GENETIC VARIABILITY, HERITABILITY AND GENETIC ADVANCE ESTIMATES IN MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) GENOTYPES IN NEPAL

Eleven early maize and ten winter maize  genotypes were evaluated in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research field  of Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Lumle, Kaski and National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal respectively  to assess the magnitude of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and yield contributing traits during summer (Kharif) and winter (rabi) seasons of 2016-2017. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences for 10 characters studied among the genotypes. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) is higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) recorded for all traits. High GCV and PCV was recorded for grain yield, thousand kernel weight and ear height. Heritability was  moderate to high  except thousand kernel weight in Kharif whereas number of kernel per ear showed lowest heritability in winter season. Genetic gain as percentage of mean (GAM) was greater for grain yield, thousand kernel weight, plant height and ear height.  As grain yield had higher genetic advance along with high heritability in both the seasons that indicated the presence of large proportion of additive gene action for deciding this trait

Word Sense Disambiguation using WSD specific Wordnet of Polysemy Words

This paper presents a new model of WordNet that is used to disambiguate the correct sense of polysemy word based on the clue words. The related words for each sense of a polysemy word as well as single sense word are referred to as the clue words. The conventional WordNet organizes nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs together into sets of synonyms called synsets each expressing a different concept. In contrast to the structure of WordNet, we developed a new model of WordNet that organizes the different senses of polysemy words as well as the single sense words based on the clue words. These clue words for each sense of a polysemy word as well as for single sense word are used to disambiguate the correct meaning of the polysemy word in the given context using knowledge based Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) algorithms. The clue word can be a noun, verb, adjective or adverb

Varietal evaluation of promising maize genotypes

The selection efficiency can be broadened for certain traits using estimates of genetic parameters, which are fundamental for plant breeding. The present study was carried out with ten maize genotypes grown in October, 2016 to April, 2017 using randomized complete block design with three replications at research field of National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the variability and correlation of agro-morphological traits in maize genotypes. Variation was observed for all the growth, phenology, yield and yield attributing traits among the genotypes. The genotypes, ZM-627 (4984 kg ha-1) and Across9942/Across9944 (4523 kg ha-1) were identified as promising genotypes. Grain yield had significant positive correlation for ear length, number of grains per row, number of ears per plot and thousand grains weight. Path analysis showed that ear height, days to 50% tasseling, anthesis-silking interval, ear length, ear diameter, number of grain rows per ear, number of grains per ear, number of ears per plot and 1000 grains weight had direct and positive effects on grain yield. Moderate to high estimates of GCV, PCV, heritability and genetic advance were found for plant height, ear height, thousand kernels weight, tasseling days, anthesis- silking interval and grain yield. Therefore, these traits can be used as selection indices for indirect selection for the improvement of maize productivity

Validity of home-based sonographic diagnosis of obstetric risk factors by auxiliary nurse midwives in rural Nepal

Background Approximately 2·3 million fetal, neonatal, or maternal deaths occur annually during the intrapartum period or on the day of birth. Several risk factors for intrapartum-related complications require ultrasonography for accurate diagnosis, but sonographic services are scarce in low-resource settings. In this study, we aimed to assess the feasibility of community-based ultrasonography conducted by auxiliary nurse midwives to identify basic obstetric risk factors, in rural Sarlahi District, Nepal. We aimed to assess the validity at which these health workers can detect noncephalic position, multiple gestation, and placenta previa and to explore whether sonographic diagnosis could improve outcomes for women with these high-risk conditions. Methods Three auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) received two 1-week ultrasound trainings at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kath mandu, Nepal. Women at 32 weeks’ or more gestation were enrolled in the study, and received ultrasonography from the ANMs during home visits. ANMs used ultrasonography to identify non-cephalic position, multiple gestation, and placenta previa. Images were saved and later reassessed by gold standard ultrasonographers to determine the validity of the ANM assessment. We also compared adverse outcomes in noncephalic or multiple gestation births from the study group with those in a comparison group of women who did not receive ultrasonography from our study, but the study was not powered to detect a difference. Findings We collected data from 815 women. The kappa statistics for diagnosis of non-cephalic position were 0·92, 0·98, and 0·94, respectively, for the three ANMs against the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were between 90% and 100% for all ANMs. For multiple gestation pregnancies (n=6), the ANMs were in perfect agreement with both the gold standard reading and maternal postpartum self-report. Two cases of placenta previa were detected, and the gold standard was in agreement with both. There were 4 adverse outcomes out of 19 women (21%) with non-cephalic or multiple gestation pregnancies in the study group compared with 10 out of 36 (28%) in the comparison group. This difference was not significant (p=0·586). Interpretation Our findings suggest that it is feasible for ANMs to conduct ultrasonography to identify basic obstetric risk factors in low-income settings. The difference in birth outcomes in non-cephalic and multiple births, comparing those antenatally diagnosed by ultrasound and those who were not, was not significant; the sample size was too small to detect a diff erence. Further investigation is warranted to determine whether sonographic diagnosis of selected obstetric factors could contribute to improved care-seeking and health outcomes in low-income settings. Funding Cappsci Data for Life Award, SonoSite Soundcaring Program, National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Comparison of Healthy and Dandruff Scalp Microbiome Reveals the Role of Commensals in Scalp Health

Several scalp microbiome studies from different populations have revealed the association of dandruff with bacterial and fungal dysbiosis. However, the functional role of scalp microbiota in scalp disorders and health remains scarcely explored. Here, we examined the bacterial and fungal diversity of the scalp microbiome and their potential functional role in the healthy and dandruff scalp of 140 Indian women. Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis emerged as the core bacterial species, where the former was associated with a healthy scalp and the latter with dandruff scalp. Along with the commonly occurring Malassezia species (M. restricta and M. globosa) on the scalp, a strikingly high association of dandruff with yet uncharacterized Malassezia species was observed in the core mycobiome. Functional analysis showed that the fungal microbiome was enriched in pathways majorly implicated in cell-host adhesion in the dandruff scalp, while the bacterial microbiome showed a conspicuous enrichment of pathways related to the synthesis and metabolism of amino acids, biotin, and other B-vitamins, which are reported as essential nutrients for hair growth. A systematic measurement of scalp clinical and physiological parameters was also carried out, which showed significant correlations with the microbiome and their associated functional pathways. The results point toward a new potential role of bacterial commensals in maintaining the scalp nutrient homoeostasis and highlights an important and yet unknown role of the scalp microbiome, similar to the gut microbiome. This study, therefore, provides new perspectives on the better understanding of the pathophysiology of dandruff

Harmonization of maternal balanced energy-protein supplementation studies for individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses - finding and creating similarities in variables and data collection

Background: Public health and clinical recommendations are established from systematic reviews and retrospective meta-analyses combining effect sizes, traditionally, from aggregate data and more recently, using individual participant data (IPD) of published studies. However, trials often have outcomes and other meta-data that are not defined and collected in a standardized way, making meta-analysis problematic. IPD meta-analysis can only partially fix the limitations of traditional, retrospective, aggregate meta-analysis; prospective meta-analysis further reduces the problems. Methods: We developed an initiative including seven clinical intervention studies of balanced energy-protein (BEP) supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation that are being conducted (or recently concluded) in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, and Pakistan to test the effect of BEP on infant and maternal outcomes. These studies were commissioned after an expert consultation that designed recommendations for a BEP product for use among pregnant and lactating women in low- and middle-income countries. The initiative goal is to harmonize variables across studies to facilitate IPD meta-analyses on closely aligned data, commonly called prospective meta-analysis. Our objective here is to describe the process of harmonizing variable definitions and prioritizing research questions. A two-day workshop of investigators, content experts, and advisors was held in February 2020 and harmonization activities continued thereafter. Efforts included a range of activities from examining protocols and data collection plans to discussing best practices within field constraints. Prior to harmonization, there were many similar outcomes and variables across studies, such as newborn anthropometry, gestational age, and stillbirth, however, definitions and protocols differed. As well, some measurements were being conducted in several but not all studies, such as food insecurity. Through the harmonization process, we came to consensus on important shared variables, particularly outcomes, added new measurements, and improved protocols across studies. Discussion: We have fostered extensive communication between investigators from different studies, and importantly, created a large set of harmonized variable definitions within a prospective meta-analysis framework. We expect this initiative will improve reporting within each study in addition to providing opportunities for a series of IPD meta-analyses

Safety, immunogenicity, and reactogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines given as fourth-dose boosters following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 and a third dose of BNT162b2 (COV-BOOST): a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised trial

Background Some high-income countries have deployed fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but the clinical need, effectiveness, timing, and dose of a fourth dose remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of fourth-dose boosters against COVID-19.Methods The COV-BOOST trial is a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised controlled trial of seven COVID-19 vaccines given as third-dose boosters at 18 sites in the UK. This sub-study enrolled participants who had received BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) as their third dose in COV-BOOST and randomly assigned them (1:1) to receive a fourth dose of either BNT162b2 (30 µg in 0·30 mL; full dose) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna; 50 µg in 0·25 mL; half dose) via intramuscular injection into the upper arm. The computer-generated randomisation list was created by the study statisticians with random block sizes of two or four. Participants and all study staff not delivering the vaccines were masked to treatment allocation. The coprimary outcomes were safety and reactogenicity, and immunogenicity (antispike protein IgG titres by ELISA and cellular immune response by ELISpot). We compared immunogenicity at 28 days after the third dose versus 14 days after the fourth dose and at day 0 versus day 14 relative to the fourth dose. Safety and reactogenicity were assessed in the per-protocol population, which comprised all participants who received a fourth-dose booster regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Immunogenicity was primarily analysed in a modified intention-to-treat population comprising seronegative participants who had received a fourth-dose booster and had available endpoint data. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, 73765130, and is ongoing.Findings Between Jan 11 and Jan 25, 2022, 166 participants were screened, randomly assigned, and received either full-dose BNT162b2 (n=83) or half-dose mRNA-1273 (n=83) as a fourth dose. The median age of these participants was 70·1 years (IQR 51·6–77·5) and 86 (52%) of 166 participants were female and 80 (48%) were male. The median interval between the third and fourth doses was 208·5 days (IQR 203·3–214·8). Pain was the most common local solicited adverse event and fatigue was the most common systemic solicited adverse event after BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 booster doses. None of three serious adverse events reported after a fourth dose with BNT162b2 were related to the study vaccine. In the BNT162b2 group, geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration at day 28 after the third dose was 23 325 ELISA laboratory units (ELU)/mL (95% CI 20 030–27 162), which increased to 37 460 ELU/mL (31 996–43 857) at day 14 after the fourth dose, representing a significant fold change (geometric mean 1·59, 95% CI 1·41–1·78). There was a significant increase in geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration from 28 days after the third dose (25 317 ELU/mL, 95% CI 20 996–30 528) to 14 days after a fourth dose of mRNA-1273 (54 936 ELU/mL, 46 826–64 452), with a geometric mean fold change of 2·19 (1·90–2·52). The fold changes in anti-spike protein IgG titres from before (day 0) to after (day 14) the fourth dose were 12·19 (95% CI 10·37–14·32) and 15·90 (12·92–19·58) in the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 groups, respectively. T-cell responses were also boosted after the fourth dose (eg, the fold changes for the wild-type variant from before to after the fourth dose were 7·32 [95% CI 3·24–16·54] in the BNT162b2 group and 6·22 [3·90–9·92] in the mRNA-1273 group).Interpretation Fourth-dose COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccines are well tolerated and boost cellular and humoral immunity. Peak responses after the fourth dose were similar to, and possibly better than, peak responses after the third dose

Study on inter-taxon population structure and diversity variation of hosta inferring from trnG-trnS regional cpDNA

Diversity studies are now a key tool in genetic conservation work. The perennial herb genus Hosta showed a complex radiation of numerous species in mountains and riversides around the Shikoku Island, Japan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trnS-trnG regional genetic structure and the genetic divergence within hosta taxa populations in this area. We sequenced trnS-trnG regional (chloroplast DNA) cpDNA in 81 populations comprising 399 individuals of 11 Hosta taxa collected from Shikoku area. The different numbers of haplotypes were found in different taxon. The divergences of population of Hosta genus and individual taxon were shown in NJ phylogenetic tree. The highest number of haplotypes (14) was found in H. longipes var. gracillima. H. sieboldiana and H. kiyosumiensis populations showed the maximum haplotype diversity (1.0), and H. alismifolia showed maximum nucleotide diversity (π: 0.012). The genetic structures of the H. tardiva with H. kikutii var. caput-avis (FST divergence: 52.7%) and H. sieboldiana with H. tardiva (FST divergence: 52.2%) populations were greatly differentiated from each other (FST value: >0.15 to 0.25). We found maximum evolutionary divergence (0.009) between H. alismifolia and H. kikutii var. polyneuron populations. The significant negative neutrality test values are the evidence of expansion of the total population. H. sieboldiana and H. kiyosumiensis are more widely distributed than other taxa. H. sieboldiana, H. alismifolia, H. longipes var. gracillima and H. kikutii var. polyneuron showed the excessive low frequency variants

WORD SENSE DISAMBIGUATION USING WSD SPECIFIC WORDNET OF POLYSEMY WORDS

ABSTRACT This paper presents a new model of WordNet that is used t