Perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry among rural societies of Kashmir, India

People’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry have become fundamental elements of sustainable agroforestry management. The study examined the multiplicities and dimensions of people’s perceptions about agroforestry values, attitudes towards agroforestry benefits and resources preferences in agroforestry and their socioeconomic determinants in rural societies of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected employing multi-stage random sampling. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for the data analysis. Results indicated that the material values (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were perceived as the most important while the perception of the non-material values (rank 4th to 10th) were adjudged moderately important. People’s attitudes towards the tangible benefits (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were highly favourable whereas attitudes towards intangible benefits (rank 4th to 10th) were indifferent. The rural people expressed higher preferences for fuel wood, fodder, vegetable, fruit, and timber (rank 1st to 5th) while moderate or low preferences for medicine, cottage industry/ handicrafts, fiber/ floss, oilseeds and animals/ birds/ insects etc. (rank 6th to 10th). F statistics (p < 0.05) showed significant differences between the material and non-material values, tangible and non-tangible benefits and resources groups. Correlation co-efficients (r) confirmed the importance of socioeconomic attributes in influencing people’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry. The findings will help to refine and enrich the knowledge-base to provide an effective framework for decisions and policy making to sustain and maintain agroforestry health and services. The integration of people’s socio-psychological conditions in sustainable agroforestry management will be effective strategy commensurating the current development and future challenges

ABC-CapsNet: Attention based Cascaded Capsule Network for Audio Deepfake Detection

In response to the escalating challenge of audio deepfake detection, this study introduces ABC-CapsNet (Attention-Based Cascaded Capsule Network), a novel architecture that merges the perceptual strengths of Mel spectrograms with the robust feature extraction capabilities of VGG18, enhanced by a strategically placed attention mechanism. This architecture pioneers the use of cascaded capsule networks to delve deeper into complex audio data patterns, setting a new standard in the precision of identifying manipulated audio content. Distinctively, ABC-CapsNet not only addresses the inherent limitations found in traditional CNN models but also showcases remarkable effectiveness across diverse datasets. The proposed method achieved an equal error rate EER of 0.06% on the ASVspoof2019 dataset and an EER of 0.04% on the FoR dataset, underscoring the superior accuracy and reliability of the proposed system in combating the sophisticated threat of audio deepfakes

A Geographically-Restricted but Prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strain Identified in the West Midlands Region of the UK between 1995 and 2008

Background: We describe the identification of, and risk factors for, the single most prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain in the West Midlands region of the UK.Methodology/Principal Findings: Prospective 15-locus MIRU-VNTR genotyping of all M. tuberculosis isolates in the West Midlands between 2004 and 2008 was undertaken. Two retrospective epidemiological investigations were also undertaken using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis. The first study of all TB patients in the West Midlands between 2004 and 2008 identified a single prevalent strain in each of the study years (total 155/3,056 (5%) isolates). This prevalent MIRU-VNTR profile (32333 2432515314 434443183) remained clustered after typing with an additional 9-loci MIRU-VNTR and spoligotyping. The majority of these patients (122/155, 79%) resided in three major cities located within a 40 km radius. From the apparent geographical restriction, we have named this the "Mercian" strain. A multivariate analysis of all TB patients in the West Midlands identified that infection with a Mercian strain was significantly associated with being UK-born (OR = 9.03, 95% CI = 4.56-17.87, p 65 years old (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.09-0.67, p < 0.01). A second more detailed investigation analyzed a cohort of 82 patients resident in Wolverhampton between 2003 and 2006. A significant association with being born in the UK remained after a multivariate analysis (OR = 9.68, 95% CI = 2.00-46.78, p < 0.01) and excess alcohol intake and cannabis use (OR = 6.26, 95% CI = 1.45-27.02, p = .01) were observed as social risk factors for infection.Conclusions/Significance: The continued consistent presence of the Mercian strain suggests ongoing community transmission. Whilst significant associations have been found, there may be other common risk factors yet to be identified. Future investigations should focus on targeting the relevant risk groups and elucidating the biological factors that mediate continued transmission of this strain

Studies on Genetic Variability in Dolichos Bean (Lablab purpureus L.)

Fifty seven pole-type vegetable dolichos bean [Lablab purpureus&nbsp;(L.) Sweet] germplasm lines were evaluated for genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance at the experimental farm of Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, during 2010-12. GCV was comparatively high in days to 50% flowering, days to pod maturity, pod length, pod weight, number of pods per cluster, number of pods per plant, pod yield per plant and pod width. High heritability estimates were observed for number of pods per plant, pod yield per plant, pod weight, days to 50% flowering, pod length, days to pod maturity, pod width and number of pods per cluster. High genetic advance, along with relatively high heritability percent, was observed for number of pods per cluster and pod width. Existence of wide variation along with high heritability and genetic advance for number of pods per cluster, pod length, pod width and pod yield per plant indicate that selection would be effective for these traits. Among the accessions studied, IIHR 177 was early for 50% flowering (43 days) and pod maturity (65 days). IIHR 6 and IIHR 11 had maximum pod length (16.5cm) and pod width (4.1cm), respectively. Ten-pod weight was highest in IIHR 7(122g), while the number of pods per plant was high in IIHR 159 (91.0). Maximum pod yield was seen in IIHR 150 (576.9g per plant). These accessions having green, purple or creamy-white pods can be used in future breeding programmes

MicroRNA-182-5-p targets a network of genes involved in DNA repair

MicroRNAs are noncoding regulators of gene expression, which act by repressing protein translation and/or degrading mRNA. Many have been shown to drive tumorigenesis in cancer, but functional studies to understand their mode of action are typically limited to single-target genes. In this study, we use synthetic biotinylated miRNA to pull down endogenous targets of miR-182-5p. We identified more than 1000 genes as potential targets of miR-182-5p, most of which have a known function in pathways underlying tumor biology. Specifically, functional enrichment analysis identified components of both the DNA damage response pathway and cell cycle to be highly represented in this target cohort. Experimental validation confirmed that miR-182-5p-mediated disruption of the homologous recombination (HR) pathway is a consequence of its ability to target multiple components in that pathway. Although there is a strong enrichment for the cell cycle ontology, we do not see primary proliferative defects as a consequence of miR-182-5p overexpression. We highlight targets that could be responsible for miR-182-5p-mediated disruption of other biological processes attributed in the literature so far. Finally, we show that miR-182-5p is highly expressed in a panel of human breast cancer samples, highlighting its role as a potential oncomir in breast cancer

Support and Assessment for Fall Emergency Referrals (SAFER) 2: a cluster randomised trial and systematic review of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new protocols for emergency ambulance paramedics to assess older people following a fall with referral to community-based care when appropriate.

BACKGROUND: Emergency calls are frequently made to ambulance services for older people who have fallen, but ambulance crews often leave patients at the scene without any ongoing care. We evaluated a new clinical protocol which allowed paramedics to assess older people who had fallen and, if appropriate, refer them to community-based falls services. OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes, processes and costs of care between intervention and control groups; and to understand factors which facilitate or hinder use. DESIGN: Cluster randomised controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: Participating paramedics at three ambulance services in England and Wales were based at stations randomised to intervention or control arms. Participants were aged 65 years and over, attended by a study paramedic for a fall-related emergency service call, and resident in the trial catchment areas. INTERVENTIONS: Intervention paramedics received a clinical protocol with referral pathway, training and support to change practice. Control paramedics continued practice as normal. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome comprised subsequent emergency health-care contacts (emergency admissions, emergency department attendances, emergency service calls) or death at 1 month and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included pathway of care, ambulance service operational indicators, self-reported outcomes and costs of care. Those assessing outcomes remained blinded to group allocation. RESULTS: Across sites, 3073 eligible patients attended by 105 paramedics from 14 ambulance stations were randomly allocated to the intervention group, and 2841 eligible patients attended by 110 paramedics from 11 stations were randomly allocated to the control group. After excluding dissenting and unmatched patients, 2391 intervention group patients and 2264 control group patients were included in primary outcome analyses. We did not find an effect on our overall primary outcome at 1 month or 6 months. However, further emergency service calls were reduced at both 1 month and 6 months; a smaller proportion of patients had made further emergency service calls at 1 month (18.5% vs. 21.8%) and the rate per patient-day at risk at 6 months was lower in the intervention group (0.013 vs. 0.017). Rate of conveyance to emergency department at index incident was similar between groups. Eight per cent of trial eligible patients in the intervention arm were referred to falls services by attending paramedics, compared with 1% in the control arm. The proportion of patients left at scene without further care was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (22.6% vs. 30.3%). We found no differences in duration of episode of care or job cycle. No adverse events were reported. Mean cost of the intervention was £17.30 per patient. There were no significant differences in mean resource utilisation, utilities at 1 month or 6 months or quality-adjusted life-years. In total, 58 patients, 25 paramedics and 31 stakeholders participated in focus groups or interviews. Patients were very satisfied with assessments carried out by paramedics. Paramedics reported that the intervention had increased their confidence to leave patients at home, but barriers to referral included patients' social situations and autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that this new pathway may be introduced by ambulance services at modest cost, without risk of harm and with some reductions in further emergency calls. However, we did not find evidence of improved health outcomes or reductions in overall NHS emergency workload. Further research is necessary to understand issues in implementation, the costs and benefits of e-trials and the performance of the modified Falls Efficacy Scale. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN60481756 and PROSPERO CRD42013006418. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 13. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Statistical Inference for Valued-Edge Networks: Generalized Exponential Random Graph Models

Across the sciences, the statistical analysis of networks is central to the production of knowledge on relational phenomena. Because of their ability to model the structural generation of networks, exponential random graph models are a ubiquitous means of analysis. However, they are limited by an inability to model networks with valued edges. We solve this problem by introducing a class of generalized exponential random graph models capable of modeling networks whose edges are valued, thus greatly expanding the scope of networks applied researchers can subject to statistical analysis

Garden Pea Improvement in India

Garden pea (Pisum sativum&nbsp;L. var.&nbsp;hortense) is an important legume vegetable grown for its fresh, shelled green seeds rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. At present over 1000 germplasm lines are available in India. Improvement of garden pea in the country was initiated during the 1940s in IARI and later in several other agricultural universities/ ICAR institutes. Currently, 27 early-varieties and 59 mid-season varieties are under cultivation in india. Initially, focus was on developing early-maturing varieties with high yield and quality. Subsequently, emphasis was laid on developing mid-season varieties having resistance to powdery mildew and other major diseases like&nbsp;Fusarium&nbsp;wilt and rust. Besides, varieties with resistance to bruchids and the leaf miner are also available. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to review current status of improvement of garden pea in India, covering its genetic resources, variability, heritability, genetic advance, heterosis and combining ability, G x E interaction, male sterility, breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses, mutation breeding and biotechnological applications. In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for varieties suited to&nbsp;kharif&nbsp;and&nbsp;early summer&nbsp;seasons, with resistance to powdery mildew, rust,&nbsp;Fusarium&nbsp;root wilt/rot and stemfly and also for processing and export. Therefore, future thrust in the improvement of garden pea would be on developing varieties tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses (mainly high temperature), and also for processing and export