Explore the vast range of titles available.

Vaccination-induced allergic reactions in bulls raise both body and testicular temperatures, leading to germ cell damage, epididymal dysfunction, accelerated testicular ageing, and increased sperm abnormalities that ultimately degrade semen quality. This study aimed to ameliorate vaccination stress and improve semen quality using meloxicam and levamisole. The present study was conducted at the Artificial Breeding Research Centre, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, Haryana, with twelve Sahiwal breeding bulls that were divided into four groups: Group I (Control), Group II (Meloxicam), Group III (Levamisole), and Group IV (Meloxicam + Levamisole). Semen parameters were evaluated during pre- and post-vaccination. Treated groups showed significant improvement ( p  < 0.05) in initial progressive motility, live sperm, HOST, and acrosome integrity compared to the control, with the highest improvement observed in the combination group (meloxicam + levamisole). Sperm abnormalities, moribund, dead, apoptotic sperm, and lipid peroxidation were significantly higher in the control group. The meloxicam + levamisole group exhibited significantly lower ( p  < 0.05) sperm abnormalities and lipid peroxidation. Improvement was observed in semen quality with treatment (Meloxicam + levamisole-treated bulls) in percentage of live (+ 53.11%), moribund (− 33.83%), dead (− 36.70%), apoptotic spermatozoa (− 44.01%), and DNA fragmentation index (− 47.07%) in relation to the control groups on the 7th post vaccination day.

This research article focused on 3D-printed multilayered polymer composite materials, with a particular emphasis on ceramic and carbon polymer composite materials. To evaluate the mechanical performance of a multilayered composite structure, ceramic polymer composite (CPC) materials were used layer by layer with carbon-reinforced polymer composite (CRPC) layers. Tensile, compression, flexural, and differential scanning calorimetry tests were carried out on 3D-printed CPC, CRPC, and Functionally Graded Multilayered Material (FGMLM) composite structures. The results indicated that FGMLM laminates exhibited increases of 12.4%, 6.4%, and 9.8% in tensile, flexural, and compressive strength, respectively, compared with CRPC laminates; these experimental values were validated by finite element analysis. Further, fractography analysis of the FGMLM was carried out using scanning electron microscopy to provide insights into the structural characteristics. It was indicated that strong interfacial bonding was found between the laminated carbon and ceramic layers. Graphical Abstract

A novel corona virus, COVID-19 is spreading across different countries in an alarming proportion and it has become a major threat to the existence of human community. With more than eight lakh death count within a very short span of seven months, this deadly virus has affected more than 24 million people across 213 countries and territories around the world. Time-series analysis, modeling and forecasting is an important research area that explores the hidden insights from larger set of time-bound data for arriving better decisions. In this work, data analysis on COVID-19 dataset is performed by comparing the top six populated countries in the world. The data used for the evaluation is taken for a time period from 22nd January 2020 to 23rd August 2020.A novel time-series forecasting approach based on Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model is also proposed. The results will help the researchers from medical and scientific community to gauge the trend of the disease spread and improvise containment strategies accordingly.

Potassium succinate–succinic acid (KSSA), semi-organic single crystals were grown by slow evaporation growth technique using water solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study revealed that the KSSA crystal belongs to monoclinic system. FT-IR and FT-Raman spectral studies were performed to identify the vibrations of functional groups. TGA/DTA analyses were carried out to characterize the melting behavior and stability of the title compound. The UV–Vis–NIR spectrum showed that the grown crystal is transparent in the entire visible region. Fluorescence studies were carried out in the range of 200–700 nm. The optical nonlinearity of KSSA was investigated at 532 nm using 7 ns laser pulses, employing the open aperture Z-scan technique. The photoconductivity study was carried out to know the conducting nature of the crystal. The laser damage threshold was measured using Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm). Electrical properties of the crystal are studied using Hall Effect measurement.

Melatonin (MT), a naturally occurring compound, is found in various species worldwide. In 1958, it was first identified in the pineal gland of dairy cows. MT is an “old friend” but a “new compound” for plant biology. It brings experts and research minds from the broad field of plant sciences due to its considerable influence on plant systems. The MT production process in plants and animals is distinct, where it has been expressed explicitly in chloroplasts and mitochondria in plants. Tryptophan acts as the precursor for the formation of phyto-melatonin, along with intermediates including tryptamine, serotonin, N-acetyl serotonin, and 5-methoxy tryptamine. It plays a vital role in growth phases such as the seed germination and seedling growth of crop plants. MT significantly impacts the gas exchange, thereby improving physio-chemical functions in plant systems. During stress, the excessive generation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation, nucleic acid damage, and enzyme inhibition. Because it directly acts as an antioxidant compound, it awakens the plant antioxidant defense system during stress and reduces the production of ROS, which results in decreasing cellular oxidative damage. MT can enhance plant growth and development in response to various abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, high temperature, flooding, and heavy metals by regulating the antioxidant mechanism of plants. However, these reactions differ significantly from crop to crop and are based on the level and kind of stress. The role of MT in the physiological functions of plants towards plant growth and development, tolerance towards various abiotic stresses, and approaches for enhancing the endogenous MT in plant systems are broadly reviewed and it is suggested that MT is a steering compound in directing major physiological functions of plants under the changing climate in future.

Type IV dual left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a rare congenital coronary anomaly. Though benign with most of the patients being asymptomatic, knowledge of its existence and identification during coronary angiography is important during coronary interventions and surgical revascularization. Proper assessment of the angiogram and knowledge of the coronary anomalies is required during surgical revascularization and percutaneous coronary interventions. This rare anomaly can be missed due to the anomalous origin of the LAD from the right coronary sinus. The identification of the dual LAD and grafting of both the LAD systems is required to achieve complete revascularization.

The search for a method that utilizes biological information to predict humans’ place of origin has occupied scientists for millennia. Over the past four decades, scientists have employed genetic data in an effort to achieve this goal but with limited success. While biogeographical algorithms using next-generation sequencing data have achieved an accuracy of 700 km in Europe, they were inaccurate elsewhere. Here we describe the Geographic Population Structure (GPS) algorithm and demonstrate its accuracy with three data sets using 40,000–130,000 SNPs. GPS placed 83% of worldwide individuals in their country of origin. Applied to over 200 Sardinians villagers, GPS placed a quarter of them in their villages and most of the rest within 50 km of their villages. GPS’s accuracy and power to infer the biogeography of worldwide individuals down to their country or, in some cases, village, of origin, underscores the promise of admixture-based methods for biogeography and has ramifications for genetic ancestry testing. Current methods to identify the geographical origin of humans based on DNA data present limited accuracy. Here, the authors develop a new algorithm, the Genographic Population Structure (GPS), and demonstrate its ability to place worldwide individuals within their country or, in some cases, village of origin.

Previous studies that pooled Indian populations from a wide variety of geographical locations, have obtained contradictory conclusions about the processes of the establishment of the Varna caste system and its genetic impact on the origins and demographic histories of Indian populations. To further investigate these questions we took advantage that both Y chromosome and caste designation are paternally inherited, and genotyped 1,680 Y chromosomes representing 12 tribal and 19 non-tribal (caste) endogamous populations from the predominantly Dravidian-speaking Tamil Nadu state in the southernmost part of India. Tribes and castes were both characterized by an overwhelming proportion of putatively Indian autochthonous Y-chromosomal haplogroups (H-M69, F-M89, R1a1-M17, L1-M27, R2-M124, and C5-M356; 81% combined) with a shared genetic heritage dating back to the late Pleistocene (10-30 Kya), suggesting that more recent Holocene migrations from western Eurasia contributed <20% of the male lineages. We found strong evidence for genetic structure, associated primarily with the current mode of subsistence. Coalescence analysis suggested that the social stratification was established 4-6 Kya and there was little admixture during the last 3 Kya, implying a minimal genetic impact of the Varna (caste) system from the historically-documented Brahmin migrations into the area. In contrast, the overall Y-chromosomal patterns, the time depth of population diversifications and the period of differentiation were best explained by the emergence of agricultural technology in South Asia. These results highlight the utility of detailed local genetic studies within India, without prior assumptions about the importance of Varna rank status for population grouping, to obtain new insights into the relative influences of past demographic events for the population structure of the whole of modern India.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its complications have been regarded as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The drugs available in the market are effective to treat CVD, but with many adverse reactions. Nowadays, herbal products are the attention of researchers because of their less adverse effects. In this study, the cardioprotective effects of ethanolic leaves extract of Psidium guajava Linn. (Guava) (P. guajava) were evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-treated animal models. Mice acquired for the study were divided into five groups, each consisting of six mice. The toxin-induced mice were treated with the ethanolic leaves extract of P. guajava (300 mg/kg body weight [b.w.]). The results were compared to the standard drug (glibenclamide)-treated mice (3 mg/kg b.w.). The following parameters were considered for further investigations: creatine kinase-muscle brain (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK), troponin, lysosomal, and mitochondrial enzymes. Then the docking study was accomplished. The levels of cardiac marker enzymes and lysosomal enzymes increased significantly in the toxin-induced mice, while the level of mitochondrial enzyme decreased significantly. During treatment with the ethanolic leaves extract of P. guajava, the levels of all parameters were notably reversed to normal range (P < 0.05). Further, in docking analysis, the interaction of compounds, such as alpha-terpineol, cyclopentanecarboxamide, guaiol (a sesquiterpenoid alcohol), 1H-cyclopropanaphthalene, tetracyclotridecan-9-ol, dormin/abscisic acid, and epiglobulol, with the respective protein molecules, evidenced the cardioprotective effect of P. guajava leaves. Hence, it was concluded that the ethanolic leaves extract of P. guajava leaves have a cardioprotective effect.

In automated document analysis, floorplans are a concern for several years and algorithmic approaches have been used until recently. This problem has also improved output with the emergence of Convolutionary neural networks (CNN). In this study, it is the task to retrieve space and geometric data from planes as accurately as possible and the bulk of the information is extracted from a plane image by means of instance segments, such as the Cascade Mask R-CNN. A new way of using keypoint CNN is presented in order to supplement the segmentation, so that precision corner positions can be identified. Then they are coupled to the resulting segmentation in a post-processing stage. With an average IoU of 72.7% compared to 57.5%, the resulting segmentation scores surpass the existing benchmark for CubiCasa5k floorplan datasets. In addition, the mean IoU is increased in almost every class for individual classes. Cascade masks R-CNN have also shown to be more appropriate for this mission than R-CNN masks.