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Summary: Grain size is a crucial agronomic trait that affects stable yield, appearance, milling quality, and domestication in rice. However, the molecular and genetic relationships among QTL genes (QTGs) underlying natural variation for grain size remain elusive.Here, we identified a novel QTG SGW5 (suppressor of gw5) by map‐based cloning using an F2 segregation population by fixing same genotype of the master QTG GW5. SGW5 positively regulates grain width by influencing cell division and cell size in spikelet hulls. Two nearly isogenic lines exhibited a significant differential expression of SGW5 and a 12.2% increase in grain yield. Introducing the higher expression allele into the genetic background containing the lower expression allele resulted in increased grain width, while its knockout resulted in shorter grain hulls and dwarf plants.Moreover, a cis‐element variation in the SGW5 promoter influenced its differential binding affinity for the WRKY53 transcription factor, causing the differential SGW5 expression, which ultimately leads to grain size variation. GW5 physically and genetically interacts with WRKY53 to suppress the expression of SGW5.These findings elucidated a new pathway for grain size regulation by the GW5‐WRKY53‐SGW5 module and provided a novel case for generally uncovering QTG interactions underlying the genetic diversity of an important trait in crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanofluids became much of interest due to their superior heat mechanism over the conventional fluids. The addition of nanoparticles in the host solvent enhances the internal ability of the liquid to store and transmit heat. Therefore, these fluids are widely used in biomedical engineering, detergents, medication, applied thermal engineering, mechanical, and chemical engineering and so forth. Keeping in mind the significance of nanofluids, this study is conducted to investigate the comparative heat transmission in γAl2O3−H2O${\mathrm{\gamma Al}}_2{{\mathrm{O}}}_3 - {{\mathrm{H}}}_2{\mathrm{O}}$ and γAl2O3−C2H6O2${\mathrm{\gamma Al}}_2{{\mathrm{O}}}_3 - {{\mathrm{C}}}_2{{\mathrm{H}}}_6{{\mathrm{O}}}_2$ under the Effective Prandtl Number Model (EPNM) effects over a vertical permeable cylinder. Formulation of the model is carried out over a vertical cylinder about the stagnation point and the heat transport model is achieved after the successful implementation of the cylindrical stream function, nanofluids effective characteristics, and cylindrical similarity equations. The mathematical treatment was done via RK technique and furnished the results. The nanofluids have the capacity to control the fluid motion more effectively than ordinary fluid and combined convection is better where rapid fluid movement is desired. In the existence of EPNM, higher heat transmission is achieved and is prominent for γAl2O3−C2H6O2${\mathrm{\gamma Al}}_2{{\mathrm{O}}}_3 - {{\mathrm{C}}}_2{{\mathrm{H}}}_6{{\mathrm{O}}}_2$ based on their thermophysical values. Further, the skin friction and Nusselt number are optimum for γAl2O3−C2H6O2${\mathrm{\gamma Al}}_2{{\mathrm{O}}}_3 - {{\mathrm{C}}}_2{{\mathrm{H}}}_6{{\mathrm{O}}}_2$ against α1${\alpha }_1$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of nanoliquid characteristics and their heat performance have attracted the interest of engineers. These engineered fluids have high thermal conductivity due to which such liquids are reliable for different engineering applications including heating/cooling of buildings, thermal and mechanical engineering, etc. Therefore, the current research design provides a new ternary nanoliquid model for the heat transport process under induced magnetic field effects, mixed convection, heating source and thermal radiations. The modeling has been done by implementing the ternary fluid characteristics and supportive transformations and then for results simulation; bvp4c is coded successfully. It is scrutinized that a higher inductive magnetic field (0.1–0.4) and nanoparticles amount (0.01–0.07) are better to resist the movement while the wedge parameter (λ1) promotes it. By promoting the heating source, Eckert and Rd, the heat transfer process is observed rapidly while the mixed convective number α controls it. Further, the particular used ternary nanoliquid is examined and found to be good for cooling purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ever-expanding online fashion market, businesses in the clothing sales sector are presented with substantial growth opportunities. To utilize this potential, it is crucial to implement effective methods for accurately identifying clothing items. This entails a deep understanding of customer preferences, niche markets, tailored sales strategies, and an improved user experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can recognize and categorize clothing items play a crucial role in achieving these objectives, empowering businesses to boost sales and gain valuable customer insights. However, the challenge lies in accurately classifying diverse attire items in a rapidly evolving fashion landscape. Variations in styles, colors, and patterns make it difficult to consistently categorize clothing. Additionally, the quality of images provided by users varies widely, and background clutter can further complicate the task of accurate classification. Existing systems may struggle to provide the level of accuracy needed to meet customer expectations. To address these challenges, a meticulous dataset preparation process is essential. This includes careful data organization, the application of background removal techniques such as the GrabCut Algorithm, and resizing images for uniformity. The proposed solution involves a hybrid approach, combining the strengths of the ResNet152 and EfficientNetB7 architectures. This fusion of techniques aims to create a classification system capable of reliably distinguishing between various clothing items. The key innovation in this study is the development of a Two-Objective Learning model that leverages the capabilities of both ResNet152 and EfficientNetB7 architectures. This fusion approach enhances the accuracy of clothing item classification. The meticulously prepared dataset serves as the foundation for this model, ensuring that it can handle diverse clothing items effectively. The proposed methodology promises a novel approach to image identification and feature extraction, leading to impressive classification accuracy of 94%, coupled with stability and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary nanofluids are significantly enhanced the thermal conductivity and heat transfer performance of conventional nanofluids. These fluids magnify the thermal properties like coolants in heat transport equipment such as electronic cooling, radiators and heat exchangers. In light of aforementioned importance, the aim of ongoing research is to investigate the thermal performance of water-based ternary nanoliquid which contains metallic and oxide nanoparticles (MoS2, SiO2, Au) through a cylinder subject to normal magnetic field, combined convection, resistive heating and internal heating species. By including these significant physical contribution; basic model transformed into final form and then investigated via RK-technique coupling with shooting scheme. The results for the heat transfer in ternary, hybrid and conventional nanoliquids are simulated under increasing parametric values. It is scrutinized that the amount of MoS2 nanoparticles from 0.1 to 0.6% and Ec (Eckert number) from 0.01 to 0.04 effectively enhanced the fluid of the functional fluids. In the presence of internal heating species, the rapid increase in the temperature in ternary nanoliquid is examined than that of hybrid and simple fluids. Further, the shear drag on the cylinder surface improved when the strength of mixed convection increased while these effects are better to control the temperature over the working domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting the long-term lifetime of power MOSFET devices plays a central role in the prevention of unprecedented failures for power MOSFETs used in safety-critical applications. The various traditional model-based approaches and statistical and filtering algorithms for prognostics have limitations in terms of handling the dynamic nature of failure precursor degradation data for these devices. In this paper, a prognostic model based on LSTM and GRU is developed that aims at estimating the long-term lifetime of discrete power MOSFETs using dominant failure precursor degradation data. An accelerated power cycling test has been designed and executed to collect failure precursor data. For this purpose, commercially available power MOSFETs passed through power cycling tests at different temperature swing conditions and potential failure precursor data were collected using an automated curve tracer after certain intervals. The on-state resistance degradation data identified as one of the dominant failure precursors and potential aging precursors has been analyzed using RNN, LSTM, and GRU-based algorithms. The LSTM and GRU models have been found to be superior compared to RNN, with MAPE of 0.9%, 0.78%, and 1.72% for MOSFET 1; 0.90%, 0.66%, and 0.6% for MOSFET 5; and 1.05%, 0.9%, and 0.78%, for MOSFET 9, respectively, predicted at 40,000 cycles. In addition, the robustness of these methods is examined using training data at 24,000 and 54,000 cycles of starting points and is able to predict the long-term lifetime accurately, as evaluated by MAPE, MSE, and RMSE metrics. In general, the prediction results showed that the prognostics algorithms developed were trained to provide effective, accurate, and useful lifetime predictions and were found to address the reliability concerns of power MOSFET devices for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects breathe using one or a combination of three gas exchange patterns; continuous, cyclic and discontinuous, which vary in their rates of exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. In general, there is a trade-off between lowering gas exchange using discontinuous exchange that limits water loss at the cost of lower metabolic rate. These patterns and hypotheses for the evolution of discontinuous exchange have been examined for relatively large insects (>20 mg) over relatively short periods (<4 h), but smaller insects and longer time periods have yet to be examined. We measured gas exchange patterns and metabolic rates for adults of a small insect pest of grain, the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), using flow-through respirometry in dry air for 48 h. All adults survived the desiccating measurement period; initially they used continuous gas exchange, then after 24 h switched to cyclic gas exchange with a 27% decrease in metabolic rate, and then after 48 h switched to discontinuous gas exchange with increased interburst duration and further decrease in metabolic rate. The successful use of the Qubit, a lower cost and so more common gas analyser, to measure respiration in the very small T. castaneum , may prompt more flow-through respirometry studies of small insects. Running such studies over long durations may help to better understand the evolution of respiration physiology and thus suggest new methods of pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the incidence of occult neck metastasis and to determine the prognostic factors related to the occurrence of the cervical lymph nodal metastasis and extra capsular extension (ECE) in early oral cavity cancer patients. A retrospective review performed on 100 patients with node negative squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity who underwent primary treatment between Jan 2015 and Dec 2018. Incidence of occult neck metastasis after the elective neck dissection in our study was 35%. Independent correlates of positive occult neck metastasis were lymphovascular Invasion (P—0.000)[CI 0.004–0.326] and depth of invasion(P—0.009)[CI 0.509–13.428] on univariate analysis and statistically significant factors associated with the incidence of the extracapsular extension were age(P—0.044), lymphovascular invasion(P—0.018)[CI 0.004–0.603] and lymph node ratio(P—0.000)[CI 4.570–158.45] on univariate analysis. Lymphovascular invasion and depth of invasion correlated significantly with occurrence of neck metastasis. Age and LVI were the prognostic factors for extra capsular spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nutritional quality of wheat bread can be enhanced by incorporating certain nutrient-rich ingredients in its formulation. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of incorporating chamomile and wild thyme powder in wheat bread to further improve its nutritional profile. For this purpose, three composite test breads (CWB) were prepared by incorporating chamomile and wild thyme at an equal proportion of 1, 2 and 3%. Proximate analyses of wheat flour, chamomile powder, thyme powder, a mixture of chamomile and wild thyme at the ratio of 1:1, control bread (CB) and composite test bread samples were performed using standard methods. In-vitro starch digestibility and total starch were determined by Megazyme starch assay kit. A nine-point hedonic scale assessed bread samples for consumer acceptance. The findings of proximate composition showed a significant increase in ash at 2 and 3 % incorporation. The fiber content also significantly increased at the incorporation ratio of 1, 2 and 3%. In CWB, fat concentration at 2 and 3% incorporation remained almost equal to that of CB. The protein content increased "significantly in a dose-dependent manner with the increasing incorporation of these two herbs" when compared with the CB. When the carbohydrate content of both breads was compared, the functional bread had significantly lower values (p, for all trends < 0.05), respectively, as the ratio of incorporation increased. Total starch (TS) and DS reduced non-significantly at 1 and 2 % and significantly at 3% incorporation as compared with CB. Resistant starch (RS) content of CWB increased significantly (p<0.05) at 1, 2 and 3% incorporation of these herbs with high RS at the highest level of incorporation. Slowly digestible starch (SDS) content non-significantly decreased. Rapidly digestible starch (RDS) reduced significantly (p<0.05) at 1% compared with CB, with no significant change at 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 % incorporation. SDI decreased significantly (p<0.05) with the increasing rate of incorporation of chamomile and wild thyme in the CWB. The acceptability score of test bread was ≥6 on a 9-point hedonic scale. It was concluded that this incorporation significantly improved the bread's nutritional properties and starch digestibility and was acceptable for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae L.) is a major insect pest of cabbage in Pakistan. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (at 1500 infective juvenile/ ml concentraction), Steinerma glaseri (at 1500 infective juvenile/ ml concentration), H. bacteriophora + S. glaseri (at 1500 infective juvenile/ ml concentration), Xenorhabdus spp., (at 4 × 1012 concentration) Photorhabdus spp., (at 4 × 1012 concentration) metabolites of Xenorhabdus spp. (at 50% concentration) and metabolites of Photorhabdus spp (at 50% concentration) were sprayed on cabbage hybrid CB-60 grown in pots placed in the greenhouse. After 7 days, the highest P. brassicae larval mortality (90.43%) was observed where H. bacteriophora + S. glaseri were sprayed. In field experiment, best-performing treatments from greenhouse experiment were selected i.e. H. bacteriophora + S. glaseri (at 1500 infective juvenile/ ml concentration), Xenorhabdus spp., (at 4 × 1012 concentration) and metabolites of Xenorhabdus spp. (at 50% concentration) were sprayed on a highly susceptible cabbage hybrid (CB-60). Heterorhabditis bacteriophora + Steinerma. glaseri @ 1500 infective juvenile/ ml was found to be more superior with maximum mortality (80.43) of cabbage butterfly larvae in comparison with other treatments. From the present study, it may be concluded that EPNs (H. bacteriophora and S. glaseri) application is more effective as compared to their symbiotic bacteria and metabolite for cabbage butterfly management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Relaxors are polar oxides with nanosized domains and high chemical disorder. • Specific roles of ionic/electronic defects in relaxor thin films are investigated. • Advances in relaxor thin-film defect engineering to enhance energy storage density. • Strategic use of microscopic charge compensation and anisotropic properties. • Framework for relaxor defect and texture engineering research. Relaxors are a family of polar-oxides with a high degree of chemical disorder and nanosized domains. A characteristic feature of relaxors is their slim polarization–electric field hysteresis loop, which makes them effective in high-power energy storage applications requiring fast (dis)charging, such as electric vehicles, smart grids, RFID technologies, and pulsed-power devices. Interest in relaxor thin films is also driven by a push to reduce overall device size and enhance energy efficiency. Improved long-term reliability is essential for using oxide thin films in devices. However, ionic vacancies and defect complexes formed during fabrication invariably affect oxide thin-film electrical properties. Such defects affect the long-term polarization properties of ferroelectric-oxides with micron-sized domains via mechanisms such as domain-wall pinning. However, the relaxor's nanoscale domains are highly dynamic, making domain-boundaries pinning negligible. Although it is generally accepted that defects significantly affect relaxor thin-film properties, the specific roles of defects in relaxor thin films are still obscure. This review deliberates the fundamentals and recent advances in engineering relaxor thin-film defects to improve their electrostatic energy storage properties (ESP) over broad operating conditions. In addition, we explore the possibility of tuning other degrees of freedom, such as the preferred crystallographic orientation of grains that may augment the ESP of relaxor thin films. The study concludes with a perspective on how the issues facing the adoption of relaxor thin films in energy storage devices can be overcome by a better understanding of their microscopic charge compensation mechanisms and intelligent exploitation of their anisotropic dielectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous driving research is an emerging area in the machine learning domain. Most existing methods perform single-task learning, while multi-task learning (MTL) is more efficient due to the leverage of shared information between different tasks. However, MTL is challenging because different tasks may have different significance and varying ranges. In this work, we propose an end-to-end deep learning architecture for statistically correlated MTL using a single input image. Statistical correlation of the tasks is handled by including shared layers in the architecture. Later network separates into different branches to handle the difference in the behavior of each task. Training a multi-task model with varying ranges may converge the objective function only with larger values. To this end, we explore different normalization schemes and empirically observe that the inverse validation-loss weighted scheme has best performed. In addition to estimating steering angle, braking, and acceleration, we also estimate the number of lanes on the left and the right side of the vehicle. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose an end-to-end deep learning architecture to estimate this type of lane information. The proposed approach is evaluated on four publicly available datasets including Comma.ai, Udacity, Berkeley Deep Drive, and Sully Chen. We also propose a synthetic dataset GTA-V for autonomous driving research. Our experiments demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed approach compared to the current state-of-the-art methods. The GTA-V dataset and the lane annotations on the four existing datasets will be made publicly available via https://cvlab.lums.edu.pk/scmtl/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) occurs as co-morbidity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and requires evaluation. Methods: MetS was studied in 336 patients of COPD (NCP-ATP III guidelines). TNF-α, IL-6 and C reactive protein were analysed. Patients were divided into metabolic (n=89) and non-MetS (n=247) groups and further divided into mild to very severe COPD category as per Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Results: The 89 patients (26.49%) had MetS. Waist hip ratio (WHR) was more in 80.89% (72/89). Triglycerides and HDL derangements were found in 63 and 75 patients. Fasting blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure criterion were met by 58 (65.17 %), 20 (22.47%) and 32 (35.95%) patients respectively. In non-MetS group, the derangement in above parameters were found in 41, 53, 109, 47, 43 and 46 patients respectively. Compared to MetS group, significant difference was found in WHR, lipid profile and blood pressure. Significant difference was found in waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL, fasting blood glucose and diastolic blood pressure between COPD groups with and without MetS. Moderate COPD patients had highest MetS. Difference in results as per severity of disease was found to be non-significant. Inflammatory markers between COPD groups with and without MetS were non-significant with levels more in latter group. Within COPD group (as per severity of disease) with MetS their levels were significantly raised. Conclusion: MetS occurs as co-morbidity in COPD and requires evaluation which will help in better management and prevent cardio metabolic complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae) is major pest of cabbage. More than 50% yield losses have been attributed due to this pest annually. Seven insect parasitic nematodes i.e. Steinerma carpocapsae, S. feltiae, S. Pakitananese, S. asiaticum, S. glaseri, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. indica were evaluated on 4th larval instar of P. brassicae at the different concentrations. Two best performing EPNs (S. glaseri and H. bacteriophora) were selected and evaluated against 2nd, 3rd and 4th larval instars of Pieris brassicae at 1500 infective juveniles/ml. H. bacteriophora spp. and S. glaseri spp. were sprayed at 1500 IJs/ml on the cabbage leaves alone or in combination (S. glaseri + H. bacteriophora) and 2nd, 3rd and 4th larval instars were fed on them. Among seven EPNs, hundred percent mortality of P. brassicae was recorded in the case of H. bacteriophora and S. glaseri at1500 IJs/ml concentration after 48 h. Both EPNs spp. were found highly effective against all larval instars of P. brassicae. After 48 h of exposure of both EPNs spp. on all larval instar, 100% mortality was recorded. The combined application of H. bacteriophora + S. glaseri on cabbage leaves resulted into 100% mortality of all larval instars of P. brassicae. From present study, it may be concluded that H. bacteriophora and S. glaseri at 1500 IJs/ml concentration found very effective against P. brassicae in laboratory conditions and may be used in the field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abscess is the highest cause of liver condemnation and is estimated to cost the beef industry US$64 million annually. Fusobacterium necrophorum , commonly found in the bovine rumen, is the primary bacteria associated with liver abscess in cattle. Theoretically, damage to the rumen wall allows F. necrophorum to invade the bloodstream and colonize the liver. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in gene expression in the rumen epithelium and microbial populations adherent to the rumen epithelium and in the rumen contents of beef cattle with liver abscesses compared with those with no liver abscesses. Rumen epithelial tissue and rumen content were collected from 31 steers and heifers with liver abscesses and 30 animals with no liver abscesses. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing was performed on the rumen epithelium, and a total of 221 genes were identified as differentially expressed in the animals with liver abscesses compared with animals with no abscesses, after removal of genes that were identified as a result of interaction with sex. The nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells signaling and interferon signaling pathways were significantly enriched in the differentially expressed gene (DEG) set. The majority of the genes in these pathways were downregulated in animals with liver abscesses. In addition, RNA translation and protein processing genes were also downregulated, suggesting that protein synthesis may be compromised in animals with liver abscesses. The rumen content bacterial communities were significantly different from the rumen wall epimural bacterial communities. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) analysis did not identify global differences in the microbiome of the rumen contents but did identify differences in the epimural bacterial communities on the rumen wall of animals without and with liver abscesses. In addition, associations between DEG and specific bacterial amplicon sequence variants of epimural bacteria were observed. The DEG and bacterial profile on the rumen papillae identified in this study may serve as a method to monitor animals with existing liver abscesses or to predict those that are more likely to develop liver abscesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retinal blood vessels, the diagnostic bio‐marker of ophthalmologic and diabetic retinopathy, utilise thick and thin vessels for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. The existing deep learning methods attempt to segment the retinal vessels using a unified loss function. However, a difference in spatial features of thick and thin vessels and a biased distribution creates an imbalanced thickness, rendering the unified loss function to be useful only for thick vessels. To address this challenge, a patch‐based generative adversarial network‐based technique is proposed which iteratively learns both thick and thin vessels in fundoscopic images. It introduces an additional loss function that allows the generator network to learn thin and thick vessels, while the discriminator network assists in segmenting out both vessels as a combined objective function. Compared with state‐of‐the‐art techniques, the proposed model demonstrates the enhanced accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves on STARE, DRIVE, and CHASEDB1 datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of thin film dielectrics having both high energy density and energy conversion efficiency, as well as good thermal stability, is necessary for practical application in high‐temperature power electronics. In addition, there is a demand for the development of new Pb‐free high‐energy density dielectric materials due to environmental concerns. In this regard, thin films of weakly coupled relaxors based on solid solutions of BaTiO3–BiMeO3 have shown good promise, because they exhibit a remarkably large polarization over a wide temperature range. Nevertheless, the performance of Pb‐free thin films has lagged behind that of their Pb‐based counterparts in terms of thermal stability and energy conversion efficiency. Toward this end, most recent studies on BaTiO3–BiMeO3 systems have focused on the optimization of material composition, while relatively less attention has been paid to other aspects such as defect chemistry and crystallographic texture. In this study, we examine the effects of A‐site vacancy and crystallographic texture on the energy storage performance of BaTiO3–BiScO3 thin films synthesized using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It is shown that a high energy storage density (Wr) of ~28.8 J/cm3 and a high efficiency of η >90% are achieved through a combination of moderate A‐site vacancy concentration and (110) crystallographic texture. Furthermore, Wr remains nearly temperature independent while a high efficiency of η >80% is maintained for temperatures up to 200°C, which constitutes one of the best performances for Pb‐free ferroelectric films for high‐temperature capacitor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) becomes more ubiquitous in critical application domains, such as smart water-distribution and transportation systems, providing security and resilience against cyber-attacks grows into an issue of utmost importance. Cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure pose significant threats to public health and safety. To alleviate the severity of these threats, various security techniques are available, including redundancy, diversity, and hardening. However, no single technique can address the whole spectrum of cyber-attacks that may be launched by a determined and resourceful attacker. In light of this, we consider a multi-pronged approach that integrates redundancy (deploying additional components and devices), diversity (using multiple implementation variants), and hardening (reinforcing individual components) techniques for designing secure and resilient IIoT systems. We introduce a framework for quantifying cyber-security risks and optimizing IIoT design. We show that finding optimal designs is an NP-hard problem, and then present an efficient meta-heuristic algorithm that finds near optimal designs in practice. To demonstrate the applicability of our framework, we present two case studies in water-distribution and transportation systems. Our numerical evaluation shows that integrating redundancy, diversity, and hardening can lead to reduced security risks at the same cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adjuvant ovarian suppression, on addition to chemotherapy, reduces the risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal women after surgery and adjuvant hormonal therapy. Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial (SOFT) and Tamoxifen and Exemestane Trial (TEXT) showed greater benefit with exemestane in high risk females in comparison to Tamoxifen. Ovarian Function Suppression (OFS) and exemestane became the standard of care, with 30% patients experiencing grade 3 and more side effects. Much higher benefit was seen in high risk group. But there are concerns about incomplete OFS (estrogen escape) with exemestane plus OFS. Updated analysis of TEXT AND SOFT showed better survival benefit with OFS plus Tamoxifen as compared to OFS plus exemestane. Overall survival is a better end point. Should preference be given to Tamoxifen over exemestane? Further research is required to get the final answer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalently functionalized 1T-MoS 2 (Fc-1T-MoS 2) nanosheets are synthesized by the chemical reaction between electrochemically exfoliated 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets and iodobenzene. The NH 2 Ph ring functionality and 1T-MoS 2 phase improves the electrochemical performance for supercapacitors by enhancing the charge density and electronic properties, which leads to fast charge transport and high charge storage capacity. The Fc-1T-MoS 2 has a high specific capacitance of 501 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 with capacitance retention of 76.32% after 2000 cycles, which is 2.6 times of magnitude higher than that of bare 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets. This study exposes the effect of functionalization of MoS 2 nanosheets for supercapacitor applications. [Display omitted] • 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets was exfoliated electrochemically. • Exfoliated 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets was functionalized with NH 2 Ph ring containing electron donating group. • The functionalized 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets showed an excellent supercapacitance performance as compared to bare 1T-MoS 2 nanosheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibacterial activities of Olea europaea and Cuminum cyminum in bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli & Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. Antifungal activities of Olea europaea and Cuminum cyminum in fungal strains Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum & Candida albicans were investigated. Eight different volumes (3.1μl, 6.25μl, 12.5μl, 25μl, 50μl, 100μl, 250μl, 500μl) containing different amounts (v/v%) of Olea europaea oil were used for the antibacterial activity. The different concentrations of Cuminum cyminum [3.1μl (1.55mg), 6.25μl (3.1mg), 12.5μl (6.25mg), 25μl (12.5mg), 50μl (25mg), 100μl (50mg), 200μl (100mg)] were used. The bacterial growth was checked by measuring optical density (OD) using a spectrophotometer at 600 nm. To analyze the antifungal activity of plant extracts (O. europaea: 150 μl, 300 μl, 600 μl and C. cyminum: 75 mg, 150mg, 300 mg), antifungal assay was designed. For antifungal activity, three different concentrations [604.80μl (300 mg), 302.40μl (150 mg) and 151.20μl (75 mg)] of Cuminum cyminum seeds extracts were prepared in solvents DMSO and methanol separately [50% (v/v)]. With methanol extracts of Olive oil (50 μl) and cumin (25 μl/12.5 mg), the maximum antibacterial activity (OD: 0.006) was seen in P. aeruginosa. Maximum antibacterial activity (OD: 0.004) was also seen in the bacterial culture of S. aureus with methanol extract of cumin (25 μl/12.5 mg). A minimum concentration of 150 μl of O. europaea methanol extract showed greater fungal inhibition (RGID: 1.3 cm), against C. albicans. Overall, Cuminum cyminum (methanol extracts) was found more effective as an antibacterial agent as compared to O. europaea. Overall, methanolic extracts of both C. cyminum and O. europaea were more effective in antifungal activities in terms of maximum inhibition as compared to DMSO extracts. In fungal assay, the extract of O. europaea was more effective in solvent methanol on the growth of C. albicans with RGID: 1.3 cm (150 μl) as compared to C. cyminum. Both these plants can be used as pharmaceutical in antifungal and antibacterial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Controlled synthesis of Cu/Carbon-hybrid through green freeze-drying and carbonization process. • 3D nano-pyramids offer highly sensitive and selective behavior toward simultaneous monitoring of phenolic pollutants. • 3D nano-pyramids show high electrocatalytic performance in terms of durability. • A reliable sensor to evaluate the quality of food. Abstract Excessive usage of phenolic compounds such as catechol (Cat-), cresol (Cre-) and p- nitrophenol (PNP) in food processing and pharmaceutical industry may lead to severe health issues including nerve cells disruption and even infertility. Thus, designing sensitive nanoscale electrochemical sensors to boost single screen signalling of these phenolic compounds from environmental samples is highly demanded. However, control monitoring and quantification of these phenolic compounds from real samples such as commercially available pesticides and insecticides is quite challenging because of their low concentration along with excess of co-existing interfering species. Herein, for the simultaneous electrochemical monitoring of these phenolic pollutants, we fabricate C-encapsulated three-dimensional Cu nano-pyramids (C@3DCu-PY) through a simple, scalable freeze-drying and carbonization process. The resulting hybrid contains 3D arrangement of controlled Cu nano-pyramids with atomic arrangement along all four lateral faces with sharp apex which result in exposition of greater fraction of Cu {111} catalytic active sites, large number of sp2 carbon atoms, and maximum surface defects along with dipolar/quadrupolar radiative plasmons, thus offering highly sensitive and selective behaviour toward simultaneous monitoring of Cat-, cresol and PNP. The designed C@3DCu-PY electrode also shows fast diffusion and kinetics of ions compared to C@almond (AL)-like Cu nanoparticles (NPs) sample, thus indicating shape dependent efficacy of the designed electrode. Because of high sensitivity, the developed novel C@3DCu-PY electrode was successfully applied to monitor PNP from commercially available insecticide. The results demonstrated the potential of the designed electrode to be used in preventing serious health issue associated with phenolic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peripheral neuropathy is damage to the peripheral nerve. The most common cause of neuropathy is paclitaxel. Several avenues have been explored to ameliorate the neurotoxicity associated with paclitaxel. Clinical studies have assessed the efficacy of glutamine with different doses and schedules to prevent gastrointestinal toxicity (mucositis, diarrhea) and peripheral neuropathy in patients receiving a variety of chemotherapy agents or radiation therapy and found that glutamine can prevent paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. Methods: Total of 50 patients, aged 30 or more with diagnosis of cancer and fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria, formed the study population. We assigned 25 patients to the glutamine group and 25 patients to no glutamine group. All patients received weekly paclitaxel. Results: The incidence of neuropathy of all grades at 3 months was 78% and at 6 months was 80%.In this study, most common symptom reported was numbness in toes (74%). In this study, Grade 1 was the most common grade of symptom reported by the patient (40%-50%). 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most common grade of symptom reported by the patient was Grade 0, Grade 2, and Grade 3, respectively. There was no Grade 4 symptom reported by any patient. All the symptoms were statistically comparable in both groups (Myalgias: P = 0.066, Arthralgia: P = 0.93, Dysesthesia: P = 0.82, Paresthesia: P = 0.92, Numbness fingers: P = 0.97, Numbness toes: P = 0.60). In our study, there was no incidence of cranial nerve weakness or any incidence of the postural drop. The electrophysiological study is the best tool available and can detect neuropathy at the very earlier stage even when the clinical exam is negative. Apart from that nature of neuropathy can be determined but grading is not possible which makes very difficult to decide on follow-up examinations when the physician should intervene. Moreover, there are fluctuations in SNAP and CMAP, and these fluctuations are most probably related to the innate variability of serial nerve conduction study parameters, particularly motor and sensory amplitude. Glutamine did not prevent neurotoxicity induced by weekly paclitaxel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth performance of early or late weanedNili-Ravibuffalo calves offered feeding regimes of low or high milk volumes. For this purpose, 48-day-old buffalo calves were randomly allocated to four treatments of twelve calves each. Calves were weaned either at day 56 (early weaned) or 84 (late weaned). Within each weaning age calves were offered milk at either 10% (low milk) or 15% (high milk) of their body weight. Early weaned calves were offered milk adjusted weekly until day 35; the calculated milk intake at day 35 was reduced by one-third in each of the last two weeks leading to the weaning of the calves at day 56. Late weaned calves were offered milk, adjusted weekly, until day 63 and weaned at day 84 by decreasing milk by one-third each week for the last two weeks. At week sixteen, late weaned calves had higher body weight and average daily gain than early weaned calves (p < .05). These same measurements were also higher in the high milk than the low milk fed calves (p < .05). Highest body weight and average daily gain was recorded in high milk late weaned calves and poorest in low milk early weaned calves. Early weaning or low milk volumes minimised the feeding costs, however, resulted in lower body weights and average daily gains. Thus, choices of pre-weaning feeding regimen should be made with feeding cost and performance of replacement calves kept in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research was conducted to investigate genetic diversity of Ralstonia solanacearum for comparison of different strains that were collected mainly from Netherlands as well as from Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan and Palma. Forty six strains were included in contemporary studies whereas main biovars for these strains included biovar-2 except GMI1000 that belonged to biovar 3. Genetic diversity of bacterial wilt disease caused by R. solancearum was assessed by focusing mainly on three genes i.e. mutL, cbhA and dps. All the genes seem to be conserved but in case of mutL some strains showed divergence. Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) scheme was used in this contemporary research. It was concluded that polymerized chain reaction (PCR) is the most imperative and appropriate modern tool of molecular biology to find genetic diversity in Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial wilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the optimal sensor placement problem for the identification of pipe failure locations in large-scale urban water systems. The problem involves selecting the minimum number of sensors such that every pipe failure can be uniquely localized. This problem can be viewed as a minimum test cover (MTC) problem, which is NP-hard. We consider two approaches to obtain approximate solutions to this problem. In the first approach, we transform the MTC problem to a minimum set cover (MSC) problem and use the greedy algorithm that exploits the submodularity property of the MSC problem to compute the solution to the MTC problem. In the second approach, we develop a new augmented greedy algorithm for solving the MTC problem. This approach does not require the transformation of the MTC to MSC. Our augmented greedy algorithm provides in a significant computational improvement while guaranteeing the same approximation ratio as the first approach. We propose several metrics to evaluate the performance of the sensor placement designs. Finally, we present detailed computational experiments for a number of real water distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let G be a graph of minimum degree at least 2 with no induced subgraph isomorphic to K1, 6. We prove that if G is not isomorphic to one of eight exceptional graphs, then it is possible to assign two-element subsets of [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MATH-BTB proteins are involved in a variety of cellular processes that regulate cell homeostasis and developmental processes. Previous studies reported the involvement of BTB proteins in the development of various organs in plants; however, the function of BTB proteins in salt stress is less studied. Here, we found a novel MATH-BTB domain-containing OsMBTB32 protein that was highly expressed in leaf, root, and shoot. The up-regulation of the OsMBTB32 transcript in 2-week-old seedlings under salt stress suggests the significant role of the OsMBTB32 gene in salinity. The OsMBTB32 transgenic seedlings (OE and RNAi) exhibited significant differences in various phenotypes, including plumule, radical, primary root, and shoot length, compared to WT seedlings. We further found that OsCUL1 proteins, particularly OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3, interact with OsMBTB32 and may suppress the function of OsMBTB32 during salt stress. Moreover, OsWRKY42, a homolog of ZmWRKY114 which negatively regulates salt stress in rice, directly binds to the W-box of OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3 promoters to promote the interaction of OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3 with OsMBTB32 protein in rice. The overexpression of OsMBTB32 and OsCUL1-3 further confirmed the function of OsMBTB32 and OsCUL1s in salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. Overall, the findings of the present study provide promising knowledge regarding the MATH-BTB domain-containing proteins and their role in enhancing the growth and development of rice under salt stress. MATH-BTB proteins are involved in a variety of cellular processes that regulate cell homeostasis and developmental processes. Previous studies reported the involvement of BTB proteins in the development of various organs in plants; however, the function of BTB proteins in salt stress is less studied. Here, we found a novel MATH-BTB domain-containing OsMBTB32 protein that was highly expressed in leaf, root, and shoot. The up-regulation of the OsMBTB32 transcript in 2-week-old seedlings under salt stress suggests the significant role of the OsMBTB32 gene in salinity. The OsMBTB32 transgenic seedlings (OE and RNAi) exhibited significant differences in various phenotypes, including plumule, radical, primary root, and shoot length, compared to WT seedlings. We further found that OsCUL1 proteins, particularly OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3, interact with OsMBTB32 and may suppress the function of OsMBTB32 during salt stress. Moreover, OsWRKY42, a homolog of ZmWRKY114 which negatively regulates salt stress in rice, directly binds to the W-box of OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3 promoters to promote the interaction of OsCUL1-1 and OsCUL1-3 with OsMBTB32 protein in rice. The overexpression of OsMBTB32 and OsCUL1-3 further confirmed the function of OsMBTB32 and OsCUL1s in salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. Overall, the findings of the present study provide promising knowledge regarding the MATH-BTB domain-containing proteins and their role in enhancing the growth and development of rice under salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of M-type hexaferrites with chemical formula Ba 0.25 Sr 0.75 Pr x Fe 12− x O 19 ( x =0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25) were synthesized using sol–gel autocombustion method. The samples were pre-sintered at a temperature of 800 °C for 3 h and were finally sintered at 1200 °C for 1 h at the heating rate of 10 °C/min. The thermal properties of the specimen have been investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. The structures and micrographs of the samples were systematically examined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Vibrating sample magnetometer was also used in order to study the magnetic parameters of these ferrites. The hard magnetic behavior was confirmed by M–H loops for all the samples except for the sample with x =0.10 concentration which exhibits maximum saturation magnetization ( M s ) and a few hundred oersteds of coercivity ( H c ). Thus high M s and low H c cause to increase the permeability of the sample which is favorable for impedance matching in microwave absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the resilient vector consensus problem in networks with adversarial agents and improve resilience guarantees of existing algorithms. A common approach to achieving resilient vector consensus is that every non-adversarial (or normal) agent in the network updates its state by moving towards a point in the convex hull of its normal neighbors' states. Since an agent cannot distinguish between its normal and adversarial neighbors, computing such a point, often called safe point , is a challenging task. To compute a safe point, we propose to use the notion of centerpoint , which is an extension of the median in higher dimensions, instead of the Tverberg partition of points, which is often used for this purpose. We discuss that the notion of centerpoint provides a complete characterization of safe points in R d. In particular, we show that a safe point is essentially an interior centerpoint if the number of adversaries in the neighborhood of a normal agent i is less than N i d + 1 , where d is the dimension of the state vector and N i is the total number of agents in the neighborhood of i. Consequently, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions on the number of adversarial agents to guarantee resilient vector consensus. Further, by considering the complexity of computing centerpoints, we discuss improvements in the resilience guarantees of vector consensus algorithms and compare with the other existing approaches. Finally, we numerically evaluate our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To see the pattern of bone involvement in metastatic breast carcinoma. To study the distribution of bone metastasis, central skeleton vs. peripheral skeleton, in metastatic breast carcinoma. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Department of Surgery, Nishtar Medical University, Multan, in accordance with Breast Clinic MINAR. Period: March, 2021 to August, 2022. Material & Methods: The study was done in breast clinic MINAR, Multan. It was retrospective, non-randomized and single institution based study. The female patients who presented with breast carcinoma from March 2021 to August 2022, aged 25 to 70 years were scrutinized. Among these, the patients with metastatic breast carcinoma having metastasis in bones, confirmed on bone scan, were included in the study. 90 cases were collected in this research. The tumours which primarily arise from bone, lymphoid tumours, soft tissue tumours and bone marrow tumours and bone metastasis due to malignancies arising from other visceral organs were excluded. All the data was entered and analyzed using computer programme SPSS version 25.0. Results: The highest range of patients were between ages of 46-65 years. 87.8% were married, 2.2% were unmarried and 10% were divorced or widow. 43.3% were from rural area and 56.7% were from urban area. 93.3% previously had not any history of breast carcinoma. Only 6.7% had family history of breast carcinoma. 64.4% had menarche during the age of 12 to 14 years. And 42.2% had menopause between 50 to 55 years. While in all these cases 46.7% were those who had no menopause at all when they presented with metastatic breast carcinoma. Among these 13.3% had solitary bone metastasis and 86.7% had metastasis to multiple bones. 46.7% had central or axial skeletal involvement, 13.3% had peripheral skeletal involvement and 40% had both, including central and peripheral skeleton. Conclusion: This study has shown that among all the patients there were 46.7% patients had central skeletal involvement and 13.3% had peripheral skeleton involvement and 40% had both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of a blend of encapsulated organic acids with essential oils (EOA) as an alternative to antimicrobial growth promoter (AGP) on growth performance and gut health of Eimeria spp./ Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) in chickens infected with necrotic enteritis (NE) broilers was investigated. A total of 432 male Arbor Acres broilers (1-day-old) were randomly distributed into 6 treatment groups, namely noninfected negative control (A); NE-infected positive control (D); NE-infected broiler chickens fed a basal diet supplemented with 250 mg/kg bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) plus 90 mg/kg monensin; and NE-infected broiler chicken fed 200; 500; and 800 mg/kg EOA (E, F, G, and H group). Feeding EOA at 200 and 500 mg/kg considerably improved the feed conversion ratio, reduced gut lesions, serum fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran level, and C. perfringens load in the caecum and liver of the NE-infected broiler chickens. This feed was similar to AGP. Furthermore, the increased villous height-to-crypt depth ratio and goblet cells counts, upregulated claudin-1, glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2) mRNA gene expression, downregulated occludin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), toll-like receptor (TLR-4), interleukin (IL-1β), interferon γ (IFN-γ), TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF-6), tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 15 (TNFSF15), and Toll-interacting protein (Tollip) genes expression in the jejunum were observed in the NE-infected broiler chickens that received EOA at 200 and 500 mg/kg compared with those of the single NE-challenged groups without EOA supplementations (P < 0.05). The 16S analysis revealed that EOA supplemented with 200 or 500 mg/kg enriched relative abundance of Lactobacillus, unclassified_ Lachnospiraceae , and Enterococcus, and carbohydrate metabolic pathways but suppressed unclassified _Erysipelotrichacease and organismal systems involved in the immune system (P < 0.05). Feeding EOA could alleviate NE-induced gut impairment and growth depression and modulate cecal microbiota composition, which has potential as antimicrobial alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop effective antibiotics alternatives is getting more and more important to poultry healthy production. The study investigated the effects of a microencapsulated essential oils and organic acids preparation (EOA) on growth performance, slaughter performance, nutrient digestibility and intestinal microenvironment of broilers. A total of 624 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into 6 groups including the control group (T1) fed with basal diet, the antibiotic group (T2) supplemented with basal diet with 45 mg/kg bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD), and 4 inclusion levels of EOA-treated groups (T3, T4, T5, T6 groups) chickens given basal diet with 200, 400, 600, and 800 mg EOA/kg of diet, respectively. Results showed that compared with the control, the 200 mg/kg EOA group increased average daily gain (ADG) and average body weight (ABW) during the early stage (P < 0.05). EOA addition decreased crypt depth of the ileum (P < 0.05), but villus height to crypt depth ratio was increased by EOA addition at 200 and 400 mg/kg at d 21 (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, dietary addition EOA at 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg increased the lipase activity in the duodenum at d 21 (P < 0.05). Increased lactic acid bacteria population was found in cecal digesta of the 400 mg/kg EOA group at d 21 (P < 0.05), and higher concentration of butyric acid level was observed in cecal digesta at d 21 and d 42 in the 200 mg/kg EOA group compared with the control (P < 0.05). RT-PCR analysis found that dietary EOA addition decreased the gene expression of IL-1β, COX-2 and TGF-β4 in the ileum at d 21 (P < 0.05), while only the 200 mg/kg EOA increased the gene expression of IL-10, TGF-β4, Claudin-1, ZO-1, CATH-1, CATH-3, AvBD-1, AvBD-9 and AvBD-12 in the ileum at d 42 (P < 0.05) compared with the control. In summary, adding 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of the EOA to the diet could improve the growth performance and intestinal microenvironment through improving intestinal morphology, increasing digestive enzymes activity and cecal lactic acid bacteria abundance and butyric acid content, improving intestinal barrier function as well as maintaining intestinal immune homeostasis. The improving effect induced by EOA addition in the early growth stage was better than that in the later growth stage. Overall, the EOA product might be an effective antibiotic alternative for broiler industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel Al-MOFs was hydrothermally synthesized using organic linker (benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid, i.e. trimesic acid) because of its thermal and chemical stability as well as the versatile capability of Aluminum (Al) to form multifaceted structures. The material was targeted for applications in supercapacitor, energy storage, sensing and biomedical sciences like Far-UVC device applications. The morphological structure and bandgap of the Benzene Tricarboxylic Acid (BTC)-Aluminum based MOFs samples underwent characterization using a range of techniques, such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The XRD investigation confirmed the successful fabrication of MOF layered structure on Al-MOFs with an average crystallinity of 2.155 nm. SEM identified the hexagonal structure of Al-MOFs nanocrystals and showed strong agglomeration with a grain size of 186 nm. EDX analysis confirms the existence of aluminum peaks along with carbon peaks (as organic linkers), indicating the presence of organic linkers in the framework, which is the key component of MOF's porosity. The Raman spectroscopy results evidenced the synthesis of Al-MOFs structure. The optical bandgap was evaluated using UV–Vis spectrophotometry and estimated as E g = 5. 4 8 eV, indicating the materials stability for photovoltaic and some Far-UVC devices. Overall, the results suggest that the synthesized Al-MOFs nanomaterial is a promising candidate for various applications including Far-UVC device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, the leafhopper genus Exitianus Ball is reviewed based on around 200 specimens sampled from various regions of Pakistan during 2019-2021. The study revealed the presence of two species, Exitianus nanus (Distant) and Exitianus indicus (Distant) in the region. Their morphological descriptions, an identification key, and photographs are given. Specimens of all examined materials are deposited at the department of Entomology, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, KP, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the degree to which host genetics shape the rumen microbiome. Complex and diverse microbial communities can alter the nutrient profile available to the animal and subsequent performance. Studies of the gut microbiome have demonstrated that host genotype influences gut microbial species composition. Therefore, microbial species composition in the rumen may be a complex trait that manifests through the convergence of host-genetics and environmental factors. To test this hypothesis, we collected rumen contents and blood samples from 586 beef cattle on different diets from two locations. The rumen samples were used to sequence the V4 region of the 16S rDNA on an Illumina MiSeq platform. Animals were genotyped with various platforms and a common set of 61,974 SNP were used to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the microbiome (OTUs, families and phyla) as response variables. The GWAS was performed using Bayesian GBLUP fitting fixed effects of cohort (location and date), and the first 2 principle components to account for population stratification. Median posterior genomic heritability estimates were 0.110, 0.124, and 0.141 at the OTU, family and phylum taxonomic level, respectively. The top 8 1-Mb windows for OTUs, families and phyla were located on 7 different chromosomes. These regions affect the rumen microbiota in multiple ways; some (chromosome 19; position 3.0–4.0 Mb) are associated with closely related taxa (Prevotellaceae, Paraprevotellaceae , and RF16), some (chromosome 27; position 3.0–4.0 Mb) are associated with distantly related taxa (Prevotellaceae, Fibrobacteraceae , RF16, RFP12, S24-7, Lentisphaerae, and Tenericutes) and others (chromosome 23; position 0.0–1.0) controlling both related and unrelated taxa. Overall, the 8 regions identified control 11 different families and 6 different phyla. This study shows that host genetics can affect rumen bacterial community members and points towards the possibility that genomics can be used to manipulate the rumen microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different dietary and feed additive strategies have been developed to reduce the liver abscess in feedlot cattle, but liver abscesses are still a major problem in beef production. We have limited knowledge about how rumen microbial communities interact with host epithelial gene expression in healthy and liver-abscessed animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between the rumen content associated and rumen epimural microbiome and epithelial gene expression in liver-abscessed and healthy animals. To this end, we collected the ruminal contents and tissue samples from healthy (N=30; score=0, steers n=19 and heifers n=11) and liver-abscessed (N=30; score=A+, steers n=21 and heifers n=9) feedlot cattle at harvest. The bacterial community compositions in the ruminal contents and papillae were evaluated via 16S rDNA sequencing of the V4 region using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Additionally, total RNA was extracted from rumen epithelial tissues and sequenced using the Illumina NextSeq platform. The permutational analysis (PERMANOVA) on Bray Curtis distances matrices showed the microbial community in the ruminal contents was significantly different (P< 0.001) from the bacterial community observed in rumen papillae. The ruminal contents contained a higher abundance of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria while papillae contained higher abundance of Firmicutes. The epimural microbiota was different (P< 0.01) between healthy and liver abscessed animals while ruminal contents microbiome was not different between the two groups. The DeSeq2 algorithm identified differentially expressed genes (221) related to MAPK, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, immune and inflammatory response in liver-abscessed animals. Additionally, a wide range of epimural bacterial taxa were correlated (-0.52 to 0.67) with differentially expressed genes. These data demonstrate the interaction between epimural microbiota and the host and its effect on liver abscesses, and indicate the need to study the epimural microbiome for its impact on liver abscesses in feedlot cattle. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of recent host-microbial association studies, a consensus is evolving that species composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota is a polygenic trait governed by interactions between host genetic factors and the environment. Here, we investigated the effect of host genetic factors in shaping the bacterial species composition in the rumen by performing a genome-wide association study. Using a common set of 61,974 single-nucleotide polymorphisms found in cattle genomes (n = 586) and corresponding rumen bacterial community composition, we identified operational taxonomic units (OTUs), Families and Phyla with high heritability. The top associations (1-Mb windows) were located on 7 chromosomes. These regions were associated with the rumen microbiota in multiple ways; some (chromosome 19; position 3.0–4.0 Mb) are associated with closely related taxa (Prevotellaceae, Paraprevotellaceae, and RF16), some (chromosome 27; position 3.0–4.0 Mb) are associated with distantly related taxa (Prevotellaceae, Fibrobacteraceae, RF16, RFP12, S24-7, Lentisphaerae, and Tenericutes) and others (chromosome 23; position 0.0–1.0) associated with both related and unrelated taxa. The annotated genes associated with identified genomic regions suggest the associations observed are directed toward selective absorption of volatile fatty acids from the rumen to increase energy availability to the host. This study demonstrates that host genetics affects rumen bacterial community composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Evaporative water loss during metabolic gas exchange is an unavoidable cost of living for terrestrial insects. This respiratory water cost of gas exchange (the ratio of respiratory water loss to metabolic rate) is suggested to depend on several factors, such as the mode of gas exchange (convection vs. diffusion), species habitat, body size and measurement conditions. We measured this cost for a blaberid cockroach and a tenebrionid beetle using flow-through respirometry. We controlled the factors that affect respiratory water cost of gas exchange, i.e., both species are similar in their mode of gas exchange (dominantly convective), habitat (relatively moist) and body size, and were measured at the same temperature. The cockroaches showed both continuous and discontinuous gas exchange patterns, which had a significantly different metabolic rate and respiratory water loss but the same respiratory water cost of gas exchange. The darkling beetles showed a continuous gas exchange pattern only, and their metabolic rate, respiratory water loss and respiratory water cost of gas exchange were equivalent to those cockroaches using continuous gas exchange. This finding from our study highlights that the respiratory water cost of gas exchange is similar between species, regardless of the gas exchange pattern used, when the confounding factors affecting this cost are controlled. However, the total evaporative water cost of gas exchange is much higher than the respiratory cost because cuticular water loss contributes considerably more to the overall evaporative water loss than respiratory water. We suggest that the total water cost of gas exchange is likely to be a more useful indicator of species distribution with respect to environmental aridity than just the respiratory water cost. Respiratory water loss during metabolic gas exchange is an unavoidable cost of living for terrestrial insects. It has been suggested to depend on several factors, such as the mode of gas exchange (convective vs. diffusive), species habitat (aridity), body size and measurement conditions (temperature). We measured this cost in terms of respiratory water loss relative to metabolic rate (respiratory water cost of gas exchange; RWL/ V ˙ C O 2 ) for adults of two insect species, the speckled cockroach (Nauphoeta cinerea) and the darkling beetle (Zophobas morio), which are similar in their mode of gas exchange (dominantly convective), habitat (mesic), body size and measurement conditions, by measuring gas exchange patterns using flow-through respirometry. The speckled cockroaches showed both continuous and discontinuous gas exchange patterns, which had significantly a different metabolic rate and respiratory water loss but the same respiratory water cost of gas exchange. The darkling beetles showed continuous gas exchange pattern only, and their metabolic rate, respiratory water loss and respiratory cost of gas exchange were equivalent to those cockroaches using continuous gas exchange. This outcome from our study highlights that the respiratory water cost of gas exchange is similar between species, regardless of gas exchange pattern used, when the confounding factors affecting this cost are controlled. However, the total evaporative water cost of gas exchange is much higher than the respiratory cost because cuticular water loss contributes considerably more to the overall evaporative water loss than respiratory water. We suggest that the total water cost of gas exchange is likely to be a more useful index of environmental adaptation (e.g., aridity) than just the respiratory water cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cotton is the king of fibers and it is an important cash crop of tropical and subtropical regions. The present research was carried out to evaluate the comparative efficacy of different against the cotton leaf curl virus vector (Bemisia tabaci) and indirectly the disease incidence. Leaves extracts of four plant extracts i.e. Calotropis gigantea, Zingiber officinale, Allium cepa and Azadirachta indica were evaluated at 3% concentration against eggs hatchability and adult emergence of the whitefly in lab condition. Two consecutive sprays were applied to assess the relative impact of different plant extracts against adult whitefly population and the disease incidence of cotton leaf curl virus disease in filed conditions. Azadirachta indica was found most effective to inhibit the egg hatchability and adult emergence as compared to other plant extracts applied in lab conditions. In field conditions, Azadirachta indica was found most effective to minimize whitefly population and to lower the disease incidence. From the present study, we may conclude that the leaf extract of Azadirachta indica at 3% concentration may be used to minimize the whitefly population and to lower the disease incidence of cotton leaf curl virus disease under filed conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precisely monitoring dopamine (DA) with high sensitivity, selectivity, and low cost from real life biological samples such as urine to investigate the suspected catecholamine-secreting tumor remains a big challenge. Here, for the first time, we synthesize a DA sensor based on Cu nanoplatelets (Cu@CNP) encapsulated by carbon nanoparticles (CNP) that are pre-modified by a benzimidazolium-1-acatate ionic liquid (BAIL). The simple scalable route (freeze-drying followed by a temperature-switchable carbonization process) enables the CNP shells with controlled thickness to form upon the Cu nanoplatelets. Among the resulting products, Cu@CNP-600 (Cu@CNP carbonized at 600 °C) shows a high concentration of exposed {111} Cu crystal planes, surface defects with quadrupole and dipolar plasmons multipoles, and graphitic layers. Once deposited onto the lead pencil electrode (LPE), the Cu@CNP-600 modified with highly conductive BAIL synergistically allows highly sensitive and selective detection of DA. We successfully apply this novel electrode to monitor the DA from the urine of neuroblastoma patients with high sensitivity. The designed electrode can be used not only in the diagnosis of suspected catecholamine-secreting tumors but also in the evaluation of drugs' efficacy. • Cu@CNP hybrids with controlled carbon shell thickness were synthesized by freeze drying and carbonization process. • Cu@CNP hybrids were functionalized with benzimidazolium-1-acatate ionic liquid (BAIL) and modified Led pencil electrode. • The analytical performance of electrode has been evaluated for detection of urinary dopamine from neuroblastoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroscience has traditionally relied on manually observing laboratory animals in controlled environments. Researchers usually record animals behaving freely or in a restrained manner and then annotate the data manually. The manual annotation is not desirable for three reasons; (i) it is time-consuming, (ii) it is prone to human errors, and (iii) no two human annotators will 100% agree on annotation, therefore, it is not reproducible. Consequently, automated annotation for such data has gained traction because it is efficient and replicable. Usually, the automatic annotation of neuroscience data relies on computer vision and machine learning techniques. In this article, we have covered most of the approaches taken by researchers for locomotion and gesture tracking of specific laboratory animals, i.e. rodents. We have divided these papers into categories based upon the hardware they use and the software approach they take. We have also summarized their strengths and weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing staff is the first of constant line of contact with the patients and serve a prodigious responsibility. They play a pivotal role in disseminating knowledge to the patients in their daily practice. The present study was conducted to assess the level of cancer awareness amongst hospital nurses, identify the knowledge gaps and to incorporate them in training. A cross sectional survey was conducted amongst nurses in a tertiary care hospital in North Delhi. Of 458 employed nurses, 53.3% nurses working in the hospital participated in the study on a voluntary basis. A structured pre tested questionnaire was administered to the study subjects. The questionnaires were coded and information on personal details was not included. To warrant an effective measure of study outcomes, a Cancer Awareness Score (CAS) was developed. CAS of individual participants was achieved by dividing the total average score of each subject by ten that will help in quantifying the cancer awareness. A total of 244 nurses (53.3%) out of 458 employed were surveyed. One hundred and forty six forms were filled manually and 78 forms were completed electronically. The return rate was 65.5%.The completion rate was 100% and the rejection rate was zero. Of these 223 were females and 21 were males. The study subjects were in the age range of 19 - 56 years. Out of the 244 nurses, 75.81% were aware about general aspects of cancer .77.5 % of the nurses acknowledged that cancer is a serious health problem in India, and 79.9 % were aware of the increasing incidence of cancer. 66.4 % subjects knew that cancer is a lifestyle disease. 75.4 % were aware that cancer is preventable, and 78.7% agreed that early detection is possible. 23 % believed that all lumps are cancerous. Warning symptoms of cancer: Almost 75% of the study subjects were aware about warning symptoms of cancer, with a majority of them were aware of the all the warning symptoms of cancer and rest were aware of some of the symptoms. Causative factors: Ninety percent of them were aware about all the causative factors, 8.8 % were not aware and 1.2 % did not know about the causes. Myths of cancer: In this study, 21 % of nurses were observed to have one or more myths about cancer during the survey, while 77.8 % did not carry myths about cancer (Figure VI). Surprisingly, 23.4 % believed that cancer is contagious, 25% of the study subjects believed that cancer is familial, 13.9 % believed that cancer is due to God's curse! Another alarming observation is that they believe that procedures such as biopsy (17%) or surgery (21.7%) can spread cancer! . It is vital to work on removing these myths. Cancer Statistics: More than 65% of the participants were unaware about Cancer statistics in India. More than half subjects were unaware of the most common cancerin men and women, the cancer incidence and deaths. However, 33% of the study subjects had knowledge on cancer statistics in India. .It is important to empower nurses with the information on increasing burden of cancer in India and common cancers in men and women. Cancer statistics help in strengthening the cancer awareness program. General aspects of cancer treatment: It was encouraging to observe that 75% believed that cancer is curable (75%) especially in early stages (77.9%), while 18 % thought that there is no treatment for cancer and 20.5 % believed that cancer always recurs and kills. Regarding the pain, 37 % believed that cancer treatment is painful, 38.9%. believed that pain is sign of advanced cancer and 45.1% shared the view that all cancer patients experience pain. Almost 75% of study subjects possessed optimal knowledge on general aspects of cancer treatment with less than 25% of the study subjects having suboptimal knowledge. Cancer prevention: Majority of subjects (83.2% ) believed that cancer is preventable and 82% believed that screening is the best way of early detection. Knowledge of prevention of cancer by Hepatitis B vaccine (86. 5% ) and HPV vaccine (74.6% ) was observed. Surprisingly the obesity as a risk factor for cancer was recognised by 47.1% subjects. In all, more than 66% of study subjects had adequate knowledge about cancer prevention and less than 3% of study subjects had no knowledge about cancer prevention Decision making of treatment: More than 80% of the subjects believed that diagnosis of cancer, prognosis, treatment details must be discussed with patients and caregivers. Regarding the decision makers, they believed that patients (48.4 %) or caregivers (28.3 %) must take the treatment decision while 17.2 % believed that doctor should decide the treatment. While more than 80% of the study subjects believed that patient and caregivers should participate in decision making where as less than 15% of the subjects did not. The total average score of nurses was 84.72 for appropriate responses and 14.1 for inappropriate responses To get an objective view of the quantum of cancer awareness amongst the nurses, CAS was applied. CAS was calculated as a group and on individual basis to measure the level of cancer awareness. The group CAS of the study subjects was 7.2/10 and as per the scale the findings demonstrated a need for improvement on cancer awareness . Only 4 % of nurses had desirable level with a score of above 8, while 54.5 % had score of 6 to 7, 18.8% had average and 22.5 % below average. In all 95% required training and improvement in their level of knowledge. Satisfactory aspects were in general awareness (75%), warning symptoms (75%) causations (80%), and prevention (78%), treatment (68%) decision making (83%). Unsatisfactory were knowledge of cancer statistics in India (26%). An observation of concern was existence of myths in 30 % nurses. While group average CAS was 72% needing improvement, only 4% nurses had adequate knowledge and rest needed improvement of varying degrees. They are regularly assisting patients with cancer and hence patients look up to them for information and advice. If well equipped with knowledge on cancer, they can further impart information to patients, care givers and other hospital staff. (Table-1) Conclusion Authors perceive that the study subjects lack adequate knowledge about cancer. The total average score of the study subjects is less than 75%. General awareness about cancer treatment needs to be reinforced. There is a pressing need to bust the myths by using appropriate information education communication strategies such as displaying appropriate posters depicting facts and highlights about cancer at nursing stations. Information dissemination in an integral part of the nursing role and inappropriate message communicated could be detrimental to the patients. Repeated training of nurses on cancer awareness is warranted. Nursing staff is the backbone of healthcare and play a vital role in promoting cancer screening and healthcare seeking practices. They are regularly assisting patients with cancer and hence patients look up to them for information and advice. If well equipped with knowledge on cancer, they can further impart information to patients, care givers and other hospital staff (table -1) TABLE I- AVERAGE SCORE OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOPICS APPROPRIATE INAPPROPRIATE DO NOT KNOW General cancer awareness amongst nurses 75.81 23.03 1.38 Awareness of warning symptoms of cancer amongst nurses 74.9 22.77 2.31 Awareness of causative factors of cancer amongst nurses 90 8.8 1.2 Myths of cancer amongst nurses 77.88 20.59 1.49 Awareness amongst nurses on cancer statistics 33.4 66.6 1.95 Awareness amongst nurses on general aspects of cancer treatment 66.7 6 31.25 2.65 Awareness amongst nurses on cancer prevention 74.68 24.6 1.06 Awareness amongst nurses on decision making of treatment 84.72 14.1 1.1 Awareness amongst nurses on decision making of treatment- WHO SHOULD TAKE THE DECISION IN A PATIENT OF 75 YEARS OLD MALE CAREGIVER DOCTOR FRIEND PATIENT DO NOT KNOW 28.3 17.2 4.5 48.4 1. 6 Average CAS Of Participated Nurses and Its Interpretation: Needs Improvement Score Number of Nurses Interpretation Way Forward < 4 55 (22.5%) Below Average Needs training 4-6 46 (18.8%) Average Needs training 6-8 133 (54.5%) Good Needs improvement 8-10 10 (4.09%) Very good Desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of advanced nanofluids termed as Tetra nanofluid is of potential interest now a days. These fluids are upgraded generation of conventional nano to ternary hybrid nanofluids with outstanding characteristics. Applications of this class frequently occur in applied thermal engineering, nano‐lubrication, chemo‐therapy, chemical engineering, oil paint industry, coolant of nuclear plant and many other applied research areas. This study concerns with the development of innovative thermophysical rules for Tetra Hybrid nanofluid and their utilization in advanced heat transfer model. The governing laws updated through addition of thermal condition, dissipation effects, thermal radiations and upgraded nanofluid properties. Finally, the Blasius and Sakiadis model achieved and analyzed the heat transfer trends through numerical technique. Keen analysis of the drawn results show that Blasius model has much ability to transfer the heat than Sakiadis model. Induction of thermal radiations, dissipation effects and thermal convective condition is like a catalysis in the study of advanced tetra nanofluid model and boosts the temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advancements in learning from graph-structured data have shown promising results on the graph classification task. However, due to their high time complexities, making them scalable on large graphs, with millions of nodes and edges, remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose NetKI, an algorithm to extract sparse representation from a given graph with n nodes and m edges in O (m ∊ - 2 log 4 n) time. Our approach follows the notion of Kirchhoff index that encodes the structure of the graph by estimating effective resistance - relying on this approach yields nearly linear time graph representation method that allows scalability on sufficiently large graphs. Through extensive experiments, we show that NetKI provides improved results in terms of running time on large networks and the classification accuracy is within range 2% from the state-of-the-art results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiome research has gained significant momentum in the last decade. Although many studies have investigated livestock microbiome to improve animal health and productivity, only a few microbiome manipulation approaches are currently used in the industry. This is partly due to the limited understanding of livestock microbiome and how such knowledge can be applied to improve animal health and performance. Additionally, the potential role of the microbiome is poorly characterized, limiting the opportunities available to improve animal health and productivity through microbiome manipulation. Here we describe and demonstrate how current microbiome theory such as "colonization history" can be utilized to establish beneficial microbiomes in livestock species. Our data suggest that the sow microbiome greatly impacts the early microbiome establishment in piglets and represents as much as 67% of the community even after 21 days following birth. This suggests early colonization provides unique opportunities to establish "beneficial" microbiomes. Additionally, we describe how microbiome-wide association studies (MWAS) can be used to quantify the microbial role in animal performance using a cattle population consisting of more than 750 animals. Finally, we describe how livestock animal models can be used to understand key concepts of microbial establishment and how such models can be used to investigate the human microbiome using germ free pig models. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bat-borne disease is any infectious disease whose primary reservoir is any species of bat. It is not a coincidence that some of the deadly viral disease outbreaks in recent years like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory disorder (MERS), Ebola, Marburg and the new 2019-nCoV virus are speculated to be originated in bats. Rarely some bacterial and fungal diseases are also related to certain species of bats. Such illnesses are part of Zoonosis, which refers to the human diseases of animal origin. In this review we highlight some of the bat-borne diseases with emphasis on the viral outbreaks as bats world-wide harbor a greater proportion of viruses than several other groups of mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ternary composite of 1T‐molybdenum disulfide, hexagonal tungsten trioxide, and reduced graphene oxide (M‐W‐rGO) is synthesized by using a one‐pot hydrothermal process. The synergetic effect of 1T‐MoS2 and hexa‐WO3 nanoflowers improves the electrochemical performance for supercapacitors by inducing additional active sites and hexagonal tunnels, respectively, which lead to high storage capacity and easy transfer of electrolyte ions. The ternary M‐W‐rGO composite has a high specific capacitance of 836 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, which is nearly twice that of binary composites of M‐rGO and W‐rGO with high capacitance retention of 86.35 % after 3000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g−1. This study provides a new ternary composite that can be used as an electrode material for high‐performance supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]