Unique among high passes: Phylogenetic inferences from DNA barcoding of the butterfly fauna of Ladakh Trans-Himalaya, India.

The butterfly assemblage of Ladakh Trans-Himalaya demands a thorough analysis of their population genetic structure owing to their typical biogeographic affinity and their adaptability to extreme cold-desert climates. No such effort has been taken till date, and in this backdrop, we created a barcode reference library of 60 specimens representing 23 species. Barcodes were generated from freshly collected leg samples using the Sanger sequencing method, followed by phylogenetic clade analyses and divergence calculation. Our data represents 22% of Ladakh's Rhopaloceran fauna with the novel barcode submission for six species, including one Schedule II species, Paralasa mani . Contrary to the 3% threshold rule, the interspecific divergence between two species pairs of typical mountain genus Hyponephele and Karanasa was found to be 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. The addition of conspecific global barcodes revealed that most species showed little increase in divergence value, while a two-fold increase was noted in a few species. Bayesian clade clustering outcomes largely aligned with current morphological classifications, forming monophyletic clades of conspecific barcodes, with only minor exceptions observed for the taxonomically complicated genus Polyommatus and misidentified records of Aulocera in the database. We also observed variations within the same phylogenetic clades forming nested lineages, which may be attributed to the taxonomic intricacies present at the subspecies level globally, mostly among Eurasian species. Overall, our effort not only substantiated the effectiveness of DNA Barcoding for the identification and conservation of this climatically vulnerable assemblage but also highlighted the significance of deciphering the unique genetic composition among this geographically isolated population of Ladakh butterflies.

Unveiling the genetic structure of pig population in a Himalayan state Uttarakhand through microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses.

This study traced the maternal lineage of the domestic swine populations using mitochondrial DNA control region markers and genetic diversity using microsatellite markers in Uttarakhand, an Indian state situated at the foothills of the world's youngest (geo-dynamically sensitive) mountain system, "the Himalayas". Analysis of 68 maternally unrelated individuals revealed 20 haplotypes. The maternal signature of the Pacific, Southeast Asian, European, and ubiquitously distributed Chinese haplotypes was present in Uttarakhand's domestic pig population. The D3 haplotype reported in wild pigs from North India was also identified in 47 domestic samples. A unique gene pool, UKD (Uttarakhand Domestic), as another lineage specific to this region has been proposed. Genotypes were analyzed, using 13 sets of microsatellite markers. The observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities were 0.83 ± 0.02 and 0.84 ± 0.01, respectively. The average polymorphic information content value of 0.83 ± 0.01 indicated the high informativeness of the marker. The overall mean FIS value for all the microsatellite markers was low (F = 0.04, P < 0.01). Seven loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) at a significant level (p < 0.05). Two clusters were identified, indicating overlapping populations. These results suggested that though belonging to different maternal lineages, the traditional management practices in Uttarakhand have allowed for genetic mixing and the sharing of genetic material among pig populations. It could contribute to increased genetic diversity but might also result in the loss of distinct genetic characteristics or breed purity of the local breeds if not carefully managed.

Genetic diversity, spatial connectivity, and population structure of Asian silurid catfish Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) in the Ganga River System: insights from mitochondrial DNA analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Ganga River System (GRS) is a biodiversity hotspot, its ecological richness is shaped by a complex geological history. In this study, we examined the genetic diversity, spatial connectivity, and population structure of the Asian Silurid catfish, Wallago attu, across seven tributaries of the GRS. METHODS AND RESULTS: We employed three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions: cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI), cytochrome b (Cyt b), and control region (CR). Our comprehensive dataset encompassed 2420 bp of mtDNA, derived from 176 W. attu individuals across 19 sampling sites within the seven rivers of GRS. Our findings revealed high gene diversity (Hd:0.99) within W. attu populations. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) highlighted that maximum genetic variations were attributed within the populations, and the observed genetic differentiation among the seven populations of W. attu ranged from low to moderate. Network analysis uncovered the presence of three distinct genetic clades, showing no specific association with seven studied rivers. Bayesian skyline plots provided insights into the demographic history of W. attu, suggesting a recent population expansion estimated to have occurred approximately 0.04 million years ago (mya) during the Pleistocene epoch. CONCLUSIONS: These results significantly enhance our understanding of the genetic diversity and spatial connectivity of W. attu, serving as a vital foundation for developing informed conservation strategies and the sustainable management of this economically valuable resource within the Ganga River System.

Population genetics of the critically endangered three-striped turtle, Batagur dhongoka, from the Ganga river system using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite analysis.

The three-striped roofed (Batagur dhongoka) is a semi-aquatic turtle that belongs to family Geoemydidae. Due to anthropogenic pressure, it has been facing an intense decline of over 80% in its distribution range in the past 50 years. It is considered as 'Critically Endangered' so effective conservation strategies are needed to protect the species by determining their genetic diversity and population genetic structure. This study investigates the genetic diversity, population structure and demographic pattern of B. dhongoka from two Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre established near Ganga river using mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b: 1140 bp) ; control region (CR: 451 bp) and ten nuclear microsatellite loci. mtDNA results show low levels of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0022) in B. dhongoka haplotypes and provide evidence for a low substitution rate. The demographic pattern estimated by the Bayesian skyline plot (BSP) analysis indicates historical stability followed by growth in the effective population size, with a recent reduction in population size from ~ 2 thousand years ago. The microsatellite findings show a moderate level of observed heterozygosity (Ho: 0.49). Bayesian-based clustering analysis revealed weak genetic structures in B. dhongoka and presence of admixed assignations suggesting close genetic relationships. These findings shed light on B. dhongoka's genetic status and underline the necessity of comprehensive rehabilitation and relocation programs and conservation and management techniques to ensure the species' long-term survival. In order to ensure the effective protection and conservation of B. dhongoka, the Government of India has taken a proactive measure by incorporating it into Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2022.

Visiting Ladakh Himalaya for a better knowledge of butterflies: new faunistic data with annotations (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea).

The present study enumerates 65 species of Papilionoidea from the Ladakh Himalaya with the geographical locations and adult flight data. All the species are documented by museum vouchers. Most of the species recorded, have restricted distribution or they are endemic to the Pamir-NW Himalaya region. Sixteen species are protected in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; three species highly protected under schedule I: Baltia butleri, Pieris krueperi, Lasiommata menava; and others under schedule II: Papilio machaon, Parnassius charltonius, Parnassius epaphus, Colias ladakensis, Colias eogene, Colias stoliczkana, Pieris deota, Pontia chloridice, Alpherakya devanica, Pamiria metallica, Paralasa mani, Paralasa kalinda and Polygonia c-album. We report lower occurrences for the endemic Pieris deota, where the migrant Pontia chloridice is reported to fly at more than 600 m higher than earlier records indicated. Lastly, the male and female genitalia of some endemic and rare species are illustrated, including Euchloe daphalis.

Mean Bone Density in Interadicular Areas of Maxilla among Patients Visiting Dental Unit of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: A close relationship occurs between the type of bone density and the success of orthodontic mini-implant. The aim of this study was to find out the mean bone density in interradicular areas of the maxilla among patients visiting dental unit of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed at the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at a tertiary care centre from 15 January 2022 to 28 June 2022 after taking ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: UCMS/IRC/175/21). Data was collected from scan reports obtained with a computed tomography scanner. Bone density was measured at 6 mm height from the alveolar crest. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Out of 70 patients, mean bone density at interradicular areas of maxilla was 992.31±204.20 HU (944.46-1040.13, 95% Confidence Interval). Between central and lateral incisor 50 (71.44%) had D2 type of bone density. Conclusions: The mean bone density in inter radicular areas of the maxilla among patients visiting the dental outpatient department was similar to other studies done in similar settings. Keywords: bone density; prevalence; prostheses and implants.

Himalayan upliftment and Shiwalik succession act as a cradle for divergence in Bengal monitor lizard Varanus bengalensis (Reptilia: Varanidae) in India.

The Himalayan foothills and associated environment are well-known for driving the rapid diversification of many species and the formation of biodiversity hotspots. The effects of environmental change since the Miocene have accelerated species diversification, and hence are useful for studying population genetic structure, and evolutionary relationships via genetic approaches. To date, the effects of climatic fluctuations on the biogeography of large-bodied lizards have not been assessed comprehensively. Herein, we examine the diversification of Varanus bengalensis, focusing on its genetic structure to provide insights into how landscape structure and climatic fluctuations have shaped species differentiation. We confirm the existence of two distinct lineages within V. bengalensis distributed across the Himalayan foothills and the remainder of mainland India. Divergence analyses revealed the split between the Himalayan foothills and the remainder of the mainland lineages of V. bengalensis in the mid-Pliocene ~3.06 Ma, potentially as a consequence of the Siwalik broadening and climatic fluctuations across the Himalayan foothills. The results suggest recognition of a new lineage of V. bengalensis from the Himalayan foothills as a distinctive evolutionarily significant unit.

Review: Single attribute and multi attribute facial gender and age estimation.

Facial age and gender recognition have vital applications as consumer profile prediction, social media advertisement, human-computer interaction, image retrieval system, demographic profiling, customized advertisement systems, security and surveillance. This paper presents a study on Single Attribute (Attribute: either Gender or Age) and Multi-Attribute (both Gender and Age) prediction model. We present a review for facial age estimation and gender classification methods based on conventional as well as deep learning approaches developed so far with analysis of their pros, cons and insights for future research. Moreover, this study also enlists the databases used for benchmarking results with their properties for both constrained and unconstrained environment.

Avian Haemosporidian (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) Status in Two Bird Groups (Old-World Flycatchers and Thrushes) of India and Their Phylogenetic Relationships with Other Lineages of the World.

PURPOSE: Avian haemosporidian may affect the host from body damage to the extinction of a population. Knowledge of their status may help in future avifauna conservation plans. Hence, their status in two bird groups of India and their phylogenetic relationships with other known lineages of the world were examined. METHODS: Cytochrome b gene sequences (479 bp) generated from India and available at MalAvi database were used to study the avian haemosporidian prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of lineages at local and world levels. RESULTS: One common (COLL2) and only once in the study (CYOPOL01, CHD01, CYORUB01, EUMTHA01, GEOCIT01) haemosporidian lineages were discovered. 5.88% prevalence of haemosporidian infection was found in 102 samples belonging to 6 host species. Haemoproteus prevalence was 4.90% across five host species (Phylloscopus trochiloides, Cyornis poliogenys, C. hainanus dialilaemus, C. rubeculoides, Eumiyas thalassinus) and Plasmodium prevalence was 0.98% in Geokichla citrina. Spatial phylogeny at the global level showed that COLL2 lineage, found in C. poliogenys in India, was genetically identical to H. pallidus lineages (COLL2) in parts of Africa, Europe, North America, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The Plasmodium lineage (GEOCIT01) was related to PADOM16 in Egypt, but the sequences were only 93.89% alike. CONCLUSIONS: Four new lineages of Haemoproteus and one of Plasmodium were reported. COLL2 similarity with other H. pallidus lineages may suggest their hosts as possible infection sources.

Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya.

Background: Human activities have resulted in a rapid increase of modified habitats in proximity to wildlife habitats in the Himalaya. However, it is crucial to understand the extent to which human habitat modification affects wildlife. Mesocarnivores generally possess broader niches than large carnivores and adapt quickly to human activities. Here, we use a case study in the western Himalaya to test the hypothesis that human disturbance influenced mesocarnivore habitat use. Methods: We used camera trapping and mitochondrial DNA-based species identification from faecal samples to obtain mesocarnivore detections. We then compared the responses of mesocarnivores between an anthropogenic site and a less disturbed park along a contiguous gradient in habitat quality. The non-linear pattern in species-specific habitat selection and factors responsible for space usage around villages was captured using hierarchical generalized additive modelling (HGAM) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination. Results: Wildlife occurrences along the gradient varied by species. Leopard cat and red fox were the only terrestrial mesocarnivores that occurred in both anthropogenic site and park. We found a shift in habitat selection from less disturbed habitat in the park to disturbed habitat in anthropogenic site for the species detected in both the habitat types. For instance, red fox showed habitat selection towards high terrain ruggedness (0.5 to 0.7 TRI) and low NDVI (-0.05 to 0.2) in the park but no such specific selection in anthropogenic site. Further, leopard cat showed habitat selection towards moderate slope (20°) and medium NDVI (0.5) in park but no prominent habitat selections in anthropogenic site. The results revealed their constrained behaviour which was further supported by the intensive site usage close to houses, agricultural fields and human trails in villages. Conclusions: Our results indicate shifts in habitat selection and intensive site usage by mesocarnivores in the human-modified habitat. In future, this suggests the possibility of conflict and disease spread affecting both the people and wildlife. Therefore, this study highlights the requisite to test the wildlife responses to rapidly growing human expansions in modified habitats to understand the extent of impact. The management strategies need to have an integrated focus for further expansions of modified habitat and garbage disposal strategies, especially in the human-wildlife interface area.

Genetic Analysis Reveals a Distinct Lineage of Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) in Kratie Province, Cambodia.

The hog deer (Axis porcinus) is an endangered cervid with drastic population declines. There are 2 recognized subspecies of hog deer: A. p. porcinus, ranging from Punjab Province in Pakistan, Nepal, and the Northern part of India to Myanmar, and A. p. annamiticus found in Indo-China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The current geographic range of A. p. annamiticus is still ambiguous. We analyzed variation in the mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA CR) to investigate the intra-species structure, differentiation, and demographic history of hog deer from Cambodia (Kratie Province), which we compared with the populations from India and Thailand. We also generated divergence time estimates using a concatenated dataset of complete Cyt b and partial CR. The CR data showed that Cambodian hog deer are genetically differentiated from the mainland Indian and Thai populations, forming a distinct basal clade. The time of divergence indicates that the Cambodian lineage split from the other 2 hog deer lineages around 0.51 Mya, during the Late Pleistocene. The results also suggest strong phylogeographic structure among hog deer: lineage A extends from Terai Arc (foothills of the Himalayas) to Assam, India (A. p. porcinus), lineage B from Manipur, India to Thailand (A. p. annamiticus), and lineage C is only known from Kratie Province, Cambodia. Lineage A exhibited a higher level of genetic diversity than lineages B and C, with recent demographic stability. Thus, the hog deer population in Kratie Province appears to be a distinct lineage that should be treated as an evolutionarily significant unit.

Taxonomy and ecology of genus Psyra Walker, 1860 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) from Indian Himalaya.

The Psyra Walker, 1860, is a typical Sino-Himalayan genus of the subfamily Ennominae, currently known by 18 species/4 subspecies globally and 9 species from India. This study aims to revise the taxonomy and ecology of Indian Psyra by providing a morphology-based diagnostic key, highlighting their altitudinal, habitat and seasonal preferences, and modelling their distribution based on current and future climatic scenarios. Here, we describe a new species, P. variabilis sp. nov. and document 4 species and 1 subspecies as new to India, viz. P. gracilis, P. szetschwana, P. dsagara, P. falcipennis and P. debilis debilis, thus updating the global species count to 19 with 14 species/1 subspecies from India. We also submitted partial mitochondrial COI sequences of P. crypta, P. similaria, P. spurcataria and P. gracilis as novel to the global genetic database and calculated the overall genetic divergence was 5.17% within the genus, suggesting strong monophyly. Being a typical montane genus, most of the species of Psyra were active within 2000-2280 m altitude, 10.55-15.7°C annual mean temperature, 1200-2300 mm annual precipitation and 168-179 NDVI. Psyra species were predominant in wet temperate, mixed coniferous and moist temperate deciduous forests, their abundance and richness being at peak during post-monsoon months of October-November. The major bioclimatic variables influencing the overall distribution of the genus were mean temperature of warmest quarter, temperature seasonality and precipitation of coldest/driest quarter. While two of the modelled species were predicted to lose area occupancy under future climatic scenarios, the narrow-specialist, Trans-Himalayan species P. debilis debilis was projected to gain up to 75% additional area in the years 2041-60. The results of this study will be helpful to identify sites with maximum area loss projection in ecologically fragile Indian Himalaya and initiating conservation management for such climatically vulnerable insect species groups.

Real-Time Gender Recognition for Juvenile and Adult Faces.

Facial gender recognition is a crucial research topic due to its comprehensive use cases, including a demographic gender survey, visitor profile identification, targeted advertisement, access control, security, and surveillance from CCTV. For these real-time applications, the face of a person can be oriented to any angle from the camera axis, and the person can be of any age group, including juveniles. A child's face consists of immature craniofacial feature points in texture and edge compared to an adult face, making it very hard to recognize gender using the child's face. Real-word faces captured in an unconstrained environment make the gender prediction system more complex to identify correctly due to orientation. These factors reduce the accuracy of the existing state-of-the-art models developed so far for real-time facial gender prediction. This paper presents the novelty of facial gender recognition for juveniles, adults, and unconstrained-oriented faces. The progressive calibration network (PCN) detects rotation-invariant faces in the proposed model. Then, a Gabor filter is applied to extract unique edge and texture features from the detected face. The Gabor filter is invariant to illumination and produces texture and edge features with redundant feature coefficients in large dimensions. Gabor has drawbacks such as redundancy and a large dimension resolved by the proposed meanDWT feature optimization method, which optimizes the system's accuracy, the size of the model, and computational timing. The proposed feature engineering model is classified with different classifiers such as Naïve Bayes, Logistic Regression, SVM with linear, and RBF kernel. Its results are compared with the state-of-the-art techniques; detailed experimental analysis is presented and concluded to support the argument. We also present a review of approaches based on conventional and deep learning methods with their pros and cons for facial gender recognition on different datasets available for facial gender recognition.

Unraveling the mystery of confiscated "jackal horns" in India using wildlife forensic tools.

Internationally, illegal wildlife trade involves highly prized and charismatic species and their derivatives. At the same time, common or less known species and their parts are also encountered but receive less attention than charismatic species. Given the increasing demand for wildlife products in many parts of the world, profit, and short supply, many fake articles derived from domestic or wild animals are frequently encountered in the wildlife trade. Jackal horn (locally known as "Siyar or Gidar singhi") is one such fake item widely used in sorcery and other occult practices available through offline and online trading platforms within India. We used a combination of morphological, microscopic hair, and molecular approaches (Cyt b and 16 s rRNA genes) to reveal the true identity of confiscated "jackal horns" (n = 342). Detailed morphological study of the jackal horns showed that it varied in size, shape, color of hair, attachment material, and filling material. The microscopic hair and molecular approaches revealed that all the items sold as jackal horns were fake and made up of protected wild species and domestic animals. Our results confirm the use of the biological samples from few wild species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, of India. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies are cautioned to get forensic opinions while dealing with such counterfeit items.

The critical appraisal of randomized controlled trials published in an Indian journal to assess the quality of reporting: A retrospective, cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Although randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the highest levels of evidence, they might not necessarily be of good quality. Hence, RCTs should always be appraised critically. Critical appraisal is the corroboration of evidence by methodically studying its validity, reliability, and applicability. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to do a critical appraisal of the RCTs published in Indian Journal of Pharmacology (IJP) from 2011 to 2016. The secondary objective was to scrutinize how adequately the published RCTs adhere to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) declaration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study included all RCTs published as full-text articles in IJP from January 2011 to December 2016. The identified RCTs were critically appraised using the critical appraisal checklist based on CONSORT 2010 guidelines and its extensions. RESULTS: According to this analysis, 75% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56-0.87) of the articles had given details about the sample size calculation. Nearly 89.29% (95% CI: 0.72-0.96) of the articles described the method for generating random allocation sequence, but only 35.71% (95% CI: 0.20-0.54) of the articles described allocation concealment method. Almost 35.71% (95% CI: 0.20-0.54) of the trials reported results as per the principle of the intention to treat (ITT). Nearly 21.43% (95% CI: 0.10-0.39) of the studies reported CIs in the present study. CONCLUSION: Allocation concealment method, analysis of the data based on the ITT principle, and reporting CIs were found to be underreported in this study. There should be more emphasis on reporting of allocation concealment, ITT analysis, and CI.

A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study to critically appraise the quality of reporting of health economic evaluations conducted in the Indian setting.

BACKGROUND: The reporting quality of economic research could benefit from enhanced quality assurance procedures. At present, there are small numbers of health economic researches being conducted with Indian context or setting. There is not much clarity about the reporting quality of health economic researches being conducted with Indian context or setting. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective is to of this study was to appraise the quality of reporting of health economic evaluations conducted in the Indian setting and published between January 2014 and December 2018. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive analysis. The MEDLINE in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were systematically searched to search for economic evaluations. The consolidated health economic evaluation reporting standards statement checklist was utilized to assess the quality of reporting of the included studies. For grading the quality of the included health economic assessments, the Quality of Health Evaluation Studies (QHES) instrument was used. RESULTS: Thirty studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The mean QHES score was 80.26 (standard deviation = 8.06). Twenty-five (83.33%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66-0.92) of the article mentioned perspective of the study. Twenty-nine (96.66%, 95% CI: 0.83-0.99) of the article described the effects of uncertainty for all input parameters. Twenty (66.66%, 95% CI: 0.48-0.80) of the article reported all funding sources. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the quality of reporting of the included health economic studies was good, which reemphasizes their usefulness in supporting the decision-making procedure about better medicine. The finding of this study will be a small step toward ensuring robust and high-quality health economics data in India.

Systematic status of the rare Himalayan wolf snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae).

Lycodon mackinnoni is a poorly known Himalayan endemic snake known from Western Himalaya. Since the original description of L. mackinnoni almost 112 years ago, this species was not reported from its type locality and its phylogenetic position remain unknown. We herein, provide detail morphological description, comparison with type material, phylogenetic relationship with its congeners and new natural history information.

Detection of 40 bp tandem repeat motif and associated insertions and deletions (INDEL) in the mitochondrial DNA control region of Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor).

Sambar (Rusa unicolor) is the largest oriental deer and has a wide distribution across South and Southeast Asia. Despite its wide distribution range, little information on the genetics of this species is available to date. We examined the genetic variability of Sambar populations using a partial fragment of the mtDNA control region and reconstructed the phylogeographic association of Sambar populations across India. We detected 56 haplotypes with an overall haplotype diversity, Hd = 0.939 ± 0.012 and nucleotide diversity, Pi = 0.029 ± 0.002 in Sambar populations across India. The Sambar populations of Northeast India exhibits 30 localized mtDNA control region haplotypes with no haplotype sharing with other populations of India. We identified a 40 bp tandem repeat motif in the mtDNA control region with variable copy numbers ranging between three to six duplications. The Sambar populations across India exhibited phylogeographic differentiation based on the observed insertion and deletion patterns in the mtDNA control region. The 40 bp tandem repeat motif was associated with patterns of insertions and deletions among different populations of Sambar in India. The findings of this study provide baseline information on the mtDNA genetic variability of Sambar populations across India, which is crucial for future population genetic studies.