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Background: Sulphotransferase (SOT) enzyme (encoded by a conserved family of SOT genes) is involved in sulphonation of a variety of compounds, through transfer of a sulphuryl moiety from 3'phosphoadenosine- 5'phosphosulphate (PAPS) to a variety of secondary metabolites. The PAPS itself is derived from 3'adenosine-5'phosphosulphate (APS) that is formed after uptake of sulphate ions from the soil. The process provides tolerance against abiotic stresses like drought and heat in plants. Therefore, a knowledge of SOT genes in any crop may help in designing molecular breeding methods for improvement of tolerance for drought and heat. Methods: Sequences of rice SOT genes and SOT domain (PF00685) of corresponding proteins were both used for identification of SOT genes in wheat and six related species (T. urartu, Ae. tauschii, T. turgidum, Z. mays, B. distachyon and Hordeum vulgare), although detailed analysis was conducted only in wheat. The wheat genes were mapped on individual chromosomes and also subjected to synteny and collinearity analysis. The proteins encoded by these genes were examined for the presence of a complete SOT domain using 'Conserved Domain Database' (CDD) search tool at NCBI. Results: In wheat, 107 TaSOT genes, ranging in length from 969 bp to 7636 bp, were identified and mapped onto individual chromosomes. SSRs (simple sequence repeats), microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and their target sites were also identified in wheat SOT genes. SOT proteins were also studied in detail. An expression assay of TaSOT genes via wheat RNA-seq data suggested engagement of these genes in growth, development and responses to various hormones and biotic/abiotic stresses. Conclusions: The results of the present study should help in further functional characterization of SOT genes in wheat and other related crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise manipulation of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and near-infrared plasmonic states holds immense significance for advanced nanoscale spintronics devices including magnetic random-access memory and epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) photonic devices. Notwithstanding the inherent tendency of oxide thin films to favor an in-plane magnetic easy axis, our study unveils an innovative approach to exert experimental control over magnetic anisotropy, magnetic phase in SrRuO3 (SRO) films by growing them coherently and controlling at nanoscale levels via reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED)-assisted pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on distinctively orientedspecifically, (001), (011), and (111) SrTiO3 (STO) single crystalline substrates. Our comprehensive magnetic measurements unequivocally confirm a clear dependence on magnetic anisotropy with more than one competing magnetic phase with different coercivity and saturation magnetization. A larger perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is observed for coherently strained SRO films on (001)-oriented STO compared to their counterparts on (011) and (111)-oriented STO. On the other hand, the orientation-dependent SRO films exhibit tunable plasmonic ENZ, increased metallicity, flexible optical conductivity, and customizable optical transparency in the near-infrared region. These results not only provide a straightforward and effective pathway for achieving tunable PMA and transparent plasmonic states in epitaxial oxide layers but also hold the potential to develop state-of-the-art oxide-based optospin–orbit coupled spintronic switching and memory devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin pumping has significant implications for spintronics, providing a mechanism to manipulate and transport spins for information processing. Understanding and harnessing spin currents through spin pumping is critical for the development of efficient spintronic devices. The use of a magnetic insulator with low damping enhances the signal-to-noise ratio in crucial experiments such as spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and spin pumping. A magnetic insulator coupled with a heavy metal or quantum material offers a more straightforward model system, especially when investigating spin-charge interconversion processes to greater accuracy. This simplicity arises from the absence of unwanted effects caused by conduction electrons unlike in ferromagnetic metals. Here, we investigate the spin pumping in coupled ferrimagnetic (FiM) Y3Fe5O12 (YIG)/Tm3Fe5O12 (TmIG) bilayers combined with heavy-metal (Pt) using the inverse spin Hall effect. It is observed that magnon transmission occurs at both of the FiMs FMR positions. The enhancement of spin pumping voltage (Vsp) in the FiM garnet heterostructures is observed. The plausible reason might be the interfacial exchange coupling between FiMs. The modulation of Vsp is achieved by tuning the bilayer structure. Further, the spin mixing conductance for these coupled systems is found to be ≈ 10 18 m−2. Our findings describe a coupled FiM system for the investigation of magnon coupling providing opportunities for magnonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In bread wheat, a literature search gave 228 QTLs for six traits, including resistance against spot blotch and the following five other related traits: (i) stay green; (ii) flag leaf senescence; (iii) green leaf area duration; (iv) green leaf area of the main stem; and (v) black point resistance. These QTLs were used for metaQTL (MQTL) analysis. For this purpose, a consensus map with 72,788 markers was prepared; 69 of the above 228 QTLs, which were suitable for MQTL analysis, were projected on the consensus map. This exercise resulted in the identification of 16 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) located on 11 chromosomes, with the PVE ranging from 5.4% (MQTL7) to 21.8% (MQTL5), and the confidence intervals ranging from 1.5 to 20.7 cM (except five MQTLs with a range of 36.1–57.8 cM). The number of QTLs associated with individual MQTLs ranged from a maximum of 17 in MQTL3 to 8 each in MQTL5 and MQTL8 and 5 each in MQTL7 and MQTL14. The 16 MQTLs, included 12 multi-trait MQTLs; one of the MQTL also overlapped a genomic region carrying the major spot blotch resistance gene Sb1. Of the total 16 MQTLs, 12 MQTLs were also validated through marker-trait associations that were available from earlier genome-wide association studies. The genomic regions associated with MQTLs were also used for the identification of candidate genes (CGs) and led to the identification of 516 CGs encoding 508 proteins; 411 of these proteins are known to be associated with resistance against several biotic stresses. In silico expression analysis of CGs using transcriptome data allowed the identification of 71 differentially expressed CGs, which were examined for further possible studies. The findings of the present study should facilitate fine-mapping and cloning of genes, enabling Marker Assisted Selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of spin current in materials with high spin–orbit coupling is one of the primary topics for future spintronic applications. In this context, the high conversion efficiency of spin current to charge current is desired. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR)-based inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) is a quite popular method to study such spin-to-charge conversion. Here microwave frequency plays a crucial role in generating spin current which further gets converted to charge current due to spin–orbit interaction of the given material. In this work, we show the effect of microwave frequency on spin-to-charge current conversion efficiency in La 0. 6 7 Sr 0. 3 3 MnO3/Pt heterostructure prepared by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE). From the ISHE analysis the maximum spin pumping voltage of ∼98 μV has been observed. Further spin Hall angle has been calculated for different frequencies and the maximum calculated value (∼0.06) for this system has been obtained at 14 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gait cycle of 25-degree of freedom (DOF) humanoid robot, namely NAO robot, consists of single support phase (SSP) and double support phase (DSP). Both dynamic and stability analyses are carried out for this robot to determine its power consumption and dynamic stability margin, respectively. Constrained single-objective optimization problems are formulated for the SSP and DSP separately and solved using particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithms (GA). A performance index, other than the fitness function, consisting of constraint values and maximum swing height, is also considered to compare PSO and GA-obtained optimal solutions. PSO is able to find the trajectories that offer higher swing height for nearly similar power consumption during SSP. A performance assessment of each algorithm based on the best fitness values in each generation across several runs is also carried out. These values are compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and PSO is found to be statistically better than GA. The optimal solutions from the simulations are tested using the Webots simulator to validate their efficacy on stability. Moreover, an investigation of the influence of gait parameters on power consumption during SSP and DSP reveals that the humanoid robot with a higher hip height, lower swing height, and slow pace consumes less power. The methodology developed in this is generic and can be easily extended to other robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Wireless sensor networks are an indispensable part of the present industrial and environmental scenario, with the everlasting challenges to increase network lifetime and reduce energy consumption. This paper presents an energy‐efficient adaptive clustering (EEAC) model, which is built upon the existing Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol with mobile sink and rendezvous nodes. The nodes are energy aware and participate in cluster head selection only if their current energy is higher than the average energy for the round. The idle nodes in the rendezvous region, which do not act as rendezvous nodes undergo clustering within themselves for the efficient routing of data. The EEAC inspires local clustering successfully conserves the energy of continuous long‐range transmission and enhances network lifetime. The proposed scheme proves to be remarkably better than the previous schemes, especially in large network cross‐sections. It improves alive nodes' performance for around 50% more rounds than the optimizing‐LEACH and the remaining energy curves improve around 500 rounds for 250 mx250 m network. For 350 mx350 m and 450 mx450 m networks, the results improved much in EEAC. In addition, the improvement in stability period is 450%, 578%, and 198% for the network cross‐section 150 mx150 m, 200 mx200m, and 250 mx250 m, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]