Vol 14 Issue 2 April 2026-June 2026

Abstract: Nyungwe National Park (NNP), Rwanda, sustains a montane forest ecosystem of exceptional biodiversity and carbon significance within the Albertine Rift, yet the drivers of its vegetation changes remain poorly characterized at fine spatial scales. This study presents a spatio-temporal assessment of vegetation cover change across NNP from 2013–2022, integrating MODIS NDVI (MOD13A2), CHIRPS rainfall, and MODIS land surface temperature (LST; MOD11A2). Long-term NDVI trends were quantified using Sen's slope estimator and the Mann-Kendall test; climate–vegetation relationships were assessed through Pearson correlation and OLS multiple regression with lagged analysis; and spatial clustering of change was identified via Getis-Ord Gi* hotspot analysis. MODIS-derived trends were independently validated against Landsat 8 OLI imagery (30 m).

Results revealed that 70.9% of NNP exhibited significant greening and 28.1% significant browning, with 98% of pixels showing statistically significant change (p<0.05). Despite moderate interannual rainfall variability (CV=8.20%), NDVI remained exceptionally stable (CV=0.68%) a decoupling ratio of approximately 12:1 underscoring the ecosystem's intrinsic buffering capacity. Climate explained virtually none of this variability: NDVI–rainfall correlation was negligible (r=0.075, p=0.836), and the OLS model was non-significant (R²=0.118, p=0.645; n=10 years). Getis-Ord Gi* analysis identified 4,000 ha of 99%-confidence decline coldspots concentrated within 1 km of the northern and southeastern boundaries, and 11,500 ha of recovery hotspots. Edge zones were 1.42 times more likely to contain decline pixels than core areas (chi-squared=36.2, p<0.001).

These findings establish that NNP's montane forest is resilient to normal climate variability and that localised degradation is driven primarily by anthropogenic boundary pressure. The study recommends: (1) improved boundary protection with increased patrol frequency; (2) active restoration targeting 4,000 ha of severe-decline coldspots; and (3) strengthened buffer zone policy with structured community engagement.

Keywords: Nyungwe National Park; NDVI; Spatio-temporal vegetation change; MODIS; CHIRPS; Mann-Kendall trend test; Sen's Slope; Getis-Ord Gi*; Hotspot analysis; Edge effects; Climate–vegetation relationship; Conservation management; Albertine Rift.

Title: Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Vegetation Cover Changes in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda (2013–2022): Implications for Conservation Management

Author: Mr. Telephosa Bakuriramumwami

International Journal of Life Sciences Research

ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)

Vol. 14, Issue 2, April 2026 - June 2026

Page No: 12-26

Research Publish Journals

Website: www.researchpublish.com

Published Date: 06-May-2026

Abstract: Transforming growth factor-β activated kinase1 (TAK1) is a serine threonine kinase stimulated by TGF- β, in addition to other stimuli including inflammatory cytokines, microbial products and environmental stress. TAK1 regulates multiple cellular events notably developmental processes, differentiation, autophagy, apoptosis and cell survival through extensive cross-talk with crucial signalling pathways like, MAP kinases, IKK and JNK. On one hand it engages with energy sensor mechanisms via AMPK and on the other with growth regulation processes dominated by mTOR signaling. By creating a stable TAK1 knockout cell line, we can dissect how loss of TAK1 affects mTORC1 activation, autophagy induction, and cell survival under conditions of nutrient restriction or metabolic stress, thereby clarifying whether TAK1 functions as a pro‑survival, pro‑death, or context‑dependent modulator in hyperproliferative and aging‑like states. For this, three sgRNAs were designed for TAK1 gene. The sgRNA1 and sgRNA2 with the higher activity were respectively used to construct pSpCas9(BB)-2A-Puro-sgRNA1 and pSpCas9(BB)-2A-Puro-sgRNA2. The knockout plasmid vectors were transfected into HEK-293 cells. Through drug screening, the TAK1 gene-knockout HEK293 (TAK1^-/-) cell lines was obtained which was subsequently confirmed with Western blotting and sequencing. This isogenic CRISPR‑derived knockout line will also provide a clean genetic background for rescue experiments and pharmacological studies, improving mechanistic rigour and enabling us to identify TAK1‑dependent nodes that could be targeted for therapeutic intervention in cancer or age‑related pathologies.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas, TAK1, mTOR, Puromycin.

Title: Targeted disruption of TAK1 in HEK293 cells via CRISPR/Cas 9: A tool for functional dissection of inflammatory and autophagic signaling

Author: Tawseeq Abdullah, Waseem Rashid, Asiya Batool, Mohammad Afzal Zargar, Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi

International Journal of Life Sciences Research

ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)

Vol. 14, Issue 2, April 2026 - June 2026

Page No: 5-11

Research Publish Journals

Website: www.researchpublish.com

Published Date: 01-May-2026

Abstract: Clitoria ternatea L., a climber belonging to family Fabaceae, is mentioned in Ayurveda (ancient literature) as an important medicinal herb. Dormancy of seeds has been ascribed to hard seed coat and presence of waxy layer in it. Pre-treatment with chemical solvents thus developed as the most common method to promote germination. The study aimed to investigate the mechanism of dormancy by studying the effect of prolonged seed-dipping in water. Treatment seeds were dipped in water for different durations like 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, while the seeds plated directly on moistened filter paper served as Control. The percent germination at the end of 30 days for Control, 24 hours dip, 48 hours dip, 72 hours dip was 64.00±2.30%, 70.66±1.33%, 77.33±1.33% and 93.33±2.66% respectively. Germination did not improve drastically by 24 hours and 48 hours dipping but responded significantly well to prolonged dipping of 72 hours. It indicates that either the hard seed coat is major factor controlling dormancy which gets softened by prolonged dipping or the inhibitors in seed coat, if any, are not waxy but water-soluble substances, which leach-out by water dipping. The study not only dispels the proposition of waxy layer as inhibitor but also the resultant hazardous chemical seed-dipping methods. Dipping in water also promotes rapid germination of all viable seeds within shorter duration, which would help to get plants and crop of uniform age and maturity.

Keywords: Seed dormancy, Clitoria ternatea, Germination inhibitors, Seed coat.

Title: An investigation into mechanism of seed dormancy in medicinal plant Clitoria ternatea and development of an effective method to overcome dormancy

Author: Pratik Mohammad, Herman Uppal, Jaskaran Singh, M.C. Ravikumar, Heminder Singh

International Journal of Life Sciences Research

ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)

Vol. 14, Issue 2, April 2026 - June 2026

Page No: 1-4

Research Publish Journals

Website: www.researchpublish.com

Published Date: 02-April-2026