Predicting the future land use and land cover changes for Saroor Nagar Watershed, Telangana, India, using open-source GIS

The dynamics of land use and land cover are profoundly affected by the growth, mobility, and demand of people. Thematic maps of land use and land cover (LULC) help planners account for conservation, concurrent uses, and land-use compressions by providing a reference for analysis, resource management, and prediction. The purpose of this research is to identify the transition of land-use changes in the Saroor Nagar Watershed between 2008 and 2014 using the Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) plugin (MLP-ANN) model and to forecast and establish potential land-use changes for the years 2020 and 2026. To predict how these factors affected LULC from 2008 to 2014, MLP-ANN was trained with maps of DEM, slope, distance from the road, and distance to a waterbody. The projected and accurate LULC maps for 2020 have a Kappa value of 0.70 and a correctness percentage of 81.8%, indicating a high degree of accuracy. Changes in LULC are then predicted for the year 2026 using MLP-ANN, which shows a 17.4% increase in built-up area at the expense of vegetation and barren land. The results contribute to the development of sustainable plans for land use and resource management.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of Indian domestic duck reveals candidate genes associated with egg production

Egg production is an important economic trait and a key indicator of reproductive performance in ducks. Egg production is regulated by several factors including genes. However the genes involved in egg production in duck remain unclear. In this study, we compared the ovarian transcriptome of high egg laying (HEL) and low egg laying (LEL) ducks using RNA-Seq to identify the genes involved in egg production. The HEL ducks laid on average 433 eggs while the LEL ducks laid 221 eggs over 93 weeks. A total of 489 genes were found to be significantly differentially expressed out of which 310 and 179 genes were up and downregulated, respectively, in the HEL group. Thirty-eight differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including LHX9, GRIA1, DBH, SYCP2L, HSD17B2, PAR6, CAPRIN2, STC2, and RAB27B were found to be potentially related to egg production and folliculogenesis. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis suggested that DEGs were enriched for functions related to glutamate receptor activity, serine-type endopeptidase activity, immune function, progesterone mediated oocyte maturation and MAPK signaling. Protein-protein interaction network analysis (PPI) showed strong interaction between 32 DEGs in two distinct clusters. Together, these findings suggest a mix of genetic and immunological factors affect egg production, and highlights candidate genes and pathways, that provides an understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating egg production in ducks and in birds more broadly.

Twitter based sentimental analysis of Covid-19 observations

The emergence of social media has provided people with the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts about everything and everything in their lives. There is a massive amount of textual stuff available, and approaches are required to make meaningful use of the information provided by isolating and evaluating the different types of text. Sentimental Analysis is a method of obtaining a human being's point of view through mining his or her emotions. The entire world is sharing their thoughts on social media on the Corona Pandemic that is now underway. This research presents an analysis of attitudes in order to determine whether or not people are optimistic in the face of a difficult circumstance. The technique of polarity is employed by the paper in order to determine if an opinion is positive, negative, or nonpartisan [1]. In order to determine the polarity, the following three major keywords are used: “COVID”, “Corona virus,” and “COVID-19.”

The complete mitochondrial genome of Indian gaur, Bos gaurus and its phylogenetic implications

The gaur is the largest extant cattle species and distributed across South and Southeast Asia. Around 85% of its current global population resides in India, however there has been a gradual decrease in the gaur population over the last two decades due to various anthropogenic activities. Mitochondrial genome is considered as an important tool for species identification and monitoring the populations of conservation concern and therefore it becomes an obligation to sequence the mitochondrial genome of Indian gaur. We report here for the first time 16,345 bp mitochondrial genome of four Indian gaur sequenced using two different approaches. Mitochondrial genome consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. Among the 37 genes, 28 were positioned on the H-strand and 9 were positioned on the L-strand. The overall base composition appeared to be 33.5% A, 27.2% T, 25.9% C and 13.4% G, which yielded a higher AT content. The phylogenetic analysis using complete mitochondrial genome sequences unambiguously suggested that gaur is the maternal ancestor of domestic mithun. Moreover, it also clearly distinguished the three sub species of B. gaurus i.e. B. gaurus gaurus, B. gaurus readei and B. gaurus hubbacki. Among the three sub species, B. gaurus gaurus was genetically closer to B. gaurus readei as compared to B. gaurus hubbacki. The findings of our study provide an insight into the genetic structure and evolutionary history of Indian gaur.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Indian mithun, Bos frontalis and its phylogenetic implications

Mithun (Bos frontalis) is an endangered domestic bovine species native to the hilly areas of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and India. It is believed to have been domesticated from gaur around 8000 years ago. However, a few studies suggest that mithun is either an independent species or a hybrid descendant of gaur and cattle. Therefore, to understand the evolutionary history of mithun, the complete mitochondrial genome of Indian mithun was sequenced and compared with the mitochondrial genome of closely related Bos species. The mitochondrial genome of mithun was 16,346 bp long and consisted of 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region. The phylogenetic assessments of Indian mithun along with other Bos species showed a very close genetic relationship of Indian mithun with gaur suggesting that Indian mithun might have evolved from gaur.

Group intervention for carers of geriatric patients: experiences from a clinic in India

Sixty per cent of the global elderly population live in low-and middle-income countries, and this proportion was expected to rise to 70% by 2010 (International Institute of Ageing, 2001; Ferri et al, 2005). The 2001 Indian census found over 70 million people aged 60 years or more (considered senior citizens according to the Indian National Policy on Older Persons). Most of those senior citizens live with younger family members and are dependent on them for financial and social support. Hence, any physiological and psychological changes in the older family members affect the younger supportive members as well.

Group intervention for carers of geriatric patients: experiences from a clinic in India

Sixty per cent of the global elderly population live in low-and middle-income countries, and this proportion was expected to rise to 70% by 2010 (International Institute of Ageing, 2001; Ferri et al, 2005). The 2001 Indian census found over 70 million people aged 60 years or more (considered senior citizens according to the Indian National Policy on Older Persons). Most of those senior citizens live with younger family members and are dependent on them for financial and social support. Hence, any physiological and psychological changes in the older family members affect the younger supportive members as well.

The complete branchial fistula: A case report

The incomplete branchial fistula is not an uncommon congenital anomaly of branchial apparatus but a complete one is rare. Here we report a case of complete congenital branchial fistula with an internal opening near the tonsillar fossa.