Extreme heat and cold events can create deleterious physiological changes in cattle as they attempt to cope. The genetic background of animals can influence their response to these events. The objective of the current study was to determine the impact of myostatin genotype (MG) on body temperature during periods of heat and cold stress. Two groups of crossbred steers and heifers of unknown pedi...

[1] We apply the multitaper frequency domain–singular value decomposition signal detection method to the investigation of coherent patterns of variation in seasonal Northern Hemisphere sea level pressure and conterminous U.S. summer drought during the period 1895–1995. The analysis identifies statistically significant patterns of spatiotemporal variability on interannual and bidecadal timescale...

The relationship between all-India summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) and the timing of (El Niño– Southern Oscillation) ENSO-related warming/cooling is investigated, using observational data during the period from 1881 to 1998. The analysis of the evolutions of Indo-Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies suggests that when ISMR is not below normal despite the co-occurrence of an El Niño ev...

The paper surveyed the chemical composition and nitrogen distribution of Maiwa yak milk, and compared the results with reference composition of cow milk. Compared to cow milk, yak milk was richer in protein (especially whey protein), essential amino acids, fat, lactose and minerals (except phosphorus). The contents of some nutrients (total protein, lactose, essential amino acids and casein) wer...

Human health and disease often demonstrate seasonal patterns. Knowledge of these aspects aids anticipation and planning. Numerous studies have shown that hypertension and cardiovascular diseases demonstrate a seasonal pattern. The Harmattan, the cold dusty season in Sub-Saharan Africa, is the season of greatest concern in this regard. In this commentary, the author draws on his and other resear...

For all climatic regions, mortality due to cold exceeds mortality due to heat. A separate line of research indicates that season of birth predicts lifespan after age 50. This and other literature implies the hypothesis that ambient temperature during gestation may influence cold-related adult mortality. We use data on over 13,500 Swedes from the Uppsala Birth Cohort Study to test whether cold-r...

The epidemiology of diarrhea among Filipino pediatric patients, representing a cross-section of socioeconomic strata, was investigated over a one year period. Rotavirus was detected in 33.9% of the diarrhea stools examined and was the leading cause of diarrhea in the study population. Although proportionately more rotavirus was found during the cold season, most children became infected with ro...

OBJECTIVES This study reviewed previous studies to explore the effect of season, and consequently weather, on levels of physical activity. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Thirty-seven primary studies (published 1980-2006) representing a total of 291883 participants (140482 male and 152085 female) from eight different countries are described, and the effect of season on moderate levels of physical ac...

Low temperature severely affects plant growth and development. To overcome this constraint, several plant species from regions having a cool season have evolved an adaptive response, called cold acclimation. We have studied this response in olive tree (Olea europaea L.) cv. Picual. Biochemical stress markers and cold-stress symptoms were detected after the first 24 h as sagging leaves. After 5 ...