Farmers’ Income and the Driving Forces for the Switch from Shifting Cultivation to Settled Agriculture in Meghalaya, India

This study assesses the dependence of farmers on semi-settled (a combination of shifting and settled cultivation) and settled agriculture as a source of family income. The farmers residing in the hilly tracts of West Garo Hills mostly adopt semi-settled cultivation. Farmers are also transitioning from semi-settled to settled agriculture. This study was conducted to investigate the factors influencing the transition and the socioeconomic conditions of farmers practicing semi-settled and settled agriculture. The researchers surveyed 119 randomly selected households in West Garo Hills, a district of Meghalaya, India, using a structured questionnaire. Exploration of influencing factors for transitioning is important to provide insights into how factors interact, thereby facilitating the development of effective adaptation strategies and policies that will ensure farmers’ future well-being. Results showed that settled farmers generate more income and possess more land area than semi-settled farmers. Besides available land area, a stable source of income for a family is a strong determinant for abandoning shifting cultivation and transitioning to settled agriculture to boost income with less time investment and labor. The farmers found that shifting cultivation helped meet their dietary needs and some income during the COVID-19 lockdown. Alongside efforts to boost commercial agriculture, the government should also assist farmers with limited resources in transitioning to settled agriculture by building market networks for the goods produced from shifting cultivation

Paternal Genetic History of the Basque Population of Spain

This study examines the genetic variation in Basque Y chromosome lineages using data on 12 Y-short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a sample of 158 males from four Basque provinces of Spain (Alava, Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, and Navarre). As reported in previous studies, the Basques are characterized by high frequencies of haplogroup R1b (83%). AMOVA analysis demonstrates genetic homogeneity, with a small but significant amount of genetic structure between provinces (Y-short tandem repeat loci STRs: 1.71%, p 0.0369). Gene and haplotype diversity levels in the Basque population are on the low end of the European distribution (gene diversity: 0.4268; haplotype diversity: 0.9421). Post-Neolithic contribution to the paternal Basque gene pool was estimated by measuring the proportion of those haplogroups with a Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA) previously dated either prior (R1b, I2a2) or subsequent to (E1b1b, G2a, J2a) the Neolithic. Based on these estimates, the Basque provinces show varying degrees of post-Neolithic contribution in the paternal lineages (10.9% in the combined sample)

Autosomal short tandem repeat genetic variation of the Basques in Spain

Aim To examine population genetic structure and hypotheses of the origin of the modern Basque population in Spain using autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) data from individuals living in 27 mountain villages in the provinces of Alava, Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, and Navarre, by comparing Basque autosomal STR variation with that of neighboring populations in Europe, as well as proposed ancestral populations in North Africa and the Caucasus. Methods Allele frequencies for 9 autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D18S51, D21S11, FGA, and vWA) and several population genetic parameters were determined for the 4 provinces in the Basque region of Spain (n = 377). Heterozygosity within the Basque population was measured using a locus-by-locus analysis of molecular variance. Relationships between the Basques and other populations were examined using a multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot of Shriver’s DSW distance matrix. Results Heterozygosity levels in the Basque provinces were on the low end of the European distribution (0.805-0.812). The MDS plot of genetic distances revealed that the Basques differed from both the Caucasian and North African populations with respect to autosomal STR variation. Conclusions Autosomal STR analysis does not support the hypotheses of a recent common ancestor between the Basques and populations either from the Caucasus or North Africa.Funding This work is supported in part by National Geographic Society Grant (Project 6935-00) to the University of Kansas Laboratory of Biological Anthropology

Determining the antioxidant activity of certain medicinal plants of Sonitpur, (Assam), India using DPPH assay

As part of a screening program for biologically active compounds in medicinal plants of northeast India, twelve plants were investigated for their phytochemical screening and anti-oxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was estimated by using 2, 2- diphenyl-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical assay. Oroxylum indicum, Ipomoea aquatica and Moringa oleifera exhibited strong antioxidant activity as compared to other plants. Oroxylum indicum showed the highest antioxidant activity. The present study indicated that these plants are of therapeutic potential due to their high free-radical scavenging activity. The role of phytochemical constituents of these important medicinal plants in traditional medicine treatment is discussed

BOX-BEHNKEN DESIGN APPROACH TO DEVELOP NANO-VESICULAR HERBAL GEL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SKIN CANCER IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODEL

Objective: To manage the increasing burden of skin cancer cases globally and to replace conventional invasive treatments and their side effects, the present study is aimed to develop a transfersomal herbal gel of Green Tea Catechins (GTC) extracted from indigenous green tea and evaluate it for in vivo management of skin cancer in an experimental animal model. Methods: GTC-loaded transfersomes (GTCTF) were prepared by the thin-film hydration method. After optimizing the GTCTFs using the Box-Behnken design, they were characterized for zeta potential, structure, in vitro drug release, and in vitro skin permeation. Carbopol 940 gel was developed for the topical delivery of GTCTF and characterized for pH, viscosity, spreadability and in vitro skin permeation. In vitro MTT assay and in vivo chemopreventive and anticancer efficacy of the GTCTF gel were evaluated in mice. Results: The GTCTF has shown a particle size of 151.4±1.9 nm, entrapment efficiency of 68.25±0.06 %, and drug loading of 10.41±0.02 %. The in vitro MTT assay in B16F10 melanoma cell lines showed promising anticancer efficacy of the GTCTF. GTCTF gel was found suitable for topical delivery with favorable pH, viscosity, spreadability, and permeability and effective in preventing and curing skin cancer in mice, with a significant reduction of tissue biochemical parameters like TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Conclusion: Collectively, successful prevention and curing of the induced skin cancer in the experimental animal model by the GTCTF gel have established a novel herbal nanomedicine approach for the management of skin cancer

Monitoring tat peptide binding to TAR RNA by solid-state (31)P–(19)F REDOR NMR

Complexes of the HIV transactivation response element (TAR) RNA with the viral regulatory protein tat are of special interest due in particular to the plasticity of the RNA at this binding site and to the potential for therapeutic targeting of the interaction. We performed REDOR solid-state NMR experiments on lyophilized samples of a 29 nt HIV-1 TAR construct to measure conformational changes in the tat-binding site concomitant with binding of a short peptide comprising the residues of the tat basic binding domain. Peptide binding was observed to produce a nearly 4 Å decrease in the separation between phosphorothioate and 2′F labels incorporated at A27 in the upper helix and U23 in the bulge, respectively, consistent with distance changes observed in previous solution NMR studies, and with models showing significant rearrangement in position of bulge residue U23 in the bound-form RNA. In addition to providing long-range constraints on free TAR and the TAR–tat complex, these results suggest that in RNAs known to undergo large deformations upon ligand binding, (31)P–(19)F REDOR measurements can also serve as an assay for complex formation in solid-state samples. To our knowledge, these experiments provide the first example of a solid-state NMR distance measurement in an RNA–peptide complex

Vanadium Dioxide Cathodes for High-Rate Photo-Rechargeable Zinc-Ion Batteries

Photovoltaics are an important source of renewable energy, but due the intermittent nature of insolation, solar cells usually need to be connected to rechargeable batteries, electrochemical capacitors or other energy storage devices, which adds to the complexity and cost of these systems. In this work, we report a cathode design for photo-rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (photo-ZIBs) that is inherently capable of harvesting sunlight to recharge without the need for external solar cells. The proposed photocathodes comprising a composite of vanadium dioxide nanorods and reduced graphene oxide, are engineered to provide the necessary charge separation and storage for photocharging under illumination. The photo-ZIBs achieve gravimetric capacities of ~ 282 mAh g-1 in the dark and ~ 315 mAh g-1 under illumination, at 200 mA g-1, demonstrating the use of light not only to charge the deceives, but additionally to enhance their capacity. The photo-ZIBs also demonstrate enhanced high-rate capabilities under illumination, as well as a capacity retention of ∼ 90% over 1000 cycles. The proposed photo-ZIBs demonstrate a promising new technology for addressing energy poverty, due to their high performance and inherent cost-efficiency and safety.Newton International Fellowship-Royal Society (UK) grant NIF∖R1∖181656 ERC Consolidator grant MIGHTY - 866005 EPSRC Graphene CDT EP/L016087/