Determination of genetic polymorphism among indigenous and exotic maize inbreds using microsatellite markers

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal crop of different countries of world. Undoubtedly, the concerted efforts of plant breeders and their breeding strategies have helped to increase the production and productivity to the tune of two to three folds in many crops including maize. Hybrid cultivars have played a vital role in increasing the acreage and productivity of maize. The success in identifying heterotic hybrid in maize hybrid breeding depends on the availability of genetically diverse maize inbred lines developed from different heterotic gene pool. Hence, generation of information on variability of inbreds at genotypic level become necessary. Molecular markers have proven to be a valuable tool for assessing the genetic diversity in many crop species. Simple sequence repeats (SSR) are currently considered as the molecular markers of choice and are rapidly being adapted by plant researchers for precise estimation of diversity. SSR based molecular diversity analysis of 27 maize inbred lines had produced 23 polymorphic alleles from 10 markers with an average of 2.3 alleles per locus and mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.45. The dendrogram generated with hierarchical unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis revealed five major clusters at 0.62 similarity coefficient. The information on diversity of inbred lines generated in this study would be much useful in developing heterotic hybrids.Keywords: Maize, inbreds, marker diversity, simple sequence repeats (SSR)African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(39), pp. 5723-572

Global, regional, and national incidence of six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019

Background The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019. Methods We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. Findings In 2019, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease accounted 1.59%, 36.17%, 54.71%, 0.09%, 6.84%, 0.60% of overall new IMIDs cases, respectively. The ASR of IMIDs showed substantial regional and global variation with the highest in High SDI region, High-income North America, and United States of America. Throughout human lifespan, the age distribution of incident cases from six IMIDs was quite different. Globally, incident cases of IMIDs increased with an AAPC of 0.68 and the ASR decreased with an AAPC of −0.34 from 1990 to 2019. The incident cases increased across six IMIDs, the ASR of rheumatoid arthritis increased (0.21, 95% CI 0.18, 0.25), while the ASR of asthma (AAPC = −0.41), inflammatory bowel disease (AAPC = −0.72), multiple sclerosis (AAPC = −0.26), psoriasis (AAPC = −0.77), and atopic dermatitis (AAPC = −0.15) decreased. The ASR of overall and six individual IMID increased with SDI at regional and global level. Countries with higher ASR in 1990 experienced a more rapid decrease in ASR. Interpretation The incidence patterns of IMIDs varied considerably across the world. Innovative prevention and integrative management strategy are urgently needed to mitigate the increasing ASR of rheumatoid arthritis and upsurging new cases of other five IMIDs, respectively. Funding The Global Burden of Disease Study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project funded by Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2022QN38)

Shockwave Oscillations Over the Conical Heat Shield Region of a Typical Launch Vehicle at Mach 0.95

The occurrence of shock wave over the typical launch vehicle model with conical heat shield at a free-stream Mach number of 0.95 was studied using flow visualization techniques. Both oil flow pattern, as well as shadowgraph image techniques, have been used to trace the flow features over the model. The study was conducted at a various angle of attack from 0∘ to 4∘ in steps of 1∘. Instantaneous shadowgraph images of shock wave pattern over the surface of the conical heat shield region were captured using a highspeed camera. The image shows a series of compression weak waves which forms a standing normal shock wave on the heat shield region at angles of attack of 0∘, 1∘, and 2∘. Further increase in angle of attack, the normal shock wave splits into lambda-shaped shock pattern. At an angle of attack 3∘ and 4∘, shock-induced separation and reattachment process result in shock oscillations along the surface of constant heat shield cylindrical region. The frequency of shock wave oscillations was found to increase with the angle of attack from 3∘ to 4∘. The oil flow pattern clearly evident that the average distance covered during the shock oscillations

Chemical ordering in SixAsyTe100–x–ySi_xAs_yTe_{100–x–y} glasses

Tellurium-based glasses find application as electrical switching devices [1]. The formation of a crystalline filament between the electrodes has been observed in memory-type switching glasses after being switched to the conducting state from the high-resist-ance state [2]. This has led to the suggestion that the crystallization of these glasses could possibly be the mechanism behind the irreversible switching action observed in these materials. An understanding of the crystallization kinetics of these glasses is important in this respect. The thermal crystallization behaviour of Si-As-Te has not been well investigated. In this letter differential scanning calorimetry studies on $Si_{l0}As_xTe_{90_ x}$ $(10\leq x \leq50)$ and $Si_{15}AS_x-Te_{85-x}$ $(5\leq x \leq45)$ glasses are reported

Threshold behaviour in the nonisothermal properties of Ge-Sb-Se glasses

Differential scanning calorimetry studies have been performed on GexSb5Se95-x (12.5≤x≤35) and GexSb10Se90-x (10≤x≤32.5) glasses. The observed dependence of the glass transition temperature on the mean coordination number <r> up to <r>=2.60 and the maxima in the glass transition temperature and the activation energy of crystallisation at <r>=2.65 have been interpreted in terms of the mechanical and chemical thresholds occuring near these compositions