2Gs and plant architecture: breaking grain yield ceiling through breeding approaches for next wave of revolution in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Rice is a principal food crop for more than half of the global population. Grain number and grain weight (2Gs) are the two complex traits controlled by several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and are considered the most critical components for yield enhancement in rice. Novel molecular biology and QTL mapping strategies can be utilized in dissecting the complex genetic architecture of these traits. Discovering the valuable genes/QTLs associated with 2Gs traits hidden in the rice genome and utilizing them in breeding programs may bring a revolution in rice production. Furthermore, the positional cloning and functional characterization of identified genes and QTLs may aid in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the 2Gs traits. In addition, knowledge of modern genomic tools aids the understanding of the nature of plant and panicle architecture, which enhances their photosynthetic activity. Rice researchers continue to combine important yield component traits (including 2Gs for the yield ceiling) by utilizing modern breeding tools, such as marker-assisted selection (MAS), haplotype-based breeding, and allele mining. Physical co-localization of GW7 (for grain weight) and DEP2 (for grain number) genes present on chromosome 7 revealed the possibility of simultaneous introgression of these two genes, if desirable allelic variants were found in the single donor parent. This review article will reveal the genetic nature of 2Gs traits and use this knowledge to break the yield ceiling by using different breeding and biotechnological tools, which will sustain the world's food requirements.

A Collaborative Application for Assisting the Management of Household Plastic Waste through Smart Bins: A Case of Study in the Philippines.

The management and collection of household waste often represents a demanding task for elderly or impaired people. In particular, the increasing generation of plastic waste at home may pose a problem for these groups, as this type of waste accumulates very rapidly and occupies a considerable amount of space. This paper proposes a collaborative infrastructure to monitor household plastic waste. It consists of simple smart bins using a weight scale and a smart application that forecasts the amount of plastic generated for each bin at different time horizons out of the data provided by the smart bins. The application generates optimal routes for the waste-pickers collaborating in the system through a route-planning algorithm. This algorithm takes into account the predicted amount of plastic of each bin and the waste-picker's location and means of transport. This proposal has been evaluated by means of a simulated scenario in Quezon City, Philippines, where severe problems with plastic waste have been identified. A set of 176 experiments have been performed to collect data that allow representing different user behaviors when generating plastic waste. The results show that our proposal enables waste-pickers to collect more than the 80% of the household plastic-waste bins before they are completely full.

Sleep Problems in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with 40% to 80% prevalence. Common disorders include insomnia, parasomnias, and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders. These problems have a multifactorial etiology and can both exacerbate and be exacerbated by core ASD symptoms. Sleep problems also impact the health and quality of life of both patients and their caregivers. All children with autism should be regularly screened for sleep problems and evaluated for co-occurring medical contributors. Behavioral interventions with caregiver training remain first-line treatment for sleep disorders in both neurotypical and neurodiverse youth.

Genome-wide identification and analysis of GRAS transcription factors in the bottle gourd genome.

GRAS genes belong to the plant-specific transcription factors (TF's) family that are known to be involved in plant growth and development. In this study, we have identified 37 genes from the bottle gourd genome that encodes for GRAS TF's. Except for the SCLA, we were able to identify at least one gene from each of the 17 subfamilies. Gene structure and chromosomal analysis showed that maximum seven genes are present on Chr7 followed by six genes on Chr1. The subcellular location analysis revealed that most of the genes were localized in the nucleus, except for a few in chloroplast and mitochondria. Additionally, we have identified one tandem gene duplication event on Chr7 and three major motifs that were present in all the GRAS genes. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction prediction and gene expression analysis showed five candidate hub-genes interact with various other genes and thus probably control the expression of interacting partners in different plant tissues. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of GRAS transcription factors in bottle gourd genome which could be further extended to other vegetable crops.

Morphometric study of ear lobule in northwest Indian male subjects.

A total of 260 male subjects between 1 and 80 years of age of north-west region of India were studied with regard to morphometry of the ear lobule. The purpose of the present study was to obtain average values and range of measurements of several parameters of the ear lobule and the differences between right and left lobules. Female subjects were excluded from the study due to piercing. Various measurements of lobule were taken with the help of Vernier and Lange's calipers. The results of the aforementioned measurements were analyzed statistically using Student's t-test. The maximum length of the lobule increased appreciably between 6-15 years and 41-80 years. The breadth of the ear lobule increased up to the age of 15 years and was almost static between the ages of 16 and 40 years and increased again from 41 years onwards. Length of the lobule showed significant growth from the age group of 6-10 to 11-15, 21-40 to 41-60 and 41-60 to 61-80 years on the right side and 6-10 to 11-15 and 21-40 to 41-60 years on the left side. Breadth and thickness of ear lobule also showed statistically significant growth pattern in some age groups. On comparing the ear lobe dimensions with the studies available in other populations of the world, it was observed that north-west Indians have smaller ear lobules as compared to Caucasian and Japanese populations. In the present study, the frequency of attached (square) type of lobules was the maximum, followed by free (pendulous) type and tapering lobules. These findings were similar to those found among the Onge tribe of Andhra (India) and Newars of Nepal.

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorod core-polypyrrole conducting polymer sheath and nanotube arrays for electrochemical supercapacitor energy storage.

Nanocomposite electrodes having three-dimensional (3-D) nanoscale architecture comprising of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod array core-polypyrrole (PPy) conducting polymer sheath and the vertical PPy nanotube arrays have been investigated for supercapacitor energy storage. The electrodes in the ZnO nanorod core-PPy sheath structure are formed by preferential nucleation and deposition of PPy layer over hydrothermally synthesized vertical ZnO nanorod array by controlled pulsed current electropolymerization of pyrrole monomer under surfactant action. The vertical PPy nanotube arrays of different tube diameter are created by selective etching of the ZnO nanorod core in ammonia solution for different periods. Cyclic voltammetry studies show high areal-specific capacitance approximately 240 mF.cm(-2) for open pore and approximately 180 mF.cm(-2) for narrow 30-to-36-nm diameter PPy nanotube arrays attributed to intensive faradic processes arising from enhanced access of electrolyte ions through nanotube interior and exterior. Impedance spectroscopy studies show that capacitive response extends over larger frequency domain in electrodes with PPy nanotube structure. Simulation of Nyquist plots by electrical equivalent circuit modeling establishes that 3-D nanostructure is better represented by constant phase element which accounts for the inhomogeneous electrochemical redox processes. Charge-discharge studies at different current densities establish that kinetics of the redox process in PPy nanotube electrode is due to the limitation on electron transport rather than the diffusive process of electrolyte ions. The PPy nanotube electrodes show deep discharge capability with high coulomb efficiency and long-term charge-discharge cyclic studies show nondegrading performance of the specific areal capacitance tested for 5,000 cycles.