Mycorrhizal influence on growth, metabolites and mineral nutrition in garlic ( Allium sativum L.) plant

Mycorrhizae are fungal symbionts forming mutualistic relationship with plant. The present work has been envisioned with an aim to provide some insight into the influence of AMF on underground stem propagated garlic plant. In the present study bulbils sowed earthen pots were inoculated by sterilized spores of AMF along with sterilized inoculated maize-root fragments, while the rest half of the Bulbils filled pots, without any inoculation depicting control but were provided with non-inoculated maize root fragments. The inoculation was performed twice; first inoculation was done 3 days prior to sowing of garlic Bulbils and second after 03 days of bulbil sowing. Sampling of the inoculated as well as of control plants was performed at 30-day intervals till 90 days after seedling emergence. The AMF adds to more fresh and dry matter amounts at each stage of growth in comparison to their respective non AMF plants. However it was observed that mixed inoculum showed better growth, metabolites and nutrients in garlic than individual species. Except for reducing sugar fractions which are lower due to AMF association, other metabolites like of total sugars, proteins and phenolics show a significant additional contents at each stage of growth with AMF association than in the absence of AMF. AMF also adds increased contents in macro elements of NPK respectively which keep increasing with growth of the plant and its underground bulb. This study demonstrates that AMF inoculation has a great potential in increasing growth parameters and also enriching storage metabolites and nutrients in garlic plant in low yielding soils.

Optimizing in vitro pollen viability and cryopreservation protocols across flower positions in pomegranate cultivars and wild genotypes

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) is a significant fruit crop known for its rich antioxidant properties. Preserving haploid-level genetic variation through pollen cryopreservation is being explored as a potential method to complement current clonal conservation techniques. In this study, an investigation was conducted to optimize the protocol for pollen cryopreservation in male and bisexual flowers located at nodal and terminal positions in five prevalent pomegranate varieties (‘Bhagwa’, ‘Jodhpur Red’, ‘P-23’, ‘Yercaud’, ‘Jodhpur Collection’) and five wild genotypes (‘318736’, ‘318752’, ‘IIHR-SH 21/6’, ‘IIHR-SH 21/13’, and ‘Bhagwa OP 20/6’). Cryopreservation was performed for four durations in liquid nitrogen. The viability of fresh pollen in vitro reached its peak in cv. ‘Bhagwa’ (80.6 ± 0.3% in nodal position of male) when cultured in 15% sucrose media. The results indicate that pollen collected and cryopreserved from flowers at nodal positions exhibited greater germinability than pollen collected and cryopreserved from flowers at terminal positions. Although flower type (male and bisexual) showed no significant effect on pollen viability after cryopreservation, flower position had a significant effect at the 1% level of significance. This optimized protocol holds promise for establishing a pollen cryobank, facilitating the breeding of elite pomegranate cultivars.

Forward-backward-half forward splitting algorithm with deviations

In this paper, we present a forward-backward-half forward splitting algorithm with deviations for solving the structured monotone inclusion problem composed of a maximally monotone operator, a maximally monotone and Lipschitz continuous operator and a cocoercive operator. The weak and linear convergence of the proposed algorithms is established. The aim of introducing deviations is to improve the performance of the forward-backward-half forward splitting algorithm through suitable choices of the deviations. A numerical example is given to show that the two-step inertial variant of the forward-backward-half forward splitting algorithms with deviations outperforms the existing methods in Briceño-Arias and Davis [Forward-backward-half forward algorithm for solving monotone inclusions, SIAM J Optimiz, 2017;28(4):2839–2871. doi: 10.1137/17M1120099 ], Zong et al. [An accelerated forward-backward-half forward splitting algorithm for monotone inclusion with applications to image restoration, Optimization, 2022;73(2):401–428. doi: 10.1080/02331934.2022.2107926 ] and Fan et al. [Convergence of an inertial shadow Douglas–Rachford splitting algorithm for monotone inclusions, Numer Func Anal Optim, 2021;42(14):1627–1644. doi: 10.1080/01630563.2021.2001749 ].

Accelerated iterative splitting methods on Hadamard manifolds

This paper aims to solve the monotone inclusion problem, minimization problem of multiple summands and the generalized Heron problem. We present an innovative approach, the modified normal S-iteration method, designed to approximate common fixed points of nearly nonexpansive sequences and families of operators via the property$ (\mathscr {A A ) . Some deductions of our results improve some existing results in the literature. To show the applicability of our result, we give application to the inclusion problem via forward–backward splitting method version of our algorithm and minimization problem via Douglas–Rachford splitting method version of our algorithm. To demonstrate the practical utility of the algorithm, we apply it to the generalized Heron problem.

Preface of the proceedings: ICNAAO-2022

Feature Optimization and Stacked Ensemble Learning for Parkinson’s Disease Classification Using Speech Analysis

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, whose symptoms worsen over time, making early diagnosis a challenging task. Changes in speech have been identified as an early symptom of PD identification. However, medical datasets often have a small sample size, while speech signal analysis generates high-dimensional data. Therefore, rigorous feature selection is essential for obtaining the best set of PD characteristics. This paper proposes a hybrid filter-wrapper feature selection approach for PD classification using a publicly available speech dataset (188 PD, 64 healthy subjects). Maximum Relevancy Minimum Redundancy (mRMR) and Relief algorithms are used to select top-ranked features, followed by the Modified Whale Optimization Algorithm (mWOA) to refine the selection for obtaining an optimized feature subset. The class imbalance issue is addressed using SMOTE. A stacked ensemble model is developed, integrating base learners, Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, Naïve Bayes, k-Nearest Neighbour, and deep networks like shallow and deep with hyperparameters tuned via a grid search mechanism. The proposed approach is evaluated against state-of-the-art methods based on accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Results demonstrate that hybrid feature selection and hyperparameter tuning reduce computational burden while improving classification accuracy, making it a promising framework for PD detection from speech data.

Does yoga change the psycho-physiological states among first year college students? A novel investigation via yoga for stress management protocol

Yoga is a promising treatment for mental health, but its impact on first-year college students’ academic stress is not well understood. The present study presented a Yoga for Stress Management (YSM) protocol to examine its effects on psychological and physiological outcomes. Participants were randomly allocated to a yoga group ( N = 27) or a control group ( N = 32), with the yoga group participating in 45-minute sessions three times a week for eight weeks. Psychological measures indicated substantially larger decreases in stress (η² =.11, 95% CI [1.26, 2.60] vs. [3.80, 6.12]), depression (η² =.11, 95% CI [1.05, 3.17] vs. [2.15, 4.65]), and generalized anxiety (η² =.31, 95% CI [6.26, 8.62] vs. [11.28, 14.72]) for the yoga group, with group × time interactions. Physiological benefits consisted of decreased diastolic blood pressure (η² =.30, 95% CI [73.48, 78.52] vs. [75.80, 80.66]), greater root mean square successive difference (η² =.12, 95% CI [76.33, 92.87] vs. [56.68, 77.06]), and greater alpha electroencephalography activity (η² =.20, 95% CI [0.36, 0.37] vs. [0.34, 0.37]). Such results indicate that yoga successfully lessens psychological distress and improves physiological regulation among first-year college students.

What are the views of those participating in a trial investigating acute post-traumatic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo? A qualitative study

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients and healthcare professionals participating in a randomized feasibility trial exploring the management of acute post-traumatic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and to establish the acceptability and tolerability of BPPV assessment and treatment procedures. This was a multi-center qualitative study nested within a wider randomized feasibility trial. Purposive sampling was used to gather a cohort of healthcare professionals and patients from three major trauma centres in London, UK. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using Framework analysis. Fifteen healthcare professionals and 26 patients participated. Patients and healthcare professionals reported acute BPPV diagnosis was acceptable and practicable. However, divergence was noted regarding views of randomization. Participants proposed several research delivery and protocol modifications for a future trial, including changes to study design and outcome measures. Healthcare professionals and patients participating in a multi-center qualitative study felt post-traumatic BPPV was feasible and acceptable to diagnose and treat acutely. Findings from this study will enhance the content and delivery of a future trial and may assist in influencing the development of clinical practice guidelines.

Mechanistic insights into the toxicological effects of heavy metal cocktails from a polluted river using fish cell line toxicity assays

Toxicological assays on fish cell lines are an alternative tool for rapidly and reliably assessing the toxic properties of chemicals or mixtures. In the present study, the gill cell line of Catla catla fish (ICG) was employed to understand the ecotoxic impacts and probable mechanism of toxicity of heavy metal cocktails (Cd, Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Ag, and As) in the study area. Evaluation of individual and combined toxicity of heavy metals was done via MTT and alamar blue (AB) methods. Four cocktails were prepared to mimic concentrations of heavy metals found in different sites in the Yamuna River. Besides determining the cytotoxic effects of heavy metal cocktails, assays were performed to detect the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and cell cycle arrest. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study the impact of environmentally relevant river sediment concentrations of heavy metal mixtures on fish cell lines. The present study's findings elucidate how aquatic organisms respond to individual and cocktail pollutants. Further, the results emphasise the need to consider environmentally relevant concentrations of the heavy metal mixture while assessing their toxicological impacts in environmental conditions.

Assessment of health risk of adults and children due to consumption of uranium-contaminated ground water from Balod district of Chhattisgarh, Central India

The amount of uranium found in samples of ground water from the Balod district of Chhattisgarh, Central India, was estimated using a laser fluorimetric technique. Uranium level detected between 0.42 and 65.9 ugl −1 in the water sample. Except for Siwani village, which had uranium contamination levels of 65.9 µgl −1 , the majority of samples showed levels below the allowed limit of 30 ugl −1 , as advised by the WHO. The annual effective radiation dose (ADR) varies from 0.70 to 110.7 and 0.34 to 54.69 uSvY −1 for adults and children, respectively. For adults, only one water sample is above the threshold value of 100 uSvY −1 as suggested by the WHO. The cancer mortality risk varies from 1.15 × 10 −6 to 1.80 × 10 −4 for adults and 0.087 × 10 −6 to 1.37 × 10 −5 for children. The cancer morbidity risk for adults varies from 1.76 × 10 −6 to 2.76 × 10 −4 and 0.133 × 10 −6 to 2.102 × 10 −5 for children, that is indicate risk of cancer is negligible in this area. Five samples out of 29 have a hazard quotient (HQ) value that is exceeding than one for adults and children, this suggests that uranium’s toxicity can lead to a number of illnesses. The level of the ADR, risk of cancer, life time average daily dose (LADD0, and HQ is higher as compared to children, due to adults ingestion of more water than children.