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Possible phenotypic impairments associated with maternal stress during gestation in beef cattle may be explained by epigenetic effects. This study examined the impact of prenatal transportation stress on DNA methylation of lymphocytes of Brahman cows over the first 5 years of life. Methylation analysis through reduced representation bisulphite sequencing was conducted on DNA from lymphocytes from 28 paired samples from 6 prenatally stressed (PNS) and 8 control (Control) females obtained initially when they were 28 days of age and 5 years of age. There were 14,386 CpG (C = cytosine; p = phosphate; G = guanine) sites differentially methylated (P < 0.01) in 5-yr-old Control cows compared to their lymphocyte DNA at 28 days of age, this number was slightly decreased in 5-yr-old PNS with 13,378 CpG sites. Only 2,749 age-related differentially methylated CpG sites were seen within PNS females. There were 2,637 CpG sites differentially methylated (P < 0.01) in PNS cows relative to Controls at 5 years of age. There were differentially methylated genes in 5-yr-old cows that contributed similarly to altered gene pathways in both treatment groups. Canonical pathways altered in PNS compared to Control cows at 5 years of age were mostly related to development and growth, nervous system development and function, and immune response. Prenatal stress appeared to alter the epigenome in Brahman cows compared to Control at 5 years of age, which implies a persistent intervention in DNA methylation in lymphocytes, and may confer long-lasting effects on gene expression, and consequently relevant phenotypic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Dehorning is the process of physically removing horns to protect animals and humans from injury, but the process is costly, unpleasant, and faces increasing public scrutiny. Genetic selection for polled (hornless), which is genetically dominant to horned, is a long-term solution to eliminate the need for dehorning. However, due to the limited number of polled Australian Brahman bulls, the northern Australian beef cattle population remains predominantly horned. The potential to use gene editing to produce high-genetic-merit polled cattle was recently demonstrated. To further explore the concept, this study simulated introgression of the POLLED allele into a tropically adapted Australian beef cattle population via conventional breeding or gene editing (top 1% or 10% of seedstock bulls/year) for 3 polled mating schemes and compared results to baseline selection on genetic merit (Japan Ox selection index, $JapOx) alone, over the course of 20 years. The baseline scenario did not significantly decrease the 20-year HORNED allele frequency (80%), but resulted in one of the fastest rates of genetic gain ($8.00/year). Compared to the baseline, the conventional breeding scenarios where polled bulls were preferentially used for breeding, regardless of their genetic merit, significantly decreased the 20-year HORNED allele frequency (30%), but resulted in a significantly slower rate of genetic gain ($6.70/year, P ≤ 0.05). The mating scheme that required the exclusive use of homozygous polled bulls, resulted in the lowest 20-year HORNED allele frequency (8%), but this conventional breeding scenario resulted in the slowest rate of genetic gain ($5.50/year). The addition of gene editing the top 1% or 10% of seedstock bull calves/year to each conventional breeding scenario resulted in significantly faster rates of genetic gain (up to $8.10/year, P ≤ 0.05). Overall, our study demonstrates that, due to the limited number of polled Australian Brahman bulls, strong selection pressure on polled will be necessary to meaningfully increase the number of polled animals in this population. Moreover, these scenarios illustrate how gene editing could be a tool for accelerating the development of high-genetic-merit homozygous polled sires to mitigate the current trade-off of slower genetic gain associated with decreasing HORNED allele frequency in the Australian Brahman population.

Dehorning is the process of physically removing horns to protect animals and humans from injury, but the process is costly, unpleasant, and faces increasing public scrutiny. Genetic selection for polled (hornless), which is genetically dominant to horned, is a long-term solution to eliminate the need for dehorning. However, due to the limited number of polled Australian Brahman bulls, the northern Australian beef cattle population remains predominantly horned. The potential to use gene editing to produce high-genetic-merit polled cattle was recently demonstrated. To further explore the concept, this study simulated introgression of the POLLED allele into a tropically adapted Australian beef cattle population via conventional breeding or gene editing (top 1% or 10% of seedstock bulls/year) for 3 polled mating schemes and compared results to baseline selection on genetic merit (Japan Ox selection index, $JapOx) alone, over the course of 20 years. The baseline scenario did not significantly decrease the 20-year HORNED allele frequency (80%), but resulted in one of the fastest rates of genetic gain ($8.00/year). Compared to the baseline, the conventional breeding scenarios where polled bulls were preferentially used for breeding, regardless of their genetic merit, significantly decreased the 20-year HORNED allele frequency (30%), but resulted in a significantly slower rate of genetic gain ($6.70/year, P ≤ 0.05). The mating scheme that required the exclusive use of homozygous polled bulls, resulted in the lowest 20-year HORNED allele frequency (8%), but this conventional breeding scenario resulted in the slowest rate of genetic gain ($5.50/year). The addition of gene editing the top 1% or 10% of seedstock bull calves/year to each conventional breeding scenario resulted in significantly faster rates of genetic gain (up to $8.10/year, P ≤ 0.05). Overall, our study demonstrates that, due to the limited number of polled Australian Brahman bulls, strong selection pressure on polled will be necessary to meaningfully increase the number of polled animals in this population. Moreover, these scenarios illustrate how gene editing could be a tool for accelerating the development of high-genetic-merit homozygous polled sires to mitigate the current trade-off of slower genetic gain associated with decreasing HORNED allele frequency in the Australian Brahman population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Bovine leukocyte antigens (BoLAs) are used extensively as markers of disease and immunological traits in cattle. However, until now, characterization of BoLA gene polymorphisms in Zebu breeds using high resolution typing methods has been poor. Here, we used a polymerase chain reaction sequence-based typing (PCR-SBT) method to sequence exon 2 of the BoLA class II DRB3 gene from 421 cattle (116 Bolivian Nellore, 110 Bolivian Gir, and 195 Peruvian Nellore-Brahman). Data from 1416 Taurine and Zebu samples were also included in the analysis. Results We identified 46 previously reported alleles and no novel variants. Of note, 1/3 of the alleles were detected only in Zebu cattle. Comparison of the degree of genetic variability at the population and sequence levels with genetic distance in the three above mentioned breeds and nine previously reported breeds revealed that Zebu breeds had a gene diversity score higher than 0.86, a nucleotide diversity score higher than 0.06, and a mean number of pairwise differences greater than 16, being similar to those estimated for other cattle breeds. A neutrality test revealed that only Nellore-Brahman cattle showed the even gene frequency distribution expected under a balanced selection scenario. The FST index and the exact G test showed significant differences across all cattle populations (FST = 0.057; p

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la presencia de polimorfismos de nucleótido simple (SNP´s) en genes de µ-calpaína (CAPN-1) y calpastatina (CAST) asociados a atributos de terneza en carne bovina y relacionar la presencia de estos genes con las diferencias esperadas de progenie (DEP´s) para características de crecimiento. Se recolectaron muestras de sangre (n = 82) de machos reproductores Brahman de registro, pertenecientes a 7 haciendas, ubicadas en 4 regiones geográficas de Costa Rica. Todos los individuos se encontraban incluidos en el programa de mejoramiento genético de bovinos de carne, dirigido por la Corporación Ganadera (CORFOGA). Las muestras de sangre fueron analizadas en el laboratorio de biotecnología molecular del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Sede San Carlos. Se analizó la presencia de los SNP´s CAPN316, CAPN4751 (gen CAPN-1) y CAST2959 (gen CAST). Se estimaron las frecuencias alélicas en CAPN316 para C (0,006), G (0,994) y genotipos CC (0,000), CG (0,013) y GG (0,987). El marcador CAPN4751 presentó frecuencias alélicas para C (0,165), T (0,835), así como frecuencias genotípicas de CC (0,025), CT (0,279) y TT (0,696). El polimorfismo de nucleótido simple CAST2959 presentó frecuencias alélicas para A (0,667), G (0,333), y genotípicas para AA (0,432), AG (0,469) y GG (0,099). Se observó una baja frecuencia del alelo favorable C del gen CAPN316, sin embargo, se observó una distribución de frecuencias alélicas más equilibrada en CAPN4751 y CAST2959. En el análisis de asociación entre SNP´s favorables y DEP´s, se encontraron asociaciones muy débiles o incluso ausencia de correlación.

Bos taurus indicus cattle have the superior ability for the regulation of body temperature during heat stress due to a number of physiological and cellular level adaptive traits. The objectives of this study were to quantify the change in body temperature in heifers with various proportions of Brahman genes per unit increase in heat stress as measured by temperature–humidity index (THI) and to assess how different breed groups responded to varying intensity and duration of heat stress. A total of 299 two-yr-old heifers from six breed groups ranging from 100% Angus to 100% Brahman were evaluated under hot and humid conditions during 2017 and 2018 summer days. Two strategies were used to estimate the plasticity in body temperature of breed groups in response to environmental challenges: 1) a random regression mixed model was used to estimate reaction norm parameters for each breed group in response to a specified environmental heat stress and 2) a repeated measures mixed model was used to evaluate the response to different environmental heat loads. The reaction norm model estimated an intercept and slope measuring the change in body temperature per unit increase in THI environmental heat stress for different breed groups of animals and allowed the identification of genotypes which are robust, with low slope values indicative of animals that are able to maintain normal body temperature across a range of environments. The repeated measures mixed model showed that Brahman cattle have an advantage under moderate or high heat stress conditions but both Angus and Brahman breed groups are greatly affected when heat stress is severe. A critical factor appears to be the opportunity to cool down during the night hours more than the number of hours with extreme THI. With heat stress conditions predicted to intensify and expand into currently temperate zones, developing effective strategies to ensure sustainable beef production systems are imperative. Effective strategies will require the identification of the genes conferring the superior thermotolerance in Brahman cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious Purification is a process of making something spiritually or ceremonially clean: purification of mind through reflection and contemplation. In Hinduism, the perception of purity “Śūddhā” deals within the caste classification. Hinduism had their stereotype & ceremonial purification system that mostly consisted upon the external rites‟ while in fact, the core concept of purifying system concerned with inwards purification rather than outwards. By the purification‟ may be in form of physical rites & formal functions or form of contemplation & meditation‟ the principle is same to be spiritually & religiously high and purified. The purpose of the research study is to disclose briefly the fundamental concepts & believes, the status of “Brahman” in their cast system, and the core rites of spiritual purification in Hinduism; the sacredness of cow, “mañtrā” singing, dancing & “Gañgā aśhnānā”, celebrating their festive, meditations techniques particularly “yogā” in the light of their religious doctrine. An analytical & descriptive methodology is adopted for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines styles of mastery practised by a wealthy, managerial Brahman family in late eighteenth-century Bengal, when managerial Brahmans found new opportunities in association with the English East India Company. It is based on Tīrthamaṅgala by Vijayram Sen, a verse narrative of a pilgrimage in 1769, led by Krishnachandra Ghoshal for the purpose of performing the trayasthalī śrāddha in Gaya, Kashi and Prayag. Krishnachandra was the elder brother of Gokulchandra Ghoshal, who then was the chief banian of Governor Harry Verelst. The poem describes agencies that enabled the Ghoshals' success and purposes that shaped their identity. It represents the family's practices of accountancy, patronage and charity. It represents Krishnachandra's self-control and control of others, his austerity and munificence in shraddha rites (obsequies), and his use of both Indo-Persian and Sanskrit codes of conduct in gift exchanges and formal conversations. In quite different settings, he used 'pleasing conversations' or discussions of knowledge in Sanskrit texts. Both kinds of formal conversation revealed the 'character' or 'dignity' of participants, and introduced them to important men whom they did not already know. Portraying agencies and purposes that were both this-worldly and spiritual, the poem does not categorically distinguish them. It does de-emphasise courtly aesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes an explorative journey into the concepts of mind as explained in the Indian philosophical traditions and Western psychology. The article explains about knowledge domains in the traditions and their distinctive features, different connotations and denotations of mind, and the different methods being used in explaining mind. Yet, they may not appear to be opposed or conflicting in nature. The article elaborates on the concepts such as mind (manas) and mind apparatus (citta) in Indian philosophical traditions and compares with the traditional Western psychology where the primary emphasis is given to the mind. The article indicates that in the Indian philosophical tradition, mind helps in knowing consciousness, whereas in the Western paradigm, mind becomes the subject as well as the object of knowing. Knowing gives an understanding of the truth and could lead to realization. In the Eastern tradition, knowing becomes a being and becoming. This knowledge of the self (ātman) helps the individual in attaining happiness (sukha) and welfare (abhyudaya) in this world and realization of the supreme reality (Brahman) leading to liberation (mokṣa). Thus, knowing and understanding about consciousness become complementary in both the traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nacameh is the property of Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Nacameh is the property of Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los niveles de testosterona (T) pre y pos administración de GnRH en toros Brahman y su posible relación con el perímetro escrotal (PE), el tiempo de reacción (TR) y el número de servicios (NS) en una prueba de capacidad de servicio. Se seleccionaron 26 toros con experiencia sexual, a los que se les determinó la concentración de T plasmática pre y pos administración de GnRH mediante radioinmunoanálisis. Posteriormente, cada toro fue expuesto a cinco novillas en celo durante 30 minutos (min). Se evaluó el comportamiento sexual de cada toro registrándose el TR y el NS. Los cambios en los niveles de T fueron analizados utilizando una prueba de “t” de Student. Además, se hicieron correlaciones entre T y PE, TR y NS. Asimismo, se hicieron análisis de sobrevivencia para el TR y el NS. Los niveles promedio de T pre y pos GnRH fueron de 5,6 ± 0,9 y 13,6 ± 0.7 ng/mL, respectivamente (P

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in regulating gene expression during key developmental processes, including fetal development. Brahman ( Bos taurus indicus ) and Angus ( Bos taurus taurus ) cattle breeds represent two major cattle subspecies with strikingly different phenotypes. Methods: We analyzed miRNA expression in liver samples of purebred and reciprocal crosses of Angus and Brahman to investigate breed and parent-of-origin effects at the onset of accelerated fetal growth. Results: We identified eight novel miRNAs in fetal liver samples and 14 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between purebred samples. Correlation of gene expression modules and miRNAs by breed and parent-of-origin effects revealed an enrichment of genes associated with breed-specific differences in traits such as heat tolerance (Brahman) and fat deposition (Angus). We demonstrate that genes predicted to be targets of DEMs were more likely to be differentially expressed than non-targets ( p -value < 0.05). We identified several miRNAs (bta-miR-187, bta-miR-216b, bta-miR-2284c, bta-miR-2285c, bta-miR-2285cp, bta-miR-2419-3p, bta-miR-2419-5p, and bta-miR-11984) that showed similar correlation patterns as bta-miR-2355-3p, which has been associated with the glutamatergic synapse pathway, a key facilitator of heat tolerance. Furthermore, we report Angus-breed-specific miRNAs (bta-miR-2313-5p, btamiR-490, bta-miR-2316, and bta-miR-11990) that may be involved in fat deposition. Finally, we showed that the DEMs identified in fetal liver are involved in Rap1, MAPK, and Ras signalling pathways, which are important for fetal development, muscle development and metabolic traits such as fat metabolism. Conclusion: Our work sheds light on the miRNA expression patterns that contribute to gene expression differences driving phenotypic differences in indicine and taurine cattle., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 MacPhillamy, Ren, Chen, Hiendleder and Low.)

There are four conspicuous tombs with impressive monuments at a significant spot opposite to the harbour on the Marina Beach in Chennai (Madras), the capital city of Tamil Nadu, one of the southern most states of India. They contain four chief ministers of the state, from 1968 to 2017. The construction and maintenance of these tombs have been shrouded with controversies and the major factors are political power, piety of the people and the implicit ideological battles. The decisive moment was the formation and development of the Dravidian movement in opposition to the Brahmanic hegemony with the ancient Vedic cult, supremacy of Brahmin priests, the persistent caste system and various degrees of superstition. How the Dravidian force has been neutralized in a complex nexus is the fundamental question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical Indian thought has often stated that human life has four ends: dharma (social righteousness), artha (material profit), kāma (sensual pleasure) and mokṣa (spiritual liberation). The historical tradition called itihāsa claims itself as a comprehensive commentary on these four. The principal itihāsa text available to us, the Mahābhārata, boasts of containing everything that exists on these. However, the ultimate goal of human life in the Mahābhārata is predominantly dharma. But, the dharma the Mahābhārata speaks of is not necessarily what dharma came to represent in classical Brahmanical orthodoxy: a combination of the institutions of varṇa and āśrama Rather, in the narrative sections of the Mahābhārata, which possibly originated in the context of the Later Vedic Kuru kingdom of c. 1000–800 BCE, there is often a questioning of the traditional hereditary varṇadharma. Through the character of Yudhiṣṭhira, the Mahābhārata unfolds an alternative understanding of dharma, known as ānṛśaṁsya (non-cruelty). Scholars have often considered it as an alternative to the heterodox notion of ahiṁsā (non-violence). This paper shows the gradual evolution of the ideal to show that its fundamental opposition is not with the heterodox ahiṁsā, but with the orthodox varṇadharma, particularly kṣātradharma, the martial heroism expected of the kṣatriya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norman in 1969 emphasised a linguistic difference between the Vedic compound yogakṣema- interpreted as a dvandva ("exertion and rest") and the widely distributed Early Buddhist compound yogakkhema-, analysed as a tatpuruṣa "rest from exertion". On the basis of our analysis of the relevant Pali sources and of the more ancient Vedic occurrences—some of which are quite far from the earliest denotation of the two cyclic phases (yóga- and kṣéma-) of the assumed semi-nomadic Indo-Āryan life—we have undertaken a classification of the several meanings of this compound, in order to distinguish their different facets and to enable us to easily bring about the comparison proposed by Norman in 1969 and in 1993 [1991]. Unlike Norman, we eventually postulated a common reading of this compound as a tatpuruṣa originally denoting an almost material target of welfare, from which both the Brāhmaṇic and the Buddhist usages, whose meaning is predominantly immaterial (ritual or wisdom-oriented), might have developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I study the concept of brahman—the exhaustive formulation of truth about the world—in the early Upaniṣads. Based on close reading of two stories appearing in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, the Kauṣītaki and the Chāndogya Upaniṣads, I reconstruct two competing theories about brahman, namely the "theory of puruṣa (person)" and the "theory of ātman (self)." While the theory of puruṣa refers to the creation of human and divine beings as a result of duplication of the anthropomorphic form of the universe, the theory of ātman traces the phenomenal reality in its various forms to the inner, formless self "made of consciousness" capable of creating and projecting forms out of itself. These two theories are discussed in the dialogue between Gārgya Bālāki and Ajātaśatru, the king of Kāśi appearing in two versions in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣads. Bālāki's theory of puruṣa is further revised and modified in the light of Ajātaśatru's criticism in the story from the Chāndogya Upaniṣads, in which the god Prajāpati teaches Indra and Virocana about the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mysticism, a way of faith based on emotion and intuition; is the unification with God without mediation and soul's attainment of absolute truth. Because life is the source of desires and evils, all earthly affairs must be avoided physically and mentally. Shortly, the person who let down the desire for living and gave up on world can attain salvation. Indian mysticism constitutes an important part of the oldest sources of the mystic thought in the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the existence of the mystic life in Indian thought which attaches importance to an ascetic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, clearly one of the early modern doyens of Indian Philosophy, remained much enamored of Western thought—of which he took the ancient to classical tradition as his model—and he spent a good part of his speculative life attempting to reconfigure Indian thought to fit the vesture, maybe the toga, of his Greek heroes, namely Plato and Plotinus, and to an extent of Hegelianism that came across via F. H. Bradley: Occidental in form, and Indian in content. (Incidentally, an adage or motto that was also used to ground modernism in Indian art.) It was as if this 'fusion' or 'harmonization' was easy of making without compromising what since Max Müller has come to be called 'Indian Philosophy' (a trope coined to mimic the dominant movement of Western or Occidental Philosophy). The paper intends to demonstrate this worrisome yet compelling motif by advancing an analysis of certain representative texts and arguments from Radhakrishnan's prolific writing on Indian Philosophy and East-West Thinking; particularly as these relate to the question of the 'appearances' (māyā/avidyā), their alignment with Platonic 'shadows,' while finding their redemption in the realism propelled by modern empirical science (that was taken to be coterminous with scientific realism). The paper traces the justification for Radhakrishnan's variegated moves to 'save the appearances' through his strained reading of the Upaniṣadic texts and under-standing of Śaṅkara's nondualism, leading to the argument that although the world is brought about by māyā, it is not an illusion or nonexistent, or unhinged from the Absolute, but rather naïvely real. There may have been a supplementary political motivation as well inspired by the burgeoning nationalist spirit, after Gandhi, and the need for India to become culturally and morally strong in its own terms (svadeshi svarāj). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a long-standing academic debate on the religious orientation of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṁsa (1836–1886), one of the leading religious figures of modern India. In the light of his teachings, it is possible to accept that Rāmakṛṣṇa’s ideas were Vedāntic, albeit not in a sectarian or exclusive way. This article explores the question of where exactly to place him in the chequered history of Vedāntic ideas. It points out that Rāmakṛṣṇa repeatedly referred to different states of consciousness while explaining the difference in the attitudes towards the Divine. This is the basis of his harmonization of the different streams within Vedānta. Again, it is also the basis of his understanding of the place of śakti. He demonstrated that, as long as one has I-consciousness, one is operating within the jurisdiction of śakti, and has to accept śakti as real. On the other hand, in the state of samādhi, which is the only state in which the I-consciosuness disappears, there is neither One nor many. The article also shows that, while Rāmakṛṣṇa accepted all of the different views within Vedānta, he was probably not as distant from the Advaita Vedānta philosopher Ādi Śaṁkara as he has been made out to be.

Crossbreeding is a common strategy used in tropical and subtropical regions to enhance beef production, and having accurate knowledge of breed composition is essential for the success of a crossbreeding program. Although pedigree records have been traditionally used to obtain the breed composition of crossbred cattle, the accuracy of pedigree-based breed composition can be reduced by inaccurate and/or incomplete records and Mendelian sampling. Breed composition estimation from genomic data has multiple advantages including higher accuracy without being affected by missing, incomplete, or inaccurate records and the ability to be used as independent authentication of breed in breed-labeled beef products. The present study was conducted with 676 Angus–Brahman crossbred cattle with genotype and pedigree information to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of using genomic data to determine breed composition. We used genomic data in parametric and non-parametric methods to detect population structure due to differences in breed composition while accounting for the confounding effect of close familial relationships. By applying principal component analysis (PCA) and the maximum likelihood method of ADMIXTURE to genomic data, it was possible to successfully characterize population structure resulting from heterogeneous breed ancestry, while accounting for close familial relationships. PCA results offered additional insight into the different hierarchies of genetic variation structuring. The first principal component was strongly correlated with Angus–Brahman proportions, and the second represented variation within animals that have a relatively more extended Brangus lineage—indicating the presence of a distinct pattern of genetic variation in these cattle. Although there was strong agreement between breed proportions estimated from pedigree and genetic information, there were significant discrepancies between these two methods for certain animals. This was most likely due to inaccuracies in the pedigree-based estimation of breed composition, which supported the case for using genomic information to complement and/or replace pedigree information when estimating breed composition. Comparison with a supervised analysis where purebreds are used as the training set suggest that accurate predictions can be achieved even in the absence of purebred population information.

This article describes Shankara's doctrine of non-duality and makes a Christian response. Dealing with the thought of this Indian great Philosopher is not an exaggerating effort for the concept of non- duality prevails in this New Age era. Terms such as Brahman (the absolute reality), Atman (the absolute basis of human soul which is identical to Brahman), and maya (illusion) are not peculiar to those who are familiar with the teaching of the today's New Age gurus, for instance, Deepak Chopra. Hence, my effort to react through the lens of the Christian faith will be worthwhile particularly to enrich our understanding in the realm of Christian apologetics. Here, my response shows the inherent metaphysical, logical, and ethical problems of Shankara's non-duality which he expounds in concepts like Brahman, Atman, and maya.