Assessment of the genetic diversity of some important grape genotypes in India using RAPD markers

Genetic relationships in a set of important grape genotypes in India, comprising cultivated varieties, rootstocks and wild species were analysed using RAPD markers. A total of 250 bands were obtained by 19 informative primers, most of which could clearly distinguish between the wild and cultivated genotypes. Wild species and rootstocks showed a maximum number of bands (205) and the highest polymorphism (94 %), followed by cultivars belonging to Vitis vinifera (165 bands, 90 %), while cultivars from V. labrusca showed only 75 bands of which almost all were monomorphic. Cluster analysis resulted in the formation of three main clusters. Wild species and rootstocks separated early from cultivated genotypes. Cultivated types formed two separate clusters one consisting mainly of the labrusca and the other of the vinifera types. In the cluster of vinifera genotypes, seeded and seedless varieties were further separated into different subgroups. High bootstrap values at most of the nodes supported the stability of the dendrogram. The grouping of most varieties agreed well with previous reports based on morphological characters as well as parentage, emphasizing the suitability of RAPD analysis for such studies. The present report is the first attempt to determine the genetic relationships in important grape genotypes in India using molecular markers.

A Comparison of Pattern of Pregnancy Loss in Women with Infertility Undergoing IVF and Women with Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriages Who Conceive Spontaneously

Objective. Women with infertility and recurrent miscarriages may have an overlapping etiology. The aim of this study was to compare the pregnancy loss in pregnancies after IVF treatment with spontaneous pregnancies in women with recurrent miscarriages and to assess differences related to cause of infertility. Methods. The outcome from 1220 IVF pregnancies (Group I) was compared with 611 spontaneous pregnancies (Group II) in women with recurrent miscarriages. Subgroup analysis was performed in Group I based on cause of infertility: tubal factor (392 pregnancies); male factor (610 pregnancies); and unexplained infertility (218 pregnancies). Results. The clinical pregnancy loss rate in Group I (14.3%) was significantly lower than that of Group II (25.8%, p<0.001) and this was independent of the cause of infertility. However the timing of pregnancy loss was similar between Groups I and II. The clinical pregnancy loss rate in Group I was similar in different causes of infertility. Conclusions. The clinical pregnancy loss rate following IVF treatment is lower than that of women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages who conceived spontaneously. This difference persists whether the infertility is secondary to tubal factors, male factors, or unexplained cause

ISSR-PCR for assessment of genetic relationships among grape varieties cultivated in India

Genetic relationships among 43 varieties cultivated in India were characterized using ISSR PCR. Out of total 139 reproducible fragments generated by 13 informative primers, 96 were polymorphic. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.65 to 0.96. Cluster analysis resulted in the formation of two main clusters, consisting mainly of Vitis labrusca and V. vinifera types. One single variety belonging to V. rotundifolia James grouped with V. labrusca types but separated initially from them. Two varieties, Lake Emerald and Muscat, were completely outgrouped. Varieties belonging to V. vinifera appeared to be more diverse and separated further into many subgroups. In contrast, V. labrusca types were homogeneous. The results showed that ISSR is an efficient and reliable marker system for genetic analysis of grape cultivars

The Negativity of the Overlap-Based Topological Charge Density Correlator in Pure-Glue QCD and the Non-Integrable Nature of its Contact Part

We calculate the lattice two-point function of topological charge density in pure-glue QCD using the discretization of the operator based on the overlap Dirac matrix. Utilizing data at three lattice spacings it is shown that the continuum limit of the correlator complies with the requirement of non-positivity at non-zero distances. For our choice of the overlap operator and the Iwasaki gauge action we find that the size of the positive core is ~2a (with a being the lattice spacing) sufficiently close to the continuum limit. This result confirms that the overlap-based topological charge density is a valid local operator over realistic backgrounds contributing to the QCD path integral, and is important for the consistency of recent results indicating the existence of a low-dimensional global brane-like topological structure in the QCD vacuum. We also confirm the divergent short-distance behavior of the correlator, and the non-integrable nature of the associated contact part.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Scalar Mesons a0(1450) and sigma(600) from Lattice QCD

We study the a0 and sigma mesons with the overlap fermion in the chiral regime with the pion mass as low as 182 MeV in the quenched approximation. After the eta'pi ghost states are separated, we find that the a0 mass with q\bar{q} interpolation field to be almost independent of the quark mass in the region below the strange quark mass. The chirally extrapolated results are consistent with a0(1450) being the u\bar{d} meson and K0*(1430) being the u\bar{s} meson with calculated masses at 1.42+_0.13 GeV and 1.41+_ 0.12 GeV respectively. We also calculate the scalar mesonium with a tetraquark interpolation field. In addition to the two pion scattering states, we find a state at around 550 MeV. Through the study of volume dependence, we confirm that this state is a one-particle state, in contrast to the two-pion scattering states. This suggests that the observed state is a tetraquark mesonium which is quite possibly the sigma(600) meson.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Inherently Global Nature of Topological Charge Fluctuations in QCD

We have recently presented evidence that in configurations dominating the regularized pure-glue QCD path integral, the topological charge density constructed from overlap Dirac operator organizes into an ordered space-time structure. It was pointed out that, among other properties, this structure exhibits two important features: it is low-dimensional and geometrically global, i.e. consisting of connected sign-coherent regions with local dimensions 1<= d < 4, and spreading over arbitrarily large space--time distances. Here we show that the space-time structure that is responsible for the origin of topological susceptibility indeed exhibits global behavior. In particular, we show numerically that topological fluctuations are not saturated by localized concentrations of most intense topological charge density. To the contrary, the susceptibility saturates only after the space-time regions with most intense fields are included, such that geometrically global structure is already formed. We demonstrate this result both at the fundamental level (full topological density) and at low energy (effective density). The drastic mismatch between the point of fluctuation saturation (~ 50% of space-time at low energy) and that of global structure formation (<4% of space-time at low energy) indicates that the ordered space-time structure in topological charge is inherently global and that topological charge fluctuations in QCD cannot be understood in terms of individual localized pieces. Description in terms of global brane-like objects should be sought instead.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; v2: typos corrected, minor modifications; v3: misprint in Eqs. (2,3) fixe

Glueball Spectrum and Matrix Elements on Anisotropic Lattices

The glueball-to-vacuum matrix elements of local gluonic operators in scalar, tensor, and pseudoscalar channels are investigated numerically on several anisotropic lattices with the spatial lattice spacing ranging from 0.1fm - 0.2fm. These matrix elements are needed to predict the glueball branching ratios in $J/\psi$ radiative decays which will help identify the glueball states in experiments. Two types of improved local gluonic operators are constructed for a self-consistent check and the finite volume effects are studied. We find that lattice spacing dependence of our results is very weak and the continuum limits are reliably extrapolated, as a result of improvement of the lattice gauge action and local operators. We also give updated glueball masses with various quantum numbers.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures, revtex

Apparatus, Methods and Systems For Fabricating Thin Nanoporous Membranes

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide apparatuses, methods and systems for scalable fabrication of thin, nanoporous membranes useful in industrial applications. One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a molecular separation device configured to efficiently separate molecular species. In this particular embodiment, porous hollow fibers form a supporting scaffold for synthesis of a molecular organic framework (MOF) membrane. The MOF membrane may be synthesized on the inner or outer porous hollow fiber surface as well as within the porous fiber wall. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a variety of methods for producing the aforementioned molecular separation devices as well as methods for producing MOF membranes

Experimental Zika Virus Infection in the Pregnant Common Marmoset Induces Spontaneous Fetal Loss and Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities.

During its most recent outbreak across the Americas, Zika virus (ZIKV) was surprisingly shown to cause fetal loss and congenital malformations in acutely and chronically infected pregnant women. However, understanding the underlying pathogenesis of ZIKV congenital disease has been hampered by a lack of relevant in vivo experimental models. Here we present a candidate New World monkey model of ZIKV infection in pregnant marmosets that faithfully recapitulates human disease. ZIKV inoculation at the human-equivalent of early gestation caused an asymptomatic seroconversion, induction of type I/II interferon-associated genes and proinflammatory cytokines, and persistent viremia and viruria. Spontaneous pregnancy loss was observed 16-18 days post-infection, with extensive active placental viral replication and fetal neurocellular disorganization similar to that seen in humans. These findings underscore the key role of the placenta as a conduit for fetal infection, and demonstrate the utility of marmosets as a highly relevant model for studying congenital ZIKV disease and pregnancy loss