Twenty-nine exotic common bean germplasms and three elite cultivars were examined for phenotypic diversity in two bean-producing environments (Kanpur and Shimla) across three winter seasons and one rainy season. The estimate of genetic variability parameters revealed that the exotic bean germplasm has enough diversity for all the evaluated features. The highest genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were found in seed yield, followed by 100-seed weight, pods per plant and pod length. Furthermore, seed yield was the most heritable and genetically advanced quantitative feature, followed by 100-seed weight, pod length and pods per plant. According to a trait association study, the days to maturity of phenological traits have a strong positive correlation with the days to initial flowering and the days to 50% flowering. Pods per plant and seeds per pod most strongly influence increased grain yield. The first two principal components accounted for 63.3% of the variation and demonstrated significant diversity among exotic bean lines for the traits studied, according to the principal component analysis. According to the hierarchical clustering analysis, 29 accessions and three cultivars were divided into three groups. Cluster I contains early flowering and maturing accessions, while cluster III contains high pods per plant and an increased grain yield of germplasms. The fundamental source of phenological fluctuations in both environmental circumstances is temperature. This study found four genetically divergent and stable performance accessions, including EC932021, EC932189 (earliness), and EC931452, EC931971 (high grain yield), which may aid in the establishment of a bean breeding programme.

The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (WCPCCS) will be held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, 26 August, 2023 to Friday, 1 September, 2023, inclusive. The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, The Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery has 5,037 registered attendees (and rising) from 117 countries, a truly diverse and international faculty of over 925 individuals from 89 countries, over 2,000 individual abstracts and poster presenters from 101 countries, and a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts from 34 countries. For information about the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, please visit the following website: [www.WCPCCS2023.org]. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the activities related to global health and advocacy that will occur at the Eighth World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

Acknowledging the need for urgent change, we wanted to take the opportunity to bring a common voice to the global community and issue the Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action on Addressing the Global Burden of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Diseases. A copy of this Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is provided in the Appendix of this manuscript. This Washington DC WCPCCS Call to Action is an initiative aimed at increasing awareness of the global burden, promoting the development of sustainable care systems, and improving access to high quality and equitable healthcare for children with heart disease as well as adults with congenital heart disease worldwide.

14CO2 activity in air samples collected at Kakrapar Gujarat Site, India, was measured, and site-specific dilution factor for 14CO2 has been evaluated. 14CO2 activity in air samples was monitored for 72 different sampling events at onsite stack of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and at ESL meteorology laboratory (at 1.6 km from NPP stack). 14CO2 activity in air at stack of NPP and at ESL meteorology laboratory was observed to 0.10–0.18 TBq (GWe.year)–1, with mean value 0.12 TBq (GWe.year)–1 and ≤0.04–0.13 Bq m–3, with mean value 0.08 Bq m–3 respectively. The results were correlated with meteorological parameters. Site specific dilution factor for 14CO2 in air was evaluated at 1.6 km and was found to be in the range of 4.6E-05 to 21E-05 s m–3. Inter angle (degree) between plume direction and fixed sampling location and rainfall (mm) are found to be the important influencing parameters for dilution factor of 14CO2 in air.

For forthcoming wireless applications, a small and highly decoupled complementary split ring resonators (CSRR)–loaded co-planar waveguide (CPW)–fed antenna for dual-band applications is investigated. The low-profile antenna consists of a CSRR-loaded rectangular radiating element with a truncated bottom, giving a wideband performance over the frequency ranges of 5.28–5.52 GHz and 6–7.2 GHz. The antenna has been printed on a widely used FR4 substrate measuring 7.5 × 10.5 × 1.6 mm3 in volume. This research’s suggested antenna is turned into a 4 × 4 multi input multi output (MIMO) construction using a 25 × 25 mm2 printed circuit board. Individual antennas were isolated by nearly 20 dB without using a decoupling device. The antenna has been built, and the measured and simulated results correspond well. Computing envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), channel capacity (CC), and channel capacity loss (CCL) further validates the antenna’s performance (−). The antenna has an overall gain of around 2.54 dBi and a radiation efficiency of approximately 89% throughout the relevant spectral range, which is much better for wireless applications. The suggested antenna’s omnidirectional emission pattern makes it a potential contender for future wireless and cellular applications.

An attempt has been made to illustrate the evolution of pelitic granulite from south of the Balaram-Abu road, which lies in the South Delhi Terrane (SDT) of the Aravalli-Delhi Mobile Belt (ADMB), using geochemistry and geochronology. The current work offers a plausible explanation for the protolith of pelitic granulite, nature of the sediments and its provenance. The elemental geochemistry of the pelitic granulites reveals that the protolith is an arkosic to shaley type. The rare earth elements pattern shows that there is a negative Eu anomaly and a small excess of LREE over HREE. This means that the source of sediments probably has the same elements as the upper crust. However, the amounts of Sr, Nd and Pb vary a lot, which shows that the sediments supplied from two different types of sources (felsic and mafic) in different proportions from a Proterozoic terrain. The monazite geochronology indicates that the metamorphic overprint occurred between 797 Ma and 906 Ma. Additionally, the ages correlate to the debris that was formed between the 1188 Ma and 1324 Ma from magmatic/sedimentary sources for pelitic granulite. The present research provides a more in-depth understanding of the evolutionary history of the pelitic granulite that comprises the SDT in the ADMB region during the Proterozoic era.

The putative host galaxy of FRB 20171020A was first identified as ESO 601-G036 in 2018, but as no repeat bursts have been detected, direct confirmation of the host remains elusive. In light of recent developments in the field, we re-examine this host and determine a new association confidence level of 98%. At 37 Mpc, this makes ESO 601-G036 the third closest FRB host galaxy to be identified to date and the closest to host an apparently non-repeating FRB (with an estimated repetition rate limit of $<$$0.011$ bursts per day above $10^{39}$ erg). Due to its close distance, we are able to perform detailed multi-wavelength analysis on the ESO 601-G036 system. Follow-up observations confirm ESO 601-G036 to be a typical star-forming galaxy with H i and stellar masses of $\log_{10}\!(M_{\rm{H\,{\small I}}} / M_\odot) \sim 9.2$ and $\log_{10}\!(M_\star / M_\odot) = 8.64^{+0.03}_{-0.15}$, and a star formation rate of $\text{SFR} = 0.09 \pm 0.01\,{\rm M}_\odot\,\text{yr}^{-1}$. We detect, for the first time, a diffuse gaseous tail ($\log_{10}\!(M_{\rm{H\,{\small I}}} / M_\odot) \sim 8.3$) extending to the south-west that suggests recent interactions, likely with the confirmed nearby companion ESO 601-G037. ESO 601-G037 is a stellar shred located to the south of ESO 601-G036 that has an arc-like morphology, is about an order of magnitude less massive, and has a lower gas metallicity that is indicative of a younger stellar population. The properties of the ESO 601-G036 system indicate an ongoing minor merger event, which is affecting the overall gaseous component of the system and the stars within ESO 601-G037. Such activity is consistent with current FRB progenitor models involving magnetars and the signs of recent interactions in other nearby FRB host galaxies.

Background: Saccade and pupil responses are potential neurodegenerative disease biomarkers due to overlap between oculomotor circuitry and disease-affected areas. Instruction-based tasks have previously been examined as biomarker sources, but are arduous for patients with limited cognitive abilities; additionally, few studies have evaluated multiple neurodegenerative pathologies concurrently. Methods: The Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative recruited individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia, progressive supranuclear palsy, or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Patients (n=274, age 40-86) and healthy controls (n=101, age 55-86) viewed 10 minutes of frequently changing video clips without instruction while their eyes were tracked. We evaluated differences in saccade and pupil parameters (e.g. saccade frequency and amplitude, pupil size, responses to clip changes) between groups. Results: Preliminary data indicates low-level behavioural alterations in multiple disease cohorts: increased centre bias, lower overall saccade rate and reduced saccade amplitude. After clip changes, patient groups generally demonstrated lower saccade rate but higher microsaccade rate following clip change to varying degrees. Additionally, pupil responses were blunted (AD, MCI, ALS) or exaggerated (PD). Conclusions: This task may generate behavioural biomarkers even in cognitively impaired populations. Future work should explore the possible effects of factors such as medication and disease stage.

Background: There is a well-established reciprocal relationship between pain and poor sleep. Therefore, we evaluated whether an approved sleep-promoting drug, lemborexant (LEM), could improve sleep in older adults who reported both insomnia and pain. Methods: Study E2006-G000-304 (NCT02783729) was a 1-month, placebo (PBO)- and active-controlled study in subjects (age ≥55y) with insomnia disorder. Those reporting some/severe pain on the pain/discomfort dimension of the EQ-5D-3L at baseline were included. Subjects were randomized to placebo (PBO), LEM 5mg (LEM5), 10mg (LEM10) or zolpidem (not reported here). Changes from baseline (CFB) in objective sleep parameters latency-to-persistent sleep (LPS) and total-sleep-time (TST) were analyzed in paired polysomnograms. Results: 183/743 (24.6%) subjects in the PBO (n=55/208[26.4%]), LEM5 (n=78/266[29.3%]) and LEM10 (n=50/269[18.6%]) treatment groups reported some/extreme pain at baseline, with median LPS (minutes): 31.0, 29.4, 42.1, respectively. Respective median CFB for LPS at the beginning (Nights[NT]1/2: +2.5, –8.4, –15.8; P<0.005) was significantly larger/decreased for LEM5/LEM10 versus PBO and LEM5 at treatment end (NT29/30: –7.1, –9.9, –9.0; P=0.031). Mean baseline TST (minutes) was 335.3 (PBO), 336.3 (LEM5), 324.3 (LEM10), and mean CFB was significantly larger/increased (P<0.001) for LEM5/LEM10 versus PBO at NT1/2 and NT29/30. Conclusions: Results suggest LEM may effectively treat insomnia in older adults with comorbid pain.

Support: Eisai Inc.

Background: Improvements in sleep-onset, maintenance, and daytime functioning, are all important outcomes for the treatment of insomnia. These improvements are usually assessed by objective or patient-reported (subjective) measures or both. Some sleep-promoting drugs do not report consistently aligned subjective and objective outcomes. Therefore, we examined concordance in change from baseline (CFB) in sleep parameters (objective/subjective measures) and daytime functioning (subjective measures) in the clinical program of lemborexant (LEM), a dual-orexin receptor antagonist. Methods: Study E2006-G000-304 (NCT02783729), a 1-month, placebo (PBO)- and active-controlled (zolpidem; not discussed here) study, and Study E2006-G000-303 (NCT02952820), a 12-month, randomized, PBO-controlled study (first 6-months), evaluated the efficacy/safety of LEM 5mg (LEM5) and LEM 10mg (LEM10) in subjects with insomnia disorder. The primary/secondary endpoints in both studies included multiple objective/subjective sleep parameters and patient-reported measures, which were assessed for concordance. Results: In both studies, statistically significant improvements with LEM5/LEM10 were reported in multiple objective and patient-reported measures versus PBO, showing a concordance of results, with observed improvements continuing through 12 months. LEM was well tolerated; most treatment-emergent adverse events were mild/moderate. Conclusions: When deciding which sleep agent to prescribe, it is important that improvement can be demonstrated in both objective and patient-reported measures. LEM treatment showed concordance among observed measures.

Background: Some sleep-promoting medications are associated with cognitive impairment, making treatment of comorbid obstructive-sleep-apnea (OSA) and insomnia (COMISA) challenging. Lemborexant is a dual-orexin-receptor-antagonist approved for insomnia treatment. This post-hoc analysis evaluated cognition in the subgroup of subjects with mild-OSA (apnea-hypopnea-index ≥5–<15 events/h-of-sleep). Methods: Study E2006-G000-304 was a 1-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo (PBO)- and active-comparator (zolpidem-ER 6.25mg [ZOL])-controlled study of lemborexant 5/10mg (LEM5/LEM10). Subjects ≥55y with insomnia disorder/sleep maintenance problems were enrolled (N=1006). A cognitive-performance assessment battery (CPAB) was performed at morning waketime of Days(D)2/3 and D30/31. Change-from-baseline (CFB) for mean power-of-attention (PoA), continuity-of-attention (CoA), quality-of-memory (QoM), and speed-of-memory-retrieval (SoMR) for CPAB tasks was analyzed. Results: The mild-OSA subgroup comprised 410 (40.8%) subjects. On D2/3 and D30/31, CFB for PoA, CoA, QoM, and SoMR for LEM5/LEM10 were not significantly different than PBO. On D2/3, PoA and QoM were significantly worse with ZOL vs PBO; QoM was significantly better with LEM5/LEM10 vs ZOL. On D30/31, SoMR was significantly worse with ZOL vs PBO and significantly better with LEM5/LEM10 vs ZOL. LEM safety in the subgroup was consistent with the overall study population. Conclusions: Memory and attention domains in subjects with COMISA characterized by mild-OSA were not impacted by LEM, unlike ZOL.

Support: Eisai Inc.

Background: Lemborexant (LEM), a dual-orexin-receptor-antagonist approved to treat adults with insomnia, increases total sleep time (TST) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or co-morbid insomnia and OSA (COMISA) report sleeping difficulties and reduced REM, therefore sleep architecture was analyzed during LEM treatment. Methods: Study E2006-G000-304 (NCT02783729) was a 1-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo (PBO)- and active-comparator zolpidem-ER 6.25mg (ZOL)-controlled study in adults ≥55y with insomnia disorder. Subjects received PBO, LEM 5mg (LEM5), 10mg (LEM10), or ZOL. Least-square-mean duration of each sleep stage (minutes) was compared from pooled data on Nights (NT)1/2 and NT29/30 for mild OSA subjects (apnea hypopnea index ≥5 to <15 events/h). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were recorded. Results: Of 409 subjects with mild OSA (LEM5=114/LEM10=105/ZOL=112/PBO=78) change from baseline (CFB) in TST and REM sleep was significantly larger with both LEM doses versus ZOL/PBO on both nights. CFB for total nonREM sleep was significantly higher (P<0.0001) with both LEM doses versus PBO on both nights. LEM5 showed significantly higher (P<0.05) nonREM sleep versus ZOL at NT29/30. Most TEAEs were mild/moderate. Conclusions: LEM significantly increased TST, REM, and nonREM sleep versus PBO in subjects with insomnia and mild OSA. Data support LEM treatment in the COMISA population.

A low-profile slant ±45° polarized antenna for a 4G/5G base station with a dominant path wave propagation model (DPM) is reported in this paper. For dual-polarization and wide impedance bandwidth, the two dipole radiators are crisscrossed and a square metallic ring is integrated with the dipole arms and screwed with the four shorting vias. The antenna operates in Band 40/41/42/43 with strong isolation and low ECC (Envelop Correlation Coefficient). Fabricated antenna results show that the predicted wideband antenna has 13.38% bandwidth in 4G, which is Band 40/41, and 29.33% bandwidth in 5G sub-6 GHz Band 42/43. The antenna has a consistent radiation pattern, a 40 dB XPD (Cross Pol Discrimination), and a beam width of 69.5° ±1.5° in the entire frequency band. Three base station sites were explored to deploy the radiation pattern of a dual-polarized antenna in the 3D EM (Electromagnetic Analysis) tool. To evaluate signal quality, strength, radio network planning, and wave propagation analysis by analyzing antenna performance in real-time scenarios with 64 and 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) techniques. For the proposed four-stream MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) antenna arrangement at deployed cell sites for 4G/5G base station applications, the maximum downlink and uplink data rates are 3.826/2.8 Mbps and 1044/800 Mbps respectively.

Ever increasing global population necessitates the need to increase availability of affordable foods with high nutritional quality. Chickpea being the second most important grain legume cultivated worldwide has the great potential to alleviate problems of protein malnutrition and hidden hunger. The objective of the present investigation was to characterize a diverse set of 402 germplasm comprising of more than 100 commercial cultivars widely cultivated and utilized by breeders for grain protein in two contrasting environments to explore the magnitude of natural genotypic diversity present in the cultivated chickpea and the scope for enhancing it and its quality through breeding. The cultivars containing more than 25 to 30.44% grain protein have been found in the study and large scale production of such protein rich cultivars is expected to increase availability as well as consumption of high quality chickpea necessary to overcome all forms of malnutrition. Trait specific germplasm containing grain protein up to 33.56% are also identified for their further utilization as potential donors in the chickpea improvement programme. The amino acid profiling of selected high and low protein containing genotypes showed considerably greater average amino acid score for all the essential amino acids than the WHO recommended requirement values and is comparable to those of the ‘complete protein’ sources of food suggesting that chickpea deserves to be considered as a ‘complete protein’ source.

While conservation practices promote soil health and reduce the negative environmental effects from agricultural production, their adoption rates are generally low. To facilitate farmer adoption, we carried out a survey to identify potential challenges faced by farmers regarding conservation tillage and cover crop adoption in the western margin of the US Corn Belt. We found farmers' top two concerns regarding conservation tillage were delayed planting, caused by slow soil warming in spring, and increased dependence on herbicide and fungicides. Narrow planting window and lack of time/labor were perceived by farmers as the two primary challenges for cover crop adoption. Some sense of place factors, including the commonly included dimensions of attachment, identity and dependence, played a role in farmers' perceived challenges. For example, respondents more economically dependent on farming perceived greater challenges. We found that farmers' challenge perceptions regarding reduced yield and lack of time/labor significantly decreased as years of usage increased, implying that time and experience could dilute some challenges faced by farmers. Our findings indicate that social network use, technical guidance and economic subsidies are likely to address the concerns of farmers and facilitate their adoption of conservation practices.

Fall panicum is the most prevalent and problematic weed in rice in Florida. Outdoor studies were conducted in 2021 to determine the effect of flooding on fall panicum growth and its ability to produce and develop panicles. Fall panicum at the two- to four-leaf and four- to six-leaf stages of development were flooded in stock tanks maintained at flooding depths of 0, 10, 15, 20, and 30 cm for 56 d. Plant height, number of tillers and leaves, leaf area, shoot biomass, root biomass, and panicle branches for both fall panicum leaf stages of development decreased with increasing flooding depth. Fall panicum flooded at the two- to four-leaf stage survived flood depth of 15 cm, whereas plants flooded at the four- to six-leaf stage survived and emerged from a flood depth of up to 20 cm. The 10-cm flood depth resulted in the tallest plants with more leaves, tillers, and leaf area for both growth stages. The probability of fall panicum survival and ability to produce panicles decreased as flood depth increased. Flood depth required for 50% survival for four- to six-leaf-stage plants was estimated to occur at 14 cm, whereas that for plants at the two- to four-leaf stage occurred at 12 cm. The flood depth required to reduce panicle branch production by 50% was estimated to be 15 and 20 cm for two- to four-leaf, and four- to six-leaf-stage plants, respectively. These results show that flooding >10 cm is required to significantly reduce fall panicum survival and ability to produce panicles. Since flood level in rice is usually maintained at an average of 10 cm, chemical weed control will be important to supplement flooding for effective control of fall panicum in rice.