In arid and semi-arid zones, animal health and production are closely correlated with body conformation traits. These selected traits, in turn, allow livestock to adapt unfavorable soil and environmental conditions. The primary objective of this study was to perform a genome-wide association analysis for a set of sampled and imputed SNPs with 16 conformation traits in a population of Holstein cows from a desert area of Northwestern Mexico. Imputation from 6K to 50K SNPs was performed as a low-cost optimization strategy. Results show eight SNPs associated with two conformation traits. The Udder Depth trait resulted in seven associated SNPs from chromosome 10, that related to Marbling Score, Milk Yield, Fat Yield, Protein Yield, and Protein Percentage Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs). The Body Depth trait resulted in one associated SNP from chromosome 2, although no QTL relation was found. The discovery of genes associated with conformation traits may be indicative of the adaptive selection pressures the Holstein breed has undergone in response to the extreme weather conditions found in the northwestern areas of Mexico. Results of this study indicate that traits such as stature and body depth may be used as indicators of cows' potential genetic merits for milk, fat, and protein production.
In this paper we present a procedure for the selection of the minimal dc reverse bias voltage of a high-speed optically triggered sampling circuit. The optically triggered sampling circuit is based on a PIN photodiode. A set of expressions that includes the optical power dependence of the current passing through the PIN photodiode is derived. Theoretical results of the procedure are experimentally verified with practical measurements obtained from a 3 giga samples per second (GS/s) and a 20 GS/s sampling circuit implemented with commercial PIN photodiodes. Reductions in the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio of 37.28 and 6.9 dBs, as well as increments in the spurious free dynamic range of 31 and 19 dBs in the sampled signals, are respectively averted by the selection of the minimal reverse bias.
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