<div>Background: Crop yield prediction is an important issue for the proper selection of crop for sowing. Earlier prediction of crop is done by the farmer&rsquo;s experience on a particular type of field and crop. Predicting the crop is done by the farmer&rsquo;s experience based on the factors like soil types, climatic condition, seasons and weather, rainfall and irrigation facilities.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: Data mining techniques is the better choice for predicting the crop. Different Data Mining techniques are used and evaluated in agriculture for estimating the future year&rsquo;s crop production. This research proposes and implements a system to predict crop yield from soil data. This is achieved by applying Decision Tree Algorithm on agricultural data. The main aim of this research is to pinpoint the accuracy of Decision Tree Algorithm and C 5.0 algorithm which is used to predict the crop yield.&nbsp; 
 
Result: This paper presents a brief analysis of Crop yield prediction using data mining technique based decision tree algorithm and C5.0 algorithm for the selected region (Krishnagiri) district of Tamil Nadu in India. The experimental result shows that the proposed work efficiently to determine the accuracy of decision tree algorithm and also to predict the crop yield production using R- Tool.</div>

<div>Soil Data Analysis and Crop Yield Prediction in Data Mining using R-Tool</div>

<div>Background:&nbsp;Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNAs with covalently closed loop structures, play important role in mammalian growth and development by regulating gene expression and participating in various biological processes. The aim of this study was to identify the expression profiles of circRNAs in the ovaries of Hu sheep and local Fat-tailed sheep during the luteal phase to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of circRNAs on reproduction and follicular development in sheep. 
 
Methods: To identify the differentially expressed circRNAs expressed in luteal phase conditions in Hu sheep and fat-tailed sheep, ovarian samples collected during the luteal phase were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and subsequent transcriptomic approaches and bioinformatics analysis. 
 
Result:&nbsp;A total of 2,875 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified by high-through sequencing. Gene Ontology terminology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis showed that the host genes were mainly involved in the secretion and metabolism of the various pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to validate the results of expression profiling. These results contributed to an improved understanding of circRNA and the biological mechanisms of ovarian reproduction in sheep.</div>

Identification of Circular RNAs in the Ovaries of Hu Sheep and Local Fat-tailed Sheep during the Luteal Phase

<div>Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are active regulators of numerous biological and physiological processes and play an important role in the regulation of animal ovaries and other reproductive related organs. To understand the molecular mechanisms of miR-10 family, we investigated the molecular characteristics and the relative expression of sheep miR-10a and miR-10b (miR-10a/b) and conducted bioinformatics analysis. 
 
Methods: During the period 2018-2019 total of 20 samples including blood and tissues such as hypothalamus, pituitary and ovary were collected from the Hu sheep raised in the National Meat Sheep Experimental Station of China (Luoyang City, Henan Province, China). Blood was collected from jugular vein by vacuum and anticoagulation blood collection tube and stored in refrigerator at -20&deg;C. The tissues were placed into the cryopreservation tube treated with Diethy pyrocarbonate (DEPC) water and stored in liquid nitrogen. All the samples were processed for isolation and confirmed with biochemical analysis and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. 
 
Result: The target genes were predicted by three kinds of target gene predicting software. The function of target genes and their involved pathways were obtained by gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. The relative expression of miR-10a/b in sheep ovary was extremely significantly higher than that in hypothalamus and pituitary gland (P &lt; 0.01). The relative expression of miR-10b in ovary or pituitary was extremely significantly higher than that of miR-10a (P &lt; 0.01) and the relative expression of miR-10b in hypothalamus was significantly higher than that of miR-10a (P &lt; 0.05). These results serve as a foundation for further study on the Sheep miR-10 family.</div>

<div>Cloning, Characterization and Bioinformatics Analysis of the Sequences of miR-10a and miR-10b in Sheep (Hu sheep)</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">Background: Sheep farm data is often biased by extreme values which are generally introduced due to errors in manual measurement. These values interfere with the accuracy of estimations especially in state-of-the-art techniques like Machine Learning.&nbsp; 
Methods: Therefore, winsorization technique was attempted for the removal of outliers from sheep farm data data for 11 years (2011-2021) for body weights at different ages. Some outliers were deliberately introduced into the data to check the efficiency of the technique. This study was conducted during the year 2021. 
Result: Our results indicate that outlier values of 15.3, 42, 44, 60, 90 for birth weight, weaning weight, 6-month, 9 month and 12-month body weight which were far from the normal range were removed using this technique. The mean and standard deviation values were altered after winsorization. Winsorization technique works well for sheep farm data to remove the bias introduced by outliers and also removes, to a large extent, the need for manual outlier removal in data.</div>

Outlier Removal in Sheep Farm Datasets Using Winsorization

<div>Background: Hassan sheep is the third most populous breed of the five registered sheep breeds from Karnataka with limited studies on its morphological and carcass characteristics. Hence, the study was undertaken to know the present status of morphological and carcass characteristics of this breed. 
 
Methods: A total of 34 randomly selected flocks were surveyed and the data on various parameters were collected. The morphometrical data was collected on 344 sheep belonging to eight flocks from the breeding tract. The carcass characteristics were documented by slaughtering six male lambs (between nine to twelve months of age). 
 
Result: These sheep had varied coat colours viz. complete white (23.3%), white with light brown patches (58.1%) and white with black patches (18.6%) on head and neck region. It was observed that 40.4 per cent of males and only 1.4 per cent of females were horned. Atrophied ears were noticed in 2.3 per cent of these sheep. The average adult body length (cm), height at wither (cm), chest girth (cm), paunch (cm), ear length (cm), tail length (cm) and average adult body weight (kg) were 66.4&plusmn;0.62, 65.03&plusmn;1.45, 75.2&plusmn;1.02, 76.5&plusmn;1.38, 15.2&plusmn;0.07, 11.5&plusmn;0.07 and 32.7&plusmn;2.03 in males and 63.8&plusmn;0.85, 61.7&plusmn;1.38, 71.8&plusmn;2.32, 74.5&plusmn;2.60, 15.0&plusmn;0.34, 11.3&plusmn;0.08 and 27.8&plusmn;1.21 in females, respectively. The difference in body weight between males and females increased significantly over the age. The pre-slaughter weight (PSW), hot carcass weight (HCW) and dressing percentage recorded were 20.3&plusmn;1.42 Kg, 9.5&plusmn;0.23 kg and 46.80 per cent, respectively.</div>

Phenotypic and Carcass Characterization of Hassan Sheep

<div>Background: Sheep is one of the small ruminant types widely distributed and popular in Indonesia, especially on Java Island. This study aimed to characterize male Indonesian local sheep breeds on Java Island based on their qualitative morphological traits.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: This study identified twenty-nine qualitative morphological characteristics in 627 head sheep consisting of Priangan, Garut, Batur, Wonosobo, Javanese Thin Tailed (JTT), Javanese Fat-Tailed (JFT) and Sapudi sheep. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square analysis (X2), multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25 and NTSYS-pc version 2.11. 
 
Result: All the qualitative morphological traits variables were significantly different (P&lt;0.01) between the seven sheep breeds. Seven sheep breeds could be categorized into three groups: 1) JFT and Sapudi sheep; 2) JTT, Priangan and Garut sheep; and 3) Batur and Wonosobo sheep. The Garut and Batur sheep have the most distant relationship (26.781). The JFT and Sapudi sheep have the closest relationship (1.345), as well as between Batur and Wonosobo sheep (10.064) and between Priangan and JTT sheep (2.453). Garut sheep have the most distant relationship with other sheep breeds, except with Priangan (4.259) and JTT (8.157) sheep. It was concluded that male Indonesian local sheep breeds on Java Island could be characterized using qualitative morphological traits.</div>

Qualitative Morphological Characterization of Male Indonesian Local Sheep Breeds on Java Island, Indonesia

<div>Background: The study of the homology of loci between different species has allowed the improvement of specific genetic knowledge and the development of several fundamental concepts. Thanks to this method, Wright discovered the correspondence between a gene and an enzyme (Wright, 1917). In ruminants, this correspondence between loci of different species has been demonstrated for a very long time (Lauvergne, 1979). In fact, the objective of this work was, initially, to use microsatellites recommended for sheep (FAO, 2011) for the amplification of bovine DNA to show that these loci are homologous and, then, to study the genetic diversity and population structure of three groups of each of the two species in Tunisia. 
 
Methods: In this study, we used three microsatellite markers (OarFCB304, OarFCB193 and MAF209) to verify whether they can be amplified in both sheep and cattle. For that, we considered 28 samples of sheep species from 3 different populations and 17 samples of cattle belonging to three breeds. The data obtained were also used to study their genetic diversity and population structure.&nbsp; 
 
Result: We have demonstrated the existence of microsatellite regions common to sheep and cattle. Regarding genetic diversity, we observed a heterozygous deficiency in all the studied breeds. Nei&rsquo;s genetic distances were greater between breeds of cattle than between breeds of sheep.</div>

Detection of Homologous Loci in Sheep and Cattle

Majority of the Kargil sheep populations are indigenous. Very scanty information is available for morphological characterization of Purky sheep population. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with the objectives to study the morpho-metric characteristics and body measurements for phenotypic characterization of the local sheep. A stratified random sample survey was conducted on various parameters (horn size, tail size, chest girth, punch girth, body length, height at wither and body weight) in seven different age groups. Data were collected randomly from 510 sheep of either sex. The local sheep population of Kargil which was selected for the present investigation is named as &lsquo;Purky&rsquo; by the name of the community that reared this breed. In Purky sheep white body colour was predominant in both the sexes. The sheep breed was of low to medium body weight. The chest girth, punch girth, height at withers of Purky sheep showed it to be medium sized. Sex had significant effect (P&lt;0.05) on height at wither only. For males the least squares means were higher for all the traits of all age groups baring few exceptions. The phenotypic correlations of age groups with different morpho-metric traits were very high. The phenotypic correlations of &nbsp;body weight with other body measurements like tail size, chest girth, paunch girth, body length and height at wither were very high. Further studies should be carried out to fully exploit their genetic potential and to register the breed and in-situ conservation of this population. 
&nbsp;

Phenotypic characterization of Purky sheep population of Kargil district 
&nbsp;

In this study, serological and molecular research was conducted on the Rotavirus infection in domestic breeds of sheep at 2&ndash;3 years of age. The sheep included in the study were raised on small scale family units of less than 20 sheep per unit, in central Kars province and its districts (Susuz, Arpa&ccedil;ay, Kagizman and Selim) in the Northeast Anatolia region of Turkey. The blood and fecal samples were collected randomly from 450 sheep. They were analyzed for the presence of Rotavirus and the antibody against the virus using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The highest seropositive ratio (73.46%) was found in central Kars province. The seroprevalence of Rotavirus in sheep raised in the Kars region was determined to be 55.33%. Rotavirus was not detected in fecal samples with ELISA. Molecular detection of Rotavirus from fecal samples was done by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique using specific generic primers for VP6 protein. Rotavirus could not be detected in RT-PCR. The data that were obtained showed that the infection spreads on small scale family farms. Based on this information, recommendations were made for controlling Rotavirus infection.

Investigation of Rotavirus infection in sheep using&nbsp;serological and molecular techniques

<div>Background: The thyroid gland is vital endocrine gland which secretes three hormones i.e. thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and Calcitonin hormones. The thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) hormones are biologically active and are required for maintenance of normal levels of metabolic activity. The thyroid also produces calcitonin from the parafollicular cells which act directly on osteoclast to decrease the bone resorption which lower the blood calcium level. Deficient or excessive production of thyroid hormones may lead to serious pathological states with outward symptoms.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The gross anatomical and biometrical studies were conducted on thyroid gland of buffalo, sheep and goat (n=12) collected immediately after slaughtering from slaughter house and local meat shop. The weight of thyroid gland was measured by weighing balance, volume by water displacement method, length and width of lateral lobes and isthmus by calibrated scale and inelastic thread and thickness of lateral lobes and isthmus was measured by digital vernier calliper. The data was analysed statistically. 
 
Result: The lateral lobes were roughly triangular in buffalo and elongated in sheep and oval in goat. The surfaces were granular and rough in buffalo but smooth in sheep and goat. It extended from thyroid cartilage to 2nd tracheal ring in buffalo, 1st to 6th tracheal ring in sheep and 1st to 7th tracheal ring in goat. The left lobe was larger than the right lobe in all the three species studied. The thyroid gland was biggest in buffalo followed by goat and smallest in sheep. The density of isthmus was more than the lobes in sheep and goat but not in buffalo.</div>

Soil Data Analysis and Crop Yield Prediction in Data Mining using R-Tool

Identification of Circular RNAs in the Ovaries of Hu Sheep and Local Fat-tailed Sheep during the Luteal Phase

Cloning, Characterization and Bioinformatics Analysis of the Sequences of miR-10a and miR-10b in Sheep (Hu sheep)

Outlier Removal in Sheep Farm Datasets Using Winsorization

Phenotypic and Carcass Characterization of Hassan Sheep

Qualitative Morphological Characterization of Male Indonesian Local Sheep Breeds on Java Island, Indonesia

Detection of Homologous Loci in Sheep and Cattle

Phenotypic characterization of Purky sheep population of Kargil district

Investigation of Rotavirus infection in sheep using serological and molecular techniques

Comparative Gross Anatomical and Biometrical Studies on Thyroid Gland of Buffalo, Sheep and Goat