Genetic diversity among some productive genotypes of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

This research was done at Vegetable Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu during spring and summer seasons, 2007- 2009. D2-statistics revealed that β-carotene contributed maximally towards the genetic divergence followed by ascorbic acid, total soluble solids, alcohol insoluble solids, pericarp thickness, lycopene content and polygalacturonase activity. The 60 genotypes were grouped into 20 clusters. Fourteen (14) clusters were monogenotypic and cluster I possessed highest number of genotypes numbering 25. Out of 20 clusters, cluster VII is promising for minimum polygalacturonase activity and high average fruit weight, cluster VIII had highest number of locules per fruit, fruit yield per plant and yield per hectare and cluster XVII was superior for ascorbic acid. However, cluster XX was found promising for lycopene content, β-carotene and number of fruits per plants. The highest inter cluster D2 values were estimated between clusters XII and XX, followed by clusters XI and XX, clusters VII and XX, and clusters XV and XX, indicating that there is enough scope for the improvement of tomato crop by hybridization and selection.Key words: Genetic variability, genetic gain, heritability, tomato

The disproportionate case–fatality ratio of COVID-19 between countries with the highest vaccination rates and the rest of the world

Objectives: The global reported cumulative case–fatality ratios (rCFRs) and excess mortality rates of the 20 countries with the highest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates, the rest of the world and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) were compared before and after the commencement of vaccination programmes. Methods: A time series model was used to understand the trend of rCFR over time, and a generalized linear mixed model was used to understand the effect of vaccination on rCFR. Results: By 31 December 2022, an average of 260.3 doses of COVID-19 vaccine per 100 population had been administered in the top 20 vaccinated countries, compared with 152.1 doses in the rest of the world and 51.2 doses in SSA. The mean rCFR of COVID-19 had decreased by 69.0% in the top 20 vaccinated countries, 26.5% in the rest of the world and 7.6% in SSA. Excess mortality had decreased by 48.7% in the top 20 vaccinated countries, compared with 62.5% in the rest of the world and 60.7% in SSA. In a generalized linear mixed model, the reported number of vaccine doses administered (/100 population) (odds ratio 0.64) was associated with a steeper reduction in COVID-19 rCFR. Conclusions: Vaccine equity and faster roll-out across the world is critically important in reducing COVID-19 transmission and CFR

The disproportionate case-fatality ratio of COVID-19 between top vaccinated countries and the rest of the world

Objectives We compared the global reported cumulative case-fatality ratio (rCFR) and excess mortality between top-20 countries with COVID-19 vaccination rates, the rest of the world and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) before and after commencement of vaccination programmes. Methods We performed time series model to understand the trend of rCFR over time and performed generalized linear mixed model to understand role of vaccination on rCFR. Results By 31 December 2022, on average 260.3 doses of COVID-19 vaccines per 100 people had been administered in the top-20 vaccinated countries, compared to 152.1 doses in the rest of the world, and 51.2 in SSA. The mean rCFR of COVID-19 had dropped by 69.0% in the top in the top-20 vaccinated countries, 26.5% in the rest of the world and 7.6% in SSA. The excess mortality had dropped by 48.7% in top vaccinated countries compared to 62.5% in the rest of the world and 60.7% in SSA. In a generalized linear mixed model, reported number of vaccine doses administered doses (/100 population) (Odds ratio:0.64) was associated with a steeper reduction of the country's COVID-19 rCFR. Conclusions Vaccine equity and faster roll-out across the world is critically important in reducing COVID-19 transmission and CFR

The challenges of introducing a new biofungicide to the market: A case study

Background: Scientific literature contains many reports documenting the isolation and antagonist-testing of microorganisms with the potential for biological control in agriculture, however, very few have addressed all aspects involved in the long process that occurs before a potential strain, found and tested in laboratory, can reach commercialization. Results: After a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary effort to develop a biological control agent with remarkable technical characteristics and performance, the fungicide Fungifree AB\uae was recently introduced in Mexican market. This product that has no chemical residues and is environmentally friendly which can be used by mango, avocado, papaya and citrus fruits (and other crops in the short term) producers to increase crops quality, and therefore, to access world markets. Conclusions: The successful introduction of Fungifree AB\uae in the Mexican market has been the result of a wide variety of factors: remarkable product technical characteristics, researchers\' high scientific level, mango producers and exporters\' interest in testing the product and commercial companies interested in its distribution

Reduced Health-Related Quality of Life in Elders with Frailty: A Cross-Sectional Study of Community-Dwelling Elders in Taiwan

PURPOSE: Exploring the domains and degrees of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) that are affected by the frailty of elders will help clinicians understand the impact of frailty. This association has not been investigated in community-dwelling elders. Therefore, we examined the domains and degree of HRQOL of elders with frailty in the community in Taiwan. METHODS: A total of 933 subjects aged 65 years and over were recruited in 2009 from a metropolitan city in Taiwan. Using an adoption of the Fried criteria, frailty was defined by five components: shrinking, weakness, poor endurance and energy, slowness, and low physical activity level. HRQOL was assessed by the short form 36 (SF-36). The multiple linear regression model was used to test the independent effects of frailty on HRQOL. RESULTS: After multivariate adjustment, elders without frailty reported significantly better health than did the pre-frail and frail elders on all scales, and the pre-frail elders reported better health than did the frail elders for all scales except the scales of role limitation due to physical and emotional problems and the Mental Component Summary (MCS). The significantly negative differences between frail and robust elders ranged from 3.58 points for the MCS to 22.92 points for the physical functioning scale. The magnitude of the effects of frail components was largest for poor endurance and energy, and next was for slowness. The percentages of the variations of these 10 scales explained by all factors in the models ranged from 11.1% (scale of role limitation due to emotional problems) to 49.1% (scale of bodily pain). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the disabilities in physical health inherent in frailty are linked to a reduction in HRQOL. Such an association between clinical measures and a generic measure of the HRQOL may offer clinicians new information to understand frailty and to conceptualize it within the broader context of disability

A knowledge-driven GIS modeling technique for groundwater potential mapping at the Upper Langat Basin, Malaysia.

The aim of this paper is to use a knowledge-driven expert-based geographical information system (GIS) model coupling with remote-sensing-derived parameters for groundwater potential mapping in an area of the Upper Langat Basin, Malaysia. In this study, nine groundwater storage controlling parameters that affect groundwater occurrences are derived from remotely sensed imagery, available maps, and associated databases. Those parameters are: lithology, slope, lineament, land use, soil, rainfall, drainage density, elevation, and geomorphology. Then the parameter layers were integrated and modeled using a knowledge-driven GIS of weighted linear combination. The weightage and score for each parameter and their classes are based on the Malaysian groundwater expert opinion survey. The predicted groundwater potential map was classified into four distinct zones based on the classification scheme designed by Department of Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia (JMG). The results showed that about 17% of the study area falls under low-potential zone, with 66% on moderate-potential zone, 15% with high-potential zone, and only 0.45% falls under very-high-potential zone. The results obtained in this study were validated with the groundwater borehole wells data compiled by the JMG and showed 76% of prediction accuracy. In addition statistical analysis indicated that hard rock dominant of the study area is controlled by secondary porosity such as distance from lineament and density of lineament. There are high correlations between area percentage of predicted groundwater potential zones and groundwater well yield. Results obtained from this study can be useful for future planning of groundwater exploration, planning and development by related agencies in Malaysia which provide a rapid method and reduce cost as well as less time consuming. The results may be also transferable to other areas of similar hydrological characteristics

Adenosine A1 receptor: Functional receptor-receptor interactions in the brain

Over the past decade, many lines of investigation have shown that receptor-mediated signaling exhibits greater diversity than previously appreciated. Signal diversity arises from numerous factors, which include the formation of receptor dimers and interplay between different receptors. Using adenosine A1 receptors as a paradigm of G protein-coupled receptors, this review focuses on how receptor-receptor interactions may contribute to regulation of the synaptic transmission within the central nervous system. The interactions with metabotropic dopamine, adenosine A2A, A3, neuropeptide Y, and purinergic P2Y1 receptors will be described in the first part. The second part deals with interactions between A1Rs and ionotropic receptors, especially GABAA, NMDA, and P2X receptors as well as ATP-sensitive K+ channels. Finally, the review will discuss new approaches towards treating neurological disorders

Controlling for Prior Attainment Reduces the Positive Influence that Single-Gender Classroom Initiatives Exert on High School Students’ Scholastic Achievements.

Research points to the positive impact that gender-segregated schooling and classroom initiatives exert on academic attainment. An evaluation of these studies which reveal positive effects highlights, however, that students are typically selectively assigned to single- or mixed-gender instructional settings, presenting a methodological confound. The current study controls for students’ prior attainment to appraise the efficacy of a single-gender classroom initiative implemented in a co-educational high school in the United Kingdom. Secondary data analysis (using archived data) was performed on 266 middle-ability, 11–12 year-old students’ standardized test scores in Languages (English, foreign language), STEM-related (Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology), and Non-STEM subjects (art, music, drama). Ninety-eight students (54, 55% female) were taught in single-gender and 168 (69, 41% female) in mixed-gender classrooms. Students undertook identical tests irrespective of classroom type, which were graded in accordance with U.K national curriculum guidelines. Controlling for students’ prior attainment, findings indicate that students do not appear to benefit from being taught in single-gender relative to mixed-gender classrooms in Language and STEM-related subjects. Young women benefitted from being taught in mixed-gender relative to single-gender classes for Non-STEM subjects. However, when prior ability is not controlled for, the intervention appears to be effective for all school subjects, highlighting the confounding influence of selective admissions. These findings suggest that gender-segregated classroom initiatives may not bolster students’ grades. It is argued that studies that do not control for selection effects may tell us little about the effectiveness of such interventions on scholastic achievement

HIVToolbox, an Integrated Web Application for Investigating HIV

Many bioinformatic databases and applications focus on a limited domain of knowledge federating links to information in other databases. This segregated data structure likely limits our ability to investigate and understand complex biological systems. To facilitate research, therefore, we have built HIVToolbox, which integrates much of the knowledge about HIV proteins and allows virologists and structural biologists to access sequence, structure, and functional relationships in an intuitive web application. HIV-1 integrase protein was used as a case study to show the utility of this application. We show how data integration facilitates identification of new questions and hypotheses much more rapid and convenient than current approaches using isolated repositories. Several new hypotheses for integrase were created as an example, and we experimentally confirmed a predicted CK2 phosphorylation site. Weblink: [http://hivtoolbox.bio-toolkit.com