A novel diurnal and seasonal variation analysis of BTEX in Bengaluru urban area

In the urban atmosphere of Bengaluru, various volatile organic compounds(VOCs), particularly Benzene,Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene(BTEX), have shown an increasing trend in concentration. The present research was conducted during summer and monsoon seasons, focusing on Kadubeesanahalli, a high-traffic area within the Bengaluru Metropolitan City. Hourly sample data was collected using a BTEX analyzer(Model GC955-600) and subsequently transformed into daily, monthly, and seasonal values. The study revealed distinct patterns in benzene concentrations. Benzene levels were lowest during the early morning hours, specifically from 1:00 a.m.to 7:00 a.m.. Concentrations then increased from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.,corresponding to the morning and evening peak traffic hours. However, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., the concentration decreased due to reduced traffic levels. These diurnal variations in benzene concentration are influenced by meteorological parameters. Comparing the two seasons, higher concentrations of Benzene, EthylBenzene, and MP-xylene were observed during the summer season. This increase is attributed to the elevated temperatures during summer, which promote the vaporization of BTEX compounds. Conversely, lower BTEX concentrations were recorded during the monsoon season due to the wet deposition process. The observed positive correlation(r > 0.5) among BTEX parameters strongly suggests a common source, most likely originating from vehicular emissions.

Total Electron Content Diurnal and Seasonal Variations and Response to Solar Events at Koudougou Station in Burkina Faso

In this paper, we studied the seasonal behavior of the total electron content (TEC) during a part of solar cycle 24 ascending, maximum and decreasing phases at Koudougou station (Latitude: 12°15'09"N Longitude: 2°21'45"W). Response of TEC to solar recurrent events is presented. The highest values of the TEC in 2014, 2015 and 2016 were recorded on March and October, while in 2013 they were recorded on April and November, corresponding to equinox months. This observation shows that TEC values at the equinoxes are higher than those of solstices. Moreover, the monthly TEC varies in phase with the sunspots number showing a linear dependence of the TEC on solar activity. The ionospheric electron contents are generally very low both before noon and during the night, but quite high at noon and after noon. This pattern of TEC variation is due to the fluctuation of incident solar radiation on the Earth’s equatorial ionosphere. During quiet periods, the number of free electrons generated is lower than that generated during recurrent periods, which shows a positive contribution of recurrent activity to the level of the TEC. Investigations have also highlighted a winter anomaly and equinoctial asymmetry in TEC behavior at Koudougou station.

Semiannual oscillation,annual oscillation,quasibiennial oscillation,and solar cycle variation of the OH airglow emission in the mesopause region

The vertically integrated emission rate,centroid altitude,peak emission rate,and peak height of the hydroxyl(OH)airglow were calculated from Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics(TIMED)/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry(SABER)observations to study the seasonal and interannual variations in the intensity and location of the OH emission.The emission rate is inversely proportional to the height of the emission,with the semiannual oscillation dominating at low latitudes and the annual oscillation dominating at higher latitudes.The OH emission is modulated by the quasibiennial oscillation at the equator,and the quasibiennial oscillation signal is weak at other latitudes.We represented the vertical transport of atomic oxygen by using atomic oxygen concentrations obtained from a global atmospheric model,the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere eXtension simulations.Compared with the amplitudes of the migrating diurnal tide(DW1)calculated from temperature data observed by TIMED/SABER,we found that both the vertical transport of atomic oxygen and DW1 amplitudes in the equatorial region exhibit semiannual oscillation and quasibiennial oscillation,which have a strong correlation with the variations in the amplitude and phase of semiannual oscillation and quasibiennial oscillation in OH emission.It is likely that the DW1 affects the vertical transport of atomic oxygen that is involved in the reaction to produce O3,thus affecting the OH emission.We analyzed the relationship between OH emission and solar activity by using the solar radio flux at 10.7 cm as a proxy for solar activity.The results showed that the OH emission is well correlated with solar activity,and the modulation of OH emission by solar activity has a significant latitudinal variation.The small correlation between emission height and solar activity indicates that solar activity modulates OH emission mainly through chemical rather than dynamic processes.

A new two-step variational model for multiplicative noise removal with applications to texture images

Multiplicative noise removal problems have attracted much attention in recent years.Unlike additive noise,multiplicative noise destroys almost all information of the original image,especially for texture images.Motivated by the TV-Stokes model,we propose a new two-step variational model to denoise the texture images corrupted by multiplicative noise with a good geometry explanation in this paper.In the first step,we convert the multiplicative denoising problem into an additive one by the logarithm transform and propagate the isophote directions in the tangential field smoothing.Once the isophote directions are constructed,an image is restored to fit the constructed directions in the second step.The existence and uniqueness of the solution to the variational problems are proved.In these two steps,we use the gradient descent method and construct finite difference schemes to solve the problems.Especially,the augmented Lagrangian method and the fast Fourier transform are adopted to accelerate the calculation.Experimental results show that the proposed model can remove the multiplicative noise efficiently and protect the texture well.

Spatiotemporal Evaluation and Future Projection of Diurnal Temperature Range over the Tibetan Plateau in CMIP6 Models

The diurnal temperature range(DTR) serves as a vital indicator reflecting both natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change. This study investigates the historical and projected multitemporal DTR variations over the Tibetan Plateau. It assesses 23 climate models from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP6) using CN05.1 observational data as validation, evaluating their ability to simulate DTR over the Tibetan Plateau. Then, the evolution of DTR over the Tibetan Plateau under different shared socioeconomic pathway(SSP) scenarios for the near,middle, and long term of future projection are analyzed using 11 selected robustly performing models. Key findings reveal:(1) Among the models examined, BCC-CSM2-MR, EC-Earth3, EC-Earth3-CC, EC-Earth3-Veg, EC-Earth3-Veg-LR,FGOALS-g3, FIO-ESM-2-0, GFDL-ESM4, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, MPI-ESM1-2-LR, and INM-CM5-0 exhibit superior integrated simulation capability for capturing the spatiotemporal variability of DTR over the Tibetan Plateau.(2) Projection indicates a slightly increasing trend in DTR on the Tibetan Plateau in the SSP1-2.6 scenario, and decreasing trends in the SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SPP5-8.5 scenarios. In certain areas, such as the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, western hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, southern Kunlun, and the Qaidam basins, the changes in DTR are relatively large.(3) Notably, the warming rate of maximum temperature under SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SPP5-8.5 is slower compared to that of minimum temperature, and it emerges as the primary contributor to the projected decrease in DTR over the Tibetan Plateau in the future.

Variational data encoding and correlations in quantum-enhanced machine learning

Leveraging the extraordinary phenomena of quantum superposition and quantum correlation,quantum computing offers unprecedented potential for addressing challenges beyond the reach of classical computers.This paper tackles two pivotal challenges in the realm of quantum computing:firstly,the development of an effective encoding protocol for translating classical data into quantum states,a critical step for any quantum computation.Different encoding strategies can significantly influence quantum computer performance.Secondly,we address the need to counteract the inevitable noise that can hinder quantum acceleration.Our primary contribution is the introduction of a novel variational data encoding method,grounded in quantum regression algorithm models.By adapting the learning concept from machine learning,we render data encoding a learnable process.This allowed us to study the role of quantum correlation in data encoding.Through numerical simulations of various regression tasks,we demonstrate the efficacy of our variational data encoding,particularly post-learning from instructional data.Moreover,we delve into the role of quantum correlation in enhancing task performance,especially in noisy environments.Our findings underscore the critical role of quantum correlation in not only bolstering performance but also in mitigating noise interference,thus advancing the frontier of quantum computing.

A Study to Observe Pulse Pressure Variation after Induction with Propofol for General Anesthesia

Background and Aims: Pulse pressure variation (PPV) is a reliable and predictive dynamic parameter presently being utilized for fluid responsiveness. In the operating room, fluid administration based on PPV monitoring helps the physician in deciding whether to volume resuscitate or use interventions in patients undergoing surgery. Propofol is an intravenous induction agent which lowers blood pressure. There are multiple causes such as depression in cardiac output, and peripheral vasodilatation for hypotension. We undertook this study to observe the utility of PPV as a guide to fluid therapy after propofol induction. Primary outcome of our study was to monitor PPV as a marker of fluid responsiveness for the hypotension caused by propofol induction. Secondary outcome included the correlation of PPV with other hemodynamic parameters like heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP);after induction with propofol at regular interval of time. Methods: A total number of 90 patients were recruited. Either of the radial artery was then cannulated under local anaesthesia with 20G VygonLeadercath arterial cannula and invasive monitoring transduced. A baseline recording of heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and PPV was then recorded. Patients were then induced with predetermined doses of propofol (2 mg/kg) and recordings of HR, SBP, DBP, and PPV were taken at 5, 10 and 15 minutes. Results: Intraoperatively, PPV was significantly higher at 5 minutes and significantly lower at 15 minutes after induction. It was observed that there were no statistically significant correlations between PPV and SBP or DBP. PPV was strongly and directly associated with HR. Conclusion: We were able to establish that PPV predicts fluid responsiveness in hypotension caused by propofol induction;and can be used to administer fluid therapy in managing such hypotension. However, PPV was not directly correlated with hypotension subsequent to propofol administration.

Improved Diurnal Cycle of Precipitation on Land in a Global Non-Hydrostatic Model Using a Revised NSAS Deep Convective Scheme

In relatively coarse-resolution atmospheric models,cumulus parameterization helps account for the effect of subgridscale convection,which produces supplemental rainfall to the grid-scale precipitation and impacts the diurnal cycle of precipitation.In this study,the diurnal cycle of precipitation was studied using the new simplified Arakawa-Schubert scheme in a global non-hydrostatic atmospheric model,i.e.,the Yin-Yang-grid Unified Model for the Atmosphere.Two new diagnostic closures and a convective trigger function were suggested to emphasize the job of the cloud work function corresponding to the free tropospheric large-scale forcing.Numerical results of the 0.25-degree model in 3-month batched real-case simulations revealed an improvement in the diurnal precipitation variation by using a revised trigger function with an enhanced dynamical constraint on the convective initiation and a suitable threshold of the trigger.By reducing the occurrence of convection during peak solar radiation hours,the revised scheme was shown to be effective in delaying the appearance of early-afternoon rainfall peaks over most land areas and accentuating the nocturnal peaks that were wrongly concealed by the more substantial afternoon peak.In addition,the revised scheme enhanced the simulation capability of the precipitation probability density function,such as increasing the extremely low-and high-intensity precipitation events and decreasing small and moderate rainfall events,which contributed to the reduction of precipitation bias over mid-latitude and tropical land areas.

Small temporal variation in abundance of virioplankton compared to bacterioplankton and phytoplankton in two bays in the northern South China Sea

Variations of picoplankton groups were investigated over a one-month period in Daya Bay and Sanya Bay,in the northern South China Sea.The two coastal regions exhibited different variation patterns in physicochemical parameters.Moreover,the diel variations of picoplankton groups were different between the two bays.The abundance of the picoplankton in Sanya Bay displayed a pronounced diel variation,while it was not significant in Daya Bay.In addition,some similar patterns of picoplankton abundance were discovered.In the two bays,virioplankton exhibited the smallest fluctuation range,whereas picocyanobacteria fluctuated most markedly.The fluctuation range of picoplankton groups was larger in spring tide than in neap tide,especially in Sanya Bay.Random forest model analysis demonstrated that the variation of picoplankton groups was attributed to physical and chemical factors in Sanya Bay and Daya Bay,respectively.Therefore,our findings suggest that virioplankton abundance can persist more stably in response to changing environmental conditions compared to bacterioplankton and picophytoplankton.

Associations of genome-wide structural variations with phenotypic differences in cross-bred Eurasian pigs

Background During approximately 10,000 years of domestication and selection,a large number of structural variations(SVs)have emerged in the genome of pig breeds,profoundly influencing their phenotypes and the ability to adapt to the local environment.SVs(≥50 bp)are widely distributed in the genome,mainly in the form of insertion(INS),mobile element insertion(MEI),deletion(DEL),duplication(DUP),inversion(INV),and translocation(TRA).While studies have investigated the SVs in pig genomes,genome-wide association studies(GWAS)-based on SVs have been rarely conducted.Results Here,we obtained a high-quality SV map containing 123,151 SVs from 15 Large White and 15 Min pigs through integrating the power of several SV tools,with 53.95%of the SVs being reported for the first time.These high-quality SVs were used to recover the population genetic structure,confirming the accuracy of genotyping.Potential functional SV loci were then identified based on positional effects and breed stratification.Finally,GWAS were performed for 36 traits by genotyping the screened potential causal loci in the F2 population according to their corresponding genomic positions.We identified a large number of loci involved in 8 carcass traits and 6 skeletal traits on chromosome 7,with FKBP5 containing the most significant SV locus for almost all traits.In addition,we found several significant loci in intramuscular fat,abdominal circumference,heart weight,and liver weight,etc.Conclusions We constructed a high-quality SV map using high-coverage sequencing data and then analyzed them by performing GWAS for 25 carcass traits,7 skeletal traits,and 4 meat quality traits to determine that SVs may affect body size between European and Chinese pig breeds.

Temperature is a cryptic factor shaping the geographical pattern of genetic variation in Ceratophyllum demersum across a subtropical freshwater lake

Macrophyte habitats exhibit remarkable heterogeneity,encompassing the spatial variation of abiotic and biotic components such as changes in water conditions and weather as well as anthropogenic stressors.Environmental factors are thought to be important drivers shaping the genetic and epigenetic variation of aquatic plants.However,the links among genetic diversity,epigenetic variation,and environmental variables remain largely unclear,especially for clonal aquatic plants.Here,we performed population genetic and epigenetic analyses in conjunction with habitat discrimination to elucidate the environmental factors driving intraspecies genetic and epigenetic variation in hornwort(Ceratophyllum demersum)in a subtropical lake.Environmental factors were highly correlated with the genetic and epigenetic variation of C.demersum,with temperature being a key driver of the genetic variation.Lower temperature was detected to be correlated with greater genetic and epigenetic variation.Genetic and epigenetic variation were positively driven by water temperature,but were negatively affected by ambient air temperature.These findings indicate that the genetic and epigenetic variation of this clonal aquatic herb is not related to the geographic feature but is instead driven by environmental conditions,and demonstrate the effects of temperature on local genetic and epigenetic variation in aquatic systems.

The Variation of Plankton Community Structure in Artificial Reef Area and Adjacent Waters in Haizhou Bay

Plankton are an important component of marine protected areas(MPAs),and its communities would require much smaller interpatch distances to ensure connection among MPAs.According to the survey from MPAs dominated by artificial reefs and adjacent waters(estuary area(EA),aquaculture area(AA),artificial reef area(ARA),natural area(NA)and comprehensive effect area(CEA))in Haizhou Bay in spring and autumn,we analyzed phyto-zooplankton composition,abundance and biomass,and correlation with hydrologic variables to gain information about the forces that structure the plankton.The results showed that the dominant zooplankton were copepods(spring,98.9%;autumn,94.2%),while the phytoplankton were mainly composed of Bacillariophyta(spring,61.8%;autumn,95.6%).The RDA results showed that temperature,salinity and depth highly associated with the distribution and composition of plankton species among the habitats than other factors in spring;temperature,Chla and DO had the strongest influence in autumn.The zooplankton in the ARA and AA ecosystems basically contained the same species as those in other habitats,and each habitat also exhibited a relatively unique combination of plankton species.The structures of the EA zooplankton in spring and the EA phytoplankton in both seasons were much different than other habitats,which may have been caused by factors such as currents and tides.We concluded that there exists similarity of the plankton community between artificial reef area and adjacent waters,whereas the EAs may be relatively independent systems.Therefore,these interaction between plankton community should be considered when designing MPA networks,and ocean circulations should be considered more than the environmental factors.

Seasonal Variation of Hearing Sensitivity in the Red-eared Slider(Trachemys scripta elegans)

Seasonal variation of hearing sensitivity has been observed in many vertebrate groups with obvious vocal behaviors.Circulating hormones,conspecific calling signals,and temperature are potential factors that drive these plasticity patterns.Turtles have a hearing range that appears to be limited to under 1.5 kHz and are often thought to be non-vocal;thus,they are commonly neglected in vocal communication research.In this study,we aimed to determine whether the auditory phenotype exhibits seasonal variation in sensitivity and to analyze the potential factors driving such variation patterns in turtles.We measured hearing sensitivity and sex hormone levels in female(estradiol)and male(testosterone and dihydrotestosterone)Red-eared sliders(Trachemys scripta elegans)during spring and winter.The results showed that auditory brainstem response(ABR)thresholds were significantly lower in spring than in winter at a frequency range of 0.5-0.9 kHz.The hearing-sensitivity bandwidth was wider,and the ABR latency was significantly shorter in spring than in winter.No significant differences were found in estradiol,testosterone,and dihydrotestosterone levels in T.scripta elegans between spring and winter.This study is the first to reveal the seasonal variation of peripheral hearing sensitivity in turtles,a special animal group with limited hearing range and less vocalization.Temperature variations may be used to explain these seasonal effects,but further research is required to confirm our findings.

Insights into genetic diversity and phenotypic variations in domestic geese through comprehensive population and pan-genome analysis

Background Domestic goose breeds are descended from either the Swan goose(Anser cygnoides)or the Greylag goose(Anser anser),exhibiting variations in body size,reproductive performance,egg production,feather color,and other phenotypic traits.Constructing a pan-genome facilitates a thorough identification of genetic variations,thereby deepening our comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underlying genetic diversity and phenotypic variability.Results To comprehensively facilitate population genomic and pan-genomic analyses in geese,we embarked on the task of 659 geese whole genome resequencing data and compiling a database of 155 RNA-seq samples.By constructing the pan-genome for geese,we generated non-reference contigs totaling 612 Mb,unveiling a collection of 2,813 novel genes and pinpointing 15,567 core genes,1,324 softcore genes,2,734 shell genes,and 878 cloud genes in goose genomes.Furthermore,we detected an 81.97 Mb genomic region showing signs of genome selection,encompassing the TGFBR2 gene correlated with variations in body weight among geese.Genome-wide association studies utilizing single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)and presence-absence variation revealed significant genomic associations with various goose meat quality,reproductive,and body composition traits.For instance,a gene encoding the SVEP1 protein was linked to carcass oblique length,and a distinct gene-CDS haplotype of the SVEP1 gene exhibited an association with carcass oblique length.Notably,the pan-genome analysis revealed enrichment of variable genes in the“hair follicle maturation”Gene Ontology term,potentially linked to the selection of feather-related traits in geese.A gene presence-absence variation analysis suggested a reduced frequency of genes associated with“regulation of heart contraction”in domesticated geese compared to their wild counterparts.Our study provided novel insights into gene expression features and functions by integrating gene expression patterns across multiple organs and tissues in geese and analyzing population variation.Conclusion This accomplishment originates from the discernment of a multitude of selection signals and candidate genes associated with a wide array of traits,thereby markedly enhancing our understanding of the processes underlying domestication and breeding in geese.Moreover,assembling the pan-genome for geese has yielded a comprehensive apprehension of the goose genome,establishing it as an indispensable asset poised to offer innovative viewpoints and make substantial contributions to future geese breeding initiatives.

STRONGLY CONVERGENT INERTIAL FORWARD-BACKWARD-FORWARD ALGORITHM WITHOUT ON-LINE RULE FOR VARIATIONAL INEQUALITIES

This paper studies a strongly convergent inertial forward-backward-forward algorithm for the variational inequality problem in Hilbert spaces.In our convergence analysis,we do not assume the on-line rule of the inertial parameters and the iterates,which have been assumed by several authors whenever a strongly convergent algorithm with an inertial extrapolation step is proposed for a variational inequality problem.Consequently,our proof arguments are different from what is obtainable in the relevant literature.Finally,we give numerical tests to confirm the theoretical analysis and show that our proposed algorithm is superior to related ones in the literature.

Natural variation in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B OsCOX5B regulates seed vigor by altering energy production in rice

Seed vigor is a crucial trait for the direct seeding of rice.Here we examined the genetic regulation of seed vigor traits in rice,including germination index(GI)and germination potential(GP),using a genome-wide association study approach.One major quantitative trait locus,qGI6/qGP6,was identified simultaneously for both GI and GP.The candidate gene encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B(OsCOX5B)was validated for qGI6/qGP6.The disruption of OsCOX5B caused the vigor traits to be significantly lower in Oscox5b mutants than in the japonica Nipponbare wild type(WT).Gene co-expression analysis revealed that OsCOX5B influences seed vigor mainly by modulating the tricarboxylic acid cycle process.The glucose levels were significantly higher while the pyruvic acid and adenosine triphosphate levels were significantly lower in Oscox5b mutants than in WT during seed germination.The elite haplotype of OsCOX5B facilitates seed vigor by increasing its expression during seed germination.Thus,we propose that OsCOX5B is a potential target for the breeding of rice varieties with enhanced seed vigor for direct seeding.

Annual variation of adult survival of a south-temperate House Wren population in Argentina

Identifying factors affecting the survival of individuals is essential for understanding the evolution of life-history traits and population dynamics.Despite numerous studies on this subject in north-temperate environments,there is a lack of equivalent studies at similar latitudes in the south.Here,we used a 14-year dataset of capture,banding,and resighting to estimate the annual variation in the apparent adult survival probability of a south-temperate population of House Wrens(Troglodytes aedon bonariae).We evaluated temporal variation in sur-vival and the effect of environmental(climatic)and demographic variables(adult abundance,total number of fledglings produced during each breeding season)on survival estimators.We found that the probability of adult survival decreased as the abundance of breeding adults increased.This density-dependent effect could be related to the resident lifestyle of southern House Wrens,which could determine an intense competition for territories and resources that ultimately would affect their survival.

An efficient parallel algorithm of variational nodal method for heterogeneous neutron transport problems

The heterogeneous variational nodal method(HVNM)has emerged as a potential approach for solving high-fidelity neutron transport problems.However,achieving accurate results with HVNM in large-scale problems using high-fidelity models has been challenging due to the prohibitive computational costs.This paper presents an efficient parallel algorithm tailored for HVNM based on the Message Passing Interface standard.The algorithm evenly distributes the response matrix sets among processors during the matrix formation process,thus enabling independent construction without communication.Once the formation tasks are completed,a collective operation merges and shares the matrix sets among the processors.For the solution process,the problem domain is decomposed into subdomains assigned to specific processors,and the red-black Gauss-Seidel iteration is employed within each subdomain to solve the response matrix equation.Point-to-point communication is conducted between adjacent subdomains to exchange data along the boundaries.The accuracy and efficiency of the parallel algorithm are verified using the KAIST and JRR-3 test cases.Numerical results obtained with multiple processors agree well with those obtained from Monte Carlo calculations.The parallelization of HVNM results in eigenvalue errors of 31 pcm/-90 pcm and fission rate RMS errors of 1.22%/0.66%,respectively,for the 3D KAIST problem and the 3D JRR-3 problem.In addition,the parallel algorithm significantly reduces computation time,with an efficiency of 68.51% using 36 processors in the KAIST problem and 77.14% using 144 processors in the JRR-3 problem.

An allelic variation in the promoter of the LRR-RLK gene,qSS6.1,is associated with melon seed size

Seed size is an important agronomic trait in melons that directly affects seed germination and subsequent seedling growth.However,the genetic mechanism underlying seed size in melon remains unclear.In the present study,we employed Bulked-Segregant Analysis sequencing(BSA-seq)to identify a candidate region(~1.35 Mb)on chromosome 6 that corresponds to seed size.This interval was confirmed by QTL mapping of three seed size-related traits from an F2 population across three environments.This mapping region represented nine QTLs that shared an overlapping region on chromosome 6,collectively referred to as qSS6.1.New InDel markers were developed in the qSS6.1 region,narrowing it down to a 68.35 kb interval that contains eight annotated genes.Sequence variation analysis of the eight genes identified a SNP with a C to T transition mutation in the promoter region of MELO3C014002,a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase(LRR-RLK)gene.This mutation affected the promoter activity of the MELO3C014002 gene and was successfully used to differentiate the large-seeded accessions(C-allele)from the small-seeded accessions(T-allele).qRT-PCR revealed differential expression of MELO3C014002 between the two parental lines.Its predicted protein has typical LRR-RLK family domains,and phylogenetic analyses reveled its similarity with the homologs in several plant species.Altogether,these findings suggest MELO3C014002 as the most likely candidate gene involved in melon seed size regulation.Our results will be helpful for better understanding the genetic mechanism regulating seed size in melons and for genetically improving this important trait through molecular breeding pathways.

The study of lithographic variation in resistive random access memory

Reducing the process variation is a significant concern for resistive random access memory(RRAM).Due to its ultrahigh integration density,RRAM arrays are prone to lithographic variation during the lithography process,introducing electrical variation among different RRAM devices.In this work,an optical physical verification methodology for the RRAM array is developed,and the effects of different layout parameters on important electrical characteristics are systematically investigated.The results indicate that the RRAM devices can be categorized into three clusters according to their locations and lithography environments.The read resistance is more sensitive to the locations in the array(~30%)than SET/RESET voltage(<10%).The increase in the RRAM device length and the application of the optical proximity correction technique can help to reduce the variation to less than 10%,whereas it reduces RRAM read resistance by 4×,resulting in a higher power and area consumption.As such,we provide design guidelines to minimize the electrical variation of RRAM arrays due to the lithography process.