Opinion dynamics model with domain size dependent dynamics: novel features and new universality class

A model for opinion dynamics (Model I) has been recently introduced in which the binary opinions of the individuals are determined according to the size of their neighboring domains (population having the same opinion). The coarsening dynamics of the equivalent Ising model shows power law behavior and has been found to belong to a new universality class with the dynamic exponent $z=1.0 \pm 0.01$ and persistence exponent $\theta \simeq 0.235$ in one dimension. The critical behavior has been found to be robust for a large variety of annealed disorder that has been studied. Further, by mapping Model I to a system of random walkers in one dimension with a tendency to walk towards their nearest neighbour with probability $\epsilon$, we find that for any $\epsilon > 0.5$, the Model I dynamical behaviour is prevalent at long times.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. To be published in "Journal of Physics : Conference Series" (2011

Marker-assisted enhancement of bacterial blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) resistance in a salt-tolerant rice variety for sustaining rice production of tropical islands

IntroductionBacterial blight (BB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is a major disease of rice, specially in the tropical regions of the world. Developing rice varieties with host resistance against the disease is the most effective and economical solution for managing the disease.MethodsPyramiding resistance genes (Xa4, xa5, xa13,and Xa21) in popular rice varieties using marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB) has been demonstrated as a cost-effective and sustainable approach for establishing durable BB resistance. Here, we report our successful efforts in introgressing four resistance genes (Xa4, xa5, xa13, and Xa21) from IRBB60 to CARI Dhan 5, a popular salt-tolerant variety developed from a somaclonal variant of Pokkali rice, through functional MABB.Results and discussionBoth BB and coastal salinity are among the major challenges for rice production in tropical island and coastal ecosystems. Plants with four, three, and two gene pyramids were generated, which displayed high levels of resistance to the BB pathogen at the BC3F2 stage. Under controlled salinity microplot environments, the line 131-2-175-1223 identified with the presence of three gene pyramid (Xa21+xa13+xa5) displayed notable resistance across locations and years as well as exhibited a salinity tolerance comparable to the recurrent parent, CARI Dhan 5. Among two BB gene combinations (Xa21+xa13), two lines, 17-1-69-334 and 46-3-95-659, demonstrated resistance across locations and years, as well as salt tolerance and grain production comparable to CARI Dhan 5. Besides salinity tolerance, five lines, 17-1-69-179, 46-3-95-655, 131-2-190-1197, 131-2-175-1209, and 131-2-175-1239, exhibited complete resistance to BB disease. Following multilocation testing, potential lines have been identified that can serve as a prospective candidate for producing varieties for the tropical Andaman and Nicobar Islands and other coastal locations, which are prone to BB and coastal salinity stresses

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Functional analysis of a susceptibility gene (HIPP27) in the Arabidopsis thaliana-Meloidogyne incognita pathosystem by using a genome editing strategy

Abstract Background Plant-parasitic root-knot nematodes cause immense yield declines in crop plants that ultimately obviate global food security. They maintain an intimate relationship with their host plants and hijack the host metabolic machinery to their own advantage. The existing resistance breeding strategies utilizing RNAi and resistance (R) genes might not be particularly effective. Alternatively, knocking out the susceptibility (S) genes in crop plants appears to be a feasible approach, as the induced mutations in S genes are likely to be long-lasting and may confer broad-spectrum resistance. This could be facilitated by the use of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing technology that precisely edits the gene of interest using customizable guide RNAs (gRNAs) and Cas9 endonuclease. Results Initially, we characterized the nematode-responsive S gene HIPP27 from Arabidopsis thaliana by generating HIPP27 overexpression lines, which were inoculated with Meloidogyne incognita. Next, two gRNAs (corresponding to the HIPP27 gene) were artificially synthesized using laboratory protocols, sequentially cloned into a Cas9 editor plasmid, mobilized into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101, and transformed into Arabidopsis plants using the floral dip method. Apart from 1–3 bp deletions and 1 bp insertions adjacent to the PAM site, a long deletion of approximately 161 bp was documented in the T0 generation. Phenotypic analysis of homozygous, ‘transgene-free’ T2 plants revealed reduced nematode infection compared to wild-type plants. Additionally, no growth impairment was observed in gene-edited plants. Conclusion Our results suggest that the loss of function of HIPP27 in A. thaliana by CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutagenesis can improve host resistance to M. incognita