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This paper investigates the performance of combined and separate log type class of estimators of population mean under stratified ranked set sampling. The expressions of bias and mean square error of the proposed estimators are deduced. The theoretical comparison of the proposed estimators with the existing estimators is carried out and the efficiency conditions are reported. The credibility of theoretical results is extended by a simulation study conducted over various artificially generated symmetric and asymmetric populations. The results of the simulation study show that the proposed class of estimators dominate the well-known existing estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In real life, situations may arise when the available data are insufficient to provide accurate estimates for the domain, the small area estimation (SAE) technique has been used to get accurate estimates for the variable under study. The problem of missing data is a serious problem that has an impact on sample surveys, but small area estimates are especially prone to it. This paper is a basic effort that suggests design based synthetic imputation methods for the domain mean estimation using simple random sampling in order to address the issue of missing data under SAE. The expression of the mean square error for the proposed imputation methods are obtained up to first order approximation. The efficiency conditions are determined and a thorough simulation study is carried out using artificially generated data sets. An application is included with real data that further supports this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the breeding grounds of fishes is crucial for the sustainable management of fisheries resources. The present study is aimed at identifying the potential breeding ground of Mugil cephalus along the estuary of the North Mumbai coast. A total of 1197 specimens of M. cephalus, including 546 eggs, 271 larvae, 235 juveniles, and 235 adults, were collected from four sampling stations in the Karanja estuary between January to October 2022. Water quality parameters, plankton dynamics in the estuary, and the reproductive and feeding biology of M. cephalus were also examined. The eggs, larvae, juveniles, and adults were identified using traditional morpho-meristic and DNA barcoding techniques. The results revealed a potential spawning ground of M. cephalus in the Karanja estuary. The results of reproductive biology also confirmed the occurrence of matured fishes during May–July. The abundance of eggs and larvae at the estuary's mouth and the presence of juveniles and mature individuals of M. cephalus dominantly in the Karanja estuary from May to July infer the presence of a spawning site. It is also recorded that M. cephalus spawn in higher salinity (35 ppt) and seawater temperature (33 °C) where the hatching of offspring takes place successfully. This study emphasizes the significance of DNA barcoding in guiding routine monitoring surveys and demonstrates its usefulness when combined with these techniques in identifying fish spawning grounds. The study findings will serve as baseline information to develop effective conservation and management strategies and protect the ideal spawning stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) play a crucial role in developing the Internet of Things (IoT) by collecting data from hostile environments like military and civil domains with limited resources. IoT devices need edge devices to perform real-time processing without compromising the security with the help of key management and authentication schemes. The above applications are prone to eavesdropper due to cryptographic algorithms' weaknesses for providing security in WSNs. The security protocols for WSNs are different from the traditional networks because of the limited resource of sensor nodes. Existing key management schemes require large key sizes to provide high-security levels, increasing the computational and communication cost for key establishment. This paper proposes a Hybrid Key Management Scheme for WSNs linking edge devices which use Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and a hash function to generate key pre-distribution keys. The Key establishment is carried out by merely broadcasting the node identity. The main reason for incorporating a hybrid approach in the key pre-distribution method is to achieve mutual authentication between the sensor nodes during the establishment phase. The proposed method reduces computational complexity with greater security and the proposed scheme can be competently applied into resource constraint sensor nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indiscriminate collection of Arnebia benthamii roots from wild for extraction of red pigments by traders prompted to put this Himalayan plant species under critically endangered category. Concerning the development of sustainable phytoconstituents sources, the present study is aimed at understanding the factors crucial for the scalability of A. benthamii cell suspension cultures. Here, the effect of orbital shaking speed (60–80 rpm) and inoculum density (5–15%) on leaf-induced cell suspension cultures during sequential scale up in shake flask (0.25–5 L) was assessed. The suspension cultures were established on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 10 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 5 μM indole-3-butyric acid having a 20-days cultivation cycle. The data revealed a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) high biomass productivity (523.80 ± 5.95 g/L, fresh weight) in 0.25 L vessel with 10% inoculum at 70 rpm as compared to large (5.0 L) volume flask (310.80 ± 32.85 g/L). Interestingly, the optimum inoculum density was found to vary with the size of culture vessels. Furthermore, noticeable effects of sequential scaleup with shaking speed and inoculum density were also observed on hydrogen peroxide (stress indicator) production as well as enzymatic (catalase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity) and non-enzymatic (phenolic compounds) antioxidant potential. A. benthamii cells cultivated with optimized conditions had a significant amount of red pigment, with 669.17 ± 26.71 mg dry weight/L yield of total shikonin derivatives. In conclusion, the results clearly demonstrated the likelihood of scalability using optimized process variables for the production of natural red pigments using A. benthamii cell suspension cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is a significant source of plant water use since groundwater consumption of plants reduces the volume of surface irrigation water. In this study, groundwater table effect on hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and yield parameters were investigated using a lysimeter technique in a controlled environment. Three different groundwater table depths including 30, 60, and 90 cm and a control treatment with surface irrigation were tested. The results showed that water consumption in the 90 cm water table depth was 11% and 31% lower than the water consumption in the 60 and 30 cm water table depths, respectively. Consequently, the groundwater table depth increased, and crop water consumption decreased. Similarly, with the increasing water table depth from 30 to 90 cm in the lysimeter, the crop water use efficiency and crop yield increased by 79% and 71%, respectively. The 90 cm water table produced the highest crop yield, above-ground biomass, and kernel quality compared to 30 and 60 cm water table depths. Quality analysis of the wheat kernels indicated that the kernels from the 90 cm depth had relatively higher starch content, pasting properties, and gluten proteins compared to the kernels from other water table depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) is an important site for fish culture in sewage-fed areas, which are major receivers of pollutants and wastages from Kolkata. EKW is internationally important as the Ramsar site was declared on Aug 2002 with an area of 125 km2. EKW is a natural water body where wastewater-fed natural aquaculture has been practiced for more than 70 years. It is ecologically vulnerable due to the discharge of toxic waste through sewage canals from cities. Assessing the EKW to understand the inflow and load of the toxic metal (s) in fish, water, and sediments samples is essential. The field (samples collection from 13 sites) and lab (determination of toxic level of metals) based research were carried out to assess metal toxicity and health risk assessment in EKW. The levels of eighteen metals (18), namely Chromium, Vanadium, Cobalt, Manganese, Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Silver, Molybdenum, Arsenic, Selenium, Tin, Gallium, Germanium, Strontium, Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead, were determined using Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in five fish tissues viz. muscle, liver, kidney, gill and brain, along with the water samples and soil sediments in 13 sampling sites. The bioaccumulation and concentration of metals in fish tissues, soil sediments, and water samples were well within the safe level concerning the recommendation of different national and international agencies except for a few metals in a few sampling sites like Cd, As, and Pb. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) was also determined in the soil sediments, indicating moderate arsenic, selenium, and mercury contamination in a few sites. The contamination index in water was also determined in 13 sampling sites. The estimated daily intake (EDI), reference dose (RfD), target hazard quotient (THQ), slope factor and cancer risk of Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Pb and Hg from fish muscle were determined. Based on the results of the present investigation, it is concluded that fish consumption in the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) is safe. The effects of bioaccumulation of metals in muscle tissue were well within the safe level for consumption as recommended by WHO/FAO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study assessed the toxic effect of super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) on haemato-immunological responses, antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress, and metabolic enzyme activities in Labeo rohita fingerlings, as well as the possible ameliorative effect of dietary vitamin E. The experiment was conducted for 30 days (15-day exposure and recovery each) under static bioassay. The LC50 concentration of SPIONs was estimated by 96-h exposure which was 3253.20 mg/L. The fishes were distributed in two groups and exposed to three levels 1/50th, 1/25th, and 1/10th of SPION-LC50 concentration. Group 1: fed with control diet and referred to as CS0, CS/50, CS/25, and CS/10, while group 2: fed vitamin E supplemented diet and referred to as ES0, ES/50, ES/25, and ES/10. Significant alterations were observed in haemato-immunological responses, malondialdehyde (MDA), and oxidative and metabolic enzymes activity even after supplementation of vitamin E. The exposure to SPIONs altered haemato-immunological parameters, MDA accumulation, and tissue enzyme activity, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione s-transferases (GST), xanthine oxidase (XO), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in a dose-dependent manner. However, they relapsed to the level of control in S/50 exposed group at the end of the recovery period. The dietary vitamin E shows significant toxicity mitigating effect during the recovery period. Thus, SPIONs can be used up to a concentration of 65.06 mg/L in the culture water of Labeo rohita and its toxicity at higher doses can be partially ameliorated by feeding of vitamin E (at 250 mg/kg feed) for 15 days during post exposure period. Highlights: • The toxicity of SPIONs increased with increasing concentration of nanoparticle. • The lethal concentration (LC50) of SPIONs was 3253.20 mg/L. • At the end of the recovery period, dietary supplementation of vitamin E ameliorate toxic effect of SPIONs. • The physiological change caused due to the toxic effect of 65.04 mg/L SPIONs can be completely recovered in 15 days by dietary supplementation of vitamin E at 250 mg/kg in L. rohita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests some novel class of log type estimators for the estimation of population mean of study variable under ranked set sampling by utilizing information on population mean of auxiliary variable. The mean square error of the proposed class of estimators is obtained to the first order of approximation. We have compared the proposed class of estimators with some existing competitors under some specific conditions. The theoretical results are validated by a computational study using real and simulated data sets. On the lines of McIntyre (Aust. J. Agr. Res.3, 385–390 1952), Dell (1969) and Dell and Clutter (Biometrics28, 545–555 1972), the effect of skewness and kurtosis over the efficiency of the proposed class of estimators have also studied and reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of Denial of Service (DoS) attack is to restrict authorized users from gaining access to available services and resources or to prevent from processing the benign events. When a DoS attack is launched by multiple connected devices distributed over a network, the attack becomes a Distributed DoS attack (DDoS). The research community addressed various types of DDoS attacks in literature. DDoS attacks are very hazardous and difficult to resolve in real time. Each of these types of attacks has some key features that are identified to improve network security in real time. In this paper, an approach using Random Forest method is presented to extract the basic features from KDDCUP'99 dataset. With these features as the input, the proposed approach is smoothly extended for detection of new and unseen DDoS attacks with the assistance of nine support vector machine kernel functions namely Hyperbolic tangent kernel, Linear kernel, ANOVA RBF kernel, Spline kernel, Radial Basis kernel, Polynomial kernel, Laplacian kernel, Bessel kernel, and String kernel. The experimental study clearly shows that Laplace Dot support vector machine kernel (Laplacian kernel) function gives the paramount performance in terms of detecting seen and unseen DDoS attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro adventitious roots were induced from leaves of Valerianajatamansi to assess their potential as a sustainable alternative to extract pharmaceutically important phytoconstituents. Among the different media used, a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) high root induction (90%) was achieved on Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) medium fortified with 9.84 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). In addition, various process parameters i.e. IBA concentration, sucrose and medium strength were also optimized under submerged cultivation. The maximum fresh root biomass (144.09 ± 11.36 g/L) with a high relative growth rate (2.01 ± 0.04) and growth index (13.41) was achieved in half-strength SH medium having 2% sucrose and 4.92 µM IBA. Further, a significantly high yield of total valerenic acid derivatives [1525.14 µg/g dry weight (DW)] was recorded in adventitious roots as compared to donor plant parts. Individually, valerenic acid (506.27 µg/g DW) was accumulated higher in plant rhizomes, while acetoxyvalerenic (534.91 µg/g DW) and hydroxyl valerenic acid (919.57 µg/g DW) in adventitious roots. Interestingly, hydroxy valerenic acid was unmeasurable in donor plant parts. The phenolic compounds were also found maximum in adventitious roots (451.85 µg/g DW) with the dominance of pharmaceutically important kaempferol and rutin. A substantial increase in phytochemicals was evident at subsequent culture stages with shortened in vitro cultivation cycle (2 months) than field-grown plants (24 months). Moreover, adventitious roots also accumulated 0.059% essential oil with patchouli alcohol (24%) as a key constituent. Conclusively, an enriched metabolic profile and substantially shorter growth cycle under submerged cultivation undoubtedly demonstrated the potential of induced V. jatamansi adventitious roots as a feasible source of phytoconstituents. Key message: In vitro adventitious roots induced leaf of Valerianajatamansi showed improved metabolic profile and shorter cultivation cycle, thereby exhibiting potential as a sustainable alternative for extraction of industrially important phytoconstituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13571-021-00270-1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is an urgent need for an effective, oral therapy for COVID-19. Purified aqueous extract of Cocculus hirsutus (AQCH) has shown robust antiviral activity in in vitro studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AQCH plus standard of care in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19.In an open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in India, eligible patients (aged 18–75 years) were randomized (1:1) to receive AQCH 400 mg orally three times a day plus standard of care (AQCH group) or standard of care alone (control group) for 10 days. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients showing clinical improvement by day 14. Time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization were secondary endpoints.A total of 210 patients were randomized. By day 14 most patients in both groups showed clinical improvement [difference − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.05); p = 1.0]. Median time to clinical improvement was 8 days (IQR 8–11) in the AQCH group versus 11 days (IQR 8–11) in the control group [HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.95–1.71); p = 0.032]. Time to viral clearance and duration of hospitalization were also significantly shorter in the AQCH group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.016, respectively). AQCH was well tolerated, with no safety concerns identified.AQCH significantly reduced time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization. In a pandemic, this has significant potential to decrease healthcare resource utilization and increase hospital bed availability. Further investigation of the therapeutic potential of AQCH in patients with COVID-19 is warranted.Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI/2020/05/025397).Methods: There is an urgent need for an effective, oral therapy for COVID-19. Purified aqueous extract of Cocculus hirsutus (AQCH) has shown robust antiviral activity in in vitro studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AQCH plus standard of care in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19.In an open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in India, eligible patients (aged 18–75 years) were randomized (1:1) to receive AQCH 400 mg orally three times a day plus standard of care (AQCH group) or standard of care alone (control group) for 10 days. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients showing clinical improvement by day 14. Time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization were secondary endpoints.A total of 210 patients were randomized. By day 14 most patients in both groups showed clinical improvement [difference − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.05); p = 1.0]. Median time to clinical improvement was 8 days (IQR 8–11) in the AQCH group versus 11 days (IQR 8–11) in the control group [HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.95–1.71); p = 0.032]. Time to viral clearance and duration of hospitalization were also significantly shorter in the AQCH group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.016, respectively). AQCH was well tolerated, with no safety concerns identified.AQCH significantly reduced time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization. In a pandemic, this has significant potential to decrease healthcare resource utilization and increase hospital bed availability. Further investigation of the therapeutic potential of AQCH in patients with COVID-19 is warranted.Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI/2020/05/025397).Results: There is an urgent need for an effective, oral therapy for COVID-19. Purified aqueous extract of Cocculus hirsutus (AQCH) has shown robust antiviral activity in in vitro studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AQCH plus standard of care in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19.In an open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in India, eligible patients (aged 18–75 years) were randomized (1:1) to receive AQCH 400 mg orally three times a day plus standard of care (AQCH group) or standard of care alone (control group) for 10 days. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients showing clinical improvement by day 14. Time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization were secondary endpoints.A total of 210 patients were randomized. By day 14 most patients in both groups showed clinical improvement [difference − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.05); p = 1.0]. Median time to clinical improvement was 8 days (IQR 8–11) in the AQCH group versus 11 days (IQR 8–11) in the control group [HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.95–1.71); p = 0.032]. Time to viral clearance and duration of hospitalization were also significantly shorter in the AQCH group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.016, respectively). AQCH was well tolerated, with no safety concerns identified.AQCH significantly reduced time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization. In a pandemic, this has significant potential to decrease healthcare resource utilization and increase hospital bed availability. Further investigation of the therapeutic potential of AQCH in patients with COVID-19 is warranted.Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI/2020/05/025397).Conclusions: There is an urgent need for an effective, oral therapy for COVID-19. Purified aqueous extract of Cocculus hirsutus (AQCH) has shown robust antiviral activity in in vitro studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AQCH plus standard of care in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19.In an open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in India, eligible patients (aged 18–75 years) were randomized (1:1) to receive AQCH 400 mg orally three times a day plus standard of care (AQCH group) or standard of care alone (control group) for 10 days. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients showing clinical improvement by day 14. Time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization were secondary endpoints.A total of 210 patients were randomized. By day 14 most patients in both groups showed clinical improvement [difference − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.05); p = 1.0]. Median time to clinical improvement was 8 days (IQR 8–11) in the AQCH group versus 11 days (IQR 8–11) in the control group [HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.95–1.71); p = 0.032]. Time to viral clearance and duration of hospitalization were also significantly shorter in the AQCH group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.016, respectively). AQCH was well tolerated, with no safety concerns identified.AQCH significantly reduced time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization. In a pandemic, this has significant potential to decrease healthcare resource utilization and increase hospital bed availability. Further investigation of the therapeutic potential of AQCH in patients with COVID-19 is warranted.Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI/2020/05/025397).Trial Registration: There is an urgent need for an effective, oral therapy for COVID-19. Purified aqueous extract of Cocculus hirsutus (AQCH) has shown robust antiviral activity in in vitro studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AQCH plus standard of care in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19.In an open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in India, eligible patients (aged 18–75 years) were randomized (1:1) to receive AQCH 400 mg orally three times a day plus standard of care (AQCH group) or standard of care alone (control group) for 10 days. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients showing clinical improvement by day 14. Time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization were secondary endpoints.A total of 210 patients were randomized. By day 14 most patients in both groups showed clinical improvement [difference − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.05); p = 1.0]. Median time to clinical improvement was 8 days (IQR 8–11) in the AQCH group versus 11 days (IQR 8–11) in the control group [HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.95–1.71); p = 0.032]. Time to viral clearance and duration of hospitalization were also significantly shorter in the AQCH group (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.016, respectively). AQCH was well tolerated, with no safety concerns identified.AQCH significantly reduced time to clinical improvement, time to viral clearance, and duration of hospitalization. In a pandemic, this has significant potential to decrease healthcare resource utilization and increase hospital bed availability. Further investigation of the therapeutic potential of AQCH in patients with COVID-19 is warranted.Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI/2020/05/025397). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]