Genetic diversity assessment in Indian cultivated pea (Pisum sativum L.) varieties using RAPD markers

In the present study, the genetic diversity and inter-relationships among 12 varieties of pea were analyzed by using RAPD markers. A total of 118 bands were generated with 20 RAPD primers, of which 107 bands were polymorphic (90.81%). The PIC value ranged from 0.602-0.863 with an average of 0.754. High level of polymorphism and low genetic similarity within pea varieties suggested that they have a high level of genetic diversity. Unique RAPD fragments (700bp-1500bp) were also observed in five varieties i.e., AP-01, Aparna, Uttra, Rachna and Rachna-1D. In the dendrogram, 12 varieties were broadly grouped into 2 main clusters consisting of 5 (Cluster-I) and 4 (Cluster-II) varieties, respectively, while other three varieties i.e., KPMR-522, Aparna and AP-03 were out of group. In cluster-I, Ambika and AP-01 and Rachna and Vikas showed 62% and 58% similarities whereas, HUDP-15 grouped with 56% similarities with rest two varieties. In cluster II, Uttara and Prakash showed maximum similarity (65%) whereas, Rachna1-D showed (58%) similarities with them. KPMR-400 showed 52% similarity in this group. KPMR-400, Aparna and AP-03 were more diverse in comparison to others. A two-dimensional plot generated from principal co-ordinate analysis of RAPD data also supported the clustering pattern of dendrogram. This study indicated the presence of high genetic diversity among pea varieties, which could be used for developing core collections of pea germplasm for breeding and germplasm management purposes

Comparative experimental and Density Functional Theory (DFT) study of the physical properties of MgB2 and AlB2

In present study, we report an inter-comparison of various physical and electronic properties of MgB2 and AlB2. Interestingly, the sign of S(T) is +ve for MgB2 the same is -ve for AlB2. This is consistent our band structure plots. We fitted the experimental specific heat of MgB2 to Debye Einstein model and estimated the value of Debye temperature (theta) and Sommerfeld constant (gamma) for electronic specific heat. Further, from gamma the electronic density of states (DOS) at Fermi level N(EF) is calculated. From the ratio of experimental N (EF) and the one being calculated from DFT, we obtained value of Lembda to be 1.84, thus placing MgB2 in the strong coupling BCS category. The electronic specific heat of MgB2 is also fitted below Tc using pi-model and found that it is a two gap superconductor. The calculated values of two gaps are in good agreement with earlier reports. Our results clearly demonstrate that the superconductivity of MgB2 is due to very large phonon contribution from its stretched lattice. The same two effects are obviously missing in AlB2 and hence it is not superconducting. DFT calculations demonstrated that for MgB2 the majority of states come from Sigma and Pi 2p states of boron on the other hand Sigma band at Fermi level for AlB2 is absent. This leads to a weak electron phonon coupling and also to hole deficiency as Pi bands are known to be of electron type and hence obviously the AlB2 is not superconducting. The DFT calculations are consistent with the measured physical properties of the studied borides, i.e., MgB2 and AlB2Comment: 16 pages Text + Figs: comments/suggestions welcome ([email protected])/www.freewebs.com/vpsawana

Species specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for identification of pig (Sus domesticus) meat

A highly specific single step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is described for the detection of pig (Sus  domesticus) meat. A PCR assay was successfully optimized for amplification of 629 and 322-bp DNA fragment extracted from pig meat using designed species-specific primer pairs based on mitochondrial D-loop and 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene, respectively. The optimized PCR assay was subsequently validated for its specificity with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig. PCR amplification of target DNA with pig-specific primers was repeated 15 times, with consistent results  observed. The specificity of pig-specific PCR provides a valuable tool for identification of pig meat and to avoid its fraudulent substitution and adulteration.Key words: Pig meat, adulteration, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), mitochondrial D-Loop, 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene

Coronary angiographic abnormalities in patients of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome

Background: Diabetes mellitus and Metabolic syndrome, both are established risk factors for CAD. In our study, we tried to compare the effects of these two diseases individually as well as their combined effect.Methods: we performed an Observational, cross-sectional, hospital-based, single center study on 240 patients presenting at our hospital with chest pain. we assessed the severity of CAD with Syntax score and divided the study population into three groups with SS of =33.Results: statistically significant difference was found in each of the first three groups of combined MS plus DM, only MS without DM, only DM without MS when compared with the fourth group of nondiabetics nonmetabolic syndrome patients. Strongest difference was found between patients with combined diabetes and metabolic syndrome with those who had none of these (<0.001). Thus, complexity of CAD is much severe in patients who have diabetes and/or metabolic syndrome.Conclusions: Patients having diabetes mellitus and/or metabolic syndrome are found to have more severe form of coronary artery disease than those who don’t have either of these. However, presence of both diabetes and metabolic syndrome has not been found to impose any significant additional risk than their isolated presence

A universal and stable metasurface for photonic quasi bound state in continuum coupled with two dimensional semiconductors

Strong coupling of excitons to optical cavity modes is of immense importance to understanding the fundamental physics of quantum electrodynamics at the nanoscale as well as for practical applications in quantum information technologies. There have been several attempts at achieving strong coupling between excitons in two dimensional semiconductors such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and photonic quasi-bound states in the continuum (BICs). We identify two gaps in the platforms for achieving strong coupling between TMDC excitons and photonic quasi-BICs: firstly, in the studies so far, different cavity architectures have been employed for coupling to different TMDCs. This would mean that typically, the fabrication process flow for the cavities will need to be modified as one moves from one TMDC to the other, which can limit the technological progress in the field. Secondly, there has been no discussion of the impact of fabrication imperfections in the studies on strong coupling of these subsystems so far. In this work, we address these two questions by optimizing a cavity with the same architecture which can couple to the four typical TMDCs (MoS$_2$, WS$_2$, MoSe$_2$, WSe$_2$) and perform a detailed investigation on the fabrication tolerance of the associated photonic quasi-BICs and their impact on strong coupling

Neuroadaptive incentivization in healthcare using Blockchain and IoT

Financially incentivizing health-related behaviors can improve health record outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Blockchain and IoT technologies can be used to develop safe and transparent incentive schemes in healthcare. IoT devices, such as body sensor networks and wearable sensors, etc. connect the physical and digital world making it easier to collect useful health-related data for further analysis. There are, however, many security and privacy issues with the use of IoT. Some of these IoT security issues can be alleviated using Blockchain technology. Incorporating neuroadaptive technology can result in more personalized and effective therapies using machine learning algorithms and real-time feedback. The research investigates the possibilities of neuroadaptive incentivization in healthcare using Blockchain and IoT on patient health records. The core idea is to incentivize patients to keep their health parameters within standard range thereby reducing the load on healthcare system. In summary, we have presented a proof of concept for neuroadaptive incentivization in healthcare using Blockchain and IoT and discuss various applications and implementation challenges

Assessment of pulmonary function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a case-control study

Background:As other microvascular complications, respiratory involvement is far less studied among patients with type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Objective: to study the extent of pulmonary function limitation among patients with type-2 DM.  Methods:Hospital based matched case-control study.Results:Total of 90 cases and 90 controls matched for age, sex, height and weight were recruited. Patients with DM had neuropathy [63.3% (57; male=27: Female: 30)], retinopathy [44.4% (40; male=22: Female: 18)], nephropathy [41.1% (37; male=17: Female: 20)] and microalbuminuria [14.4% (13; male=5: Female: 8)]. All cases and 88 controls observed with FEV1:FVC ratio of >70.0%, further assessment for delineation of normal and restrictive pattern patients with high level of predicted values of FEV1 as compare to FVC showed that significantly (P = 0.00) more (Cases: 76.6%; Controls: 42.2%) cases had FEV1 >FVC predicted levels as compare to controls, means among diabetics odds of restrictive pattern of lung abnormality is four times (OR: 4.4; CI: 2.3-8.5) more as compare to non-diabetics. In addition a long duration of DM was significantly (r: 0.39; P = 0.00) positively correlated with lung dysfunction.  Conclusion: Patients with type 2 DM patients as compare to its controls observed with restrictive pattern of lung dysfunction.

Effect of sintering temperature on the nature of weak links and flux pinning mechanism in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 superconductor

AC and DC susceptibility study is carried out to investigate the granular nature of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 superconductor. Presence of weak links and flux pinning phenomena are two important implications of granular type II high temperature superconductors. Weak links manifested as Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) / Superconductor-Normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson Junctions are investigated from the temperature and field dependence study of AC susceptibility. On the other hand, DC susceptibility measurement is used to study the flux pinning mechanism. Mechanism of flux pinning is dependent on the nature and size of the pinning centres as well as on the microstructure wavelength. Thus, the nature of grain boundaries plays an important role in determining the nature of pinning mechanism of flux lines. In the present work, effect of sintering temperature on the nature of weak links and flux pinning mechanism in the bulk polycrystalline sample of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 superconductor is studied

Management of foot and mouth disease in a dairy farm: By ethnoveterinary practice

Gruel feeding remitted in rapid recovery of foot and mouth disease (FMD) affected dairy cows. The gruel was prepared by cooking equal proportion of whole rice, wheat flour and finger millet flour in adequate quantity of water, jaggery (10%) and mineral mixture. Four organized dairy cattle farms, affected with FMD were selected, where animals at first and second dairy farms were fed gruel @ 2 kg/day for 20 days, at the third dairy farm 2 kg/ day/animal for 10 days and in the fourth farm no gruel was given. Wounds were sprayed with 1% KMnO4 solution and then applied with paste of honey (50%, v/v) and finger millet flour. Topical application of honey- finger millet flour paste, remitted in observation of pain relief in cows having tongue lesions and healing of the tongue/mouth wounds in 3 days thereby enabling the cows to resume eating. The per cent drop in milk yield in FMD affected cows in the first, second, third and fourth dairy farms was 85, 67, 45 and 81 respectively, regain by 80– 100 % in the treatment group after 16 to 20 days post infection, while in untreated animals, only 50% milk yield could be achieved at day 30–35 post infection. Therefore, gruel being low cost, locally available and easy to apply at farm level for rapid relief to the affected cows and faster improvement in daily milk yield helps in improving economic status of small, marginal farmers or livestock holders