that for both Suárez and Spinoza, the distinction between ens–as–a–noun and things (res) is intelligible only in terms of ens as the principle by which things are identified. Since that principle is not itself a thing but rather the process by which things are differentiated from one another in virtue of their attributes, I propose that “substance” for Spinoza is best described as the activity by which all that exists comes to be. I conclude that the attempt to provide subjectivist or objectivist interpretations of attributes inevitably misses the point that Spinoza makes in describing God as the source of existence by treating substance as some thing rather than the activity or being (ens) in terms of which all things are intelligible.

Abstract: The article talks about Ahmadou Kourouma‘s novel entitled En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages( 1998) in which Kourouma makes his readers appreciate that the fruits of effective governance in the post-colonial Africa should be stemmed on political accountability, protection of fundamental human rights, economic development, the improvement of general living standard of all citizens among other things. However independent Africa countries are rather hit hard with demagoguery which is the heart of his merciless satire which criticizes politicians on personalization of political power and public purse, resorting to unrealistic and deceptive political manifestoes as well as modification of the constitution to maintain power, to enrich them and to be worshipped as mini gods to the detriment of the economic, socio-political welfare of the masses. This article discusses the true character traits of the post-independence leaders with the style of mockery and satire to demystify and to destroy the existentiality of demagoguery and it’s regime on the continent. Keywords: griot, satire, demagoguery, power, masses

Abstract Background Longitudinal records of temperament can be used for assessing behavioral plasticity, such as aptness to learn, memorize, or change behavioral responses based on affective state. In this study, we evaluated the phenotypic and genomic background of North American Angus cow temperament measured throughout their lifetime around the weaning season, including the development of a new indicator trait termed docility-based learning and behavioral plasticity. The analyses included 273,695 and 153,898 records for yearling (YT) and cow at weaning (CT) temperament, respectively, 723,248 animals in the pedigree, and 8784 genotyped animals. Both YT and CT were measured when the animal was loading into/exiting the chute. Moreover, CT was measured around the time in which the cow was separated from her calf. A random regression model fitting a first-order Legendre orthogonal polynomial was used to model the covariance structure of temperament and to assess the learning and behavioral plasticity (i.e., slope of the regression) of individual cows. This study provides, for the first time, a longitudinal perspective of the genetic and genomic mechanisms underlying temperament, learning, and behavioral plasticity in beef cattle. Results CT measured across years is heritable (0.38–0.53). Positive and strong genetic correlations (0.91–1.00) were observed among all CT age-group pairs and between CT and YT (0.84). Over 90% of the candidate genes identified overlapped among CT age-groups and the estimated effect of genomic markers located within important candidate genes changed over time. A small but significant genetic component was observed for learning and behavioral plasticity (heritability = 0.02 ± 0.002). Various candidate genes were identified, revealing the polygenic nature of the traits evaluated. The pathways and candidate genes identified are associated with steroid and glucocorticoid hormones, development delay, cognitive development, and behavioral changes in cattle and other species. Conclusions Cow temperament is highly heritable and repeatable. The changes in temperament can be genetically improved by selecting animals with favorable learning and behavioral plasticity (i.e., habituation). Furthermore, the environment explains a large part of the variation in learning and behavioral plasticity, leading to opportunities to also improve the overall temperament by refining management practices. Moreover, behavioral plasticity offers opportunities to improve the long-term animal and handler welfare through habituation.

Abstract Background The spread of infectious diseases in populations is controlled by the susceptibility (propensity to acquire infection), infectivity (propensity to transmit infection), and recoverability (propensity to recover/die) of individuals. Estimating genetic risk factors for these three underlying host epidemiological traits can help reduce disease spread through genetic control strategies. Previous studies have identified important ‘disease resistance single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)’, but how these affect the underlying traits is an unresolved question. Recent advances in computational statistics make it now possible to estimate the effects of SNPs on host traits from epidemic data (e.g. infection and/or recovery times of individuals or diagnostic test results). However, little is known about how to effectively design disease transmission experiments or field studies to maximise the precision with which these effects can be estimated. Results In this paper, we develop and validate analytical expressions for the precision of the estimates of SNP effects on the three above host traits for a disease transmission experiment with one or more non-interacting contact groups. Maximising these expressions leads to three distinct ‘experimental’ designs, each specifying a different set of ideal SNP genotype compositions across groups: (a) appropriate for a single contact-group, (b) a multi-group design termed “pure”, and (c) a multi-group design termed “mixed”, where ‘pure’ and ‘mixed’ refer to groupings that consist of individuals with uniformly the same or different SNP genotypes, respectively. Precision estimates for susceptibility and recoverability were found to be less sensitive to the experimental design than estimates for infectivity. Whereas the analytical expressions suggest that the multi-group pure and mixed designs estimate SNP effects with similar precision, the mixed design is preferred because it uses information from naturally-occurring rather than artificial infections. The same design principles apply to estimates of the epidemiological impact of other categorical fixed effects, such as breed, line, family, sex, or vaccination status. Estimation of SNP effect precisions from a given experimental setup is implemented in an online software tool SIRE-PC. Conclusions Methodology was developed to aid the design of disease transmission experiments for estimating the effect of individual SNPs and other categorical variables that underlie host susceptibility, infectivity and recoverability. Designs that maximize the precision of estimates were derived.

Das Projekt Fachdidaktische Qualifizierung Inklusion angehender Lehrkräfte an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (FDQI-HU) entwickelt Konzepte für Hochschulseminare, um zukünftige Lehrkräfte auf die Planung, Durchführung und Reflexion von inklusivem (Fach-)Unterricht vorzubereiten. Der in diesem Beitrag beschriebene Baustein Adaptive didaktische Kompetenz ist der vierte Teil einer Reihe von fünf digitalen, an Inklusion orientierten Lehr-Lern-Bausteinen, die als Blended-Learning-Einheit entwickelt wurden. Der digitale Teil des Bausteins ist für die asynchrone Bearbeitung im Lernmanagementsystem Moodle vorgesehen. Alle für den Einsatz in der Lehrkräftebildung konzipierten Bausteine thematisieren zentrale Aspekte eines an Inklusion orientierten Unterrichts. Der erste Baustein behandelt das Didaktische Modell für inklusives Lehren und Lernen (DiMiLL) und dessen unterrichtlichen Nutzen; die Bausteine zwei, drei und vier zielen auf die Förderung adaptiver Lehrkompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften; der fünfte Baustein adressiert das Thema Sprachbildung als immanenten Teil von Inklusion. Ziel dieses vierten Bausteins zum Thema Adaptive Klassenführungskompetenz ist zunächst die Aneignung theoretischen Wissens zu einer an Inklusion orientierten Klassenführung, die neben dem traditionellen Ziel der Störungsprävention auch Spannungsverhältnisse der adaptiven Klassenführung thematisiert. Auf dieser Basis zielt nachfolgend die Arbeit mit einer Videovignette einer authentischen Unterrichtssituation auf die Reflexion möglicher Anforderungen an die Interaktion zwischen Lehrenden und Lernenden in heterogenen Lerngruppen. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt anhand des Materials die asynchrone und eine mögliche synchrone Bearbeitungsphase und liefert den didaktischen Kommentar sowie den theoretischen Hintergrund dazu.

Das Projekt Fachdidaktische Qualifizierung Inklusion angehender Lehrkräfte an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (FDQI-HU) entwickelt Konzepte für Hochschulseminare, um zukünftige Lehrkräfte auf die Planung, Durchführung und Reflexion von inklusivem (Fach-)Unterricht vorzubereiten. Der in diesem Beitrag beschriebene Baustein Sprachbildung ist der Teil einer Reihe von fünf digitalen, an Inklusion orientierten Lehr-Lern-Bausteinen, die als Blended-Learning-Einheit entwickelt wurden. Der digitale Teil des Bausteins ist für die asynchrone Bearbeitung im Lernmanagementsystem Moodle vorgesehen. Alle für den Einsatz in der Lehrkräftebildung konzipierten Bausteine thematisieren zentrale Aspekte eines an Inklusion orientieren Unterrichts. Der erste Baustein stellt die inklusionspädagogische Grundlage aller Bausteine, das Didaktische Modell für inklusives Lehren und Lernen (DiMiLL), vor; die Bausteine zwei, drei und vier zielen auf die Entwicklung adaptiver Lehrkompetenz von angehenden Lehrkräften ab; der fünfte Baustein Sprachbildung basiert auf der Annahme, dass ein inklusiver Fachunterricht immer auch ein sprachsensibler Fachunterricht sein sollte. Sprachbildung, verstanden als zielgruppenübergreifendes Konzept, zielt auf die sprachliche Handlungsfähigkeit und individuelle Sprachkompetenz aller Lernenden sowie auf die Reduzierung von Bildungsungleichheit. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt anhand des Materials die asynchrone und eine mögliche synchrone Bearbeitungsphase und liefert den didaktischen Kommentar sowie den theoretischen Hintergrund dazu.

Review of Alan V. Murray, Baldwin of Bourcq: Count of Edessa and King of Jerusalem (1100-1131), (New York: Routledge, 2021).

This paper provides a philosophical analysis and a new edition of an anonymous Epitome (Compendium) of John Dumbleton’s solution to the semantic paradoxes (insolubilia). The first part of this paper briefly presents Dumbleton’s cassationist solution to the semantic paradoxes, which the English philosopher proposes in his Summa Logicae, written in the 1330s–40s. The second part investigates the solution to various types of insolubles proposed by the anonymous author of the Epitome. The third part provides a new critical edition of the Latin text – a first edition was edited by Bottin in 1978 – and an English translation.

This article assesses Jacobite activities at the Habsburg court in Vienna from the mid-1720s to the early 1740s. Three Jacobite diplomatic agents belonging to the Stuart court in exile were sent to Vienna during this time. Although the emperor did not recognise the head of the Stuart court, its representatives were sometimes able to partake in the diplomatic rituals and ceremonies of court. By analysing correspondence between the Stuart court and its agents, one can identify how they operated in and used public and private spaces in Vienna to influence and gain the support of the Habsburg court. The agents were granted private audiences with Imperial ministers and could communicate informally with courtiers at public gatherings. Such contacts led them to gain access to the Imperial chambers to witness public events, to obtain news, and to communicate with members of the Imperial family. By examining these activities it is also possible to gain further insight into relations between these two courts. Despite the emperor’s refusal to engage with them, Jacobites maintained active public lives in Vienna, and they continuously made use of their opportunities both inside and outside of court to further their private diplomatic missions.

Abstract Background Milk samples from 10,641 dairy cattle were screened by a mass spectrometry method for extreme concentrations of the A or B isoforms of the whey protein, β-lactoglobulin (BLG), to identify causative genetic variation driving changes in BLG concentration. Results A cohort of cows, from a single sire family, was identified that produced milk containing a low concentration of the BLG B protein isoform. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BLG B protein isoform concentration in milk from AB heterozygous cows, detected a group of highly significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within or close to the BLG gene. Among these was a synonymous G/A variation at position + 78 bp in exon 1 of the BLG gene (chr11:103256256G > A). The effect of the A allele of this SNP (which we named B’) on BLG expression was evaluated in a luciferase reporter assay in transfected CHO-K1 and MCF-7 cells. In both cell types, the presence of the B’ allele in a plasmid containing the bovine BLG gene from -922 to + 898 bp (relative to the transcription initiation site) resulted in a 60% relative reduction in mRNA expression, compared to the plasmid containing the wild-type B sequence allele. Examination of a mammary RNAseq dataset (n = 391) identified 14 heterozygous carriers of the B’ allele which were homozygous for the BLG B protein isoform (BB’). The level of expression of the BLG B’ allele was 41.9 ± 1.0% of that of the wild-type BLG B allele. Milk samples from three cows, homozygous for the A allele at chr11:103,256,256 (B’B’), were analysed (HPLC) and showed BLG concentrations of 1.04, 1.26 and 1.83 g/L relative to a mean of 4.84 g/L in milk from 16 herd contemporaries of mixed (A and B) BLG genotypes. The mechanism by which B’ downregulates milk BLG concentration remains to be determined. Conclusions High-throughput screening and identification of outliers, enabled the discovery of a synonymous G > A mutation in exon 1 of the B allele of the BLG gene (B’), which reduced the milk concentration of β-lactoglobulin B protein isoform, by more than 50%. Milk from cows carrying the B’ allele is expected to have improved processing characteristics, particularly for cheese-making.

Das Herbizid Conviso One ist seit August 2020 im Zuckerrübenanbau in Deutschland zugelassen. Die zugelassenen Anwendungen sehen primär Reihenbehandlungen vor, wobei auf Flächen mit Drainage die Aufwandmenge deutlich reduziert werden muss. Dadurch ist von einer verringerten Herbizidwirkung auszugehen, welche möglicherweise durch weitere Herbizidpartner in der Tankmischung kompensiert werden kann. Zur Herbizidwirkung des kombinierten chemisch-mechanischen Verfahren, den reduzierten Aufwandmengen von Conviso One und der Wirkungsunterstützung weiterer Herbizidpartner liegen bisher nur wenige Erfahrungen vor. In zwei Feldversuchen im Jahr 2021 wurde das Verfahren geprüft. Der Zusatz von weiteren Herbizidpartnern zu Conviso One unterstützte nicht immer die Wirkung. Bei der Bekämpfung von Weißem Gänsefuß zeigte die Ergänzung des Wirkstoffs Metamitron Vorteile, was möglicherweise auch auf die hohe Bodenfeuchtigkeit des Frühjahrs 2021 zurückzuführen ist. Bei Knöterich-Arten hatte die Applikation der hohen Aufwandmenge von Conviso One (2 x 0,5 L/ha) die beste Wirkung, weitere Herbizidpartner zeigten keine Wirkungssteigerung. Durch die Ergebnisse der beiden Standorte wird bestätigt, dass die Wirkung sehr stark von den Umweltbedingungen und dem Unkrautauftreten beeinflusst wird. Zur Bewertung des Verfahrens sind weitere Versuche erforderlich.

Abstract Background Deleterious recessive conditions have been primarily studied in the context of Mendelian diseases. Recently, several deleterious recessive mutations with large effects were discovered via non-additive genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of quantitative growth and developmental traits in cattle, which showed that quantitative traits can be used as proxies of genetic disorders when such traits are indicative of whole-animal health status. We reasoned that lactation traits in cattle might also reflect genetic disorders, given the increased energy demands of lactation and the substantial stresses imposed on the animal. In this study, we screened more than 124,000 cows for recessive effects based on lactation traits. Results We discovered five novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are associated with large recessive impacts on three milk yield traits, with these loci presenting missense variants in the DOCK8, IL4R, KIAA0556, and SLC25A4 genes or premature stop variants in the ITGAL, LRCH4, and RBM34 genes, as candidate causal mutations. For two milk composition traits, we identified several previously reported additive QTL that display small dominance effects. By contrasting results from milk yield and milk composition phenotypes, we note differing genetic architectures. Compared to milk composition phenotypes, milk yield phenotypes had lower heritabilities and were associated with fewer additive QTL but had a higher non-additive genetic variance and were associated with a higher proportion of loci exhibiting dominance. Conclusions We identified large-effect recessive QTL which are segregating at surprisingly high frequencies in cattle. We speculate that the differences in genetic architecture between milk yield and milk composition phenotypes derive from underlying dissimilarities in the cellular and molecular representation of these traits, with yield phenotypes acting as a better proxy of underlying biological disorders through presentation of a larger number of major recessive impacts.

By blocking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, the UK Government is showing that it is now ready to police the boundaries of devolved competence more robustly, especially when it believes legislation is being used deliberately to veer into reserved matters. It is perhaps also now asserting a more homogeneous approach to fundamental human rights values, an assertion which is the hallmark of other federal systems. The current debate also exposes that the radical devolution of so many powers to sub-state institutions over the past two decades without serious thought being given for the potential impact of this process upon the maintenance of coherent state policy was perhaps ill-advised and requires correction.

Social networking sites can be defined as online services that allow users to create public or private profiles and, among other things, create connections, share opinions, news, and affections. In 2014, many electors in Brazil were engaged in the presidential campaign on these virtual spaces as never before. In this context, the research question guiding this study is: What are the communication strategies employed by electors and the three main presidential candidates in the online interaction processes during the 2014 Brazilian elections? To address this question, empirical research was employed using a qualitative approach to analyze comments posted in the candidates’ Facebook fan pages during that electoral process. Based on the research and theory in this field, two types of communication in the virtual space were investigated: (a) vertical communication through interaction between Internet users and campaign staff; and (b) horizontal communication among electors in the comments section. We conclude that, although the comments section of the candidates’ pages on Facebook is frequently used as a space both for mutual support and incivility against opponents, it is still used creatively for discussion on the candidates’ government plans, the situation of the country, attempts of engagement in the electoral process and exposure to ideologically crosscutting viewpoints.