Fundamental genomic unity of ethnic India is revealed by analysis of mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) profiles of 23 ethnic populations of India drawn from diverse cultural, linguistic and geographical backgrounds are presented. There is extensive sharing of a small number of mtDNA haplotypes, reconstructed on the basis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms, among the populations. This indicates that Indian populations were founded by a small number of females, possibly arriving on one of the early waves of out-of-Africa migration of modern humans; ethnic differentiation occurred subsequently through demographic expansions and geographic dispersal. The Asian-specific haplogroup M is in high frequency in most populations, especially tribal populations and Dravidian populations of southern India. Populations in which the frequencies of haplogroup M are relatively lower show higher frequencies of haplogroup U; such populations are primarily caste populations of northern India. This finding is indicative of a higher Caucasoid admixture in northern Indian populations. By examining the sharing of haplotypes between Indian and south-east Asian populations, we have provided evidence that south-east Asia was peopled by two waves of migration, one originating in India and the other originating in southern China. These findings have been examined and interpreted in the light of inferences derived from previous genomic and historical studies

Skin fluorescence as a clinical tool for non-invasive assessment of advanced glycation and long-term complications of diabetes

Glycation is important in the development of complications of diabetes mellitus and may have a central role in the well-described glycaemic memory effect in developing these complications. Skin fluorescence has emerged over the last decade as a non-invasive method for assessing accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts. Skin fluorescence is independently related to micro- and macrovascular complications in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and is associated with mortality in type 2 diabetes. The relation between skin fluorescence and cardiovascular disease also extends to other conditions with increased tissue AGE levels, such as renal failure. Besides cardiovascular complications, skin fluorescence has been associated, more recently, with other prevalent conditions in diabetes, such as brain atrophy and depression. Furthermore, skin fluorescence is related to past long-term glycaemic control and clinical markers of cardiovascular disease. This review will discuss the technique of skin fluorescence, its validation as a marker of tissue AGE accumulation, and its use as a clinical tool for the prediction of long-term complications in diabetes mellitus

Production rate and lot-size dependent lead time reduction strategies in a supply chain model with stochastic demand, controllable setup cost and trade-credit financing

This study explores simultaneous reduction strategies of lead time and setup cost in a two-stage supply chain model under trade-credit financing. Lead time depends on a variable production rate and lot size. It consists of setup, production, and transportation time which are shortened to reduce lead time. Although double safety factors are considered to avoid stock-out; but still backorders take place as the demand during the lead time is stochastic. Setup cost is reduced by including an extra investment cost. In addition, the vendor offers a fixed credit period to the buyer to settle the account. The objective is to minimize the integrated expected total cost and optimize the order quantity, number of deliveries, setup and transportation time, setup cost, safety factor for the first batch, and the production rate. A multi-variable optimization technique is used for these purposes. Furthermore, a numerical example together with managerial insights is provided for the establishment and applicability of the proposed model. The numerical results show that the introduction of setup cost reduction and trade-credit financing along with lead time reduction is more beneficial by means of integrated expected total cost reduction

Variation at 4 Short Tandem Repeat Loci in 8 Population Groups of India

We have determined the nature and extent of variation at 4 STR loci (CSF1P0, TP OX, TH01, VWA) in 8 caste and tribal population groups of eastern and northern India. Large differences in allele frequencies among the groups were found. Average heterozygosities in all populations were high («*80%). The overall extent of gene differentiation among the 8 groups was high (GST = 0.04). The nature of genomic affinities based on these 4 STR loci does not completely agree with our earlier finding based on classical genetic markers that geographic proximity of habitat has a greater influence on genetic similarity between populations than sociocultural proximity does

Ethnic differences in distributions of GSTM1 and GSTT1 homozygous "null" genotypes in India

We estimated the frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 "null" homozygotes in 10 different ethnic populations of India by a genotyping method based on polymerase chain reaction. These populations, inhabiting diverse geographical locations and occupying various positions in the sociocultural hierarchy, were represented by a sample of 299 unrelated individuals. Frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 "null" homozygotes varied from 20% to 79% and 3% to 39%, respectively, across the study populations. Maximum frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 "null" homozygotes (79% and 39%, respectively) have been observed in the same population (Jamatia). Frequencies of homozygous "null" genotypes at the GSTM1 and GSTT1 loci show a significant positive correlation in these populations, which is contrary to expectations. A possible implication is that the two enzymes are working in tandem, instead of working in a complementary way

Ethnic Differences in Distributions of GSTM1 and GSTT1 Homozygous “Null” Genotypes in India

We estimated the frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 “null” homozygotes in 10 different ethnic populations of India by a genotyping method based on polymerase chain reaction. These populations, inhabiting diverse geographical locations and occupying various positions in the sociocultural hierarchy, were represented by a sample of 299 unrelated individuals. Frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 “null” homozygotes varied from 20% to 79% and 3% to 39%, respectively, across the study populations. Maximum frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 “null” homozygotes (79% and 39%, respectively) have been observed in the same population (Jamatia). Frequencies of homozygous “null” genotypes at the GSTM1 and GSTT1 loci show a significant positive correlation in these populations, which is contrary to expectations. Apossible implication is that the two enzymes are working in tandem, instead of working in a complementary way

Ethnic India: A Genomic View, With Special Reference to Peopling and Structure

We report a comprehensive statistical analysis of data on 58 DNA markers (mitochondrial [mt], Y-chromosomal, and autosomal) and sequence data of the mtHVS1 from a large number of ethnically diverse populations of India. Our results provide genomic evidence that (1) there is an underlying unity of female lineages in India, indicating that the initial number of female settlers may have been small; (2) the tribal and the caste populations are highly differentiated; (3) the Austro-Asiatic tribals are the earliest settlers in India, providing support to one anthropological hypothesis while refuting some others; (4) a major wave of humans entered India through the northeast; (5) the Tibeto-Burman tribals share considerable genetic commonalities with the Austro-Asiatic tribals, supporting the hypothesis that they may have shared a common habitat in southern China, but the two groups of tribals can be differentiated on the basis of Y-chromosomal haplotypes; (6) the Dravidian tribals were possibly widespread throughout India before the arrival of the Indo-European-speaking nomads, but retreated to southern India to avoid dominance; (7) formation of populations by fission that resulted in founder and drift effects have left their imprints on the genetic structures of contemporary populations; (8) the upper castes show closer genetic affinities with Central Asian populations, although those of southern India are more distant than those of northern India; (9) historical gene flow into India has contributed to a considerable obliteration of genetic histories of contemporary populations so that there is at present no clear congruence of genetic and geographical or sociocultural affinities

Series of Dicyanamide-Interlaced Assembly of Zinc-Schiff-Base Complexes: Crystal Structure and Photophysical and Thermal Studies

International audienceFour new dicyanamide (dca) bridged multinuclear ZnII-Schiff-base complexes, {[Zn2L1(μ1,5-dca)dca]·CH3OH}2 (1), [Zn2L2(μ1,5-dca)dca]n (2), [Zn3L32(μ1,5-dca)2]n (3), and [(ZnL4)2Zn(μ1,5-dca)dca]n (4), have been synthesized using four different Schiff bases L1H2 = N,N/-bis(3-methoxysalicylidenimino)-1,3-diaminopentane, L2H2 = N,N′-bis(5-bromo-3-methoxysalicylidenimino)-1,3-diaminopropane, L3H2 = N,N′-bis(5-bromosalicylidenimino)-1,3-diaminopropane, and L4H2 = N,N′-bis(5-chlorosalicylidenimino)-1,3-diaminopropane and NaN(CN)2 in order to extend the metal–ligand assembly. The directional properties of linear end-to-end bridging dca ligands have resulted in different metal ion connectivities leading to unique variety of templates in each of the complexes. All the ligands and complexes have been characterized by microanalytical and spectroscopic techniques. The structures of the complexes have been conclusively determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Thermogravimetric analyses have been performed to investigate the thermal stability of the metal–organic frameworks. Finally, the photoluminescence properties of the complexes as well as their respective ligands have been investigated with a comparative approach

Human-specific insertion/deletion polymorphisms in Indian populations and their possible evolutionary implications

DNA samples from 396 unrelated individuals belonging to 14 ethnic populations of India, inhabiting various geographical locations and occupying various positions in the socio-cultural hierarchy, were analysed in respect of 8 human-specific polymorphic insertion/deletion loci. All loci, except Alu CD4, were found to be highly polymorphic in all populations. The levels of average heterozygosities were found to be very high in all populations and, in most populations, also higher than those predicted by the island model of population structure. The coefficient of gene differentiation among Indian populations was found to be higher than populations in most other global regions, except Africa. These results are discussed in the light of two possible scenarios of evolution of Indian populations in the broader context of human evolution