Susceptibility and dilution effects of the kagome bi-layer geometrically frustrated network. A Ga-NMR study of SrCr_(9p)Ga_(12-9p)O_(19)

We present an extensive gallium NMR study of the geometrically frustrated kagome bi-layer compound SrCr_(9p)Ga_(12-9p)O_(19) (Cr^3+, S=3/2) over a broad Cr-concentration range (.72<p<.95). This allows us to probe locally the kagome bi-layer susceptibility and separate the intrinsic properties due to the geometric frustration from those related to the site dilution. Our major findings are: 1) The intrinsic kagome bi-layer susceptibility exhibits a maximum in temperature at 40-50 K and is robust to a dilution as high as ~20%. The maximum reveals the development of short range antiferromagnetic correlations; 2) At low-T, a highly dynamical state induces a strong wipe-out of the NMR intensity, regardless of dilution; 3) The low-T upturn observed in the macroscopic susceptibility is associated to paramagnetic defects which stem from the dilution of the kagome bi-layer. The low-T analysis of the NMR lineshape suggests that the defect can be associated with a staggered spin-response to the vacancies on the kagome bi-layer. This, altogether with the maximum in the kagome bi-layer susceptibility, is very similar to what is observed in most low-dimensional antiferromagnetic correlated systems; 4) The spin glass-like freezing observed at T_g=2-4 K is not driven by the dilution-induced defects.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figures, revised version resubmitted to PRB Minor modifications: Fig.11 and discussion in Sec.V on the NMR shif

Identification and Functional Characterization of G6PC2 Coding Variants Influencing Glycemic Traits Define an Effector Transcript at the G6PC2-ABCB11 Locus

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) for fasting glucose (FG) and insulin (FI) have identified common variant signals which explain 4.8% and 1.2% of trait variance, respectively. It is hypothesized that low-frequency and rare variants could contribute substantially to unexplained genetic variance. To test this, we analyzed exome-array data from up to 33,231 non-diabetic individuals of European ancestry. We found exome-wide significant (P&lt;5&times;10-7) evidence for two loci not previously highlighted by common variant GWAS: GLP1R (p.Ala316Thr, minor allele frequency (MAF)=1.5%) influencing FG levels, and URB2 (p.Glu594Val, MAF = 0.1%) influencing FI levels. Coding variant associations can highlight potential effector genes at (non-coding) GWAS signals. At the G6PC2/ABCB11 locus, we identified multiple coding variants in G6PC2 (p.Val219Leu, p.His177Tyr, and p.Tyr207Ser) influencing FG levels, conditionally independent of each other and the non-coding GWAS signal. In vitro assays demonstrate that these associated coding alleles result in reduced protein abundance via proteasomal degradation, establishing G6PC2 as an effector gene at this locus. Reconciliation of single-variant associations and functional effects was only possible when haplotype phase was considered. In contrast to earlier reports suggesting that, paradoxically, glucose-raising alleles at this locus are protective against type 2 diabetes (T2D), the p.Val219Leu G6PC2 variant displayed a modest but directionally consistent association with T2D risk. Coding variant associations for glycemic traits in GWAS signals highlight PCSK1, RREB1, and ZHX3 as likely effector transcripts. These coding variant association signals do not have a major impact on the trait variance explained, but they do provide valuable biological insights

A new strategy for enhancing imputation quality of rare variants from next-generation sequencing data via combining SNP and exome chip data

Background: Rare variants have gathered increasing attention as a possible alternative source of missing heritability. Since next generation sequencing technology is not yet cost-effective for large-scale genomic studies, a widely used alternative approach is imputation. However, the imputation approach may be limited by the low accuracy of the imputed rare variants. To improve imputation accuracy of rare variants, various approaches have been suggested, including increasing the sample size of the reference panel, using sequencing data from study-specific samples (i.e., specific populations), and using local reference panels by genotyping or sequencing a subset of study samples. While these approaches mainly utilize reference panels, imputation accuracy of rare variants can also be increased by using exome chips containing rare variants. The exome chip contains 250 K rare variants selected from the discovered variants of about 12,000 sequenced samples. If exome chip data are available for previously genotyped samples, the combined approach using a genotype panel of merged data, including exome chips and SNP chips, should increase the imputation accuracy of rare variants. Results: In this study, we describe a combined imputation which uses both exome chip and SNP chip data simultaneously as a genotype panel. The effectiveness and performance of the combined approach was demonstrated using a reference panel of 848 samples constructed using exome sequencing data from the T2D-GENES consortium and 5,349 sample genotype panels consisting of an exome chip and SNP chip. As a result, the combined approach increased imputation quality up to 11 %, and genomic coverage for rare variants up to 117.7 % (MAF < 1 %), compared to imputation using the SNP chip alone. Also, we investigated the systematic effect of reference panels on imputation quality using five reference panels and three genotype panels. The best performing approach was the combination of the study specific reference panel and the genotype panel of combined data. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that combined datasets, including SNP chips and exome chips, enhances both the imputation quality and genomic coverage of rare variants

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Not AvailableA vigilant study of the socio-economic conditions of livestock farmers is a precondition for the appropriate design and successful implementation of Governments’ developmental programmes. The study was conducted in North Goa district of Goa during 2015-16 to investigate the socioeconomic profiles of livestock farmers. For this, primary data was collected through structured questionnaire using a sample size of fifty respondents from Pernem block of North Goa district. Thus study was designed to appraise the socio-economic profile of livestock farmers in North Goa district. Results of the study revealed that majority of the farmers are maintaining nuclear family with less than five members. Most of the farmers belonged to marginal farmers’ categories who are involved in livestock activities. Majority of the farmers had low level of income, less access to institutional source of finance agricultural extension service and livestock possession. It is observed that more than half of the (69%) of the population are cattle in total livestock population. Livestock farmers have secondary and intermediate school level and more than half of the farmers involved in livestock farming belonged to middle age group. Due to low agricultural profitability, young people are not interested in agriculture and shift towards tourism and tourism related services. Agriculture profitability should be increased to retain the people in farming by providing access to credit, markets, extension service.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableA vigilant study of the socio-economic conditions of livestock farmers is a precondition for the appropriate design and successful implementation of Governments’ developmental programmes. The study was conducted in North Goa district of Goa during 2015-16 to investigate the socioeconomic profiles of livestock farmers. For this, primary data was collected through structured questionnaire using a sample size of fifty respondents from Pernem block of North Goa district. Thus study was designed to appraise the socio-economic profile of livestock farmers in North Goa district. Results of the study revealed that majority of the farmers are maintaining nuclear family with less than five members. Most of the farmers belonged to marginal farmers’ categories who are involved in livestock activities. Majority of the farmers had low level of income, less access to institutional source of finance agricultural extension service and livestock possession. It is observed that more than half of the (69%) of the population are cattle in total livestock population. Livestock farmers have secondary and intermediate school level and more than half of the farmers involved in livestock farming belonged to middle age group. Due to low agricultural profitability, young people are not interested in agriculture and shift towards tourism and tourism related services. Agriculture profitability should be increased to retain the people in farming by providing access to credit, markets, extension serviceNot Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableA vigilant study of the socio-economic conditions of livestock farmers is a precondition for the appropriate design and successful implementation of Governments’ developmental programmes. The study was conducted in North Goa district of Goa during 2015-16 to investigate the socioeconomic profiles of livestock farmers. For this, primary data was collected through structured questionnaire using a sample size of fifty respondents from Pernem block of North Goa district. Thus study was designed to appraise the socio-economic profile of livestock farmers in North Goa district. Results of the study revealed that majority of the farmers are maintaining nuclear family with less than five members. Most of the farmers belonged to marginal farmers’ categories who are involved in livestock activities. Majority of the farmers had low level of income, less access to institutional source of finance agricultural extension service and livestock possession. It is observed that more than half of the (69%) of the population are cattle in total livestock population. Livestock farmers have secondary and intermediate school level and more than half of the farmers involved in livestock farming belonged to middle age group. Due to low agricultural profitability, young people are not interested in agriculture and shift towards tourism and tourism related services. Agriculture profitability should be increased to retain the people in farming by providing access to credit, markets, extension service.Not Availabl

Factors impacting behavioural intentions to adopt the electronic marketplace: findings from small businesses in India

The pandemic has accelerated e-commerce adoption for both consumers and sellers. This study aims to identify factors critical to the adoption of electronic markets (EM) during the pandemic, from the perspective of small sellers in non-metro cities. The research design utilizes core dimensions of the UTAUT model and selected constructs from protection motivation theory; since business closure vulnerability also triggers electronic market adoption. A questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from 150 sellers from tier-II/III cities of India. Study results identified performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and perceived vulnerability as significant determinants of behavioural intention towards adoption of EM. The findings also explain the moderating impact of sellers' awareness of information technology and merchants’ age on behavioural outcomes. Given the growing demands from such cities, the research offers insights for marketers to understand the bottlenecks and ways to motivate small sellers to get associated with EMs

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