Pearl millet is a climate-resilient grain and forage crop. Weeds pose a major constraint to its successful production. Limited herbicide options for grass weed control in pearl millet is a serious problem. The objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the sensitivity of pearl millet parental lines to POST-applied clethodim (136 g ai ha-1), quizalofop-p-ethyl (QPE) (77 ai g ha-1), imazamox (52 g ai ha-1) and nicosulfuron (70 g ai ha-1), and 2) characterize the sensitivity of selected lines to imazamox and nicosulfuron. A total of 56 parental lines were tested. Three lines with low sensitivity to imazamox (ARCH35R, 45R, and 73R), two to nicosulfuron (ARCH45R and 73R), one line with high sensitivity (ARCH21B), and a susceptible sorghum (SOR) hybrid (P84G62) to both herbicides were characterized. All parental lines were sensitive to clethodim and QPE (only four lines showed 2 to 12% survival with 90 to 95% injury at 21 d after application [DAA]). However, all parental lines showed variable sensitivity to imazamox and nicosulfuron (70 to 100% survival with 5 to 70% visible injury and shoot dry biomass reduction at 21 DAA). Dose-response assays revealed that ARCH35R, 45R, and 49R had 7.7 to 12.2 and 3.2- to 12.2-fold reduced sensitivity to imazamox compared to the ARCH21B and SOR, respectively. Similarly, ARCH45R and 49R had 2.5 to 6.0 and 1.5- to 3.7-fold reduced sensitivity to nicosulfuron compared to ARCH21B and SOR, respectively. These findings confirm the first report of reduced sensitivity to imazamox and nicosulfuron among pearl millet lines, suggesting their potential use for in-season grass weed control.

This study describes the morphological and dynamic changes of Parkachik Glacier, Suru River valley, Ladakh Himalaya, India. We used medium-resolution satellite images; CORONA KH-4, Landsat and Sentinel-2A from 1971–2021, and field surveys between 2015 and 2021. In addition, we used the laminar flow-based Himalayan Glacier Thickness Mapper and provide results for recent margin fluctuations, surface ice velocity, ice thickness, and identified glacier-bed overdeepenings. The results revealed that overall the glacier retreated by −210.5 ± 80 m with an average rate of 4 ± 1 m a−1 between 1971 and 2021. Whereas a field study suggested that the glacier retreat increased to −123 ± 72 m at an average rate of −20 ± 12 m a−1 between 2015 and 2021. Surface ice velocity was estimated using COSI-Corr on the Landsat data. Surface ice velocity in the lower ablation zone was 45 ± 2 m a−1 in 1999–2000 and 32 ± 1 m a−1 in 2020–2021, thus reduced by 28%. Further, the maximum thickness of the glacier is estimated to be ~441 m in the accumulation zone, while for glacier tongue it is ~44 m. The simulation results suggest that if the glacier continues to retreat at a similar rate, three lakes of different dimensions may form in subglacial overdeepenings.

For a simple bipartite graph G, we give an upper bound for the regularity of powers of the edge ideal $I(G)$ in terms of its vertex domination number. Consequently, we explicitly compute the regularity of powers of the edge ideal of a bipartite Kneser graph. Further, we compute the induced matching number of a bipartite Kneser graph.

Maize is the primary staple crop cultivated during the monsoon season in eastern India. However, yield gaps are large because of multiple factors, including low adoption rates of good agronomic management practices. This study aimed to narrow the maize yield gap using diverse agronomic and varietal interventions through field experiments over 2 years (2013–2014) in the rainfed plateau region of Odisha. As a result, maize yield increased by 0.9, 0.74, and 0.17 Mg ha−1 under optimum plant population, fertilizer management, and herbicide-based weed management, respectively, over farmers’ current practices (Check). Moreover, when all three interventions were combined (‘best’ management practice), grain yields increased by 1.7 Mg ha−1 in conservation tillage and 2.2 Mg ha−1 in conventional tillage. We also observed that the combination of long-duration hybrids and best management practices (BMPs) increased grain yield by 4.0 Mg ha−1 and profitability by $888 ha−1 over farmers’ current practices. In addition, Nutrient Expert decision support tool-based fertilizer management along with BMPs increased grain yield by 1.7 Mg ha−1 and profitability by $314 ha−1 over farmers’ fertilizer practices (Check). These results suggest that the combination of maize hybrids and BMPs can improve the productivity and profitability of rainfed maize in the plateau region of Odisha. However, these entry points for intensification need to be placed in the context of varying investment requirements, input and output market conditions, and matched with farmer preferences and risk.

COVID-19 serosurvey provides a better estimation of people who have developed antibody against the infection. But limited information on such serosurveys in rural areas poses many hurdles to understand the epidemiology of the virus and to implement proper control strategies. This study was carried out in the rural catchment area of Model Rural Health Research Unit in Odisha, India during March–April 2021, the initial phase of COVID vaccination. A total of 60 village clusters from four study blocks were identified using probability proportionate to size sampling. From each cluster, 60 households and one eligible participant from each household (60 per cluster) were selected for the collection of blood sample and socio-demographic data. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody was tested using the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. The overall seroprevalence after adjusting for test performance was 54.21% with an infection to case ratio of 96.89 along with 4.25% partial and 6.79% full immunisation coverage. Highest seroprevalence was observed in the age group of 19–44 years and females had both higher seroprevalence as well as vaccine coverage. People of other backward caste also had higher seropositivity than other caste categories. The study emphasises on continuing surveillance for COVID-19 cases and prioritizing COVID-19 vaccination for susceptible groups for better disease management.

This paper describes a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna for low millimeter (mm)-wave applications based on dielectric resonators. This is the first time that a filtering response is used in conjunction with an MIMO antenna operating at a low mm-wave frequency. The antenna is simulated using an asymmetrical U-shaped aperture and a microstrip line feed. The suggested filtenna has two distinguishing characteristics: (i) the diversity parameters of the proposed MIMO are increased by including pattern and spatial diversity, and (ii) the proposed feed mechanism of a dielectric resonator provides the filtering response. Between the two ports, a metallic plate tilts the radiation pattern by 45°. The anti-parallel locations of the ports increase the isolation value by >30 dB. To validate the performance of the suggested antenna, the proposed filtenna was built and confirmed. The proposed antenna operates between the frequencies 27.9 and 28.5 GHz. Within the operating frequency range, the observed gain is ~4.5 dBi. On the contrary, the gain suppression level beyond the operational frequency range is ~15 dB. The stable radiation properties and high diversity parameter values of the suggested filtenna make it an effective solution for 5G Internet of Things sensing applications.

In this paper, a novel multiband implantable planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) antenna based on Gosper curve fractal geometry is designed for biomedical telemetry applications. The antenna has covered four dedicated frequency bands; medical implant communication system band (MICS 402–405 MHz), industrial, scientific, and medical bands (ISM 902–928 MHz and 2.4–2.5 GHz), and wireless medical telemetry services (WMTS 1395–1400 and 1429–1432 MHz). The proposed antenna is designed on Rogers RO 3010 substrate of thickness 25 mil and volume equal to 153.67 mm3. The reflection coefficient and the radiation pattern are measured inside muscle-mimicking liquid tissue phantom. The antenna has achieved the impedance bandwidth of 126, 406, 168, and 175 MHz at MICS (403 MHz), ISM (915 MHz), WMTS (1400 MHz), and ISM (2.45 GHz) with maximum gain value −33.6, −21.04, −15.48, and −10.25 dBi, respectively. The data link range between the implantable antenna and off body antenna has been performed with −16 dBm input power. Additionally, the obtained specific absorption rate with the input of 25 μW power has also been obtained within the safety limit and hence ensures the reliability of the proposed antenna.

Basic vaccination is important to protect children from infectious diseases and illnesses. Adequate levels of vaccination coverage reduce the morbidity and mortality burden among children and promote their physical and mental development. This study aimed to assess the association between basic childhood vaccination and the cognitive and learning ability of school children in India. Nationally representative follow-up data on 6183 children from the Indian Human Development Surveys conducted in 2004–05 and 2011–12 (IHDS I & II) were analysed. Children aged 8–10 years who had received all basic vaccines by the age 12 months performed better in a maths test than partially vaccinated or unvaccinated children (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.48, 2.35). Similarly, fully vaccinated children performed better in writing tasks than partially vaccinated or unvaccinated children (OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.44, 2.18). Likewise, fully vaccinated children had better reading skills than fully unvaccinated children (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.09). The results suggest that enhancing child vaccination coverage can have significant benefits beyond health and can potentially improve the long-term educational outcomes of children.

We consider the problem of the unification modulo an equational theory associativity and commutativity (ACh), which consists of a function symbol h that is homomorphic over an associative–commutative operator +. Since the unification modulo ACh theory is undecidable, we define a variant of the problem called bounded ACh unification. In this bounded version of ACh unification, we essentially bound the number of times h can be applied to a term recursively and only allow solutions that satisfy this bound. There is no bound on the number of occurrences of h in a term, and the + symbol can be applied an unlimited number of times. We give inference rules for solving the bounded version of the problem and prove that the rules are sound, complete, and terminating. We have implemented the algorithm in Maude and give experimental results. We argue that this algorithm is useful in cryptographic protocol analysis.

A cross-sectional study on six dairy farms was conducted to ascertain the occurrence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli in calves. Two-hundred and seventy-nine isolates of E. coli were recovered from 90 faecal samples from apparently healthy (45) and diarrhoeal (45) calves. The isolates were screened for phenotypic susceptibility to carbapenems and production of metallo β-lactamase, as well as five carbapenemase resistance genes by PCR, and overexpression of efflux pumps. Eighty-one isolates (29.03%) were resistant to at least one of three carbapenem antibiotics [meropenem (23.30%), imipenem (2.15%) and ertapenem (1.43%)], and one isolate was positive for the blaVIM gene which was located on an Incl1 plasmid of a novel sequence type (ST 297) by multilocus sequence typing. The majority (83.95%) of isolates had an active efflux pump. Calves housed on concrete floors were approximately seven times more likely to acquire meropenem-resistant isolates than those housed on earthen floors (95% CI 1.27–41.54). In India, carbapenem drugs are not used in food animal treatment, hence carbapenem-resistant strains in calves possibly originate from the natural environment or human contact and is of public health importance. To our knowledge, this is the first report of blaVIM carbapenemases gene in calves from India.

Numerous studies have reported that amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ-42) protein is a high-profile risk factor associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Accumulation of extracellular senile plaques, synaptic degeneration, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles were recorded as essential features that facilitate the onset of Aβ-42, resulting in AD. Hence, we attempted a new screening technique to discover potential inhibitors against Aβ-42 using an in silico deep neural network approach. We screened PubChem compounds library and found wgx-50 as a potential inhibitor of Aβ-42. Also, synergistic effects of wgx-50–gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) complex induced significant inhibition of Aβ-42, compared with those of wgx-50 alone. Further, molecular docking analysis, systems biology approach, and time course simulation confirmed that synergistic effects of wgx-50–AuNPs complex have potential application in the treatment for AD. Additionally, we proposed the biological circuit for AD induced by Aβ-42 that can be used to monitor the effect of drugs on AD.

Lithium substituted magnesium ferrites (LixMg1-xFe2O4, where x = 0.1 to 0.5) were synthesized by solid state reaction method. Various characterization techniques viz. X - Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study the effect of lithium substitution. Differences in particle size, crystallinity and magnetic parameters of the ferrites synthesized with difference in composition were observed. XRD patterns of the synthesized samples confirmed phase purity and showed that the lattice parameter decreases with increase in Li content in magnesium ferrite. Decrease in coercivity with increase in lithium concentration was observed from magnetic analysis (VSM). Through FTIR, it was observed that Li+ ions occupy B – sites. FTIR spectrum peaks obtained in the region 1620 – 1670 cm-1 supported water molecule dissociation. It is the required characteristic of the lithium substituted magnesium ferrite to be used in various applications like humidity sensor and hydroelectric cell.

Thermoelectric materials can play an important role to develop a sustainable energy source for internet of things devices near room temperature. In this direction, it is important to have a thermoelectric material with high thermoelectric performance. Cesium tin triiodide (CsSnI3) single crystal perovskite has shown high value of Seebeck coefficient and ultra low thermal conductivity which are necessary conditions for high thermoelectric performance. Here, we report the thermoelectric response of CsSnI3 thin films. These films are prepared by cost effective wet spin coating process at different baking temperature. Films were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In our case, films baked at 130°C for 5 min have shown the best thermoelectric performance at room temperature with: Seebeck coefficient 115 μV/K and electrical conductivity 124 S/cm, thermal conductivity 0.36 W/m·K and figure of merit ZT of 0.137.

Hardy’s uncertainty principle for the Gabor transform is proved for locally compact abelian groups having noncompact identity component and groups of the form $\mathbb{R}^{n}\times K$, where $K$ is a compact group having irreducible representations of bounded dimension. We also show that Hardy’s theorem fails for a connected nilpotent Lie group $G$ which admits a square integrable irreducible representation. Further, a similar conclusion is made for groups of the form $G\times D$, where $D$ is a discrete group.

Unavailability of irrigation water for early sowing has remained a constant problem in cold arid deserts of Ladakh. In order to get a solution to this problem, a 2-yr farmers’ participatory research trial with best bet agronomic management on artificial glacier water harvesting technology was conducted. The technology involves collecting water from natural glaciers that melt during late December. The water is diverted toward a shed constructed with stone embankments set up at regular intervals. The area is chosen where there is minimum interference of solar radiation, generally between two mountain slopes or ridge that is on the leeward side. The melted water is that melts from the natural glacier impeded by the embankments and get frozen here. This frozen water starts melting in late March and is used for both pre sowing and initial crop water requirement. It also ensures early sowing of wheat by creating additional 45-day window which leads to introduction of long- and medium-duration wheat varieties to replace decades old locally grown short-duration varieties. The work was initiated with a benchmark survey of 100 farmers to get an understanding of present irrigation scenario, crop management practices and date of sowing. Data from 99 farmer participating trial of wheat conducted after or from bench mark survey clearly indicated that the effect of water shortage can be seen on yield and yield attributing characters due to unavailability of pre sowing irrigation and water requirement at imperative growth stages and may also lead to terminal heat stress in wheat crop. Out of total number of irrigations applied, initial two irrigations can be compensated by artificial glacier water harvesting technique, leading to a revolution in the agriculture scenario of the tribal population by introduction of long- and medium-duration wheat varieties in cold arid desert of Ladakh for the very first time. It was observed that wheat seeding done in first fortnight of April gave better yields in comparison to late seeded wheat. Moreover, the long-duration varieties (LDVs) or medium-duration varieties (MDVs) sown under late condition gave better yield in comparison to locally grown short-duration varieties sown at same time. Yield potential of LDVs and MDVs of wheat under late sowing was found quite low in comparison to early-sown wheat, still when compared with the performance of locally grown wheat the yields were more even if the local varieties were sown early. The outcome of this study will help the farmers of tribal, cold arid community in harvesting better wheat yields by timely sowing of the wheat crop accompanied with better bet agronomic management practices. Government initiative is further required to ensure better outreach of complete crop management strategies to the tribal farming community of the region in order to ensure food security and improve their socioeconomic status.