Spectrum of Paediatric Lysosomal Storage Disorders in Oman

Objectives: The aim of this study was to look at the spectrum of paediatric lysosomal disorders in Oman. Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a heterogeneous group of inherited metabolic diseases. Few studies on the birth prevalence and prevalence of LSDs have been reported from the Arabian Peninsula. Methods: We studied 86 children with LSDs diagnosed over a period of nine years, from June 1998 to May 2007. Detailed clinical data, including age of onset, sex, age and mode of first presentation, and presence of consanguinity were collected. Results: Our data showed the combined birth prevalence for all LSDs in Oman to be around 1 in 4,700 live births. Sphingolipidoses was the most common group of disorder encountered (47.7%), followed by neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) (23.2%) and mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) (23.2%). The proportion of consanguineous marriages in our series was found to be 87.5%. Conclusion: Our data represent the birth prevalence and clinicalspectrum of such disorders in Oman, one of the highly consanguineous societies in the Middle East.

Studies on Morphophysiological and Biochemical Parameters for Sucking Pest Tolerance in Organic Cotton

The demand for organic cotton is primarily driven by manufacturers and brands with a corporate focus on environmental and social responsibility. These entities strive to be responsible stewards by seeking organic cotton, which not only offers environmental benefits but also provides softer, more durable, and longer-lasting clothing. Unlike conventional cotton, organic cotton is processed without the use of harsh chemicals, making it more comfortable for individuals with sensitive skin. A study was conducted at the Center of Organic Agriculture Research and Training Center, Department of Agronomy, Dr. PDKV, Akola, Maharashtra, India to evaluate 22 cotton genotypes, including control samples, using a randomized block design with three replications during the kharif (June–October) season in the years 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, under complete organic conditions. During the initial year of the study (2019–2020), visual observations were made to assess the incidence of sucking pests on the cotton genotypes’ leaves, including the top, middle, and bottom portions. The observations indicated promising results, leading to a more detailed study in the subsequent year (2020–2021). This extended study identified several tolerant genotypes to sucking pests, such as AV-G11, PA-255, GA-8004, AV-C14, and AV-G13 from the arboreum species, as well as AKH-09-5, a hirsutum cultivar. Among the recorded data, it was found that the lowest mean aphid population occurred at 90 days after sowing (DAS), with only 1.53 aphids per leaf. Similarly, the lowest mean populations of Cicadellidae, thrips, and whitefly were recorded at 0.75, 0.97, and 0.63 per leaf, respectively, all at 30 DAS. Microscopic analysis of trichome density and gossypol glands revealed a negative and significant correlation with Aphis gossypi (aphids), Cicadellidae sp. (Cicadellidae), and Thrips tabaci (thrips). However, a positive and significant correlation was found with Bemesia tabaci (whitefly). Furthermore, the estimation of total soluble sugar using the Anthrone method, total nitrogen, and crude protein showed positive and significant correlations with aphids, Cicadellidae, and thrips, but negative, significant correlations with whitefly. The findings indicate that higher trichome density provides greater resistance to sucking pest infestation. It was concluded that G. arboreum genotypes exhibit greater tolerance to sucking pests compared to G. hirsutum varieties. This implies that G. arboreum varieties may require less intensive pest management, aligning with organic farming principles. The discovery of these genotypes opens up possibilities for utilizing them as sustainable and pest-resistant options in cotton cultivation, promoting environmentally friendly and organic farming practices in cotton fiber production

Tigers of Sundarbans in India: Is the Population a Separate Conservation Unit?

The Sundarbans tiger inhabits a unique mangrove habitat and are morphologically distinct from the recognized tiger subspecies in terms of skull morphometrics and body size. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess their ecological and genetic distinctiveness and determine if Sundarbans tigers should be defined and managed as separate conservation unit. We utilized nine microsatellites and 3 kb from four mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes to estimate genetic variability, population structure, demographic parameters and visualize historic and contemporary connectivity among tiger populations from Sundarbans and mainland India. We also evaluated the traits that determine exchangeability or adaptive differences among tiger populations. Data from both markers suggest that Sundarbans tiger is not a separate tiger subspecies and should be regarded as Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris) subspecies. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA data revealed reciprocal monophyly. Genetic differentiation was found stronger for mtDNA than nuclear DNA. Microsatellite markers indicated low genetic variation in Sundarbans tigers (He= 0.58) as compared to other mainland populations, such as northern and Peninsular (Hebetween 0.67- 0.70). Molecular data supports migration between mainland and Sundarbans populations until very recent times. We attribute this reduction in gene flow to accelerated fragmentation and habitat alteration in the landscape over the past few centuries. Demographic analyses suggest that Sundarbans tigers have diverged recently from peninsular tiger population within last 2000 years. Sundarbans tigers are the most divergent group of Bengal tigers, and ecologically non-exchangeable with other tiger populations, and thus should be managed as a separate "evolutionarily significant unit" (ESU) following the adaptive evolutionary conservation (AEC) concept.Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun (India)

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

High performance liquid chromatographic analysis of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant properties from different cultivars of Cyamopsis tetragonaloba (L.) Taub

Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonaloba (L.) Taub) is an annual legume plant and an important source of guar gum, which has great industrial and medicinal value due to phenolic compounds. Thus the consumption of guar and its products has been associated with a reduction in the risk of contracting some types of cancer and other chronic diseases. Phenolic compounds or polyphenols act as antioxidants with mechanisms involving both free radical scavenging and metal chelation. Thus, fifteen different cultivars of the cluster bean leaves i.e. Cyamopsis tetragonaloba (L.) Taub were evaluated for their content of phenolic acids and flavonoids using optimized high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. These cultivars were also analyzed for antioxidant property using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) activity. Rajasthan guar cultivar-1031 (RGC-1031) showed higher phenolic contents along with better antioxidant property. These results were also confirmed with HPLC where ten phenolic/flavonoid compounds were detected and quantified at varying levels in leaves of different cultivars of guar. Polyphenols such as sinapic acid, cholorogenic acid, caffeic acid, gallic acids and ferulic acid were detected with binary mode of pumps within 10 min with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min where as flavanoids like kaempferol and myricetin were also identified showing variations among all cultivars. The total phenolic contents and total flavonoid contents in all cultivar were in the range 60.03 to 204.67 mg GAE/g and 4.26 to 12.43 mg QE/g, respectively. In particular, the cultivar RGC-1031 showed the highest content while Local-Selection showed the least content of the total polyphenols. Kaempferol was found to be major constituent in the studied guar cultivars than other phenolics. The extensive variability was observed in polyphenols among fifteen cultivars of guar. The Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that Local-Selection contained higher kaempferol and myricetin, while Pusa Selection-1 recorded higher cholorogenic acid and kaempferol

Evaluation of Storage Stability Leaf Curl Resistant Cultivars for Producing Dehydrated Tomato

ABSTRACT Cut tomatoes of four disease resistant cultivars salted or unsalted were hot air or sun dried. Retention of vitamin C and lycopene was determined. Dried tomato samples were stored in PET jars for a period of 3 months. Retention of lycopene and moisture was determined in the stored samples. Safety of the samples was assessed by determining bacterial and mold population in the samples. Vitamin C and Lycopene contents were higher in the oven dried samples. Vitamin C ranged from 60.01 to 66.43 and 68.04 to 72.85 mg/100g and lycopene contents were respectively 50.93 to 56.24 and 63.52 -67.16 mg/100g in sun dried samples and oven dried samples. At the end of the storage period of 3 months the dehydrated tomato samples treated with salt had lower lycopene degradation 8 -13 per cent as compared to the samples without salt 21 -25 per cent in both sun dried and oven dried samples. The bacteria and mold counts were slightly less in oven dried samples as compared to sun dried sample. Both oven drying as well as salting exerted a beneficial effect to storage of products

Hadoop Spark Based Hydrogen Bond Analysis Tool (H-BAT) for Molecular Dynamics Simulation Trajectory Data

Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computational technique that works on the Newton\u27s equations of motion to study the dynamics of various biomolecules and, is commonly used by structural biologists. With the development of advanced simulation techniques and increasing computing power, large amounts of data are being generated from these simulations. Various enhanced sampling techniques are currently being used, that are able to capture rare events and generate simulation data in the form of multiple trajectories. Analyzing the simulation trajectory data and extracting meaningful information using the traditional sequential post-simulation data analysis methods are becoming increasingly untenable. Currently, molecular dynamics simulation algorithms that are scalable on high-performance computing clusters are available which generate a huge amount of MD data in short span of time. The need of the hour lies in developing a advanced and high-performance analytics platform based tool that can analyze this huge simulation data in a faster and more efficient way. The Hadoop Spark framework, provides an excellent platform that meets these requirements of handling large amounts of data parallely and perform analytics with high scalability. In this study, a tool name H-BAT has been developed using the Hadoop Spark platform to calculate hydrogen bonding within all solute-solute, solute-solvent and solvent-solvent molecules in large MD simulation trajectories. Vector geometry has been used for calculation of angle and distance between the atoms which are present in the form of triplets of filtered atoms taking part in hydrogen bond formation. The benchmarking was performed up to a data size of 48 GB which showed linear scalability. Additionally, the tool is capable of handling multiple similar trajectories simultaneously. Future enhancement of the tool would include various other analysis like normal mode analysis, RMSD, 2DRMSD and Water Density Analysis using the Hadoop Spark framework.<br /