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SUMMARY: Brassica carinata (BBCC) commonly referred to as Ethiopian mustard is a natural allotetraploid containing the genomes of Brassica nigra (BB) and Brassica oleracea (CC). It is an oilseed crop endemic to the northeastern regions of Africa. Although it is under limited cultivation, B. carinata is valuable as it is resistant/highly tolerant to most of the pathogens affecting widely cultivated Brassica species of the U's triangle. We report a chromosome‐scale genome assembly of B. carinata accession HC20 using long‐read Oxford Nanopore sequencing and Bionano optical maps. The assembly has a scaffold N50 of ~39.8 Mb and covers ~1.11 Gb of the genome. We compared the long‐read genome assemblies of the U's triangle species and found extensive gene collinearity between the diploids and allopolyploids with no evidence of major gene losses. Therefore, B. juncea (AABB), B. napus (AACC), and B. carinata can be regarded as strict allopolyploids. We cataloged the nucleotide‐binding and leucine‐rich repeat immune receptor (NLR) repertoire of B. carinata and, identified 465 NLRs, and compared these with the NLRs in the other Brassica species. We investigated the extent and nature of early‐generation genomic interactions between the constituent genomes of B. carinata and B. juncea in interspecific crosses between the two species. Besides the expected recombination between the constituent B genomes, extensive homoeologous exchanges were observed between the A and C genomes. Interspecific crosses, therefore, can be used for transferring disease resistance from B. carinata to B. juncea and broadening the genetic base of the two allotetraploid species. Significance Statement: We report a highly contiguous genome assembly of allotetraploid mustard Brassica carinata HC20 (BBCC) which contains resistance to many diseases affecting the other extensively cultivated Brassica species of the U's triangle. Comparative analyses of the long‐read assemblies of the six Brassica species revealed high gene collinearity between the three diploid and their allotetraploid species. We tracked the early‐generation genomic interactions between the subgenomes of B. carinata (BBCC) and B. juncea (AABB) in their interspecific crosses using molecular karyotyping and proposed strategies to utilize this information for genomic introgressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handwashing with soap at critical moments is one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of germs and preventing the spread of infection. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a low-cost, school-based intervention that simulated germs and their spread on hand hygiene knowledge, attitude and practice of primary school children. Five hundred and sixty-two students from 28 rural schools were enrolled in this pre-posttest study. Endline data was collected 4 weeks after conducting the intervention at baseline. The mean scores for knowledge, attitude and practice improved significantly after the intervention (p <.05). Significant positive gains were also observed in children's understanding of germs, the associated illness threat and washing hands with soap as a prevention mechanism. The present study suggests that entertainment-education-based interventions have the potential to improve hygiene behavior among children while being low-cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a laminated paper-based Planar Inverted F Antenna (PIFA) for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. The major challenges like providing adequate thickness, uniformity of surface, and water wet ability associated with paper substrate have been transcended in this antenna design by laminating the substrate with a transparent sheet. The simulated and measured reflection coefficients of the fabricated antenna in free space and on human arm are remarkably good, validating the prototype's utility. It can operate effectively in GSM, WMTS, GPS, DCS, ISM, WiMAX, HIPERLAN, WLAN, and UWB frequency bands with S11 less than -10 dB and the gain ranging from 0.94 to 9.53 dB (free space) and 1.03 to 6.07 dB (on-body). The electrical size of the proposed antenna is 0.16 λg x 0.12 λg at 0.7 GHz with a group delay below 2.3 ns over the desired frequency bands. The performance characteristics are also investigated on-body and it encompasses most of the desired frequency bands for the body area network. This paper also analyses the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the designed antenna by placing it on a tissue-layered human arm model, which is 0.64 Watt/kg, complying with the SAR safety guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of platelet satellitism (PS) is characterized by formation of platelet rosettes around polymorphonuclear leukocytes. We present a case of chronic Kidney disease that developed PS after second cycle of dialysis. A group of experiments have been conducted that suggested that contrary to common belief, anticoagulant does not play any role. In view of available literature we suggest that this phenomenon could be related to either or both of the hemodynamic stress and biocompatibility of the dialysis membrane.

In this paper, loss due to staggered-via in SIW (Substrate Integrated Waveguide) is analyzed with the help of S-parameter responses and field diagrams. It is observed that staggered-via improves the response of an SIW structure, with higher via pitch (w) to via diameter (d) ratio (w/d), but the loss increases drastically at certain discrete frequencies for which λ / 2 n equals to w, where λ is the guided wavelength corresponding to the frequency and n is any integer value excluding zero. This study will be helpful in choosing between the use of single row of vias or staggered-vias as a sidewall, while designing SIWs at higher frequencies, where it is difficult to use conventional w/d ratio values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]