Phylogenetic Tree Construction for Starfish and Primate Genomes via Alignment Free Methods

A phylogenetic tree is a tree like diagram showing the evolutionary relationship among various species based on their differences or similarity in their physical or genetic makeup.The similarity in their genetic makeup is traditionally measured based on pairwise distance between their gene sequences using sequence alignment methods. Due to the advancement in next generation sequencing technologies there is a huge amount of datasets available for partially or completely sequenced genomes. These massive datasets requires a faster comparison methods other than the traditional alignment-based approaches. Therefore, alignment free approaches are gaining popularity in recent years. In this thesis, we compare alignment-based and various alignment free methods for phylogenetic tree construction. The alignment free methods we study are based on k-mer frequency, Average Common Substring (ACS) and ACS with position restrictions and mismatches. The position restricted ACS is a novel contribution of this thesis. To evaluate performance of the alignment free approaches we applied it to phylogeny reconstruction using DNA ( 27 primate mitochondrial genomes) and protein (Starfish RNA-seq) sequence sets. The phylogenetic trees are constructed using Neighbor joining to the distance matrices obtained with the above mentioned alignment-free methods. The resulting phylogenetic trees are then compared with the reference tree using Branch Score Distance measure. Both the Neighbor joining and the Branch Score Distance Measure are calculated by using the programs neighbor and treedist from the PHYLIP package

Maternal socio-demographic determinants and fetal outcome of intrauterine growth restriction

Background: Intrauterine Growth Restriction is a major neonatal health issue. It is associated with increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Maternal factors are the major contributing factors of IUGR and studying these factors can help in preventing IUGR and reducing perinatal mortality. The objective is to study the maternal sociodemographic risk factors associated with Intra uterine growth restriction.Methods: This is a Case-control study conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GMC Thrissur. 115 cases of Intra Uterine Growth Restriction were compared to 115 controls. Data was collected by interviewing the mother using structured questionnaire which is pretested and by persual of antenatal records. Intra Uterine Growth Restriction is defined as occurring if the sonographic estimated fetal weight <10th percentile for that gestational age. Chi Square test was used for the analysis of data.Results: Low socio-economic status and malnutrition (BMI<18.5) were significant socio-demographic factors associated with fetal growth restriction. Mean birth weight in IUGR group was 1.8kg compared to 2.9kg in control group. Female fetuses were more commonly associated with IUGR. Intra Uterine Growth Restricted babies had lower Apgar scores (<7) and had more chances for NICU admission.Conclusions: By studying the maternal risk factors associated with Intra Uterine Growth Restriction, we could identify the high-risk group. Early predictive studies could be done in these high-risk pregnancies with focus on good antenatal care to reduce the problem of IUGR in the community

Impedance and modulus spectroscopy of ZrO2–TiO2–V2O5 nanocomposite

AbstractHigh-k ZrO2–V2O5–TiO2 nanocomposite prepared by coprecipitation-calcination method was investigated by impedance and modulus spectroscopy over a frequency range of 50 Hz–5 MHz, for different temperatures. Distinct peaks at characteristic frequencies were obtained. The shifting of the peaks towards high frequency with increase in temperature indicated a temperature dependent relaxation in the nanocomposite. Complex impedance formalism showed that the maximum value of the impedance decreases as temperature increases suggesting that the sample had negative temperature coefficient of resistance. The electric analysis confirms the findings of the impedance analysis. The fmax values for Z″ and M″ are different confirming non-Debye type of relaxation. The values of activation energies based on impedance and modulus relaxation were calculated and were equal to 1.02 eV and 0.51 eV respectively

Environmental Impacts of Sediment Nutrients in Hyper Eutrophic Reservoir in South India

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Prevalence and risk factors for depression among antenatal women during third trimester of pregnancy in a tertiary care centre

Background: With the rising incidence of Maternal deaths due to suicide as evident from reports of Kerala state confidential review of maternal deaths, there is a felt need for screening for depression in study antenatal population. Though there have been various screening tools used, a simplified tool validated in study population was not used in study antenatal women till now. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression among antenatal women admitted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Government Medical College, Thrissur and also to study the risk factors associated with depression in the study population.Methods: A questionnaire based cross sectional observational study was conducted among 100 antenatal women in their third trimester. PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to screen for depression and the information regarding risk factors was collected from the patient, her caregivers and from clinical records. Data analysis was done using EPI-INFO/SPSS software.Results: Prevalence of depression among hospitalized mothers: 53%. Most cases (70%) had: mild depression (PHQ Score: 5-9). Only very few (2%) of them had severe depression (PHQ score: more than 20). 9% had: moderately severe depression (PHQ score: 15-19). 19% had: moderate depression (PHQ score: 10-14). Statistically significant risk factors identified in this study were fetal gender preference, anxiety about labour process, anxiety about labour pain, anxiety about making the baby a part of their life and anxiety about baby’s health.Conclusions: The prevalence of depression among hospitalized mothers using PHQ-9 scale is high (53%). Screening for depression was found to be feasible and can be made a part of routine antenatal care so that appropriate interventions can be provided to improve maternal mental health and thereby prevent the maternal mortality occurring due to suicides

Zoning of groundwater potential in Amaravathy river basin, south India, by integrating remote sensing and GIS

1686-1692In the present study, an integrated approach of remote sensing and GIS is used to delineate the groundwater potential regions of Amaravathy river basin, Tamil Nadu, India. The thematic maps were prepared for delineating ground water potential regions, with relevant data of the basin on geomorphology, geology, slope, density of lineament and drainage, soils and land use patterns. The weighted overlay technique in spatial analysis tool of Arc GIS 10.3 was used to obtain and discuss the groundwater potential zones. According to the influence and movement of ground water, all parameters of thematic map were assigned with a ranking. Thirty five percent of the basin area has good groundwater potential, 45 % of the basin area is with moderate groundwater potential and 20 % of the basin area bear low groundwater potential

Assessment of groundwater potential using geospatial techniques for urbanized Mambakkam mini-watershed, Kancheepuram district, India

1856-1865Evaluation of groundwater potential and mapping using geospatial platform is crucial especially for semi-arid hard rock and coastal adjoining terrain to identify the zones of very good, good, moderate and poor groundwater potential. The Mambakkam mini watershed, Tamil Nadu (India) is situated towards the southern part of Chennai city. It is experiencing commercial development of groundwater in addition with escalating domestic and industrial demands. The present study is aimed to develop the mapping of groundwater potential zones for the selected urbanized watershed by using the remote sensing and geospatial techniques. Data like water level, water quality, rainfall, climatology and geophysical resistivity from various sources and satellite imageries have been used for this study to observe the changes on the sources of water resource system. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method was used for generating the thematic layers of rainfall, depth to bed rock, weathered rock, jointed rock and water levels. The generated village wise groundwater potential map has shown a vast spatial variability of ground water potential and the area that belongs to the “very good” potential category is quite less in the entire study area (12 %) which alarms the development of existing groundwater resource. The study concluded that considerable falling trend of groundwater level during pre-monsoon showing the alarming threat for further development. Thus the presented study identified the risk of groundwater development and provides guidelines to water resource mangers and village officials to recommend conservation and protection strategies against the uncontrolled commercial development especially on the identified poor groundwater potential zones

Subcutaneous zygomycosis caused by Mucor hiemalis in an immunocompetent patient

Zygomycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection with a high mortality rate. It is known to cause invasive disease in immunocompromised hosts but it may produce only cutaneous/ subcutaneous infections in immunocompetent hosts. Treatment is difficult due to its fulminant course and lack of effective anti-fungal drugs. Here, we report a rare case of subcutaneous zygomycosis caused by Mucor hiemalis in an immunocompetent patient without any debilitating illness. The patient was successfully treated by aggressive surgical debridement and anti-fungal therapy

Navigating the Field: Exploring Gendered Dimensions of Fieldwork

This essay seeks to explore the complexities inherent in fieldwork as a method. Drawing attention to its gendered dimension, I focus on the vulnerabilities researchers face&nbsp;– most notably sexualized harassment&nbsp;– that do not always feature in the discussion of fieldwork as a method. I argue that the ethnographic standards we ascribe to, often reify particular notions of good fieldwork – which obliterate the risks and unpleasant experiences researchers encounter. This is not to suggest that all fieldworkers experience vulnerabilities or are placed in positions of distress. As Kloß (2016) puts it, fieldwork is an exceptionally valuable methodology that allows us to learn and unlearn. That being said, there is an imminent need to unpack fieldwork and look at it from a non-male perspective. I situate the essay in this space, where I do not necessarily explore the contents of my research in particular, but shed light on the layered nature of fieldwork.This essay seeks to explore the complexities inherent in fieldwork as a method. Drawing attention to its gendered dimension, I focus on the vulnerabilities researchers face&nbsp;– most notably sexualized harassment&nbsp;– that do not always feature in the discussion of fieldwork as a method. I argue that the ethnographic standards we ascribe to, often reify particular notions of good fieldwork – which obliterate the risks and unpleasant experiences researchers encounter. This is not to suggest that all fieldworkers experience vulnerabilities or are placed in positions of distress. As Kloß (2016) puts it, fieldwork is an exceptionally valuable methodology that allows us to learn and unlearn. That being said, there is an imminent need to unpack fieldwork and look at it from a non-male perspective. I situate the essay in this space, where I do not necessarily explore the contents of my research in particular, but shed light on the layered nature of fieldwork.This essay seeks to explore the complexities inherent in fieldwork as a method. Drawing attention to its gendered dimension, I focus on the vulnerabilities researchers face&nbsp;– most notably sexualized harassment&nbsp;– that do not always feature in the discussion of fieldwork as a method. I argue that the ethnographic standards we ascribe to, often reify particular notions of good fieldwork – which obliterate the risks and unpleasant experiences researchers encounter. This is not to suggest that all fieldworkers experience vulnerabilities or are placed in positions of distress. As Kloß (2016) puts it, fieldwork is an exceptionally valuable methodology that allows us to learn and unlearn. That being said, there is an imminent need to unpack fieldwork and look at it from a non-male perspective. I situate the essay in this space, where I do not necessarily explore the contents of my research in particular, but shed light on the layered nature of fieldwork