A Comparative Study on the Physicochemical Parameters of Camel and Buffalo Milk

This research work was carried out to compare the various physicochemical parameters of two species, camel and buffalo. Camel milk samples were collected at National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner and buffaloes milk samples were collected from the surroundings villages of Bikaner. After collection milk samples were brought to the laboratory of NRCC Bikaner and they were analyzed for fat, SNF (Solid Not Fat), protein, lactose, total ash and pH using milk analyzer (Lactoscan). Camel milk had 2.71±0.11 fat, 6.91±0.03 SNF, 2.23±0.02 protein, 3.86±0.02 lactose, 0.79±0.004 total ash and 6.95±0.01 pH while buffalo milk had 8.71±0.82 fat, 8.44±0.19 SNF, 4.11±0.02 protein, 4.46±0.15 lactose, 0.98±0.05 total ash and 7.59±0.02 pH. Fat, SNF, protein and pH of buffalo milk was significantly (P<0.001) higher than camel milk. Lactose and total ash in buffalo milk was also higher than camel milk but at P<0.05 level. So it can be concluded that all the studied parameters were high in buffalo milk than camel milk

Effect of Sm Doping on Structural and Dielectric Properties of CoFe2O4 Ferrite

Samarium doped cobalt ferrite, CoSmxFe2 – xO4 in which x varies as 0.0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 were synthesized by conventional solid state reaction method. The impact of samarium doping on structural and dielectric properties is studied. The phase formation is confirmed by using XRD technique. The reflection peak broadening increases with increase in Sm concentration. The grain size is calculated by using scanning electron microscope image. The variation in dielectric constant (ɛʼ) and dielectric loss (tanδ) as a function of frequency in the range 20 Hz to 1 MHz is studied. The dielectric constant is enhanced with increase in Sm concentration and decreases with increase in frequency

Comprehensive characterization and validation of chromosome-specific highly polymorphic SSR Markers from Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Tunisia Genome

The simple sequence repeat (SSR) survey of ‘Tunisia’ genome (296.85 Mb) identified a total of 365,279 perfect SSRs spanning eight chromosomes, with a mean marker density of 1,230.6 SSRs/Mb. We found a positive trend in chromosome length and the SSR abundance as marker density enhanced with a shorter chromosome length. The highest number of SSRs (60,708) was mined from chromosome 1 (55.56 Mb), whereas the highest marker density (1,294.62 SSRs/Mb) was recorded for the shortest chromosome 8 (27.99 Mb). Furthermore, we categorized all SSR motifs into three major classes based on their tract lengths. Across the eight chromosomes, the class III had maximum number of SSR motifs (301,684, 82.59%), followed by the class II (31,056, 8.50%) and the class I (5,003, 1.37%). Examination of the distribution of SSR motif types within a chromosome suggested the abundance of hexanucleotide repeats in each chromosome followed by dinucleotides, and these results are consistent with ‘Tunisia’ genome features as a whole. Concerning major repeat types, AT/AG was the most frequent (14.16%), followed by AAAAAT/AAAAAG (7.89%), A/C (7.54%), AAT/AAG (5.23%), AAAT/AAAG (4.37%), and AAAAT/AAAAG (1.2%) types. We designed and validated a total of 3,839 class I SSRs in the ‘Tunisia’ genome through electronic polymerase chain reaction (ePCR) and found 1,165 (30.34%) SSRs producing a single amplicon. Then, we selected 906 highly variable SSRs (> 40 nt) from the ePCR-verified class I SSRs and in silico validated across multiple draft genomes of pomegranate, which provided us a subset of 265 highly polymorphic SSRs. Of these, 235 primers were validated on six pomegranate genotypes through wet-lab experiment. We found 221 (94%) polymorphic SSRs on six genotypes, and 187 of these SSRs had ≥ 0.5 PIC values. The utility of the developed SSRs was demonstrated by analyzing genetic diversity of 30 pomegranate genotypes using 16 HvSSRs spanning eight pomegranate chromosomes. In summary, we developed a comprehensive set of highly polymorphic genome-wide SSRs. These chromosome-specific SSRs will serve as a powerful genomic tool to leverage future genetic studies, germplasm management, and genomics-assisted breeding in pomegranate

Biodegradable Chitosan-Based Ambroxol Hydrochloride Microspheres: Effect of Cross-Linking Agents

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of type of cross-linking method used on the properties of ambroxol hydrochloride microspheres such as encapsulation efficiency, particle size, and drug release. Microspheres were prepared by solvent evaporation technique using chitosan as a matrix-forming agent and cross-linked using formaldehyde and heat treatment. Morphological and physicochemical properties of microspheres were then investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy. The cross-linking of chitosan takes place at the free amino group because of formation of imine bond as evidenced by FTIR. The DSC, XRD, and FTIR analysis showed that chitosan microspheres cross linked by heating were superior in properties and performance as compared to the microspheres cross-linked using formaldehyde. SEM results revealed that heat-treated microspheres were spherical, discrete having smooth, and porous structure. The particle size and encapsulation efficiencies of the prepared chitosan microspheres ranged between 10.83–24.11 μm and 39.73μ80.56%, respectively. The drug release was extended up to 12 h, and the kinetics of the drug release was obeying Higuchi kinetic proving diffusion-controlled drug release

Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries

Childhood malnutrition is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally1. Undernourished children are more likely to experience cognitive, physical, and metabolic developmental impairments that can lead to later cardiovascular disease, reduced intellectual ability and school attainment, and reduced economic productivity in adulthood2. Child growth failure (CGF), expressed as stunting, wasting, and underweight in children under five years of age (0�59 months), is a specific subset of undernutrition characterized by insufficient height or weight against age-specific growth reference standards3�5. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, or underweight in children under five is the proportion of children with a height-for-age, weight-for-height, or weight-for-age z-score, respectively, that is more than two standard deviations below the World Health Organization�s median growth reference standards for a healthy population6. Subnational estimates of CGF report substantial heterogeneity within countries, but are available primarily at the first administrative level (for example, states or provinces)7; the uneven geographical distribution of CGF has motivated further calls for assessments that can match the local scale of many public health programmes8. Building from our previous work mapping CGF in Africa9, here we provide the first, to our knowledge, mapped high-spatial-resolution estimates of CGF indicators from 2000 to 2017 across 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 99 of affected children live1, aggregated to policy-relevant first and second (for example, districts or counties) administrative-level units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the ambitious World Health Organization Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40 and wasting to less than 5 by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and progress exist across and within countries; our maps identify high-prevalence areas even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning interventions that are adapted locally and in efficiently directing resources towards reducing CGF and its health implications. © 2020, The Author(s)

Erratum: "A Gravitational-wave Measurement of the Hubble Constant Following the Second Observing Run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo" (2021, ApJ, 909, 218)

[no abstract available

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h095%=3.47×10-25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering. © 2019 American Physical Society

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dysregulated in tumors, but only a handful are known to play pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferred lncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, oncogenes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) by modeling their effects on the activity of transcription factors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in 5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays. Our predictions included hundreds of candidate onco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancer lncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for the dysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and pathways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrate proof of concept, we showed that perturbations targeting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) and TUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysregulated cancer genes and altered proliferation of breast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis indicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregulated in a tumor-specific manner, some, including OIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergistically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumor contexts. Chiu et al. present a pan-cancer analysis of lncRNA regulatory interactions. They suggest that the dysregulation of hundreds of lncRNAs target and alter the expression of cancer genes and pathways in each tumor context. This implies that hundreds of lncRNAs can alter tumor phenotypes in each tumor context