674 research outputs found

    Stability Analysis of Raw Cotton Export Markets of India – Markov Chain Approach

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    Cotton is an important fibre crop of India which plays a dominant role in the country’s economy by meeting the domestic and export demands. It contributes significantly to both agriculture and industry in terms of farm income, employment and export earnings. India, despite being the third largest producer of cotton in the world, has not exploited its potential to emerge as a major player in the world raw cotton exports. The present level of exports is not consistent and exhibits high variations in volume and revenue earnings. In this paper, the dynamics of changes have been measured in the export of raw cotton from India to different export markets employing the Markov-Chain model. The results have shown China as the sole stable destination for our cotton exports. The other traditional importing countries such as Bangladesh, Germany, Indonesia, the UK, Japan and Korea have recorded low retention probabilities during pre- and post-economic reform periods, indicating unstable export share to these markets.Agricultural and Food Policy,

    Machine learning & semantic web technologies for cancer care

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    Livelihood Dependence on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) - A Study of Jenukuruba Tribes in South India

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    An understanding of the nature and extent of households' dependence on NTFPs can facilitate the policy decisions for development and welfare of tribals vis-a-vis conservation and management of forest wealth. The present study provides some insight regarding the forest dependence of Jenukurubas, a sect of primitive tribe, living in and around the protected forests of Heggada Devanakote region in South India. The analysis of socio-economic characteristics of households using Logit regression shows that wage employment, land ownership and income from agriculture lowered the probability that a household would go for NTFPs collection. Joint family system and large family size would increase the probability of collection of NTFPs by tribal households. The study also establishes the fact that, it is primarily out of sheer necessity, the tribals venture for NTFPs collection and not for their commercial gains. The extent of dependence on NTFPs was very strong and its sudden withdrawal would severely affect the livelihood of the stakeholders, particularly, the landless tribals. Therefore, successful rehabilitation requires phased withdrawal of NTFPs by providing alternative sources of income and employment opportunities.Non-timber forest products, Jenukuruba tribe, Livelihood dependence, Logit model, South India, Labor and Human Capital,

    A genetic basis for a postmeiotic X versus Y chromosome intragenomic conflict in the mouse.

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    Intragenomic conflicts arise when a genetic element favours its own transmission to the detriment of others. Conflicts over sex chromosome transmission are expected to have influenced genome structure, gene regulation, and speciation. In the mouse, the existence of an intragenomic conflict between X- and Y-linked multicopy genes has long been suggested but never demonstrated. The Y-encoded multicopy gene Sly has been shown to have a predominant role in the epigenetic repression of post meiotic sex chromatin (PMSC) and, as such, represses X and Y genes, among which are its X-linked homologs Slx and Slxl1. Here, we produced mice that are deficient for both Sly and Slx/Slxl1 and observed that Slx/Slxl1 has an opposite role to that of Sly, in that it stimulates XY gene expression in spermatids. Slx/Slxl1 deficiency rescues the sperm differentiation defects and near sterility caused by Sly deficiency and vice versa. Slx/Slxl1 deficiency also causes a sex ratio distortion towards the production of male offspring that is corrected by Sly deficiency. All in all, our data show that Slx/Slxl1 and Sly have antagonistic effects during sperm differentiation and are involved in a postmeiotic intragenomic conflict that causes segregation distortion and male sterility. This is undoubtedly what drove the massive gene amplification on the mouse X and Y chromosomes. It may also be at the basis of cases of F1 male hybrid sterility where the balance between Slx/Slxl1 and Sly copy number, and therefore expression, is disrupted. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first demonstration of a competition occurring between X and Y related genes in mammals. It also provides a biological basis for the concept that intragenomic conflict is an important evolutionary force which impacts on gene expression, genome structure, and speciation

    Characterization of Zinc Nanoferrite Doped HPMC Polymers Using X-Ray Diffraction

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    HPMC Polymer composites were prepared by doping various concentrations of Zinc ferrite nanoparticles using solution casting method. These polymer composites were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction and conductivity measurements. The addition of nanoferrites in the polymer matrix do change the structural and the AC conductivity properties of the film, which is supported by the results obtained and they are discussed briefly in this paper

    A Study of the Mechanical Properties of Indium Phosphide (InP) Based Mems Structures

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    Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

    The multicopy gene Sly represses the sex chromosomes in the male mouse germline after meiosis.

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    Studies of mice with Y chromosome long arm deficiencies suggest that the male-specific region (MSYq) encodes information required for sperm differentiation and postmeiotic sex chromatin repression (PSCR). Several genes have been identified on MSYq, but because they are present in more than 40 copies each, their functions cannot be investigated using traditional gene targeting. Here, we generate transgenic mice producing small interfering RNAs that specifically target the transcripts of the MSYq-encoded multicopy gene Sly (Sycp3-like Y-linked). Microarray analyses performed on these Sly-deficient males and on MSYq-deficient males show a remarkable up-regulation of sex chromosome genes in spermatids. SLY protein colocalizes with the X and Y chromatin in spermatids of normal males, and Sly deficiency leads to defective repressive marks on the sex chromatin, such as reduced levels of the heterochromatin protein CBX1 and of histone H3 methylated at lysine 9. Sly-deficient mice, just like MSYq-deficient mice, have severe impairment of sperm differentiation and are near sterile. We propose that their spermiogenesis phenotype is a consequence of the change in spermatid gene expression following Sly deficiency. To our knowledge, this is the first successful targeted disruption of the function of a multicopy gene (or of any Y gene). It shows that SLY has a predominant role in PSCR, either via direct interaction with the spermatid sex chromatin or via interaction with sex chromatin protein partners. Sly deficiency is the major underlying cause of the spectrum of anomalies identified 17 y ago in MSYq-deficient males. Our results also suggest that the expansion of sex-linked spermatid-expressed genes in mouse is a consequence of the enhancement of PSCR that accompanies Sly amplification

    Profile and feto-maternal outcomes of pregnant women with thyroid dysfunction: a prospective study from South India

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    Background: There is an increasing trend in the occurrence of thyroid disorders in pregnant women. Hyperthyroidism occurs in 0.2%-0.3% and can cause foetal loss, growth retardation, pre-eclampsia, and preterm delivery. Subclinical hyperthyroidism is found in 1.5 to 1.7% but has not been associated with adverse outcomes. Incidence of overt hypothyroidism ranges from 0.2 to 2.5% and Subclinical hypothyroidism from 2-7%.There is sparse data regarding this from South India.Methods: This was an observational, hospital based study. 1000 inpatients JSS Hospital, Mysore between November 2011 to July 2013 were studied. Included were inpatients of antenatal ward irrespective of age, parity and their gestational age. Excluded were unbooked cases in obstetric emergencies or cases in active labour. TSH estimation was done for all. If abnormal, T3 and T4 were done.Results: With respect to thyroid status 816 (81.6%) were euthyroid, 44 (4.4%) hypothyroid, 126 (12.6%) subclinical hypothyroidism and 14 (1.4%) were hyperthyroid. 53 (5.3%) had irregular cycles 57 (5.7%) had diabetes, 98 (9.8%) hypertension. 11.4% had diabetes in hypothyroid state had 5.8% had diabetes in euthyroid state. Hypertension in hypothyroid state was 5 out of 44 (11.4%), in those with subclinical hypothyroid state it was 13 out of 126 (10.3%) and euthyroid state was 9.8%. Significantly more patients in hypothyroid state needed cesarean section. The fetal anomalies detected were 4 cases of ventriculomegaly, 2 cases of hydrocephalus, 3 spina bifida, 4 cases of renal anomalies of which 1 was renal agenesis and 3 were polycystic kidneys.Conclusions: This study showed significant association between uncontrolled hypothyroidism and adverse fetomaternal outcome. Abnormal thyroid status was significantly associated with hypertension, diabetes, anaemia and fetal anomalies

    Mutation of interfacial residues disrupts subunit folding and particle assembly of Physalis mottle tymovirus

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    Virus-like particles (VLPs) serve as excellent model systems to identify the pathways of virus assembly. To gain insights into the assembly mechanisms of the Physalis mottle tymovirus (PhMV), six interfacial residues, identified based on the crystal structure of the native and recombinant capsids, were targeted for mutagenesis. The Q37E, Y67A, R68Q, D83A, I123A, and S145A mutants of the PhMV recombinant coat protein (rCP) expressed in Escherichia coli were soluble. However, except for the S145A mutant, which assembled into VLPs similar to that of wild type rCP capsids, all the other mutants failed to assemble into VLPs. Furthermore, the purified Q37E, Y67A, R68Q, D83A, and I123A rCP mutants existed essentially as partially folded monomers as revealed by sucrose density gradient analysis, circular dichroism, fluorescence, thermal, and urea denaturation studies. The rCP mutants locked into such conformations probably lack the structural signals/features that would allow them to assemble into capsids. Thus, the mutation of residues involved in inter-subunit interactions in PhMV disrupts both subunit folding and particle assembly

    A prospective study of functional evaluation of distal radius fracture by external fixator using the principle of ligamentotaxis

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    Background: Preservation of the articular congruity is the principal prerequisite for successful recovery following distal radius fractures. The best method of obtaining and maintaining an accurate restoration of articular anatomy however, remains a topic of considerable controversy. External fixation as a method of treatment for distal end of radius fracture has more than 60 years of documented clinical experience. The main aim of the study is to evaluate the results obtained by treatment of distal end radius fractures by external fixation using the principle of ligamentotaxis. Methods: In a prospective controlled study, 30 cases of distal end radius fractures with intra articular extension were treated with uniplanar bridging type of external fixation using the principle of ligamentotaxis. Mean age of the patients was 40.2 years, external fixator was applied for a mean duration of 6 weeks. Results: In this study there were 8 patients with excellent results comprising 27%, 14 patients with good results comprising 47%, 7 patients with fair results comprising 23%, 1 patient with poor results comprising 3%. Conclusions: In a prospective investigation, static external fixators were applied to 30 intra-articular fractures of the distal end of the radius. Fixator was kept up for a total of six weeks. The results were 8 excellent, 14 good, 7 fair, and 1 poor. Only one complication, pin loosening (10%), occurred. This series concludes that ligamentotaxis by external fixation consistently produces a good result in the management of intra-articular distal end of radius fractures in younger age groups (50 years)
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