Computational identification and characterization of putative miRNAs in Nasonia species

MicroRNAs are important at post transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes. Nasonia genus is becoming increasingly popular model in present days due to genetic advantages it possesses over Drosophila. Nasonia species are found distributed throughout the world, expect for N. longicornis, and N. giraulti. In this study, we use the sequential method of blasting all known invertebrate miRNA genes against the Nasonia vitripennis, Nasonia longicornis, and Nasonia giraulti genomes. We identify 40, 31 and 29 putative pre-​miRNAs and mature sequences in N. vitripennis, N. giraulti and N. longicornis resp. A cross species comparison of putative miRNA sequences and their statistical characteristics reveals that there are no huge differences between the species, except for few miRNAs which are reported. We also find that the minimal folding energy index for three Nasonia species pre-​miRNA's av. is around -​0.85 ± 0.11. Further, we report that U is predominant at the 5' end of mature sequence, which being a typical characteristic of plant miRNAs. Using MiRanda, we predict nearly 471 potential sites in the N. vitripennis genome. Thus concluding our study to be the beginning of understanding the Nasonia's non coding RNAs and may play an important role in effective pest management in near future

Influence of mastication and its relationship with Body Mass Index before and after prosthetic rehabilitation in partially edentulous patients

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of prosthetic rehabilitation is to enhance the masticatory function by replacing the missing teeth with an artificial substitute, which improves nutrient-rich food intake. There are recent studies which indicate the influence of chewing behavior and energy intake, but little is known about the relationship between chewing on nutritional status. OBJECTIVE: This study intended to assess the changes in masticatory efficiency before and after prosthetic rehabilitation and its influence on nutritional status and body weight. METHODS: A total of 40 partially edentulous subjects aged between 45- 65 years were recruited. Body Mass Index was determined by measuring body weight using a medical grade weighing scale. Height was measured using wall mounted stature meter and Waist circumference was measured with an anthropometric measure tape. Masticatory efficiency was determined using the sieve method with peanuts as test food at baseline, at 3 and 6 months of prosthetic rehabilitation with a removable partial denture. RESULTS: Sieve test performed for evaluating masticatory efficiency showed an increase in the percentage of smaller particles by 28.3% in non-obese and 32.15% in the obese group. The obese/overweight group showed a decrease in BMI values and non-obese subjects showed no significant change in BMI. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that improving masticatory efficiency by prosthodontic rehabilitation can aid in normalizing the nutritional status in certain partially edentulous non-obese and obese individuals

Isolation and characterization of Plasmid DNA from clinically isolated E.coli strain at Pravara rural hospital, Loni, India

Abstract Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is one of the most common infectious diseases and people of all age-groups and geographical locations are affected. Multiple resistance to antimicrobials drugs arising in Escherichia coli isolate may complicate therapeutic management of UTI. The present study aimed to isolate and characterize plasmid DNA from Clinical isolated E. coli. Biochemical tests confirm that the hospital isolate is E.coli and antibiotic susceptibility test results shows that it is MDR strain. Molecular techniques such as plasmid DNA isolation and PCR amplification of integrons genes were used to confirm MDR. The results showed that the size of plasmid DNA is more than 52 Kb and the size of successfully amplified integron genes (I and II) were 175 and 250 bp respectively. Hospital isolate was confirmed as E.coli MDR on the basis of existence of integron genes

Rainfall Prediction with Machine Learning Algorithms

Predicting when and how much rain will fall is a difficult and unpredictable process that has far-reaching consequences for human civilization. Predictions that are both timely and accurate may be used to proactively reduce casualties and property damage. This research provides a series of experiments that employ popular machine learning methods to construct models that predict whether or not it will rain the next day in major Australian cities based on meteorological data for that day. Modelling inputs, modelling approaches, and pre-processing procedures are the focal points of this comparative analysis. The findings compare and contrast the performance of different machine learning methods in making accurate weather predictions using a variety of assessment measures

Crypto-Ransomware Analysis and Detection: Strengthening Security Measures

Since the advent of the wide adoption of virtual currency (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin), some withill intents have become interested in this space and have created and sold ransomware to make easy access to virtualcurrency. Using cunning techniques, this ransomware enters the victim\u27s computer and encrypts all of the files on it.Following the procedure for encryption, the intruder leaves a notice threatening to prevent entry to the encrypted dataunless a virtual currency ransom is paid. The biggest threat to information technology security at the moment is thiskind of ransomware, which is growing in popularity over time. Numerous studies about the identification andexamination of this cyberbullying can be found in the literature. In this study, we looked closely at a forensicinvestigation of a recent attack example with an emphasis on crypto-ransomware. In this instance, the attack techniqueand the crypto-ransomware\u27s behaviour were examined, and it was found that the attacker\u27s data was available. Giventhis aspect, we believe our research will make a substantial contribution to the fight against this danger.&nbsp

MOLECULAR DOCKING SIMULATIONS ON EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR (EGFR) WITH POTENTIAL LEAD MOLECULES

The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) has received significant interest in the field of lung cancer due to its pivotal involvement in the development and progression of certain types of the illness, particularly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study used molecular docking simulations to examine the molecular interactions between ten lead compounds and the EGFR protein. In the study of EGFR inhibitors, Tepotinib had the most advantageous docking energy of -7.92 Kcal/mol (IC-1.57μM), whereas Dacomitinib and Lazertinib demonstrated docking energies of -6.96 Kcal/mol (IC-7.91 μM) and -6.63 Kcal/mol (IC-13.77 μM), respectively, which were in close proximity. The binding affinities of these medicines towards the EGFR, as observed, suggest their potential efficacy as inhibitors. The results obtained from this research suggest that several lead medications, specifically Tepotinib, Dacomitinib, Lazertinib, and Sotorasib, demonstrate promise as inhibitors of the EGFR in the context of therapy for prostate cancer

King or royal family? Testing for species boundaries in the King Cobra, Ophiophagus hanah (Cantor, 1836), using morphology and multilocus DNA analyses

In widespread species, the diverse ecological conditions in which the populations occur, and the presence of many potential geographical barriers through their range are expected to have created ample opportunities for the evolution of distinct, often cryptic lineages. In this work, we tested for species boundaries in one such widespread species, the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836), a largely tropical elapid snake distributed across the Oriental realm. Based on extensive geographical sampling across most of the range of the species, we initially tested for candidate species (CS) using Maximum-Likelihood analysis of mitochondrial genes. We then tested the resulting CS using both morphological data and sequences of three single-copy nuclear genes. We used snapclust to determine the optimal number of clusters in the nuclear dataset, and Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BPP) to test for likely species status. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis for discerning morphological separation. We recovered four independently evolving, geographically separated lineages that we consider Confirmed Candidate Species: (1) Western Ghats lineage; (2) Indo-Chinese lineage (3) Indo-Malayan lineage; (4) Luzon Island lineage, in the Philippine Archipelago. We discuss patterns of lineage divergence, particularly in the context of low morphological divergence, and the conservation implications of recognizing several endemic king cobra lineages

Taxonomic revision of the king cobra Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) species complex (Reptilia: Serpentes : Elapidae), with the description of two new species

The taxonomy of king cobras (Ophiophagus) was reevaluated using qualitative, mensural and meristic characters, based on 148 entire and five skeletal specimens, and supported by a recent molecular phylogenetic analysis. We provide nomenclatural synopses of both the genus and species- series nomina. We restrict the concept of Ophiophagus hannah s. str. to populations from eastern Pakistan, northern and eastern India, the Andaman Islands, Indo-Burma and Indo-China, south to central Thailand. The nomen Ophiophagus bungarus (Schlegel, 1837) comb. nov. is revived for the populations inhabiting the Sunda Shelf area, including the Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sunda Islands and parts of the southern Philippines. We describe two new species, Ophiophagus kaalinga Gowri Shankar, Das & Ganesh sp. nov. endemic to the Western Ghats of south-western India and Ophiophagus salvatana Gowri Shankar, Das & Wüster sp. nov., inhabiting the island of Luzon in northern Philippines. For the purpose of nomenclatural stability, we designate a neotype for Hamadryas hannah Cantor, 1836. A dichotomous identification key to the four species recognized here is provided

Global burden of chronic respiratory diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Updated data on chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are vital in their prevention, control, and treatment in the path to achieving the third UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a one-third reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. We provided global, regional, and national estimates of the burden of CRDs and their attributable risks from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, and incidence of CRDs, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other CRDs, from 1990 to 2019 by sex, age, region, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) in 204 countries and territories. Deaths and DALYs from CRDs attributable to each risk factor were estimated according to relative risks, risk exposure, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level input. Findings: In 2019, CRDs were the third leading cause of death responsible for 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 3.6–4.3) with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases (417.4–499.1) globally. While the total deaths and prevalence of CRDs have increased by 28.5% and 39.8%, the age-standardised rates have dropped by 41.7% and 16.9% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. COPD, with 212.3 million (200.4–225.1) prevalent cases, was the primary cause of deaths from CRDs, accounting for 3.3 million (2.9–3.6) deaths. With 262.4 million (224.1–309.5) prevalent cases, asthma had the highest prevalence among CRDs. The age-standardised rates of all burden measures of COPD, asthma, and pneumoconiosis have reduced globally from 1990 to 2019. Nevertheless, the age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis have increased throughout this period. Low- and low-middle SDI countries had the highest age-standardised death and DALYs rates while the high SDI quintile had the highest prevalence rate of CRDs. The highest deaths and DALYs from CRDs were attributed to smoking globally, followed by air pollution and occupational risks. Non-optimal temperature and high body-mass index were additional risk factors for COPD and asthma, respectively. Interpretation: Albeit the age-standardised prevalence, death, and DALYs rates of CRDs have decreased, they still cause a substantial burden and deaths worldwide. The high death and DALYs rates in low and low-middle SDI countries highlights the urgent need for improved preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures. Global strategies for tobacco control, enhancing air quality, reducing occupational hazards, and fostering clean cooking fuels are crucial steps in reducing the burden of CRDs, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries