Searches for impulsive, astrophysical transients are often highly computationally demanding. A notable example is the dedispersion process required for performing blind searches for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) in radio telescope data. We introduce a novel approach — Efficient Summation of Arbitrary Masks (ESAM) — which efficiently computes 1-D convolution of many arbitrary 2-D masks, and can be used to carry out dedispersion over thousands of dispersion trials efficiently. Our method matches the accuracy of the traditional brute force technique in recovering the desired Signal-to-Noise ratio (S/N) while reducing computational cost by around a factor of 10. We compare its performance with existing dedispersion algorithms, such as the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform (FDMT) algorithm, and demonstrate how ESAM provides freedom to choose arbitrary masks and further optimise computational cost versus accuracy. We explore the potential applications of ESAM beyond FRB searches.

We present the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey conducted with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). EMU aims to deliver the touchstone radio atlas of the southern hemisphere. We introduce EMU and review its science drivers and key science goals, updated and tailored to the current ASKAP five-year survey plan. The development of the survey strategy and planned sky coverage is presented, along with the operational aspects of the survey and associated data analysis, together with a selection of diagnostics demonstrating the imaging quality and data characteristics. We give a general description of the value-added data pipeline and data products before concluding with a discussion of links to other surveys and projects and an outline of EMU’s legacy value.

We present the first results from a new backend on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Commensal Realtime ASKAP Fast Transient COherent (CRACO) upgrade. CRACO records millisecond time resolution visibility data, and searches for dispersed fast transient signals including fast radio bursts (FRB), pulsars, and ultra-long period objects (ULPO). With the visibility data, CRACO can localise the transient events to arcsecond-level precision after the detection. Here, we describe the CRACO system and report the result from a sky survey carried out by CRACO at 110-ms resolution during its commissioning phase. During the survey, CRACO detected two FRBs (including one discovered solely with CRACO, FRB 20231027A), reported more precise localisations for four pulsars, discovered two new RRATs, and detected one known ULPO, GPM J1839 $-$10, through its sub-pulse structure. We present a sensitivity calibration of CRACO, finding that it achieves the expected sensitivity of 11.6 Jy ms to bursts of 110 ms duration or less. CRACO is currently running at a 13.8 ms time resolution and aims at a 1.7 ms time resolution before the end of 2024. The planned CRACO has an expected sensitivity of 1.5 Jy ms to bursts of 1.7 ms duration or less and can detect $10\times$ more FRBs than the current CRAFT incoherent sum system (i.e. 0.5 $-$2 localised FRBs per day), enabling us to better constrain the models for FRBs and use them as cosmological probes.

Residual blood specimens collected at health facilities may be a source of samples for serosurveys of adults, a population often neglected in community-based serosurveys. Anonymized residual blood specimens were collected from individuals 15 – 49 years of age attending two sub-district hospitals in Palghar District, Maharashtra, from November 2018 to March 2019. Specimens also were collected from women 15 – 49 years of age enrolled in a cross-sectional, community-based serosurvey representative at the district level that was conducted 2 – 7 months after the residual specimen collection. Specimens were tested for IgG antibodies to measles and rubella viruses. Measles and rubella seroprevalence estimates using facility-based specimens were 99% and 92%, respectively, with men having significantly lower rubella seropositivity than women. Age-specific measles and rubella seroprevalence estimates were similar between the two specimen sources. Although measles seropositivity was slightly higher among adults attending the facilities, both facility and community measles seroprevalence estimates were 95% or higher. The similarity in measles and rubella seroprevalence estimates between the community-based and facility serosurveys highlights the potential value of residual specimens to approximate community seroprevalence.

Residual blood specimens provide a sample repository that could be analyzed to estimate and track changes in seroprevalence with fewer resources than household-based surveys. We conducted parallel facility and community-based cross-sectional serological surveys in two districts in India, Kanpur Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh, and Palghar District, Maharashtra, before and after a measles-rubella supplemental immunization activity (MR-SIA) from 2018 to 2019. Anonymized residual specimens from children 9 months to younger than 15 years of age were collected from public and private diagnostic laboratories and public hospitals and tested for IgG antibodies to measles and rubella viruses. Significant increases in seroprevalence were observed following the MR SIA using the facility-based specimens. Younger children whose specimens were tested at a public facility in Kanpur Nagar District had significantly lower rubella seroprevalence prior to the SIA compared to those attending a private hospital, but this difference was not observed following the SIA. Similar increases in rubella seroprevalence were observed in facility-based and community-based serosurveys following the MR SIA, but trends in measles seroprevalence were inconsistent between the two specimen sources. Despite challenges with representativeness and limited metadata, residual specimens can be useful in estimating seroprevalence and assessing trends through facility-based sentinel surveillance.

Sustainability of maize production systems is threatened by poor economic returns and resource intensiveness. Therefore, an experiment was conducted at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during 2016–17 to 2017–18 to assess the effect of tillage and microbial inoculantsintegrated phosphorus (P) management on productivity, quality, economic outcome and energy dynamics of maize. Three tillage practices viz., CT–R (conventional tillage with no residue), ZT–R (zero tillage with no residue) and ZT + R (zero tillage with wheat crop residue at 2.5 Mg/ha) were assigned in main plots and five P management practices viz., P1 (control–NK as per recommendation, but no P), P2 (17.2 kg P/ha), P3 (17.2 kg P/ha + PSB), P4 (17.2 kg P/ha + compost inoculants) and P5 (34.4 kg P/ha) were allocated in subplots in three times replicated split-plot design. The maximum grain yield (5.96 Mg/ha), protein content (9.13%), protein yield (546 kg/ha) and gross energy returns (209 × 103 MJ/ha) were recorded under ZT + R while higher benefit: cost ratio (B: C ratio – the amount of economic gain per unit investment) (1.53) and energy efficiency (12.5) was noticed under ZT–R. Among the P management practices, the application of 34.4 kg P/ha recorded the highest grain yield (6.45 Mg/ha), protein content (9.34%), protein yield (603 kg/ha), B: C ratio (1.65) and energy efficiency (10.1). The results suggested that the application of P at the rate of 34.4 kg/ha under ZT + R is an economically robust approach for the quality maize production in semi-arid region.

We present WALLABY pilot data release 1, the first public release of H i pilot survey data from the Wide-field ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Phase 1 of the WALLABY pilot survey targeted three $60\,\mathrm{deg}^{2}$ regions on the sky in the direction of the Hydra and Norma galaxy clusters and the NGC 4636 galaxy group, covering the redshift range of $z \lesssim 0.08$ . The source catalogue, images and spectra of nearly 600 extragalactic H i detections and kinematic models for 109 spatially resolved galaxies are available. As the pilot survey targeted regions containing nearby group and cluster environments, the median redshift of the sample of $z \approx 0.014$ is relatively low compared to the full WALLABY survey. The median galaxy H i mass is $2.3 \times 10^{9}\,{\rm M}_{{\odot}}$ . The target noise level of $1.6\,\mathrm{mJy}$ per 30′′ beam and $18.5\,\mathrm{kHz}$ channel translates into a $5 \sigma$ H i mass sensitivity for point sources of about $5.2 \times 10^{8} \, (D_{\rm L} / \mathrm{100\,Mpc})^{2} \, {\rm M}_{{\odot}}$ across 50 spectral channels ( ${\approx} 200\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$ ) and a $5 \sigma$ H i column density sensitivity of about $8.6 \times 10^{19} \, (1 + z)^{4}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ across 5 channels ( ${\approx} 20\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$ ) for emission filling the 30′′ beam. As expected for a pilot survey, several technical issues and artefacts are still affecting the data quality. Most notably, there are systematic flux errors of up to several 10% caused by uncertainties about the exact size and shape of each of the primary beams as well as the presence of sidelobes due to the finite deconvolution threshold. In addition, artefacts such as residual continuum emission and bandpass ripples have affected some of the data. The pilot survey has been highly successful in uncovering such technical problems, most of which are expected to be addressed and rectified before the start of the full WALLABY survey.

Mung bean is highly susceptible to insect attack during storage. Hermetic storage is an effective technique to control insect damage. This study investigated the potential of the hermetic SuperGrain bag (SGB) for controlling bruchids during storage. The dry samples were packed in SGB infested with adult bruchids (SGB-I), SGB natural field infested (SGB-N), woven polypropylene bags (WPP-I and WPP-N) and kept at room temperature for 180 days. Oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were measured at 15 days intervals. Moisture content, infestation level, seed damage and weight loss were determined at 60 days intervals. Seed colour, hardness, crude protein and fat contents were analysed before and after storage. The O2 level decreased to 10.09%, whereas the CO2 level increased to 8.87% in both SGB-I and SGB-N treatments. The moisture content of mung bean was maintained as onset storage in both SGB-N and SGB-I treatments, whereas reduced in WPP-N (9.26% db) and WPP-I (9.21% db). In SGB treatments, no significant bruchids were detected, but they increased drastically in WPP-N (52 ± 9) and WPP-I (377 ± 14). Seed damage (2–3%) and weight loss (0.8–1.0%) were recorded in both SGB-N and SGB-I. Conversely, seed damage reached 26.67 and 54.17%, corresponding to weight losses of 12.33 and 20.82% in WPP-N and WPP-I, respectively. Seed colour, hardness, crude protein and fat contents in SGBs showed no significant changes than in the WPP bags. The study illustrated that the SGB is an efficient hermetic device in protecting mung beans against bruchids attacks compared to the WPP bags.

Multi-core and highly connected architectures have become ubiquitous, and this has brought renewed interest in language-based approaches to the exploitation of parallelism. Since its inception, logic programming has been recognized as a programming paradigm with great potential for automated exploitation of parallelism. The comprehensive survey of the first twenty years of research in parallel logic programming, published in 2001, has served since as a fundamental reference to researchers and developers. The contents are quite valid today, but at the same time the field has continued evolving at a fast pace in the years that have followed. Many of these achievements and ongoing research have been driven by the rapid pace of technological innovation, that has led to advances such as very large clusters, the wide diffusion of multi-core processors, the game-changing role of general-purpose graphic processing units, and the ubiquitous adoption of cloud computing. This has been paralleled by significant advances within logic programming, such as tabling, more powerful static analysis and verification, the rapid growth of Answer Set Programming, and in general, more mature implementations and systems. This survey provides a review of the research in parallel logic programming covering the period since 2001, thus providing a natural continuation of the previous survey. In order to keep the survey self-contained, it restricts its attention to parallelization of the major logic programming languages (Prolog, Datalog, Answer Set Programming) and with an emphasis on automated parallelization and preservation of the sequential observable semantics of such languages. The goal of the survey is to serve not only as a reference for researchers and developers of logic programming systems but also as engaging reading for anyone interested in logic and as a useful source for researchers in parallel systems outside logic programming.

Under standard care, psychotic disorders can have limited response to treatments, high rates of chronicity and disability, negative impacts on families, and wider social and economic costs. In an effort to improve early detection and care of individuals developing a psychotic illness, early intervention in psychosis services and early detection services have been set up in various countries since the 1980s. In April 2016, NHS England implemented a new ‘access and waiting times’ standard for early intervention in psychosis to extend the prevention of psychosis across England. Unfortunately, early intervention and early detection services are still not uniformly distributed in the UK, leaving gaps in service provision. The aim of this paper is to provide a business case model that can guide clinicians and services looking to set up or expand early detection services in their area. The paper also focuses on some existing models of care within the Pan-London Network for Psychosis Prevention teams.

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum truncatum is a major soybean disease in India. Genetic resistance is the viable option to combat yield losses due to this disease. In the current study, 19 soybean genotypes were evaluated for anthracnose disease resistance at five locations (Medziphema, Palampur, Dharwad, Jabalpur and Indore) for three consecutive years (2017–2019) to identify stable and superior genotypes as resistant sources and to elucidate genotype (G) × environment (E) interactions. Genotype effect, environment effect and G × E interactions were found significant (P < 0.001) where G × E interactions contributed highest (42.44) to the total variation followed by environment (29.71) and genotype (18.84). Through Weighted Average of Absolute Scores (WAASB) stability analysis, PS 1611 (WAASB score = 0.33) was found to be most stable and through WAASBY superiority analysis NRC 128 (WAASBY score = 94.31) and PS 1611 (WAASBY score = 89.43) were found to be superior for mean performance and stability. These two genotypes could be candidate parents for breeding for durable and stable anthracnose resistance. Through principal component analysis, disease score was found to be positively associated with relative humidity, wind speed at 2 m above ground level, effect of temperature on radiation use efficiency and global solar radiation based on latitude and Julian day. Among the five locations, Indore was found to be highly discriminative with the highest mean disease incidence and could differentiate anthracnose-resistant and susceptible genotypes effectively, therefore can be considered an ideal location for breeding for field resistance against anthracnose disease.

We present the most sensitive and detailed view of the neutral hydrogen ( ${\rm H\small I}$ ) emission associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), through the combination of data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Parkes (Murriyang), as part of the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (GASKAP) pilot survey. These GASKAP-HI pilot observations, for the first time, reveal ${\rm H\small I}$ in the SMC on similar physical scales as other important tracers of the interstellar medium, such as molecular gas and dust. The resultant image cube possesses an rms noise level of 1.1 K ( $1.6\,\mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ ) $\mathrm{per}\ 0.98\,\mathrm{km\ s}^{-1}$ spectral channel with an angular resolution of $30^{\prime\prime}$ ( ${\sim}10\,\mathrm{pc}$ ). We discuss the calibration scheme and the custom imaging pipeline that utilises a joint deconvolution approach, efficiently distributed across a computing cluster, to accurately recover the emission extending across the entire ${\sim}25\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ field-of-view. We provide an overview of the data products and characterise several aspects including the noise properties as a function of angular resolution and the represented spatial scales by deriving the global transfer function over the full spectral range. A preliminary spatial power spectrum analysis on individual spectral channels reveals that the power law nature of the density distribution extends down to scales of 10 pc. We highlight the scientific potential of these data by comparing the properties of an outflowing high-velocity cloud with previous ASKAP+Parkes ${\rm H\small I}$ test observations.

We present a broadband radio study of the transient jets ejected from the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535–571, which underwent a prolonged outburst beginning on 2017 September 2. We monitored MAXI J1535–571 with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at frequencies from 119 to 186 MHz over six epochs from 2017 September 20 to 2017 October 14. The source was quasi-simultaneously observed over the frequency range 0.84–19 GHz by UTMOST (the Upgraded Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope) the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and the Australian Long Baseline Array (LBA). Using the LBA observations from 2017 September 23, we measured the source size to be $34\pm1$ mas. During the brightest radio flare on 2017 September 21, the source was detected down to 119 MHz by the MWA, and the radio spectrum indicates a turnover between 250 and 500 MHz, which is most likely due to synchrotron self-absorption (SSA). By fitting the radio spectrum with a SSA model and using the LBA size measurement, we determined various physical parameters of the jet knot (identified in ATCA data), including the jet opening angle ( $\phi_{\rm op} = 4.5\pm1.2^{\circ}$ ) and the magnetic field strength ( $B_{\rm s} = 104^{+80}_{-78}$ mG). Our fitted magnetic field strength agrees reasonably well with that inferred from the standard equipartition approach, suggesting the jet knot to be close to equipartition. Our study highlights the capabilities of the Australian suite of radio telescopes to jointly probe radio jets in black hole X-ray binaries via simultaneous observations over a broad frequency range, and with differing angular resolutions. This suite allows us to determine the physical properties of X-ray binary jets. Finally, our study emphasises the potential contributions that can be made by the low-frequency part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low) in the study of black hole X-ray binaries.

We present an overview of the Middle Ages Galaxy Properties with Integral Field Spectroscopy (MAGPI) survey, a Large Program on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. MAGPI is designed to study the physical drivers of galaxy transformation at a lookback time of 3–4 Gyr, during which the dynamical, morphological, and chemical properties of galaxies are predicted to evolve significantly. The survey uses new medium-deep adaptive optics aided Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of fields selected from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, providing a wealth of publicly available ancillary multi-wavelength data. With these data, MAGPI will map the kinematic and chemical properties of stars and ionised gas for a sample of 60 massive ( ${>}7 \times 10^{10} {\mathrm{M}}_\odot$ ) central galaxies at $0.25 < z <0.35$ in a representative range of environments (isolated, groups and clusters). The spatial resolution delivered by MUSE with Ground Layer Adaptive Optics ( $0.6-0.8$ arcsec FWHM) will facilitate a direct comparison with Integral Field Spectroscopy surveys of the nearby Universe, such as SAMI and MaNGA, and at higher redshifts using adaptive optics, for example, SINS. In addition to the primary (central) galaxy sample, MAGPI will deliver resolved and unresolved spectra for as many as 150 satellite galaxies at $0.25 < z <0.35$ , as well as hundreds of emission-line sources at $z < 6$ . This paper outlines the science goals, survey design, and observing strategy of MAGPI. We also present a first look at the MAGPI data, and the theoretical framework to which MAGPI data will be compared using the current generation of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations including EAGLE, Magneticum, HORIZON-AGN, and Illustris-TNG. Our results show that cosmological hydrodynamical simulations make discrepant predictions in the spatially resolved properties of galaxies at $z\approx 0.3$ . MAGPI observations will place new constraints and allow for tangible improvements in galaxy formation theory.

Adult heights in India are short. Child stunting remains high though the prevalence fell from 48% to 38% in the decade prior to 2016. This study assesses the links between parental height and child stunting using nationally representative data on 28,975 under-five-year-old children from the 2015–16 National Family Health Survey. Parental heights are represented as quintiles. Logistic regression was applied to estimate the effect of parental heights after adjustment for household wealth, parental schooling, place of residence and other covariates. The unadjusted estimates showed the effect on stunting to be similar for maternal height, wealth and education. In the multivariate analysis maternal height emerged as the strongest predictor of stunting, with adjusted odds of 2.85 for the shortest compared with the tallest quintile. The two other strong predictors of stunting were paternal height and wealth, with adjusted odds of close to 2.0 for the lowest quintile relative to the highest quintiles. In comparison, associations between stunting and other factors were minor, with the partial exception of mother’s education. The findings underscore the key role of intergenerational influences on stunting. Maternal height has a stronger association with childhood stunting than paternal height and socioeconomic influences such as education and household wealth. The influence of paternal height is also strong, equal in magnitude to household wealth. Health workers need to be alerted to the special needs of short women.