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A human thermoregulatory model incorporating morphological details of Indians is established. The study uses the fundamental Stolwijk model with modifications to adapt Indian subject scenario. Good agreement is observed between the model predictions and the experimental data, though small discrepancies are noticed. The study investigated core and skin temperature variation during normal, hot and cold environments of Western and Indian subjects as well as Indian male and female subjects. Effect of BMI, age, clothing and short-wave radiation on thermoregulation is also analysed. The core temperature does not differ significantly in all the cases investigated which indicates that the model is able to capture various human thermoregulatory responses effectively. The most notable difference between Western and Indian subjects is the delay in sweating and lower shivering rates under hot and cold environments, respectively. Indian female subject showed slightly increased mean skin temperature and decreased sweating sensitivity compared to the male counterpart. In a hot environment, female thermoregulatory behaviour is characterised by a lower sweating rate, heat storage and increased mean skin temperature. Comparison between obese and lean Indian male subjects showed no significant difference in core body temperature, while the skin temperature is lower in obese subjects. Deterioration of thermoregulation mechanism with age is incorporated in the model based on available data. The effect of clothing is found to be significant under cold environment. The research establishes the strong link between thermoregulatory response and morphology of humans in adverse environments and highlights the necessity of considering race specificity in human thermoregulatory models.

Rph20 is the only designated gene conferring adult plant resistance to leaf rust in barley, and to date, it has not displayed race specificity. It is not known at what particular growth stage the onset of Rph20 resistance occurs, or if the expression of the gene could be observed in controlled greenhouse assays. The present studies demonstrated that Rph20 can be identified reliably under greenhouse conditions in 5-week-old seedlings under normal temperature conditions (22 ± 2 °C), although the resistance becomes effective at 4 weeks in certain genetic backgrounds. The resistance conferred by Rph20 was strongest and best expressed at cooler temperatures (18 ± 2 °C). The effectiveness of Rph20 at cooler temperatures may have important implications in the epidemiology of barley leaf rust under field conditions, by preventing the carryover of inoculum through winter and early spring, leading to a delayed onset of rusting and subsequently lower, if any, yield losses. The detection of Rph20 in early growth stages could help simplifying the selection of the gene in breeding programs and in monitoring Puccinia hordei populations for pathogenicity.

It was the objective of this study to quantify heat production across ages of Rambouillet and Finnsheep ewes and to evaluate the previous hypothesis that breed differences can be accounted for by scaling for proportion of mature body weight. Seventy-two Finnsheep and 55 Rambouillet ewes were sampled. Heat production was estimated based on individual animal gaseous exchange, which was determined from 55 through 71 h of the feed restriction. Heat production per unit BW decreased as sheep aged, and the breed-specific functions fit the data better than the pooled functions. The rate of decrease in heat production was greater in Finnsheep ewes until 37 wk of age. The rate of growth of Rambouillet ewes was greater than that of Finnsheep ewes over the first 52 wk of age, and Rambouillet ewes reached 95% of their mature BW at an earlier age (71 wk) than did Finnsheep ewes (113 wk). At any given age, Rambouillet ewes had achieved a greater proportion of their mature BW and had a lower heat production per unit BW than Finnsheep ewes. This study demonstrated the necessity of accounting for both age and breed when estimating metabolic rate in sheep. Furthermore, this study suggested that breed and age differences in metabolic rate could be accounted for by scaling for proportion of mature BW and that daily heat production per unit BW (kcal/kg) of Finnsheep, Rambouillet, Suffolk, and Texel ewes can be described by the function /(BW, matBW) = 59.5e(-0.797(Bw/matBw)), where BW = body weight and matBW = mature body weight.

This inquiry explores a series of problems related to the femur/stature ratio first raised by Feldesman et al. (1990). In particular, we used a revised data set and a more elaborate research protocol to address questions pertaining to: (1) whether the femur/stature ratios of three quasi-geographic “races” (“Blacks,” “Whites,” “Asians”) are statistically significantly different; (2) whether these are statistically (as opposed to biologically) coherent groups; and (3) whether the “race”-specific ratios are more accurate than the simple generic femur/stature ratio. We used ANOVA, ANOCOVA, post hoc analysis, k-means cluster analysis, linear discriminant functions, and approximate randomization to determine whether the group differences in the ratio were significant, and to assess the coherence of the “racial” groups themselves. We used validation procedures including mean absolute deviation, mean squared error, and Pitman's measure of closeness of a known sample of 798 femur/stature pairs to compare the accuracy of the generic ratio and the group-specific ratios. The results confirmed that the “Black” femur/stature ratio is significantly different from those of “Whites” and “Asians”; however, group coherence was poor, with results barely better than chance. We found that “race”-specific ratios slightly outperform the generic ratio when “race” is certain, but the gains are small for the assumptions required. More significantly, however, we found that when “race” attribution is uncertain or unknown, as in paleoanthropology, the wrong ratio (or the wrong regression equation) performs poorer than the generic femur/stature ratio. As a result, we recommend that researchers continue using the generic femur/stature ratio to estimate stature in pre- and protohistoric populations. An alternative equation, a generic regression, yields even better stature estimates; however, we urge further study before recommending that researchers use this instead of the more thoroughly tested generic femur/stature ratio. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The deployment of broad-spectrum resistance genes is the most effective and economic means of controlling blast in rice. The cultivar Er-Ba-Zhan (EBZ) is a widely used donor of blast resistance in South China, with many cultivars derived from it displaying broad-spectrum resistance against blast. Mapping in a set of recombinant inbred lines bred from the cross between EBZ and the highly blast-susceptible cultivar Liangjiangxintuanheigu (LTH) identified in EBZ a blast resistance gene on each of chromosomes 1 (Pish), 6 (Pi2/Pi9) and 12 (Pita/Pita-2). The resistance spectrum and race specificity of the allele at Pi2/Pi9 were both different from those present in other known Pi2/Pi9 carriers. Fine-scale mapping based on a large number of susceptible EBZ × LTH F(2) and EBZ × LTH BC(1)F(2) segregants placed the gene within a 53-kb segment, which includes Pi2/Pi9. Sequence comparisons of the LRR motifs of the four functional NBS-LRR genes within Pi2/Pi9 revealed that the EBZ allele is distinct from other known Pi2/Pi9 alleles. As a result, the gene has been given the designation Pi50(t).

Stature estimation of individuals from extinct human populations is a classic topic in anthropology. The estimations, using regression formulae generated from different reference samples, display different results. This fact is related to inter-populational differences in body proportions, which is a phenotypic trait mainly correlated with climatic parameters. The aim of this paper is to address the problem of stature estimation of an archaeological skeletal sample from Patagonia - a region for which there are no specific models available - using different methods and considering differences in body proportions between reference and target populations. The sample used in this analysis is composed of 35 Late Holocene adults of both sexes recovered in central Patagonia (Argentina). The stature of each individual was first reconstructed using the anatomical method [Fully G. 1956. Une nouvelle me´thode de de´termination de la taille. Annales Medicine Legale 35: 266-273], which has no assumptions on body proportions. The results were compared with estimations based on 32 different regression formulae [Trotter M, Gleser G. 1958. A re-evaluation of estimation of stature based on measurements taken during life and the long bones after death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 16: 79-124. 10.1002/ajpa.1330160106] and three femur/stature ratios [Feldesman MR, Fountain RL. 1996. Race specificity and the femur/stature ratio. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 100: 207-224. 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199606)]. The average reconstructed stature was 160.8 cm for females (95% confidence band = 155.6-166.2 cm), and 170.5 cm for males (95% confidence band = 168.8-172.2 cm). Most of the comparisons of the regression formulae and femur/stature ratios showed significant differences, which are explained by differences in body proportions between the Patagonian sample and the ones chosen as reference. Finally, a set of new equations was developed using simple regression techniques. It is suggested that whenever possible, population-specific formulae should be used in archaeological studies. In any other situation, the choice of a reference population should be made by taking into account its geographic (latitudinal) provenance. Fil: Beguelin, Marien. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Cienicas Naturales y Museo. División Antropología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Race specificity may be involved in the reactions of certain soybean [ (L.) Merr.]cultivars previously characterized as tolerant to f. sp. Kuan & Erwin (). The objectives of this study were to determine if an inoculumlayer procedure could be used to differentiate race-specific reactions among soybean cultivars characterized as tolerant to Pmg and to distinguish root resistance reactions associated with tolerance from those conditioned by the gene. An inoculum-layer procedure was used in the greenhouse to determine the reactions of 21 soybean cultivars to Races 1 and 10 of . Some cultivars characterized as tolerant to Pmg and the cultivar CNS with the gene, which conditions race-specific root resistance to these races, were included to provide a comparison between various levels of seedling tolerance and root resistance. Seeds were planted 2.5 or 5.0 cm above an inoculum layer of lima bean agar cultures. Cultivar reaction to was recorded as percent survival of emerged seedlings 14 d after planting. Cultivars exhibited different levels of survival with Races 1 and 10, with variation also at the 2.5- and 5.0-cm inoculum layer depths. Seedling survival with Race 10 was significantly (P < 0.05) higher at the 5.0-cm compared with the 2.5-cm inoculum layer, whereas there was no consistent difference in survival with Race 1 among cultivars at the two depths. Nine cultivars exhibited high levels of seedling survival with Race 1 that were comparable with CNS. Only CNS and 'Emerald' survived both Races 1 and 10. Since the reactions of Emerald closely resemble those of CNS, they may be conditioned by the Rps2 gene. Results of the experiments indicate that it is difficult to distinguish between race-specific root resistance and high levels of tolerance when using the inoculum-layer test with certain cultivar/race/inoculum depth combinations. Limited information is available concerning differences in the expression of root infection between cultivars with race-specific root resistance and those with high levels of tolerance. The results emphasize the need for improved techniques to differentiate tolerance and root resistance, and to characterize precisely soybean lines or cultivars lacking major resistance genes.

Resistance to stripe rust (yellow rust) in North American wheat cultivars is primarily of two types, seedling resistance and high-temperature, adult-plant (HTAP) resistance. The seedling resistance is characterized by race specificity and low infection types at all stages of plant growth and at a wide range of temperatures. The inheritance of 33 different genes for seedling resistance to Puccinia striiformis has been determined for 26 wheat cultivars. Of the 33 genes, 21 have not been previously named.

Fifty-four land races of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), indigenous to areas of Brazil where anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum) is a common problem, were evaluated in field nurseries for partial resistance to race Brazilian 1 (B1) of C. lindemuthianum using symptom severity classes (SSC) from 0 to 6. Plants were selected if symptoms were present and the SSC was less than the 95% confidence interval of the mean SSC of the susceptible cultivar Carioca. S1 progeny from selected plants were evaluated in air-conditioned chambers for partial resistance to races B1, delta, and kappa of C. lindemuthianum. Of 246 S1 families evaluated, 145 families were partially resistant to one or two of the races [symptoms present, but S1 family mean significantly (p

Twenty-four entries of wild emmer possessing temperature-sensitive genes for resistance to yellow rust were studied in the seedling stage, at two temperature-profiles, with 15 pathogenic races from 11 countries in South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. It was shown that the majority of the resistance genes in these wild emmer entries were race-specific. In most of these entries a more resistant reaction was displayed at the higher temperature-profile; however in three entries a shift in reaction towards resistance was observed with certain races but towards susceptibility with some of the other races, suggesting that two different kinds of temperature-sensitive genes were involved in each of these entries. The similarity of temperature-sensitive genes occurring in wild emmer and in cultivated wheat is discussed.

In the literature of plant pathology, unspecific interaction, as statisticians use the word, is commonly called ‘specificity’ or ‘race specificity’. Specificity, in the sense used by Flor, is confused with interaction, defined statistically. Admittedly, specificity in Flor's sense implies statistical interaction. But the converse is not true. Statistical interaction does not necessarily imply Flor's specificity. This confusion prompted me to inquire into the concepts of what seem to me to be the three major systems of host-pathogen relations: additivity, interaction, and specificity. I suggest definitions, the definitions of additivity and interaction following standard statistical usage and the definition of specificity following Flor's sense. Further, I examine briefly tests to distinguish (unspecific) interaction from specificity, and additivity from interaction. Interaction, as the word is used by statisticians, arises from the variation in row differences from column to column or in column differences from row to row (Adams, 1955). Put differently, interaction is measured by the failure of effects to be additive (Snedecor, 1956). Additivity is the antithesis of interaction. There is no significant variation in row differences from column to column or in column differences from row to row. Specificity in a gene-for-gene system refers to complementary one-for-oneness. Flor's hypothesis reads: “for each gene conditioning resistance in the host there is a specific complementary gene conditioning pathogenicity in the parasite”. Flor's use of the word specific goes back to 1942 when his hypothesis was still embryonic; “The data in the present paper indicate that the range of pathogenicity of a physiologic race of Melampsora lini is determined by pathogenic factors specific for each resistance factor possessed by the host” (Flor, 1942). Specificity is a form of interaction. There is specific interaction, i.e. interaction with complementary one-for-oneness, and unspecific interaction, i.e. interaction without one-for-oneness.

HLA in 12 unrelated Chinese paediatric patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were found to have an increased frequency of BW22, B17 and AW33. BW22 was observed in 5/12 (41.7%) of IDDM patients compared to 40/330 normal unrelated Chinese controls (p less than 0.005, rr = 5.2). AW33 and B17 were observed in 6/12 (50.0%) and 7/12 (58.3%) of IDDM patients respectively, compared to 36/330 and 46/330 in the normal controls respectively (AW33: corrected p less than 0.0026, RR = 8.2, B17: corrected p less than 0.0026, rr = 8.6). HLA B8, B15 and B18 did not demonstrate any significant association with IDDM in this series of patients. The results of this study further emphasize the well recognized race specificity in HLA antigen distribution in normal population as well as disease states.