Siva Ganesh

Physical, mental and social components of well-being are known to be important to health. However, research on well-being often focuses on physical and mental well-being with little attention paid to social well-being. This research aims to develop and preliminarily validate the South Wales Social Well-being Scale (SWSWBS) to measure social well-being. A non-experimental and cross-sectional design was applied with two phases: scale development and preliminary validation. Initially, 24 items were drawn from a Group Concept Mapping study exploring the concept of social well-being. These items were reviewed and reduced to 14 for preliminary validation among 103 university students and staff in health and social care disciplines. Construct validity (exploratory factor analysis and convergent validity) were tested. Reliability was demonstrated by internal consistency. Floor and ceiling effects were also evaluated. A 3-factor structure was identified and explored, which highlight the most important features of the social world a person inhabits: “Safe and inclusive interaction with others” (6 items), “Learning, helping, and feeling useful” (4 items), and “Security, worthwhile activities, family and friends” (4 items). The SWSWBS was correlated to the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and the Four measures of Personal Well-being Scale to some extent. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.85 for the sum score and 0.83–0.86 for individual items. The item-total correlation coefficients ranged between 0.08 and 0.65. The split half reliability coefficient was 0.78. There is absence of a floor effect, but most items had a ceiling effect. Preliminary validation of the SWSWBS shows the scale has satisfactory psychometric properties with good validity, reliability, and reasonable variability. This study needs to be replicated with larger and representative populations to explore how the scale can be used alongside the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale to capture a holistic/multi-dimensional understanding of well-being.

Aim: To examine the psychometric properties of the ‘Jefferson Scale of Empathy’. Design: A methodological study was conducted. Methods: A sample of 230 nursing students was used to analyse the psychometric properties of the ‘Jefferson Scale of Empathy’. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity. Cronbach's alpha and item‐total correlations were carried out to test internal consistency reliability. Results: The mean score of the empathy SUM was 112.0 (SD: 12.6). A three‐factor model was explored. This factor structure does not replicate the original ‘Jefferson Scale of Empathy’ when it was validated with medical students, but it is in line with later research with nursing students. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.80 for the SUM and 0.80–0.84 for individual items. Item‐total correlation coefficients were 0.01–0.63. No Patient or Public Contribution: Because this study focused on nursing students. No patients or the public were involved.

Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC, a highly valuable medicinal herb from the Daspushpam category of Ayurvedic essential plants in the Oxalidaceae family. It is also called as, little tree plant, life plant and sensitive plant growing in Africa, South Asia and Madagascar's tropical region. It has an intriguing characteristic that is similar to that of the touch-me-not plant. This article describes the synonyms, biological source, phytoconstituents and various pharmacological activities of Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC, which include Anti-inflammatory, Anti diabetic, Anti urolithiatic, Antibacterial, Immunomodulatory and anti tumor activity, Nephroprotective activity, Antifertility, Radioprotective, Hypocholesterolemic effect, Wound healing, Anti-fungal activity, Antihypertensive, Analgesic activity, Antipyretic activity, Chemoprotective activity, Anti-fungal activity ,Anti angiogenic activity, Anti-metastatic activity, Larvicidal activity and Diuretic activity.

Modified, agricultural landscapes are susceptible to damage by insect pests. Biological control of pests is typically successful once a control agent has established, but this depends on the agent’s capacity to co-evolve with the host. Theoretical studies have shown that different levels of genetic variation between the host and the control agent will lead to rapid evolution of resistance in the host. Although this has been reported in one instance, the underlying genetics have not been studied. To address this, we measured the genetic variation in New Zealand populations of the pasture pest, Argentine stem weevil (Listronotus bonariensis), which is controlled with declining effectiveness by a parasitoid wasp, Microctonus hyperodae. We constructed a draft reference genome of the weevil, collected samples from a geographical survey of 10 sites around New Zealand, and genotyped them using a modified genotyping-by-sequencing approach. New Zealand populations of Argentine stem weevil have high levels of heterozygosity and low population structure, consistent with a large effective population size and frequent gene flow. This implies that Argentine stem weevils were able to evolve more rapidly than their biocontrol agent, which reproduces asexually. These findings show that monitoring genetic diversity in biocontrol agents and their targets is critical for long-term success of biological control.

Increasing the rate of genetic gain for dry matter (DM) yield in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), which is a key source of nutrition for ruminants in temperate environments, is an important goal for breeders. Genomic selection (GS) is a strategy used to improve genetic gain by using molecular marker information to predict breeding values in selection candidates. An empirical assessment of GS for herbage accumulation (HA; proxy for DM yield) and days-to-heading (DTH) was completed by using existing genomic prediction models to conduct one cycle of divergent GS in four selection populations (Pop I G1 and G3; Pop III G1 and G3), for each trait. G1 populations were the offspring of the training set and G3 populations were two generations further on from that. The HA of the High GEBV selection group (SG) progenies, averaged across all four populations, was 28% higher (p < 0.05) than Low GEBV SGs when assessed in the target environment, while it did not differ significantly in a second environment. Divergence was greater in Pop I (43%–65%) than Pop III (10%–16%) and the selection response was higher in G1 than in G3. Divergent GS for DTH also produced significant (p < 0.05) differences between High and Low GEBV SGs in G1 populations (+6.3 to 9.1 days; 31%–61%) and smaller, non-significant (p > 0.05) responses in G3. This study shows that genomic prediction models, trained from a small, composite reference set, can be used to improve traits with contrasting genetic architectures in perennial ryegrass. The results highlight the importance of target environment selection for training models, as well as the influence of relatedness between the training set and selection populations.

Rumen bacterial species belonging to the genera Butyrivibrio are important degraders of plant polysaccharides, particularly hemicelluloses (arabinoxylans) and pectin. Currently, four distinct species are recognized which have very similar substrate utilization profiles, but little is known about how these microorganisms are able to co-exist in the rumen. To investigate this question, Butyrivibrio hungatei (MB2003) and Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus (B316 ^T ) were grown alone or in co-culture on the insoluble substrates, xylan or pectin, and their growth, release of sugars, fermentation end products and transcriptomes were examined. In single cultures, B316 ^T was able to degrade and grow well on xylan and pectin, while B. hungatei MB2003 was unable to utilize either of these insoluble substrates to support significant growth. Co-cultures of B316 ^T grown with MB2003 revealed that MB2003 showed almost equivalent growth to B316 ^T when either xylan or pectin were supplied as substrates. The effect of co-culture on the transcriptomes of B316 ^T and MB2003 was very marked; B316 ^T transcription was largely unaffected by the presence MB2003, but MB2003 expressed a wide range of genes encoding carbohydrate degradation/metabolism and oligosaccharide transport/assimilation in order to compete with B316 ^T for the released sugars. These results suggest that B316 ^T has a role as an initiator of the primary solubilization of xylan and pectin, while MB2003 competes effectively as a scavenger for the released soluble sugars to enable its growth and maintenance in the rumen. IMPORTANCE: Feeding a global population of nine billion people and climate change are the primary challenges facing agriculture today. Determining the roles of rumen microbes involved in plant polysaccharide breakdown is fundamental to understanding digestion and maximizing productivity of ruminant livestock. Butyrivibrio are abundant rumen bacteria and are a substantial source of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes with biotechnological applications for the depolymerization of lignocellulosic material. Our findings suggest that closely related species of Butyrivibrio have developed unique strategies for the degradation of plant fibre and the subsequent assimilation of carbohydrates in order to coexist in the competitive rumen environment. The identification of genes related to their enzymatic machinery by which these bacteria work in concert to degrade these different forms of polysaccharides contributes to our understanding of carbon flow in the rumen.