Genetic variation and characterization of different linseed genotypes (Linum usitatissimum L.) for agro-morphological traits

Forty five linseed genotypes (local collection) were subjected to study the genetic variability at the Experimental Farm of the Department of Crop Improvement, CSK Himachal Pradesh KrishiVishvavidyalaya, Palampur, during rabi 2015-2016. Analysis of variance revealed that the differences among all the genotypes were significant for all the traits. Mean performance of genotype KLSA-15 for seed yield recorded highest contribution of 3.69 grams. The PCV values were greater than the GCV values for all the traits studied indicating that the apparent variation is not only due to genotypes but, also due to the influence of environment. The highest PCV (64.17) and GCV (64.09) were found for biological yield per plant. Higher estimates of PCV and GCV were obtained for primary branches per plant, secondary branches per plant, capsules per plant, biological yield per plant, harvest index (45.94 and 44.60) and seed yield per plant (52.39 and 50.94). All the characters studied in the present investigation expressed high heritability estimates ranging from 62.95 to 99.77 percent for technical height and biological yield per plant respectively. It was revealed that most of the traits under study showed low genetic advance, high heritability (94.23) and high genetic advance (31.06) was recorded for harvest index indicating predominance of additive gene action for this character. Simple selection based on phenotypic performance of this character would be more effective. The cluster analysis showed that the genotypes were placed into four clusters, showing inter-cluster divergence, which is important for future hybridization programme

Isolated IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis mimicking hilar cholangiocarcinoma: a case report of a challenging disease

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) has recently attracted attention worldwide; however, its diagnosis still remains challenging. It is an immune-mediated multisystem disease affecting a wide range of organs in the human body. Even though it's uncommon, IgG4-sclerosing cholangitis, which is a biliary manifestation of IgG4-RD, can happen without pancreatic involvement. Here, we report a case of a patient with imaging features typical of hilar cholangiocarcinoma, which eventually turned out to be IgG4 sclerosing cholangitis

Utility of Sea Surface Height anomaly (SSHa)in determination of Potential Fishing Zones

Physical processes in the oceans can be monitored by altimeters well before a radiometer can in terms of temperature or chlorophyll concentration. Herein we show the importance of Sea Surface Height anomaly (SSHa, retrieved with altimeter) in demarcating potential fishing zones. We also show how SSHa can help predict tuna movements, horizontally as well as vertically in the water column. Moreover, we prove these prediction with positively correlating SSHa to tuna hooking rates. In the end, we list out present and potential future sources from where SSHa can be retrieved in order to provide improved fishery advisories

Postinfectious cerebellar syndrome with paraneoplastic antibodies: An association or coincidence?

Cerebellar ataxia has a very broad differential diagnosis in adults, including paraneoplastic and postinfectious etiologies. We report a case of a 56-year-old male presented with right-sided cerebellar dysfunction preceded by fever and headache. He was diagnosed with subacute postinfectious cerebellar ataxia. Blood serology showed the presence of anti-amphiphysin and anti-Ri (ANNA-2, antineuronal nuclear autoantibody type 2) antibodies, which have a known association with cerebellar syndrome. The patient subsequently improved with the steroids. Although no evidence of an underlying tumor was found in the patient, the presence of the paraneoplastic antibodies remains a mystery. We suggest a probable association of these antibodies with the postinfectious cerebellar syndrome

Following tagged Yellowfin tuna along the east coast of India explains its feeding behavior: a case study in the Bay of Bengal

Horizontal movement of pelagic fish predator, Yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) tuna, in the oceanic waters of Bay of Bengal has been decoded. Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSATs) were attached to adult tunas to study their distribution and migration. For this, environmental satellite data were matched with the tag locations to understand and characterize habitats of this species. A sub-set of the tag data was selected corresponding to the maximum resident time of tuna indicated by a high density data points. The tagged tuna spent 60 to 70% of its time in the waters having surface temperature within 28o to 29.5oC and sea surface height anomaly within+5 to +12 cm. The tag positions were located on the satellite images; chlorophyll, sea surface temperature, zooplankton and sea surface height anomaly. The two conditions, specific range of temperature and prey abundance, were found necessary for aggregation of tuna

Automated Identification of Oceanic Fronts for Operational Generation of Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) Advisories

PFZs, are essentially the frontal structures as identified from the satellite images of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and chlorophyll concentration. These regions are known for fish aggregation and provide cost-effectiveness in offshore fishing operations. Subjective identification of fronts may lead to human-errors, non-negotiable beyond a limit. To overcome this, we propose utilization of tools that help automated identification of the frontal structures. This approach not only removes the errors, but also helps shorten the time period of the operational process-chai

SSR analysis to assess genetic diversity and population structure in parthenocarpy cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

The genetic diversity and population relationship was determined in 14 genotypes of parthenocarpic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) using simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. In this study, fifty-nine SSR markers comprehensively showed polymorphism among cucumber genotypes. Total 252 alleles were identified with an average of 4.27 alleles per locus, while the polymorphism information content (PIC) of the primers ranged from 0.34 to 0.84 with a mean value of 0.62. The major allele frequency and heterozygosity ranged from 0.21 to 0.75 and from 0.43 to 0.89, respectively. Maximum major allele frequency was reported with primer Cs- Female-4, whereas the maximum value of polymorphic information content was found with the primer SSR11742. The dendrogram clustered genotypes into two main groups A and B with 8 and 6 genotypes, respectively. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 0.63 to 0.86 with maximum similarity between genotypes DDPCG3 and PLP-1, whereas minimum similarity was observed between DDPCG8 and PLP Gy-1-08B. The population structure revealed three sub-populations with some admixtures. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) with SSR markers revealed that the genotypes were uniformly distributed across the two axes in both the plots with 41.76% of cumulative variation. The genetic divergence within indigenous genotypes allow genotypic identification, gene mapping and cloning for improvement in cucumber breeding

Plastics in the Indian Ocean – sources, transport, distribution, and impacts

Plastic debris is the most common and exponentially increasing human pollutant in the world's ocean. The distribution and impact of plastic in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans have been the subject of many publications but not so the Indian Ocean (IO). Some of the IO rim countries have the highest population densities globally and mismanagement of plastic waste is of concern in many of these rim states. Some of the most plastic-polluted rivers empty into the IO, with all this suggesting that the IO receives a tremendous amount of plastic debris each year. However, the concentration, distribution, and impacts of plastics in the IO are poorly understood as the region is under-sampled compared to other oceans. In this review, we discuss sources and sinks, which are specific to the IO. We also discuss unique atmospheric, oceanographic, and topographic features of the IO that control plastic distribution, such as reversing wind directions due to the monsoon, fronts, and upwelling regions. We identify hotspots of possible plastic accumulation in the IO, which differ between the two hemispheres. In the southern IO, plastics accumulate in a garbage patch in the subtropical gyre. However, this garbage patch is not well defined, and plastics may leak into the southern Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean. There is no subtropical gyre and associated garbage in the northern IO due to the presence of landmasses. Instead, the majority of buoyant plastics most likely end up on coastlines. Finally, we identify the vast knowledge gaps concerning plastics in the IO and point to the most pressing topics for future investigation