Analysis of growth rate and supply response of cocoa in Tamil Nadu, India: Nerlovian adjustment model

The present study focussed on the growth rate of area, production and productivity of cocoa in Tamil Nadu and estimated the impact of cocoa allocation decision, price variation and its supply in selected districts. The study employed the CAGR, Nerlovian model using the secondary data from 2011-12 to 2020-21. A positive significant growth in the area (40.24%) and production (34.60%) was witnessed in the Coimbatore district, while Thanjavur district showed a decline in the growth rate of cocoa. The area response concluded by lagged values of area and price significantly influenced the current year area in Coimbatore. The lagged productions were positively significant for both the districts and inferred that the increase in the price with one per cent level with the respective rise in price variability in Coimbatore district and opposite trend in Thanjavur district. The study suggested improving cocoa productivity and smoothing out variability in domestic prices can help boost farmers’ confidence in cocoa cultivation. The government provided the subsidy for transportation of the beans from one place to another, procurement centres in cocoa growing districts in Tamil Nadu and supplying the HYV to increase production, developing crop insurance schemes for cocoa during uncertain conditions and establishing facilities for the distribution of beans through Farmer Producer Companies (FPO), as well as attracting foreign consumers by improving bean quality

Subtyping of renal cortical neoplasms in fine needle aspiration biopsies using a decision tree based on genomic alterations detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization

Objectives: To improve the overall accuracy of diagnosis in needle biopsies of renal masses, especially small renal masses (SRMs), using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and to develop a renal cortical neoplasm classification decision tree based on genomic alterations detected by FISH. Patients and Methods: Ex vivo fine needle aspiration biopsies of 122 resected renal cortical neoplasms were subjected to FISH using a series of seven-probe sets to assess gain or loss of 10 chromosomes and rearrangement of the 11q13 locus. Using specimen (nephrectomy)-histology as the ‘gold standard’, a genomic aberration-based decision tree was generated to classify specimens. The diagnostic potential of the decision tree was assessed by comparing the FISH-based classification and biopsy histology with specimen histology. Results: Of the 114 biopsies diagnostic by either method, a higher diagnostic yield was achieved by FISH (92 and 96%) than histology alone (82 and 84%) in the 65 biopsies from SRMs (<4 cm) and 49 from larger masses, respectively. An optimized decision tree was constructed based on aberrations detected in eight chromosomes, by which the maximum concordance of classification achieved by FISH was 79%, irrespective of mass size. In SRMs, the overall sensitivity of diagnosis by FISH compared with histopathology was higher for benign oncocytoma, was similar for the chromophobe renal cell carcinoma subtype, and was lower for clear-cell and papillary subtypes. The diagnostic accuracy of classification of needle biopsy specimens (from SRMs) increased from 80% obtained by histology alone to 94% when combining histology and FISH. Conclusion: The present study suggests that a novel FISH assay developed by us has a role to play in assisting in the yield and accuracy of diagnosis of renal cortical neoplasms in needle biopsies in particular, and can help guide the clinical management of patients with SRMs that were non-diagnostic by histology

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Histone Chaperone Rtt106 Mediates the Cell Cycle Recruitment of SWI/SNF and RSC to the HIR-Dependent Histone Genes

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, three out of the four histone gene pairs (HTA1-HTB1, HHT1-HHF1, and HHT2-HHF2) are regulated by the HIR co-repressor complex. The histone chaperone Rtt106 has recently been shown to be present at these histone gene loci throughout the cell cycle in a HIR- and Asf1-dependent manner and involved in their transcriptional repression. The SWI/SNF and RSC chromatin remodeling complexes are both recruited to the HIR-dependent histone genes; SWI/SNF is required for their activation in S phase, whereas RSC is implicated in their repression outside of S phase. Even though their presence at the histone genes is dependent on the HIR complex, their specific recruitment has not been well characterized. In this study we focused on characterizing the role played by the histone chaperone Rtt106 in the cell cycle-dependent recruitment of SWI/SNF and RSC complexes to the histone genes.Using GST pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays, we showed that Rtt106 physically interacts with both the SWI/SNF and RSC complexes in vitro and in vivo. We then investigated the function of this interaction with respect to the recruitment of these complexes to HIR-dependent histone genes. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays (ChIP), we found that Rtt106 is important for the recruitment of both SWI/SNF and RSC complexes to the HIR-dependent histone genes. Furthermore, using synchronized cell cultures, we showed by ChIP assays that the Rtt106-dependent SWI/SNF recruitment to these histone gene loci is cell cycle regulated and restricted to late G1 phase just before the peak of histone gene expression in S phase.Overall, these data strongly suggest that the interaction between the histone chaperone Rtt106 and both the SWI/SNF and RSC chromatin remodeling complexes is important for the cell cycle regulated recruitment of these two complexes to the HIR-dependent histone genes

HP1-Mediated Formation of Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres-Associated PML Bodies Requires HIRA but Not ASF1a

Approximately 10% of cancers use recombination-mediated Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) instead of telomerase to prevent telomere shortening. A characteristic of cells that utilize ALT is the presence of ALT-associated PML nuclear bodies (APBs) containing (TTAGGG)n DNA, telomere binding proteins, DNA recombination proteins, and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1). The function of APBs is unknown and it is possible that they are functionally heterogeneous. Most ALT cells lack functional p53, and restoration of the p53/p21 pathway in these cells results in growth arrest/senescence and a substantial increase in the number of large APBs that is dependent on two HP1 isoforms, HP1α and HP1γ. Here we investigated the mechanism of HP1-mediated APB formation, and found that histone chaperones, HIRA and ASF1a, are present in APBs following activation of the p53/p21 pathway in ALT cells. HIRA and ASF1a were also found to colocalize inside PML bodies in normal fibroblasts approaching senescence, providing evidence for the existence of a senescence-associated ASF1a/HIRA complex inside PML bodies, consistent with a role for these proteins in induction of senescence in both normal and ALT cells. Moreover, knockdown of HIRA but not ASF1a significantly reduced p53-mediated induction of large APBs, with a concomitant reduction of large HP1 foci. We conclude that HIRA, in addition to its physical and functional association with ASF1a, plays a unique, ASF1a-independent role, which is required for the localization of HP1 to PML bodies and thus for APB formation

Comparative Analysis of Export Performance of Indian Cocoa during Pre and Post MIDH Periods

A progress of cocoa cultivation was focused on the objective of estimating the growth rate of export quantity and value of Indian cocoa and identifying the trade direction of Indian cocoa. The study was based on the secondary data for 15 years (2006-07 to 2020-21), separated into period I (Pre-MIDH) and period II (Post-MIDH). Compound growth rate used to estimate the export quantity and value, Markov chain analysis for probability changes of cocoa exports to the major markets. The study found that the share of cocoa exports in agricultural exports in terms of value increased from 5.25% in 2011-12 to 10.83% in 2020–21 for the last decade of the study. The growth rate analysis, export quantity and value increased in the both periods. The transition probability matrix showed that Nepal was the most stable importing market for Indian cocoa in a period I, whereas the USA and Turkey were stable importers in period II. The other markets retained a probability share with a low probability and were considered unstable markets. Hence, the study concluded that a robust export policy is responsible for stabilizing the international market, disseminate export-oriented strategies of cocoa beans to farmers, and raise the level of price competition for Indian cocoa abroad. The government sector is responsible for setting Premium cocoa prices, building large-scale processing plants with high production rates and facilities for farmers producers organisations (FPO) to distribute cocoa beans, and luring international buyers by improving the quality of the beans