**5.1 Current status of the application of genomics in the practice of dairy cattle production in Ethiopia**

Ethiopia was reported to have the largest population (59.5 million heads) of cattle in Africa [34]. This researcher [34] also mentioned in his review article that in Ethiopia, the livestock sector was mainly of smallholder farming system which contributed about 15% of export earnings, 16.5% of the national GDP, 30% of agricultural employment and 35.6% of the agricultural GDP. According to the report of the Central Statistic Agency (CSA) of Ethiopia [35], most of the cattle that were reared by the agrarian community were mostly native breeds which formed about 98.2%; 1.62% of the cattle were crossbreed while the rest 0.18% were of exotic breeds. This author [34] stated that cattle in the country were kept mainly for milk production,

draught power, breeding and beef purposes. Most of the milking cows were indigenous animals with low milk yield, 1.37 litres/day, and with an average of 6 months lactation length. Also, the lactating cows had average of age of about 4 ½ years at first calving and about 25 months calving interval. The cattle were mainly grazed on native pasture and given crop residue supplemental feeding. The dairy cattle production systems in Ethiopia included the rural small holder (crop-livestock) dairy production system, the agro pastoral and pastoral dairy cattle production system, the urban and peri-urban smallholder dairy production system and the commercial dairy cattle production system. The commercial dairy farms mostly kept exotic dairy stock. Though Ethiopia was reported [34] to possess the largest livestock (cattle in particular) population in Africa, the animals had low productivity. There had been lack of improvement in the breeding program, uncontrolled mating/breeding practice, feed shortages, prevalence of diseases, and there was generally poor reproductive performance.

There was thus the need to upgrade the reproductive and productive traits in the dairy cattle. Therefore there had been no report of the application of genomics except for the practice of artificial insemination which however, was also faced with the inefficiency of AI technicians and an ineffective animal breeding practice [34].


Meet the editor

Dr. Hassan Massoud Heshmati is an endocrinologist with 46 years of experience in clinical research in academia (university-affiliated hospitals, Paris, France; Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA) and pharmaceutical companies (Sanofi, Malvern, PA, USA; Essentialis, Carlsbad, CA, USA; Gelesis, Boston, MA, USA). His research activity focuses on pituitary tumors, hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancers, osteoporosis,

diabetes, and obesity. He has extensive knowledge in the development of anti-obesity products. Dr. Heshmati is the author of 309 abstracts, chapters, and articles related to endocrinology and metabolism. He is currently a consultant at Endocrinology Metabolism Consulting, LLC, Anthem, AZ, USA.


2.3.1. Structure-Activity Relationship Assessment of Flavones as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Tested flavone compounds **1**, **2**, **3**, and **4**, along with flavone standard aglycones, i.e., apigenin and luteolin, exhibited strong α-glucosidase inhibition, where IC50 values were determined at 613, 328, 439, and 390 μM, respectively, exceeding that of acarbose determined at 662 μM, a commercial α-glucosidase inhibitor anti-diabetic drug. The order of activity of the isolated flavone glycosides was as such, with IC50 values at 327.9, 390.4, 439.2, and 612.9 μM for compounds, viz., **2**, **4**, **3**, and **1**, which are much higher than those of acarbose. However, flavone glycosides were less potent than their corresponding aglycones, i.e., apigenin and luteolin, with IC50 values at 85.6 and 48.2 μM, respectively (Figure 4A,B, Table 5).

Among glycosides, compound **2**, identified as luteolin 6-C-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1- 2)-β-D-fucopyranoside, showed the highest inhibitory activity among all isolated flavone glycosides in line with its aglycone, suggestive for the improved efficacy of C-glycosyl flavone against α-glucosidase enzyme, which is in agreement with reports that sugar moiety attached at C-6 position improved efficacy against pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity [40], extended herein to include the α-glucosidase inhibition effect (Figure 4B).

In contrast, compound **1**, identified as apigenin 6-C-(2-deoxy-β-D-galactopyranoside)- 7-O-β-D-quinovopyranoside, showed the weakest inhibitory activity among all isolated flavone glycosides, with IC50 612.9 μM, likely attributed to the glycosylation of hydroxy group at the C-7 position [41] (Figure 4B) and absent in compounds **2**, **3**, and **4**. Compounds **3** and **4** exhibited strong inhibition with an IC50 value of 439.2 μM and 390.4 μM, respectively, in line with previously published data on the efficacy of apigenin 6-*C*-(2- O-α-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-fucopyranoside in lowering the glucose level in hyperglycemic rats [40]. Standard apigenin and luteolin showed the strongest inhibitory activity, with IC50 values at 85.6 and 48.2 μM, respectively, compared to that of acarbose (661.6 μM), with luteolin showing the stronger inhibitory activity compared to that of acarbose, which is in

accordance with the previously reported α-glucosidase inhibitory activity [42]. In line with our findings, hydroxylation at C-3 of the B-ring of apigenin, in particular, was reported to enhance the α-glucosidase inhibition activity [41], whereas glycosylation affected it negatively compared to the aglycones [43].

**Figure 4.** (**A**) IC50 (μM) of tested compounds against α-glucosidase enzymes in vitro. (**B**) The potential sites of flavone *C-*glycosides affecting α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. (**C**) The potential sites of dihydrochalcone *C*-glycosides affecting the α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. The up arrows represent increased inhibition, whereas the down arrows represent decreased inhibition activity. Results are expressed as mean ± SE (*n* = 3).

**Table 5.** IC50 of tested compounds using in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition assay. (-) indicates inactive compounds.

2.3.2. Structure-Activity Relationship of Dihydrochalcones and Their Glycosides as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

The isolated dihydrochalcone glycosides, viz., compounds **5**, **6**, **7**, **8**, **9**, **10**, **11**, and **12**, were assessed for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in comparison to acarbose, together with two standard dihydrochalcones, phloretin and its glucoside phloretin-2 -glucose, commonly named phloridzin. All dihydrochalcone glycosides, viz., **5**, **6**, **7**, **8**, **9**, **10**, and **11**, were found inactive except for compound **12**, which showed relatively strong activity with IC50 at 323.6 μM (Figure 4A, Table 5). The reported weak α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of diglycosylated chalcones [41] clarified the inactivity of all isolated compounds and suggested that with regards to α-glucosidase inhibition, glycosylated forms of flavones are more active than dihydrochalcones. Further study is warranted, to carefully assess the α-glucosidase enzyme kinetic analysis of the dihydrochalcone carambolaside Q.

Regarding standard dihydrochalcones, phloretin was reported as a strong α-glucosidase inhibitor [44] and as a glucose transporter inhibitor [45], with a measured IC50 value at 110.4 μM (Figure 4A). Further, phloridzin revealed moderate inhibitory activity, with an IC50 of 853.1 μM (Figure 4A), in accordance with the reported dose-dependent α-glucosidase inhibition [46] and confirming that the inhibitory activity of monoglycosyl chalcones is lower than its aglycones [41] (Figure 4C). These results suggests that α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of *A. carambola* L. extract is mainly mediated by flavone glycosides composition, with a smaller contribution coming from dihydrochalcone glycosides being less active, except for compound **12**.

#### **3. Materials and Methods**


*4.2. Analysis of the simulated signal based on standard Autogram*

Standard Autogram is adopted to extract the simulated fault feature information, and the colormap presentation obtained based on the Equation (2) is displayed in Figure 3.

Standard Autogram-Kmax=6.6 @ level 1, Bw=512Hz, fc=256Hz

**Figure 3.** Colormap presentation of the simulated signal based on standard Autogram.

The maximum value *kurtosis* 6.6 is assigned to the node (1, 1), with a center frequency of 256 Hz and a bandwidth of 512 Hz. Thus, the node (1, 1) is used as data source for future investigation, and the no threshold spectrum, upper threshold spectrum, and lower threshold spectrum are shown in Figure 4.

**Figure 4.** Spectrums of the simulated signal data source node (1, 1) based on standard Autogram. (**a**) No threshold spectrum; (**b**) Upper threshold spectrum; (**c**) Lower threshold spectrum.

Among the three figures in Figure 4, simulated fault feature information at fault feature frequency 30 Hz and all of its harmonics are only extracted only in Figure 4a. The amplitude values based on no threshold processing in Figure 4a are the largest, and all of them are larger than those in the simulated signal spectrum in Figure 2. It can be seen that standard Autogram extracts the information effectively, and the extraction ability of Autogram based on no threshold processing is the strongest.

#### *4.3. Analysis of thesimulated signal based on Upper Autogram*

The upper Autogram is applied to extract the simulated fault feature information and the colormap presentation can be obtained based on Equation (3), as shown in Figure 5.

The maximum value *kurtosisu* is 5.3, and it is assigned to the node (3, 4), with center frequency of 448 Hz and a bandwidth of 128 Hz. Thus, the node (3, 4) is used as data source for further investigation, and the no threshold spectrum, upper threshold spectrum, and lower threshold spectrums are illustrated in Figure 6.

It is very clear that there is no simulated fault feature information at fault feature frequency of 30 Hz with its harmonics in Figure 6, and there are many background noises. Thus, the feature information cannot be effectively extracted by upper Autogram based on lower threshold processing.

**Figure 5.** Colormap presentation of the simulated signal based on upper Autogram.

**Figure 6.** Spectrums of the simulated signal data source node (1, 1) based on upper Autogram. (**a**) No threshold spectrum; (**b**) Upper threshold spectrum; (**c**) Lower threshold spectrum.

#### *4.4. Analysis of the simulated signal based on Lower Autogram*

The simulated fault feature information is extracted by lower Autogram, and the colormap presentation based on the Equation (4) is shown in Figure 7.

**Figure 7.** Colormap presentation of the simulated signal based on Lower Autogram.

The maximum value *kurtosisl* is 2.3 and corresponds to node (2, 1), the node has a center frequency of 128 Hz and a bandwidth of 256 Hz. Node (2, 1) is adopted as a data source for further investigation, and the no threshold spectrum, upper threshold spectrum, and lower threshold spectrums are demonstrated in Figure 8.

**Figure 8.** Spectrums of the simulated signal data source node (2, 1) based on lower Autogram. (**a**) No threshold spectrum; (**b**) Upper threshold spectrum; (**c**) Lower threshold spectrum.

It can be seen in Figure 8 that the simulated fault feature information at fault feature frequency 30 Hz with some harmonics can be extracted. The amplitude values obtained based on no threshold processing in Figure 8a are the larger than in Figure 8b,c, and the amplitude values in Figure 8 are all larger than those in Figure 2. Thus, lower Autogram is effective in extracting the information, and its extraction ability based on no threshold processing is the strongest.

Compared with standard Autogram based on no threshold processing in Figure 4, the fault feature information with many harmonics cannot be extracted by lower Autogram, and their amplitude values are small.

From the results of standard Autogram (Figure 4), upper Autogram (Figure 6), and lower Autogram (Figure 8), it can be concluded that standard Autogram has the strongest extraction ability, with background noises more greatly reduced.


**4. Discourse analysis**

#### **4.1.  Although their ideas about limits of this legality differ, home is identified as the most private space in religious Muslim women's lives.

 This is forbidden by Islam's prophet with these *hadiths*: "He who has intercourse with his wife through her anus is accursed," "On the day of resurrection, Allah will not look at a man who has had intercourse with a man or woman's anus" (see EbûDâvûd, Nikah, 45; Müsned, I, 86, 444; Tirmizi, Taharet, 201; Mişkâtü'l-Mesabih, II, 184).

"I think there is no limitation between wife and husband. It is also acceptable for women… Men should satisfy their wives. They should do whatever their wives like. I mean, it is mutual" (G-11).

The statements of G-11, who is veiled in her social life outside the home, defend the spatial segregation principle based on Islam and satisfying pleasures that religious people need is supported as a religious task. The participant defined marriage as a legal and beneficial place for partners to achieve satisfaction, and identified mutual emotional satisfaction as a task that is necessary for a healthy marriage. According to the social actor (G-11), while unveiled women display their femininities in their social lives, those who are religious display femininity and are only sexual in their homes.

The homes of people who prefer to live according to Islamic rules are seen as being free of religion-based barriers in social life at a certain extent. G-12 enthusiastically spoke of her relationship with her husband and emphasized that her femininity in private has only religious limitations. G-12 specified the romance level in her marriage saying, "In the first year of our marriage, we were always having candlelit dinners,8 " and claimed that feminine attraction should be very strong in religious women's homes. G-12 states that women can unveil themselves and wear attractive clothes only in front of their husbands, which suits the principles of the Jamia.

"Even if you are with other women, you cannot wear trousers or skirts. It is not approved. In society, you should wear a loosely fitting, long dress. You can wear whatever you want at home.  It is required for women to protect their husbands from sin. For example, I dye my hair blonde. At home, I put on makeup for my husband. When my hair color fades a little, he says, 'Let's dye your hair blonde again.' (The participant was laughing continuously while saying this.) When my son was little, I wore strap dresses. My husband said, 'Someone who sees you outside cannot imagine you in those dresses.' Now, our son has grown up, I cannot dress like that now. It is necessary to be careful" (G-12).

to describe the discursive world and develop criticism of the discourse [40]. As a discursive practice, positioning is a skill through which the people in question can move to new positions. Positioning practices occur in different ways, and they vary [38]. This study examines the interpretative repertoires and subject positions and will not emphasize ideological dilemmas [3].

G-11 27 Primary educ. Yes Married (Pregnant)

**Participant Age Education Veiled Marital status Number of child**

G-1 38 University Yes Married 1 B/1 G G-2 37 University Yes Married 2 G G-3 36 University Yes Married 2 B G-4 31 University Yes Married 1 G/1 B G-5 36 University Yes Married 2 B/1 G G-6 31 University Yes Divorced 1 B/1 G G-7 39 University Yes Married 2 B G-8 36 University Yes Married 1 B G-9 37 University No Married 2 B G-10 37 University Yes Married 2 K

G-12 30 Primary educ.   This is forbidden by Islam's prophet with these *hadiths*: "He who has intercourse with his wife through her anus is accursed," "On the day of resurrection, Allah will not look at a man who has had intercourse with a man or woman's anus" (see EbûDâvûd, Nikah, 45;

**4.1.

Müsned, I, 86, 444; Tirmizi, Taharet, 201; Mişkâtü'l-Mesabih, II, 184).

**4. Discourse analysis**

**Table 2.** In-depth interview group.

**Table 1.** Participants of focus group.

192 Perception of Beauty

their menstrual periods6

6

7

The speech text that can singly set an example for the research question is a common emotion and statement of women who belong to the İsmailağa Jamia. Personal pronouns used in the participants' statements, which have different introduction sections, are important to the analysis of this issue. The sentence about how religious women should dress while they were with other women indicates a rule. This rule is generally based on Islam and specifically on the principles of the Jamia. The personal pronoun, you, used in sentences such as "You can wear whatever you want in the home. Hair coloring, wearing fancy clothing are women's duties towards their husband, are *ibadah*. 9 It is required for women to protect their husbands from sin." is an extension of the social actor's (G-12) identity as an instructor for the Jamia. As a hodja in Jamia courses,10 she produces discourse or conveys

8 According to the participants' statements, in their interaction with their husbands, the romance level was high, and emotional expressions such as "my love" were commonly used.

9 Ibadah: "Executing the orders of Allah, avoiding from what is banned. Any benevolence that is performed with good faith" [42].

10According to the principles of İsmailaga Jamia, female and male children should not go to public schools because the education in public schools is considered to be noncompliant with Islam. The Jamia opened courses to raise a religious generation in accordance to its principles. Quran, sunnah (statements and behaviors of the Prophet), Arabic lessons, and the teachings of Sheikh Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu are provided in these courses for at least 3 years. There are further stages of education in the Jamia, but they are optional. Followers who wish to advance in any religious subject continue with the further stages. Women and men who successfully complete the 3-year education in this course are called masters. They teach their knowledge to other people. This mission can be performed within the course as well as during *religious meetings* (*sohbet*) [43]. More details can be found in our book, *Çarşaflı Dindarlık*.

discourses by positioning herself as an instructor in her congregation's hierarchy to her interlocutors.11 The last sentences, where she uses the first-person singular pronoun, include personal experiences. Her gestures and facial expressions while expressing how femininity is experienced in her domestic space indicate her pleasure and happiness in her private life and mutual satisfaction between wife and husband. G-12's husband said, "Someone who sees you outside cannot imagine you in those dresses." This is remarkable because it implies that people outside the Islamic life style misperceive both religious men and women. Displaying feminine attraction, which is limited to older children, creates a conflicting situation for the participant, since children should be kept away from the symbols that evoke sexual desire in order to achieve the planned level of *taqwa*12 and complete the moral education.13 According to the principles of the Jamia, if female and male children see their mothers without hijab, even at home, after the age of 4, it will be against the *taqwa*. On one side, there is an obligation for parents to educate their children as religious Muslims, and on the other side, there are gender-based actions that are desirable and seen as proper. After the last examination, the obligation to raise the children in the *proper manner* dominated, and the social actor (G-12) limited these actions by dressing in a more moderate way around the children. The indispensability of Islamic principles ("It is necessary to be careful") prevailed over dissatisfaction ("I cannot dress like that now").

Among the group of highly educated women, wearing revealing clothing was not based on religious responsibility toward their husband. It was as a personal desire.

"I do not veil myself in the house, I mean, in summer. A short, knee-length dress, I mean, I wear revealing clothes" (G-5-).

"I do not dress at Home as I do at work… I prefer to be relaxed. But whatever I wear, I prefer good quality clothing. For example, I wear tracksuits, but they are stylish, not sloppy" (G-3).

The highly educated working participants emphasize comfort in their clothing styles at home. Sentences using the first-person singular pronoun indicate different criteria, which are independent from religious discourses, for indoor clothing styles.

This differs from the religious approach to daily life. The fact that the participants are highly educated and have jobs affects this situation; however, the religious limitations on the domestic reality of another participant (G-7) with the same qualifications show that an absolute conclusion cannot be reached.

At this step of the discourse analysis, it is possible to say that home is a liberation area, at a certain extent, for religious Muslim women. It is obvious that the Jamia14-based religious attitude

11The researcher is the respondent of the participant in this interview. Students and the group of women are the respondents when a master is present and performs his/her duties.

12The Jamia considers *taqwa* as avoiding what is absolutely banned by Islam as well as behaviors that are not banned, but should be avoided. According to Islam, a mother can be around her male children without a hijab, but Jamia considers this against *taqwa*.

13In addition, TV had been banned by the Jamia until recent years. However, to protect the followers from the *modern attacks*, the Jamia opened its own TV channel (Lalegül TV), giving followers access to TV. The sheikh gave permission for opening a TV channel. This is a method to protect the religious generation from the harm of other TV channels, which is considered *ehven-i şer* or the lesser evil. For more details, please see *Çarşaflı Dindarlık*.

14This congregational approach belongs to the İsmailağa Jamia. A study, *Çarşaflı Dindarlık* (*Veiled Piety*), which examines female members of the Ismailağa Jamia, thoroughly analyzes this issue. This book is in progress.

about women's dressing styles among other women is multilaterally15 limited. Therefore, how different perceptions differentiate religious orientations and daily practices [43] are recognized once again. The difference between the religious perceptions and ideas regarding the religious manners of women, and the religious practices performed with these perceptions and ideas are enormous. The behaviors of religious women with liberal religious beliefs are elaborated in the book, *Modernlik ve Dindarlık Arasında Kadın* (*Women Between Modernity and Religiousness*),16 and the behaviors of dependent religious women are detailed in the book, *Çarşaflı Dindarlık*. This once more indicates that Islam should be reinterpreted being released from the pressure of masculine or traditional points of view [43–47]. The masculine approach that limits women's daily lives with religion-based arguments is a subject of another study.

discourses by positioning herself as an instructor in her congregation's hierarchy to her interlocutors.11 The last sentences, where she uses the first-person singular pronoun, include personal experiences. Her gestures and facial expressions while expressing how femininity is experienced in her domestic space indicate her pleasure and happiness in her private life and mutual satisfaction between wife and husband. G-12's husband said, "Someone who sees you outside cannot imagine you in those dresses." This is remarkable because it implies that people outside the Islamic life style misperceive both religious men and women. Displaying feminine attraction, which is limited to older children, creates a conflicting situation for the participant, since children should be kept away from the symbols that evoke sexual desire in order to achieve the planned level of *taqwa*12 and complete the moral education.13 According to the principles of the Jamia, if female and male children see their mothers without hijab, even at home, after the age of 4, it will be against the *taqwa*. On one side, there is an obligation for parents to educate their children as religious Muslims, and on the other side, there are gender-based actions that are desirable and seen as proper. After the last examination, the obligation to raise the children in the *proper manner* dominated, and the social actor (G-12) limited these actions by dressing in a more moderate way around the children. The indispensability of Islamic principles ("It is necessary to be

careful") prevailed over dissatisfaction ("I cannot dress like that now").

religious responsibility toward their husband. It was as a personal desire.

pendent from religious discourses, for indoor clothing styles.

considered *ehven-i şer* or the lesser evil. For more details, please see *Çarşaflı Dindarlık*.

female members of the Ismailağa Jamia, thoroughly analyzes this issue. This book is in progress.

wear revealing clothes" (G-5-).

194 Perception of Beauty

conclusion cannot be reached.

this against *taqwa*.

dents when a master is present and performs his/her duties.

Among the group of highly educated women, wearing revealing clothing was not based on

"I do not veil myself in the house, I mean, in summer. A short, knee-length dress, I mean, I

"I do not dress at Home as I do at work… I prefer to be relaxed. But whatever I wear, I prefer good quality clothing. For example, I wear tracksuits, but they are stylish, not sloppy" (G-3). The highly educated working participants emphasize comfort in their clothing styles at home. Sentences using the first-person singular pronoun indicate different criteria, which are inde-

This differs from the religious approach to daily life. The fact that the participants are highly educated and have jobs affects this situation; however, the religious limitations on the domestic reality of another participant (G-7) with the same qualifications show that an absolute

At this step of the discourse analysis, it is possible to say that home is a liberation area, at a certain extent, for religious Muslim women. It is obvious that the Jamia14-based religious attitude

11The researcher is the respondent of the participant in this interview. Students and the group of women are the respon-

12The Jamia considers *taqwa* as avoiding what is absolutely banned by Islam as well as behaviors that are not banned, but should be avoided. According to Islam, a mother can be around her male children without a hijab, but Jamia considers

13In addition, TV had been banned by the Jamia until recent years. However, to protect the followers from the *modern attacks*, the Jamia opened its own TV channel (Lalegül TV), giving followers access to TV. The sheikh gave permission for opening a TV channel. This is a method to protect the religious generation from the harm of other TV channels, which is

14This congregational approach belongs to the İsmailağa Jamia. A study, *Çarşaflı Dindarlık* (*Veiled Piety*), which examines