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Background: Microcystic pancreatic serous cystadenoma (SCA) can be managed without surgery in selected patients. However, the preoperative diagnosis of microcystic SCA remains challenging, and it is potentially misdiagnosed as other pancreatic cystic neoplasms or solid tumors, especially small microcystic SCA. Case presentation: This was a case of a 27-year-old male patient with microcystic SCA causing difficulty in the differential diagnosis from pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (pNEN). A pancreatic tail mass was incidentally discovered on abdominal ultrasound (US). A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a solid tumor measuring 13 mm with early enhancement in the arterial phase at the pancreatic tail. The tumor showed low intensity on T1-weighted magnetic resonance image, high intensity on T2-weighted image, and a slightly hyperechoic mass on endoscopic US (EUS). EUS-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) did not lead to a definitive diagnosis. The tumor was clinically diagnosed as a pNEN, and a laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy using the Warshaw technique was performed. The final histopathological diagnosis was microcystic SCA. Conclusion: Small microcystic SCA is difficult to distinguish from a hypervascular pancreatic tumor such as pNEN on imaging studies, and it is necessary to focus on the tumor echogenicity of EUS to differentiate microcystic SCA from pNEN preoperatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were conducted to study genetics and combining ability for yield and its attributes under Irrigated (E1) and Rainfed (E2) conditions using F1 hybrids derived from Line X Tester mating design by crossing eleven lines with three testers. Significant differences were observed among all the genotypes for all the traits in both E1 and E2 environments. The σ2gca/σ2sca ratio indicated the predominance of non-additive gene action for all the characters in both environments. Therefore, this component of the variance can be utilized in the breeding program through the exploitation of heterosis and the selection process for identification of superior plant types should be postponed to further generations like F4 or F5. Based on combining ability effect and per se performance in rainfed conditions, parents UP2572 and VL3001 were identified as good general combiners for grain yield per plant. In cross combinations, cross PRL/2*PASTOR//PBW343*2/KUKUNA/3/ROLF07/4/BERKUT//... × WH1142 and UP2572 × WH1142 were identified as the best specific combiners for grain yield per plant under irrigated and rainfed conditions, respectively. So, these identified parents and cross combinations can be exploited for developing water stress tolerant cultivars by identifying transgressive segregants in further breeding cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the acoustics-based power transformer fault diagnosis, a transformer acoustic signal collected by an acoustic sensor is generally mixed with a large number of interference signals. In order to separate transformer acoustic signals from mixed acoustic signals obtained by a small number of sensors, a blind source separation (BSS) method of transformer acoustic signal based on sparse component analysis (SCA) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the mixed acoustic signals are transformed from time domain to time–frequency (TF) domain, and single source points (SSPs) in the TF plane are extracted by identifying the phase angle differences of the TF points. Then, the mixing matrix is estimated by clustering SSPs with a density clustering algorithm. Finally, the transformer acoustic signal is separated from the mixed acoustic signals based on the compressed sensing theory. The results of the simulation and experiment show that the proposed method can separate the transformer acoustic signal from the mixed acoustic signals in the case of underdetermination. Compared with the existing denoising methods of the transformer acoustic signal, the denoising results of the proposed method have less error and distortion. It will provide important data support for the acoustics-based power transformer fault diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining ability along with heterosis was elucidated in the 21 F1 hybrid population of rice derived from a 7 × 7 diallel mating design. Furthermore, to formulate a strategy for marker-based prediction of heterosis, the molecular genetic diversity (GD) was then surveyed among the seven parental lines with RAPD markers. Analysis of combining ability revealed significant GCA and SCA variances and the ratio between the aforesaid genetic parameter was more than unity for most of the traits signifying the preponderance of additive gene action. Hybrid combination Double Rice × Pokkali was the best specific combiner for the traits pollen fertility percentage (%), panicle length (cm), filled grains/panicle (no.) and grain yield/hill (g) while Muktagacha × BRRI dhan29 and Basmati × Double Rice were the best specific combiners for grain length (mm) and 1000-grain weight (g), respectively. Regarding the magnitude of heterosis, Double Rice × Pokkali exhibited maximum heterobeltiosis for panicle length (33.33%) and the number of filled grains/panicle (144.01%). Furthermore, Pokkali × Chinigura was verified for producing the highest heterobeltiosis for tillers/hill (173.17%), as well as grain yield/hill (71.05%). The heatmap relying on molecular genetic diversity exposed the highest genetic distance between Chinigura and Pokkali followed by Muktagacha and Pokkali. Unweighted neighbor-joining trees clustered the parental lines into three groups indicating the presence of considerable genetic diversity among those seven parental genotypes. A positive and significant correlation was explored between molecular GD with specific combining ability as well as heterosis for all of the traits revealing the huge potentiality of hybrid performance prediction using RAPD markers with the present set of individuals. Thus, exploration of definite genomic regions underlying the candidate genes for respective traits relying on such RAPD-generated data following an advanced molecular marker approach would pave the path of mining out yielder heterotic combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia 1 (SCA1) and SCA2 are dominantly inherited ataxias caused due to CAG expansion mutation in ATXN1 (CAG≥39) and ATXN2 (CAG≥32) genes located at 6p22.3 and 12q24.12 loci, respectively, with key manifestations of progressive limb and gait ataxia and with or without brain stem and pyramidal tract involvement. Both SCA1 and SCA2 are quite prevalent subtypes among the SCAs. There are very few reports that describe a combinatorial SCA subtype mutation in a single patient. Cases: Here, we report a novel co‐occurrence of SCA1 and SCA2 mutations in two unrelated patients. Case‐1 was observed to carry ATXN1‐CAG (30/40) and ATXN2‐CAG (23/45), while case‐2 harbored ATXN1‐CAG (29/42) and ATXN2‐CAG (23/41). Overall, the clinical outcome was complex with probable early onset than expected in Case‐1 and in Case‐2, we observed a significant delayed onset of the disease than expected. Conclusion: These cases highlight the probabilistic interactive outcome of two unrelated genetic events towards a converging phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six mungbean parental lines and their fifteen F1s produced from half-diallel mating design were investigated for combining ability and heterosis in terms of a yield and its components. Results showed highly significant variations among the parents and F1s, suggesting a wide genetic variability for the studied characters. Analysis of variance indicated that genotypes mean square values, general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) for all measured traits except for days to flowering, days to maturity, and pod length indicating genetic diversity of parents and both additive and non-additive gene effects in the inheritance of the measured traits. A higher effect of SCA than GCA for plant height and seeds per pod suggests the preponderance of non-additive gene effects in the expression of characters. Based on per se performance and GCA, BARI Mung-1, PS-7, and BMXK1-14004 were the best general combiners for yield per plant. In the context of SCA, hybrids BMXK1-14004 × Sonali mung, BMXK1-14004 × PS-7, BMXK1-14004 × BINA Mung-8, Sukumar × PS-7, and BARI Mung-1 × BINA Mung-8 were good specific combiners. BMXK1-14004 × Sonali mung and BMXK1-14004 × PS-7 were the best heterotic hybrids for yield and yield-contributing traits. These parents and crosses could be utilized for further use in breeding programs to improve yields in mungbean crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) comprise a group of complex and heterogeneous hereditary neurodegenerative disorders characterized by cerebellar ataxia, with ophthalmoplegia, pyramidal and extrapyramidal features, peripheral neuropathy, motor neuron disease, pigmentary retinopathy, epilepsy, and dementia in varying proportions. Cognitive impairment is not frequent in SCAs but is rarely noticed since it gets camouflaged behind the exorbitant ataxic manifestations of the disease. The exact incidence and extent of cognitive impairment in these rare disorders are not known due to the heterogeneity between different SCA types and different modalities of testing employed in different studies. Through our review, we have summarized the cognitive aspects of SCA and can safely conclude that cognitive dysfunction is common in some SCA types when compared to others. Not only is it important to appreciate its presence as a symptom complex in SCA but also is the need to actively search and treat it to improve the patients' quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the side-channel resistance in practice is a problematic and arduous process. Current certification schemes require to attack the device under test with an ever-growing number of techniques to validate its security. In addition, the success or failure of these techniques strongly depends on the individual implementing them due to the fallible and human intrinsic nature of several steps of this path. To alleviate this problem, we propose a battery of automated (Estimation of Distribution Algorihm(EDA)-based) attacks as a side-channel analysis robustness assessment of an embedded device. To prove our approach, we conduct realistic experiments on two different devices, creating a new dataset (AES_RA) as a part of our contribution. Furthermore, in this context of automation, we propose several novel improvements over current EDA-based attacks, as follows: 1) optimization of the search process by employing two proposed initialization techniques; 2) improvement and analysis of the generalization of the obtained templates; 3) acceleration of the search process by combining EDAs with Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The last contribution also serves as an alternative way of selecting optimal principal components automatically. We support our claims with experiments on AES_RA and a public dataset (ASCAD), showing how our, although fully automated, approach can straightforwardly provide state-of-the-art results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetics and crop improvement aspects of medicinal plants in Ashwagandha should be taken consideration to meet the accelerating pharmaceutical demands. For a better understanding of the genetic basis of root yield and related traits, a 9 × 9 diallel analysis excluding the reciprocals was carried out using SKA 27, SKA 11, SKA 6, SKA 24, SKA 10, SKA 26, JA 20, JA 134 and AWS 1 as parents. The σ2gca/σ2sca denotes that the majority of the traits considered except plant height and the number of secondary branches were governed by non-additive gene action. The fresh root yield was governed by almost equal proportions of additive and non-additive gene actions with a slight increment in additive proportion. Even though none of the parents was a good general combiner for all the traits considered, SKA 27 and SKA 11 appeared to be the best general combiners for root traits. The crosses JA 20 × AWS 1, SKA 24 × SKA 26 and JA 134 ×AWS 1 were found to be appropriate for the heterosis breeding on the basis of the estimates of SCA effects.

Objectives: The study aimed to assess COVID-19 impact on the morbidity and mortality of vasooclusive crisis (VOC) in sickle cell anaemia (SCA) patients. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 100 SCA patients; 50 with COVID-19 (COVID group) and 50 without (non-COVID group). All patients signed written informed consent. Results: The COVID group had a significantly higher VOC episode median per year; 3 (IQR,1-6) vs 2 (IQR,2-12) (P < 0.05). The need for hospitalisation was similar in both groups. The non-COVID group had more history of culture-proven infection (P = 0.05). The COVID-group had more osteonecrosis (P < 0.05), splenic sequestration, splenomegaly and hepatic crisis (P = 0.05, 0.006, 0.02; respectively) and significantly higher (P < 0.05) symptoms of fever, cough, fatigue, abdominal pain and anosmia. Mean haemoglobin, lymphocyte subset, platelets, and reticulocytes were reduced in both groups, while lactate dehydrogenase and ferritin levels were significantly elevated. In the COVID group, the rise in white blood cell count, reticulocyte percentage, platelets and ferritin was subdued (P < 0.05). Two patients in the COVID group and 3 in the non-COVID group died; there was no statistically significant difference in mortality. Conclusions: Although COVID-19 may have triggered the onset of VOC, it did not significantly influence VOC-related morbidity or mortality in this SCA cohort.

Physical attacks, including passive Side-Channel Analysis and active Fault Injection Analysis, are considered among the most powerful threats against physical cryptographic implementations. These attacks are well known and research provides many specialized countermeasures to protect cryptographic implementations against them. Still, only a limited number of combined countermeasures, i.e., countermeasures that protect implementations against multiple attacks simultaneously, were proposed in the past. Due to increasing complexity and reciprocal effects, design of efficient and reliable combined countermeasures requires longstanding expertise in hardware design and security. With the help of formal security specifications and adversary models, automated verification can streamline development cycles, increase quality, and facilitate development of robust cryptographic implementations. In this work, we revise and refine formal security notions for combined protection mechanisms and specifically embed them in the context of hardware implementations. Based on this, we present the first automated verification framework that can verify physical security properties of hardware circuits with respect to combined physical attacks. To this end, we conduct several case studies to demonstrate the capabilities and advantages of our framework, analyzing secure building blocks (gadgets), S-boxes build from Toffoli gates, and the ParTI scheme. For the first time, we reveal security flaws in analyzed structures due to reciprocal effects, highlighting the importance of continuously integrating security verification into modern design and development cycles.

IoT edge devices process the data collected, which can contain sensitive information related to the user. It is crucial to incorporate robust encryption algorithms considering the resource and power budget of these devices. In this paper, we present a power-based SCA-resistant implementation of the ChaCha20 encryption algorithm for low-end devices by utilizing memory arrays. The 10T SRAM-based implementation performs simple operations (like NAND, NOR, XOR) on the bitlines and other operations like addition/subtraction, shifting, rotation on custom-designed in-memory elements tightly coupled to sense amplifiers (SA). The design is verified for multiple test vectors to generate power consumption signatures. Welch’s t-test is performed on these signatures to demonstrate that the design is highly resistant to power-based SCA. The proposed implementation of ChaCha20 runs at 250MHz at a 1.2V supply, in 65nm Low Standby Power (LSTP) technology, achieving a speedup of around 7 times in terms of execution time compared to the ARM Cortex A9 processor.

Compared with the traditional collocated multi-input multi-output system (C-MIMO), distributed MIMO (D-MIMO) systems have the advantage of higher throughput and coverage, making them strong candidates for next-generation communication architecture. As a practical implementation of a D-MIMO cooperative network, the multi-TRP (multiple transmission/reception point) system becomes a hotspot in the research of advanced 5G. Different from previous research on a cooperative D-MIMO network with single narrowband transmission, this paper proposes a joint optimization scheme to address the user scheduling problem along with carrier allocation to maximize the total spectral efficiency (SE) in the downlink of coherent multi-TRP systems with multi-carriers. We establish a joint optimization model of user scheduling and resource allocation to maximize the system spectral efficiency under the constraints of power consumption and the backhaul capacity limits at each RAU (remote antenna unit), as well as the QoS (quality of service) requirement at each user. Since the optimization model is both non-covex and non-smooth, a joint optimization algorithm is proposed to solve this non-convex combinatorial optimization problem. We first smooth the mixed-integer problem by employing penalty functions, and after decoupling the coupled variables by introducing auxiliary variables, the original problem is transformed into a series of tractable convex optimization problems by using successive convex approximation (SCA). Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed joint optimization algorithm for user scheduling and resource allocation can reliably converge and achieve a higher system SE than the general multi-TRP system without carrier allocation, and this advantage is more pronounced under a higher backhaul capacity or higher power consumption constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid potato breeding has become a novel alternative to conventional potato breeding allowing breeders to overcome intractable barriers (e.g. tetrasomic inheritance, masked deleterious alleles, obligate clonal propagation) with the benefit of seed-based propagule, flexible population design, and the potential of hybrid vigor. Until now, however, no formal inquiry has adequately examined the relevant genetic components for complex traits in hybrid potato populations. In this present study, we use a 2-step multivariate modeling approach to estimate the variance components to assess the magnitude of the general and specific combining abilities in diploid hybrid potato. Specific combining ability effects were identified for all yield components studied here warranting evidence of nonadditive genetic effects in hybrid potato yield. However, the estimated general combining ability effects were on average 2 times larger than their respective specific combining ability quantile across all yield phenotypes. Tuber number general combining abilities and specific combining abilities were found to be highly correlated with total yield's genetic components. Tuber volume was shown to have the largest proportion of additive and nonadditive genetic variation suggesting under-selection of this phenotype in this population. The prominence of additive effects found for all traits presents evidence that the mid-parent value alone is useful for hybrid potato evaluation. Heterotic vigor stands to be useful in bolstering simpler traits but this will be dependent on target phenotypes and market requirements. This study represents the first diallel analysis of its kind in diploid potato using material derived from a commercial hybrid breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight parental inbred lines and their 28 crosses through the half diallel cross were used for estimation of general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities to select the best crosses for grain yield, earlier and lower ear placement. Half diallel cross mating design was carried out during the summer season of 2015 in BENI HEDER research farm of the Egyptian Agricultural Company for seed production (EGAS) Company to produce 28 yellow maize hybrids. At 2016 season, 28 hybrids (F1) and eight parents were tested in a trial using randomized complete block design with four replications, and also at 2017 season the same trial was repeated. The data was collected for ten different characters. A Griffing's method ΙΙ model ΙΙ was used to calculate the GCA and SCA effect and to estimate the genetic components. Inbred lines were evaluated, and then inbred 711 significantly contributed to the good performance of the hybrids for grain yield trait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of video super-resolution (SR) is to produce a high-resolution (HR) video frame from numerous successive low-resolution (LR) frames. Even though there are a large number of techniques employed for the video SR, all these existing techniques face a hectic challenge at various conditions. Thus, this paper proposes an effective video resolution strategy using the hybrid Support vector regression–Actor Critic Neural Network (SVR–ACNN) model for video enhancement. The SR images formed using the individual SVR model and ACNN are integrated using the weighted average concept. The ACNN is tuned optimally by the proposed Fractional-based Sine Cosine algorithm (F-SCA), which is responsible for the global optimal convergence. The experimentation of the proposed method utilizes three videos taken from the Cambridge-driving Labeled Video Database (CamVid), and the results are analyzed for three scaling factors. The results prove that the proposed model offers a better SR image with a better PSNR, SSIM, and SDME of 33.6447 dB, 0.9398, and 45.2779, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many regions of the world, Leishmaniasis is a cause of substantial mortality and ailment. Due to impediment in available treatment, development of novel and effective treatments is indispensable. Significance of autophagy has been accentuated in infectious disease as well as in Leishmaniasis, and it is having capability to be manifested as a therapeutic target. By evincing autophagy as a novel therapeutic regime, this study emphasized on the critical role of ATG4.1-ATG8 and ATG5-ATG12 complexes in Leishmania species. The objective here was to identify ATG8 as a potential therapeutic target in Leishmania. R71T, P56E, R18P are the significant mutations which shows detrimental effect on ATG8 while Arg276, Arg73, Cys75 of ATG4.1 and Val88, Pro89, Glu116, Asn117, and Gly120 are interacting residues of ATG8. Along with this, we also bring into spotlight an enticing role of Thiabendazole derivatives that interferes with the survival mechanisms by targeting ATG8. Further, the study claims that thiabendazole can be a potential drug candidate to target autophagy process in the infectious disease Leishmaniasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ITPR1 gene encodes inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-receptor-type 1, a Ca2+ channel highly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. ITPR1 gene variants, through a loss-of-function mechanism, have been found to be related with the manifestation of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) 15, an adult-onset slow progressive cerebellar ataxia, SCA 29, a rare non-progressive congenital cerebellar ataxia and Gillepsie syndrome (SCA 29 phenotype plus aniridia). They share an heterogeneity of additional phenotypic features while no genotype-phenotype correlation has ever been found. Here we report the case of a boy with cerebellar ataxia who came to our clinic due to his cervical dystonia in the form of retrocollis. He presented an early-onset, non-progressive cerebellar ataxia, with cognitive impairment and delayed motor milestones. Whole exome sequencing (WES) revealed an heterozygous nucleotide variation, c.829A > C (p.Ser277Arg) in ITPR1 gene (NM_001168272.1), a de novo ITPR1 variant, as his parents came up with negative genetic testing. Due to his clinical presentation and genetic result, we came up with the diagnosis of SCA 29. We described cervical dystonia as a phenotypic feature of ITPR1 related SCA 29, found in a new de novo ITPR1 -variant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroblastoma is one of the commonest childhood cancers and typically affects very young children. It is characterized by a very broad spectrum of clinical presentation and outcome, driven by the biology of the tumour. This ranges from 'low risk' tumours, most commonly found in infants, which may spontaneously regress and have an excellent prognosis with minimal or no treatment, to 'high risk' disease, which carries a poor prognosis despite intensive multi-modal treatment. Although particular presentations may be associated with favourable or unfavourable outcome, the clinical features may mask the underlying biology of the tumour and a full assessment of the clinical and biological features is required to determine appropriate treatment. The International Neuroblastoma Risk Group classification, based on the age of the patient and the stage, grade and genetics of the tumour, is used to stratify treatment according to risk factors. This review provides an overview of current neuroblastoma management, focusing on how classification is applied in practice, and how this is used to determine individual patient treatment. The challenges that remain in treating patients with high-risk disease are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ReRAM being a non-volative memory technology, which features low power consumption, high scalability and allows for in-memory computing, it is a promising candidate for future computer architectures. Approximate computing is a design paradigm, which aims at reducing the complexity of hardware by trading off accuracy for area and/or delay. In this article, we introduce approximate computing techniques to in-memory computing. We extend existing compilation techniques for the Programmable Logic in-Memory (PLiM) computer architecture, by adapting state-of-the-art approximate computing techniques for arithmetic circuits. We use Cartesian Genetic Programming for the generation of approximate circuits and evaluate them using a Symbolic Computer Algebra-based technique with respect to error-metrics. In our experiments, we show that we can outperform state-of-the-art handcrafted approximate adder designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Underdetermined DOA estimation, which means estimating more sources than sensors, is a challenging problem in the array signal processing community. This paper proposes a novel algorithm that extends the underdetermined DOA estimation in a Sparse Circular Array (SCA). We formulate this problem as a matrix completion problem. Meanwhile, we propose an inverse beamspace transformation combined with the Gridless SPICE (GLS) algorithm to complete the covariance matrix sampled by SCA. The DOAs are then obtained by solving a polynomial equation with using the Root-MUSIC algorithm. The proposed algorithm is named GSCA. Monte-Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate the GSCA algorithm, the spatial spectrum plots and RMSE curves demonstrated that the GSCA algorithm can give reasonable results of underdetermined DOA estimation in SCA. Meanwhile, the performance of the algorithm under various configurations of SCA is also evaluated. Numerical results indicated that the GSCA algorithm can provide access to solve the DOA estimation problem in Uniform Circular Array (UCA) when random sensor failures occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threshold implementations have emerged as one of the most popular masking countermeasures for hardware implementations of cryptographic primitives. In this work, we provide three TI optimization techniques: First, a generic construction for d + 1 TI sharing achieves the minimal number of output shares for any n-input Boolean function of degree t = n - 1 and for any d. Next, we present a methodology for finding minimal number of output shares in d + 1 TI when t < n - 1 . Third, a heuristic for minimizing the number of output shares for higher-order t d + 1 TI for any n, any t and d ≤ 2 is proposed. In addition, we describe an optimization for the secure AES schedule which achieves maximum throughput for a serial implementation. Then, we demonstrate the applicability of our results on d + 1 and t d + 1 TI versions, for first- and second-order secure, low-latency and low-energy implementations of the PRINCE block cipher. We show the fastest and the most energy efficient known TI-protected implementations of PRINCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato breeding in Bangladesh is very challenging because it is grown in the short winter season, and flowering does not occur naturally, explaining why artificial lighting and extra care are needed. In addition, the breeding scheme is mainly focused on improving potato yield, followed by tuber quality. The goal of this study was to choose male parents, as well as the effect of environment, on flowering and fruit (berry) setting and to estimate the combining ability among promising BARI-released potato varieties in the second filial generation. Lines of seven Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) varieties were crossed with two BARI variety potato parents as the tester (Line × tester). The BARI Alu-86, BARI Alu-72, BARI Alu-73, and BARI Alu-53 were selected as the best male parents based on the abundance of pollen and fruit set. In both years, flower initiation days varied among clones. For the majority of the traits, such as plant height, tuber number, and yield per plant, the variance of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) varied. The inheritance of the considered trait was predominant by non-additive gene action. Concerning general combining ability, for plant height, parents 'BARI Alu-41' and 'BARI Alu-53', for stem per hill, 'BARI Alu-79′, for tuber number, 'BARI Alu-37', and for yield, 'BARI Alu-37' and 'BARI Alu-79' contributed complementary favorable alleles. The specific combining ability indicated 'BARI Alu-37' × 'BARI Alu-86' and 'BARI Alu-77' × 'BARI Alu-72' were the best potential hybrid families for the production of improved genotypes of tuber yield and tuber number. This study will help to design a breeding program following potato population development and the selection of progeny before their utilization as progenitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Line x tester analysis was carried out involving six lines and 4 testers for seed cotton yield, yield contributing traits and fibre quality traits for estimation of combining ability effects of parents for sixteen characters. The analysis of combining ability revealed that the variance for SCA were larger than GCA except uniformity ratio which corresponds with non- additive gene action which can be improved by heterosis breeding. Based on the high per se performance and high gca effect, the parents C 10-8 and RAHC 1917 were considered as best general combiner for boll weight and single plant yield per plant. Regarding boll weight, TCH 1822 and C 10-8 were good general combiners with significantly high per se performance. These parents were found to be recorded as good general combiners for different characters. Hence, these can be used in recombination breeding to obtain more favorable gene recombinations for seed cotton yield. The cross TCH 1819 x RS 2821 showed a positive and significant sca effect for the number of bolls, boll weight and seed cotton yield. The cross Anjali x CPD 1501 showed a positive and significant sca effect for boll weight, lint index, seed index and seed cotton yield. The cross TCH 1926 x RS 2821 exhibited a positive significant sca for the number of bolls, 2.5 % span length and fibre strength. The non – additive gene action has played an important role in expression of seed cotton yield and its component traits which justify the heterosis breeding and its exploitation commercially.

Studies on genetics and trait relationships with grain yield and other agronomic traits are critical for improving the micronutrients content in the grain and it forms an effective strategy for breeding bio fortified sorghum. It greatly contributes to addressing micronutrient malnutrition in poor people who are dependent on sorghum as a staple food. Development of hybrids with high grain Fe and Zn and higher yield enables delivery of commercial products that address both food and nutrition while bringing profits to farmers. The present study was aimed at developing suitable breeding strategy and improving breeding products using gene action, heterosis and combining ability analysis for improving the grain Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) concentration and grain yield in sorghum. This study was conducted in Line × Tester mating design involving seven parents. A total of 12 new hybrids were developed by mating three lines with four testers. The combining ability of the crosses indicated predominance of dominance variance than additive variance for the agronomic traits such as days to 50% flowering, grain yield, grain Fe and Zn concentrations except for plant height and 100 seed weight. Higher magnitude of SCA than GCA variance for grain iron and zinc concentrations indicated the importance of non-additive gene action in the improvement of nutritional traits. Hybrids exhibited heterosis for agronomic traits and for grain Fe concentration and grain Zn. Most of the traits showed significant positive heterosis over mid parent value indicating the predominance of dominant gene action except the trait 100 seed weight. Significant positive mid-parent heterosis for grain iron indicated that there would be an opportunity to exploit heterosis in improving for grain Fe. But for Zn concentration, there is a limited possibility for exploitation of heterosis. This study suggested that simple selection will improve plant height and 100 seed weight in sorghum but heterosis breeding is more useful for improving grain yield. While both parents need to be improved for improving grain Zn concentration, there is good scope for exploiting heterosis for improving grain Fe concentration in sorghum.

Kepadatan penduduk di daerah perkotaan berimplikasi terhadap ketersediaan ruang terbuka hijau (RTH) yang terbatas. RTH memiliki peran penting untuk menjaga kualitas lingkungan dan kesehatan masyarakat yang tinggal di daerah tersebut. Untuk itu diperlukan sebuah indicator berupa Suhu Permukaan Tanah (SPT) untuk mengetahui sebaran dan kecukupan RTH di kawasan tertentu. Data SPT kontinyu selanjutnya dapat dijadikan dasar dalam pembangunan dan manajemen RTH. SPT dapat diperoleh dengan perekaman data meterologi menggunakan stasiun cuaca. Namun data yang diperoleh terbatas secara jumlah dan sebaran spasial. Sehingga pemanfaatan citra satelit dengan sensor termal menjadi sebuah solusi untuk mendapatkan SPT dengan cakupan area yang luas. Pada penelitian ini, analisis perubahan suhu dilakukan di Kota Surabaya dengan menggunakan data Landsat 8 TIRS pada tanggal 5 Agustus 2018 sampai 12 September 2018. Hasil dari estimasi SPT dengan metode Single-Channel Algorithm (SCA) kemudian divalidasi dengan suhu yang terekam pada Stasiun Cuaca Juanda (BMKG Juanda) dan Stasiun Cuaca Otomatis ITS (PWS ITS). Pada periode 5 Agustus 2018 hingga 12 September 2018, SPT maksimum, minimum dan rata-rata di Surabaya adalah 36oC, 20oC dan 27oC. Terdapat perbedaaan suhu antara LST dan BMKG Juanda sebesar ±0,11oC (11 Agustus 2018) dan ±0,34oC (12 September 2018). Sementara beda suhu antara LST dan PWS ITS adalah ±0,88oC (11 Agustus 2018) dan ±3,22oC (12 September 2018). Hasil uji korelasi antara data SPT dengan BMKG Juanda dan PWS ITS menunjukkan adanya korelasi yang sangat kuat antara kedua data (R= 87%).

Seven cucumber (Cucumissativus L.) genotypes (3 lines and 4 testers) were crossed in a line × tester mating design. The resultant 12 hybrids and their parents were evaluated using Randomised Block Design with two replications during Kharif 2018. Sufficient genetic variability was observed for all the characters under study. In this study, the parents L2 (Koradacherry local), T2 (Orathanadu local) and T3 (Aipatti local) exhibited high positive GCA (General Combining Ability) effects for yield related traits and high negative GCA effects for earliness characters. The parent T2 identified in this study may be used in multiple crossing programme to isolate high yielding varieties. Among the hybrid combinations, L2xT3, L1xT2 and L3xT4 expressed the maximum positive significant SCA (Specific Combining Ability) effects for yield and yield associated characters. In the above cross combinations one parent was a good combiner and the other was an average/poor combiner; hence the hybrids can be exploited for transgressive selection.

Introducción: El Helicobacter pylori es una bacteria altamente prevalente en la población guatemalteca. Es conocida por su patología gastrointestinal pero se ha relacionado con condiciones inflamatorias sistémicas que podrían desencadenar procesos fisiopatológicos en otros sistemas orgánicos como el sistema cardiovascular. En este estudio nos enfocamos en la coexistencia de la bacteria y el síndrome coronario agudo. Objetivo: Identificar la presencia de infestación por Helicobacter pylori en pacientes que consultaron a un hospital público por un síndrome coronario agudo. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio transversal descriptivo. Se incluyeron un total de 50 pacientes ingresados a la unidad de cardiología con diagnóstico de síndrome coronario agudo, a los cuáles se les realizó antígeno de H. pylori en heces. Resultados: De todos los pacientes con síndrome coronario agudo, 68% son de sexo masculino; 52% padecen de hipertensión arterial y 50% de diabetes mellitus tipo 2. El 54% de los pacientes con síndrome coronario agudo estaban infectados por H. pylori. Conclusión: El estudio demostró mayor tasa de infección por H. pylori en pacientes con diagnóstico de SCA, sin embargo, no fue posible determinar aumento en riesgo atribuible ni causalidad.

Background: The 5-year prognosis of non-high-risk neuroblastomas is generally good (>90%). However, a proportion of patients show progression and succumb to their disease. We aimed to identify molecular aberrations (not incorporated in the current risk stratification) associated with overall survival (OS) and/or event-free survival (EFS) in patients diagnosed with non-high-risk neuroblastoma., Methods: We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Google Scholar. Two reviewers independently and blindly screened titles/abstracts, references of protocols/reviews and full texts. Risk of bias was assessed using a customized Quality in Prognostic Studies tool. Applicability was assessed using a tool designed by the researchers. GRADE criteria were used to determine quality of evidence., Results: Sixteen studies (4718 patients) were included. A segmental chromosomal aberration (SCA) profile was associated with lower survival. 1p loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and 17q gain were associated with lower OS and EFS. 1p deletion and 2p gain were associated with lower OS, but this was not the same for EFS. 3p deletion was not associated with worse outcome. Quality of evidence was downgraded because of imprecision and publication bias and upgraded because of moderate/large effect, resulting in a moderate quality of evidence., Conclusion: The association of 1p LOH, 1p deletion, 2p gain and 17q gain with OS and EFS suggests that these SCAs may be added to the risk stratification to identify non-high-risk neuroblastomas with worse prognosis.

Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), a promising method for interrogating different brain functional networks from a single MRI acquisition, is increasingly utilized in clinical presurgical and other pretherapeutic brain mapping. However, challenges in standardization of acquisition, preprocessing, and analysis methods across centers, and variability in results interpretation, complicate its clinical use. Additionally, inherent problems regarding reliability of language lateralization, interpatient variability of cognitive network representation, dynamic aspects of intranetwork and internetwork connectivity, and effects of neurovascular uncoupling on network detection still must be overcome. Although deep-learning solutions and further methodologic standardization will help address these issues, rs-fMRI remains generally considered an adjunct to task-based fMRI (tb-fMRI) for clinical presurgical mapping. Nonetheless, in many clinical instances, rs-fMRI may offer valuable additional information that supplements tb-fMRI, especially if tb-fMRI is inadequate due to patient performance or other limitations. Future growth in clinical applications of rs-fMRI is anticipated as challenges are increasingly addressed. In this AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review, we summarize the current state and emerging clinical utility of rs-fMRI, focusing on its role in presurgical mapping. We present ongoing controversies and limitations in clinical applicability and discuss future directions including the developing role of rs-fMRI in neuromodulation treatment for various neurologic disorders.

One of the characteristic regions of brainstem degeneration across multiple spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) is the inferior olive (IO), a medullary nucleus that plays a key role in motor learning. The vulnerability of IO neurons remains a poorly-understood area of SCA pathology. In this work, we address this by evaluating IO disease in SCA1, a prototypic inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy, using the genetically-precise SCA1 knock-in (SCA1-KI) mouse. We find that these mice exhibit olivary hypertrophy, a phenotype reminiscent of a degenerative disorder known as hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD). Similar to early stages of HOD, SCA1-KI IO neurons display early dendritic lengthening and later somatic expansion without frank cell loss. Though HOD is known to be caused by brainstem lesions that disrupt IO inhibitory innervation, we observe no loss of inhibitory terminals in the SCA1-KI IO. Additionally, we find that a separate mouse model of SCA1 in which mutant ATXN1 is expressed solely in cerebellar Purkinje cells shows no evidence of olivary hypertrophy. Patch-clamp recordings from brainstem slices indicate that SCA1-KI IO neurons are hyperexcitable, generating spike trains in response to membrane depolarization. Transcriptome analysis further reveals reduced medullary expression of ion channels responsible for IO neuron spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP)-a result that appears to have a functional consequence, as SCA1-KI IO neuron spikes exhibit a diminished AHP. These findings suggest that expression of mutant ATXN1 in IO neurons results in an HOD-like olivary hypertrophy, in association with increased intrinsic membrane excitability and ion channel transcriptional dysregulation., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Restricted by a metal-enclosed structure, the internal defects of large transformers are difficult to visually detect. In this paper, a micro-robot is used to visually inspect the interior of a transformer. For the micro-robot to successfully detect the discharge level and insulation degradation trend in the transformer, it is essential to segment the carbon trace accurately and rapidly from the complex background. However, the complex edge features and significant size differences of carbon traces pose a serious challenge for accurate segmentation. To this end, we propose the Hadamard production-Spatial coordinate attention-PixelShuffle UNet (HSP-UNet), an innovative architecture specifically designed for carbon trace segmentation. To address the pixel over-concentration and weak contrast of carbon trace image, the Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE) algorithm is used for image enhancement. To realize the effective fusion of carbon trace features with different scales and reduce model complexity, the novel grouped Hadamard Product Attention (HPA) module is designed to replace the original convolution module of the UNet. Meanwhile, to improve the activation intensity and segmentation completeness of carbon traces, the Spatial Coordinate Attention (SCA) mechanism is designed to replace the original jump connection. Furthermore, the PixelShuffle up-sampling module is used to improve the parsing ability of complex boundaries. Compared with UNet, UNet++, UNeXt, MALUNet, and EGE-UNet, HSP-UNet outperformed all the state-of-the-art methods on both carbon trace datasets. For dendritic carbon traces, HSP-UNet improved the Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU), Pixel Accuracy (PA), and Class Pixel Accuracy (CPA) of the benchmark UNet by 2.13, 1.24, and 4.68 percentage points, respectively. For clustered carbon traces, HSP-UNet improved MIoU, PA, and CPA by 0.98, 0.65, and 0.83 percentage points, respectively. At the same time, the validation results showed that the HSP-UNet has a good model lightweighting advantage, with the number of parameters and GFLOPs of 0.061 M and 0.066, respectively. This study could contribute to the accurate segmentation of discharge carbon traces and the assessment of the insulation condition of the oil-immersed transformer.

Whether genetic factors influence the associations of fatty acids with the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is largely unknown. To investigate possible gene-fatty acid interactions on SCA risk, we used a case-only approach and measured fatty acids in erythrocyte samples from 1869 SCA cases in a population-based repository with genetic data. We selected 191 SNP in ENCODE-identified regulatory regions of fifty-five candidate genes in fatty acid metabolic pathways. Using linear regression and additive genetic models, we investigated the association of the selected SNP with erythrocyte levels of fatty acids, including DHA, EPA and trans-fatty acids among the SCA cases. The assumption of no association in non-cases was supported by analysis of publicly available datasets containing over 8000 samples. None of the SNP-fatty acid associations tested among the cases reached statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons. One SNP, rs4654990 near PLA2G2A, with an allele frequency of 0·33, was nominally associated with lower levels of DHA and EPA and higher levels of trans-fatty acids. The strongest association was with DHA levels (exponentiated coefficient for one unit (1 % of total fatty acids), 0·90, 95 % CI 0·85, 0·97; P = 0·003), indicating that for subjects with a coded allele, the OR of SCA associated with one unit higher DHA is about 90 % what it is for subjects with one fewer coded allele. These findings suggest that the associations of circulating n-3 and trans-fatty acids with SCA risk may be more pronounced in carriers of the rs4654990 G allele.

Ten diverse lines of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.] were crossed in diallel mating design excluding reciprocals during winter (rabi) season 2014–15 to study heterosis and combining ability. The mean squares due to genotypes including parents, crosses and parents vs. crosses were significant for all the traits. The analysis of variance revealed significant mean sum of squares of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) for most of the characters at all three environments, except mean sum of squares due to GCA for length of siliqua in E3 environment and mean sum of squares due to SCA for plant height in E1 and for number of secondary branches per plant in E3 environment. In pooled analysis, mean squares due to GCA, SCA, GCA × E and SCA × E were significant for all the eight characters except SCA × E for plant height and GCA × E for protein content. The estimates of GCA effects revealed that parents, viz. Pusa Vijay, PM-30 and Bio-902 were good general combiners for yield contributing traits and the best specific cross combinations for yield and its attributing traits were PM-27 × RGN-229, PM-27 × RGN-73, Pusa Vijay × Laxmi, Pusa Vijay × DRMR-IJ-31 and Pusa Vijay × RGN-73 on the basis of pooled analysis. The crosses Bio-902 × RGN-48, PM-30 × Bio-902 and Bio-902 × RGN-73 exhibited highest and positive significant heterotic effects for seed yield per plant and its important component traits. These F1s may be exploited for obtaining transgressive segregants for development of hybrid varieties in Indian mustard.

In this work, we present RAMBAM, a novel concept of designing countermeasures against side-channel attacks and the Statistical Ineffective Fault Attack (specifically SIFA-1) on AES that employs redundant representations of finite field elements. From this concept, we derive a family of protected hardware implementations of AES. A fundamental property of RAMBAM is a security parameter d that along with other attributes of the scheme allows for making trade-offs between gate count, maximal frequency, performance, level of robustness to the first and higher-order side-channel attacks, and protection against SIFA-1. We present an analytical model that explains how the scheme reduces the leakage and how the design choices affect it. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally how different design choices achieve the required goals. In particular, the compact version exhibits a gate count as low as 12.075 kGE, while maintaining adequate protection. The performance-oriented version provides latency as low as one round per cycle, thus combining protection against SCA and SIFA-1 with high performance which is one of the original design goals of AES. Finally, we assess the leakage of the scheme for the first and the second (bivariate) orders using TVLA methodology on an FPGA implementation and observe resilience to at least 348M traces with 16 Sboxes.

Objective: New technologies to measure pain responses, such as heart rate variability and skin conductance hold promise in the development of tools that can be reliable and quantifiable of detecting pain. The main objective of this study was to assess the capability of two monitors i.e., Newborn Infant Parasympathetic Evaluation (NIPE) and Skin Conductance Algesimeter for detecting procedural pain in non-anesthetized infants.Materials and Methods: Thirty-three non-anesthetized infants were enrolled to the study. To detect pain caused by heel stick, NIPE, and Skin Conductance monitors and behavioral pain scales were used. Three minutes before and just after heel stick, pain was evaluated by behavioral scales, and simultaneously over the whole period by NIPE and SCA.Results: A statistically significant decrease of NIPE Index and an increase of SCA values were found after the HS procedure. There were no statistically significant differences between the decrease in NIPEi values and the increase in PPS values between subgroups based on pain assessment by behavioral-scale scores.Conclusion: Both NIPE and SCA can be useful for detection of procedural pain and may constitue an additional valuable tool for better handling of pain among patients treated in NICUs. More studies on larger groups of patients are needed.

Abstract Combining ability analysis provides useful information for the selection of parents, also information regarding the nature and magnitude of involved gene actions. Crops improvement involves strategies for enhancing yield potentiality and quality components. Targeting the improvement of respective characters in bitter gourd, combining ability and genetic parameters for 19 characters were estimated from a 6×6 full diallel analysis technique. The results revealed that the variances due to general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were highly significant for most of the important characters. It indicated the importance of both additive and non-additive gene actions. GCA variances were higher in magnitude than SCA variances for all the characters studied indicating the predominance of the additive gene effects in their inheritance. The parent P2 (BG 009) appeared as the best general combiner for earliness; P1 (BG 006) for number of fruits, average single fruit weight and fruit yield; P4 (BG 027) for node number of first female flower and days to seed fruit maturity; P3 (BG 011) for fruit length and thickness of the fruit flesh; P5 (BG 033) for 100-seed weight; and P6 for number of nodes per main vine. The SCA effect as well as reciprocal effect was also significant for most of the important characters in different crosses.