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Abstract Palm-leaf manuscripts, rich with ancient knowledge in areas such as history, art, and medicine, are vital cultural treasures, making their digitization essential for preserving this heritage. Digitization of these organic and fragile manuscripts is required to safeguard the essential ancient data. This requires optimal character segmentation and recognition algorithms. A limited number of studies have been carried out in Tamil character recognition in literature. Handling row-overlapped characters, noise introduced due to lightning issues, and dirt, as well as the removal of punch holes, auto-cropping the content, filtering out noisy or improper segmentation, etc. are the essential concerns carried out in our proposed work. This work is executed as a four-step process (1) Palm Leaf Manuscript Acquisition (2) Pre-Processing (3) Segmentation of Tamil Characters and (4) Tamil Character Recognition. During acquisition, the scanners are used for recording palm leaf manuscripts from the Tamil Nadu-oriented manuscript library. In the Pre-processing step, the Fast Non-Local Means (Fast-NLM) method, paired with median filtering is used for Denoising the scanner output image. Later, the pixels that make the characters and borders (i.e., the foreground) are identified using Sauvola thresholding. The proposed methodology introduces efficient techniques to remove Punch hole impressions from the pre-processed image, and to crop the written content from the edges. After pre-processing, the Segmentation of Tamil Characters is performed as a three-step process (a) Manuscript (b) Line, and (c) character segmentation, which addresses conjoined lines, partially/completely empty segmentations that are not previously addressed by existing techniques. This work introduces an Augmented HPP line-splitting algorithm that accurately segments written lines, handling wrong segmentation cases that were previously not considered by existing techniques. The system achieves an average segmentation accuracy of 98.25%, which far outperforms existing techniques. It also proposes a novel Punch hole removal algorithm that can locate and remove the punch-hole impressions in the manuscript image. This algorithm, along with the automated content cropping technique, increases recognition accuracy and eliminates any manual labor needed. These features make the proposed methodology highly suitable for real-time archaeological and historical researches that include manuscripts. All 247 letters and 12 numeric digits are analyzed and separated into 125 distinct writable characters. In our work, characters are segmented and used for recognition of all 247 letters and 12 digits in Tamil using a multi-class CNN with 125 classes, which drastically reduces the complexity of the neural network compared to having 257 output nodes. It offered a notable performance of 96.04% accuracy. As compared with existing Tamil and other character recognitions, this work is effective in essence of considering real-time images and the increased number of characters used.

Gesture recognition has gained a lot of popularity as it allows humans to communicate with real or virtual systems through gestures, offering new and natural interaction modalities. Recent technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and the Internet of Things (IoT), have witnessed enormous growth in computer applications that focus on human–computer interaction (HCI). However, a few of these tactics make use of a combination of methods, such as image segmentation, pre-processing, and classification. The hessian-based multiscale filtering and YCbCr colour space are used to separate the gesture region to be recognized. A modified marker-controlled watershed method is employed to segment the gesture contour along with the eight-connector graph to increase recognition precision. The proposed hand gesture recognition methodology uses Self Organizing Map (SOM) with Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) provides better results with fast convergence speed. Experiments were carried out on a dataset of 30 static and 6 dynamic gestures and also evaluated on a publicly available IIITA-ROBITA ISL Gesture Database to show the effectiveness. The results show that the suggested method can recognize gesture classes with 95.63% accuracy rate without significantly affecting the recognition time. The proposed algorithm was then implemented to control household appliances.

In this investigation, the study focused on the RNAseq data generated in response to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) race1 (Cavendish infecting strain VCG 0124), targeting both resistant (cv. Rose, AA) and susceptible cultivars (Namarai, AA), and Tropical Race 4 (TR4, strain VCG 01213/16), involving resistant (cv. Rose, AA) and susceptible cultivars (Matti, AA). The respective contrasting cultivars were independently challenged with Foc race1 and TR4, and the root and corm samples were collected in two replications at varying time intervals [0th (control), 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th days] in duplicates. The RNA samples underwent stringent quality checks, with all 80 samples meeting the primary parameters, including a satisfactory RNA integrity number (>7). Subsequent library preparation and secondary quality control steps were executed successfully for all samples, paving the way for the sequencing phase. Sequencing generated an extensive amount of data, yielding a range of 10 to 31 million paired-end raw reads per sample, resulting in a cumulative raw data size of 11–50 GB. These raw reads were aligned against the reference genome of Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis version 2 (DH Pahang), as well as the pathogen genomes of Foc race 1 and Foc TR4, using the HISAT2 alignment tool. The focal point of this study was the investigation of differential gene expression patterns of Musa spp. upon Foc infection. In Foc race1 resistant and susceptible root samples across the designated day intervals, a significant number of genes displayed up-regulation (ranging from 1 to 228) and down-regulation (ranging from 1 to 274). In corm samples, the up-regulated genes ranged from 1 to 149, while down-regulated genes spanned from 3 to 845. For Foc TR4 resistant and susceptible root samples, the expression profiles exhibited a notable up-regulation of genes (ranging from 31 to 964), along with a down-regulation range of 316–1315. In corm samples, up-regulated genes ranged from 57 to 929, while down-regulated genes were observed in the range of 40–936. In addition to the primary analysis, a comprehensive secondary analysis was conducted, including Gene Ontology (GO), euKaryotic Orthologous Groups (KOG) classification, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and investigations into Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs), Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and microRNA (miRNA). The complete dataset was carefully curated and housed at ICAR-NRCB, Trichy, ensuring its accuracy and accessibility for the duration of the study. Further, the raw transcriptome read datasets have been successfully submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information - Sequence Read Archive (NCBI-SRA) database, ensuring the accessibility and reproducibility of this valuable dataset for further research endeavors

The estimation of the Postmortem interval (PMI) holds significant importance in forensic medicine, prompting continuous efforts to establish standardized methods for accuracy. Surprisingly, in the field of veterinary science, there remains a noticeable dearth of research dedicated to estimating the Postmortem interval. Addressing this research gap would undoubtedly enhance our understanding and expertise in veterinary forensics. Currently, there is no existing research on estimating the postmortem interval using histological changes in animal skin. This study involved collecting skin samples from the metatarsal region of 25 cattle carcasses at various postmortem intervals (0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h) in Puducherry, India. The skin samples were processed using routine histological techniques and special staining methods, such as modified Alcian-Periodic Acid Schiff's (Alcian-PAS) staining and Masson Trichrome (MST), to further analyze the histological changes. Histological changes in the skin showed a normal appearance of the epidermis up to 4 h after death, followed by vacuolations and extensive degeneration leading to complete disintegration. In the dermis, rarefaction and collagenolysis were observed at 8 h post-death, progressing to complete fragmentation at 24 h post-death. The sebaceous glands remained normal until 24 h post-death, then showed autolytic changes resulting in complete disintegration at 48 h post-death. The sweat gland remained normal until 24 h post-death, after which degenerative changes were evident. After death, the hair follicles looked normal up to 8 h, but after that, changes like vacuoles and degeneration were observed. The study scored the skin based on these changes, finding that the dermis showed the strongest correlation with the postmortem interval (PMI), followed by the hair follicle and epidermis. Overall, histological variations in the skin are a reliable indicator for estimating the PMI in cattle carcasses.

Abstract We study the constraints on the doublet left-right symmetric model (DLRSM) arising due to the Higgs data. The SU(2) L symmetry of this model is broken by three vacuum expectation values, κ 1, κ 2 and v L . Most studies of this model assume that the ratios r = κ 2 /κ 1 and w = v L /κ 1 are very small. In this work, we study the constraints imposed on r and w by the Higgs data from LHC. We consider the most general scalar potential and calculate the masses of the CP-even scalars and the couplings of the lightest of these scalars to itself, to W and Z gauge bosons and to the third generation quarks. We find that there is no lower bound on either r or w. Equating the mass of the lightest CP-even scalar to 125 GeV leads to an upper limit w < 6.7. The requirement that the Yukawa coupling of the quarks to the Higgs bidoublet of the model should be perturbative yields the upper bounds r < 0.8 and w < 3.5. The Yukawa coupling of the bottom quark to the lightest CP-even scalar strongly disfavours value of r, w < 0.1 and shows a marked preference for values of w ∼ O $$ \mathcal{O} $$ (1).

We consider an U(1)Lμ−Lτ extended left-right symmetric gauge theory where the neutrino masses are generated through inverse seesaw mechanism. In this model the muon (g−2) anomaly is accounted for by the mediation of Zμτ, the gauge boson of U(1)Lμ−Lτ symmetry. The symmetries of the model require the light neutrino mass matrix to have a particular two-zero texture, which leads to non-trivial constraints in the minimum neutrino mass. In addition, the model predicts observable charged lepton flavor violation in μ−τ sector.

The layered Sittampundi Anorthosite Complex is covered by mafic and ultramafic rocks including anorthosite, gabbro, pyroxenite and other igneous rocks. The ultramafic terrain has frequently undergone metamorphism. In the present study, laboratory spectral measurements were carried out from mafic, ultramafic and felsic rocks in the 350–2500 nm spectral range to characterise their diagnostic spectral features and for further utilisation for rock-type mapping. In 2016, the Sittampundi complex was covered by an AVIRIS-NG airborne survey jointly conducted by the Space Application Centre (SAC-ISRO) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA). The level-2 AVIRIS-NG data was obtained from SAC and used to interpret various rock types. ENVI 5.3 software was used for digital image processing of the AVIRIS-NG airborne hyperspectral data. The continuum-removed spectra of major rock types including anorthosite, meta-anorthosite, gabbro, meta-gabbro, pyroxenite, pegmatite, granite, gneiss and migmatite were critically analysed and their diagnostic absorption features correlated with chemistry and mineralogy. The AVIRIS-NG data analyses include bad band removal, minimum noise fraction transformation (MNF) and band combination. Out of various band combinations, the MNF composite images B456, B546 and B561 provided an enhanced output for the delineation of various rock types in the ultramafic terrain.

Abstract We study the charged lepton flavour violation in a popular neutrino mass model with $$A_4$$ A 4 discrete symmetry. This symmetry requires the presence of multiple Higgs doublets in the model and it also dictates the flavour violating Yukawa couplings of the additional neutral scalars of the model. Such couplings lead to the decays of the neutral mesons, the top quark and the $$\tau $$ τ lepton into charged leptons of different flavours at tree level. The $$A_4$$ A 4 symmetry of the model leads to certain characteristic signatures in these decays. We discuss these signatures and predict the rates for the most favourable charged lepton flavour violating modes.

Abstract Bananas are vital for food security in many countries, and half of banana production relies solely on ‘Cavendish’ (AAA), which is presently threatened by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4. This particular virulent Foc strain was also found to attack other banana varieties of commercial importance. As there is no single effective management practice available so far, this study was undertaken to determine resistant sources from the genotype collection available at the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India for direct use by farmers and/or in breeding programmes to develop resistant hybrids. A total of 258 genotypes of different ploidies and genomic constitutions were tested against Foc race 1 (VCG 0124). In total, 19 genotypes (AA Unique-6, BB type-2, AAA Unique-1, AAA Cavendish-1, AAB Mysore-3, AAB Pome-1, AAB Plantain-4 and AAAB-1) were found to be immune; eight genotypes (AA Unique-1, BB type-3, AAA Cavendish-1, AAB Mysore-1, AAB Unique-1, AAB Plantain-1) were highly resistant; and nine genotypes (AA Unique-1, AAA Cavendish-3, AAB Silk-1, AAB Pome-4) were resistant. The genotypes that are resistant to the virulent Foc race 1 (VCG 0124) strain can be exploited directly for commercialization and/or in breeding programs to develop resistant hybrids.

Purpose: The gold standard for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 is Real Time Reverse Transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR). A combination of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs improves the sensitivity of detection of SARS-CoV-2 in samples. The first wave of COVID-19 impacted Chennai in May 2020 and lasted till October 2020. The second wave began in March 2021 and lasted till June 2021. The aim of this study is to compare and analyze the COVID-19 waves in 2020 and 2021 based on the data from a tertiary care centre in Chennai, India. Methods & Materials: A total of 42,374 samples were tested by rRT-PCR (Rotor Gene-Q) between March 2020 and June 2021. RNA was extracted using Zybio nucleic acid extraction kit. The target regions of the RT-PCR kits (ViroQ SARS CoV2, Bag Diagnostics, Germany) were the E-gene and RdRp gene. Quality control is maintained by routine participation in the external quality assurance scheme (EQAS). Results: In 2020, 22,905 samples were tested and 3,415 samples tested positive for COVID 19. During the first wave of COVID-19 between May-October 2020, 2989 samples tested positive for COVID 19. Between January and June 2021, 19,469 samples were tested and 2,320 samples were COVID-19 positive. A total of 2,155 samples were positive for COVID-19 in the second wave between March-June 2020. The duration of the first wave was longer with a smaller peak in incidence of COVID 19. The second wave in 2021 had a shorter duration with a more pronounced spike in COVID-19 cases in April 2021. Conclusion: The number of COVID 19 positive cases are similar between the two waves of COVID 19. However, the first wave of COVID-19 took place over a period of nearly six months, while the second wave occurred over three to four months. There is a noticeable surge in COVID-19 incidence observed in April-May 2021. This could indicate the increased infectivity of the virus as observed with the cases doubling rapidly during this time. Documenting the characteristics of the wave in terms of its rapidity of onset of disease and peaks in incidence would offer insight into the progression of COVID-19.

The lepton universality violating flavor ratios RK/RK⁎ indicate new physics either in b→sμ+μ− or in b→se+e− or in both. If the new physics is only b→se+e− transition, the corresponding new physics operators, in principle, can have any Lorentz structure. In this work, we perform a model independent analysis of new physics only in b→se+e− decay by considering effective operators either one at a time or two similar operators at a time. We include all the measurements in b→se+e− sector along with RK/RK⁎ in our analysis. We show that various new physics scenarios with vector/axial-vector operators can account for RK/RK⁎ data but those with scalar/pseudoscalar operators and with tensor operators can not. We also show that the azimuthal angular observable P1 in B→K⁎e+e− decay is most suited to discriminate between the different allowed solutions.

Both neutrinoless double beta decay and leptogenesis require neutrinos to be Majorana fermions. A relation between these two phenomena can be derived once the mechanism of neutrino mass generation is specified. Using the current data from the neutrino oscillations, we constrain the Majorana phases of the neutrino mixing matrix by minimising the effective neutrino mass in neutrinoless double beta decay. Given these Majorana phases at the effective neutrino mass floor, we show that it is possible to obtain a large enough CP asymmetry (≥10−8) required for adequate leptogenesis, without additional phases at high scale. Such scenario pushes the lower bound on M1 (the mass of the lightest of the heavy neutrinos in the Type-I see-saw mechanism) to a higher value compared to the usual Davidson-Ibarra bound. In particular, we find that M1≥1010(109) GeV for the case of Normal (Inverted) hierarchy. We extend our analysis to the case when one of the heavy neutrinos decouples (two right handed neutrino models). In this case we find M1≥1010(1011) GeV for the case of Normal (Inverted) hierarchy.

Earlier this year, the Belle collaboration presented their new measurements of RD and RD⁎ using a new method. These measurements are consistent with the Standard Model predictions, whereas the global averages of the earlier measurements had a 4.1σ discrepancy. With the inclusion of the new data in the global averages, the discrepancy comes down to 3.1σ. In this work, we study the new physics solutions to the RD-RD⁎ anomaly allowed by the reduction in the discrepancy. Among the four fermion operators, which arise through a single particle exchange, only the (V−A) operator solution survives. We found three additional solutions with two dis-similar operators. The branching ratio of Bc→τν¯ is powerful discriminant between these four allowed solutions.

Abstract The combined analysis of ν μ disappearance and ν e appearance data of NOνA experiment leads to three nearly degenerate solutions. This degeneracy can be understood in terms of deviations in νe appearance signal, caused by unknown effects, with respect to the signal expected for a reference set of oscillations parameters. We define the reference set to be vacuum oscillations in the limit of maximal θ 23 and no CP-violation. We then calculate the deviations induced in the ν e appearance signal event rate by three unknown effects: (a) matter effects, due to normal or inverted hierarchy (b) octant effects, due to θ 23 being in higher or lower octant and (c) CP-violation, whether δ CP ∼ −π/2 or δ CP ∼ π/2. We find that the deviation caused by each of these effects is the same for NOνA. The observed number of ν e events in NOνA is equivalent to the increase caused by one of the effects. Therefore, the observed number of ν e appearance events of NOνA is the net result of the increase caused by two of the unknown effects and the decrease caused by the third. Thus we get the three degenerate solutions. We also find that further data by NOνA can not distinguish between these degenerate solutions but addition of one year of neutrino run of DUNE can make a distinction between all three solutions. The distinction between the two NH solutions and the IH solution becomes possible because of the larger matter effect in DUNE. The distinction between the two NH solutions with different octants is a result of the synergy between the anti-neutrino data of NOνA and the neutrino data of DUNE.

One of the exciting results in flavor physics in recent times is the RD/RD⁎ puzzle. The measurements of these flavor ratios performed by the B-factory experiments, BaBar and Belle, and the LHCb experiment are about 4σ away from the Standard Model expectation. These measurements indicate that the mechanism of b→cτν¯ decay is not identical to that of b→c(μ/e)ν¯. This charge lepton universality violation is particularly intriguing because these decays occur at tree level in the Standard Model. In particular, we expect a moderately large new physics contribution to b→cτν¯. The different types of new physics amplitudes, which can explain the RD/RD⁎ puzzle, have been identified previously. In this letter, we show that the polarization fractions of τ and D⁎ and the angular asymmetries AFB and ALT in B→D⁎τν¯ decay have the capability to uniquely identify the Lorentz structure of the new physics. A measurement of these four observables will lead to such an identification. Keywords: Physics beyond Standard Model, B meson decays, Angular distribution

Abstract Recent measurements of R D∗ have reduced tension with the Standard Model prediction. Taking all the present data into account, we obtain the values of the Wilson coefficients of each new physics four-fermion operator of a given Lorentz structure. We find that the combined data rule out most of the solutions based on scalar/pseudoscalar operators. By studying the inter-relations between different solutions, we find that there are only four allowed solutions, which are based on operators with (V − A), linear combination of (V − A) and (V + A), tensor and linear combination of scalar/pseudoscalar and tensor structure. We demonstrate that the need for new physics is driven by those measurement of R D and R D∗ where the τ lepton is not studied. Further, we show that new physics only in b→cμν¯ $$ b\to c\ \mu \overline{\nu} $$ is not compatible with the full set of observables in the decays B→Dlν¯ $$ B\to Dl\overline{\nu} $$ and B→D∗lν¯ $$ B\to {D}^{\ast }l\overline{\nu} $$.

In this work, we derive a quantum information theoretic quantity similar to the Leggett-Garg inequality, which can be defined in terms of neutrino transition probabilities. For the case of νμ→νe/ν¯μ→ν¯e transitions, this quantity is sensitive to CP violating effects as well as the neutrino mass-hierarchy, namely which neutrino mass eigenstate is heavier than the other ones. The violation of the inequality for this quantity shows an interesting dependence on mass-hierarchy. For normal (inverted) mass-hierarchy, it is significant for νμ→νe (ν¯μ→ν¯e) transitions. This is applied to the two ongoing accelerator experiments T2K and NOνA as well as the future experiment DUNE.

Neutrino oscillations provide evidence for the mode entanglement of neutrino mass eigenstates in a given flavour eigenstate. Given this mode entanglement, it is pertinent to consider the relation between the oscillation probabilities and other quantum correlations. In this work, we show that all the well-known quantum correlations, such as the Bell's inequality, are directly related to the neutrino oscillation probabilities. The results of the neutrino oscillation experiments, which measure the neutrino survival probability to be less than unity, imply Bell's inequality violation.

We consider a model where the standard model is extended by the addition of a vector-like isosinglet down-type quark b′. We perform a χ2 fit to the flavor physics data and obtain the preferred central values along with errors of all the elements of the measurable 3×4 quark mixing matrix. The fit indicates that all the new-physics parameters are consistent with zero and the mixing of the b′ quark with the other three is constrained to be small. The current flavor physics data rules out possibility of detectable new physics signals in most of the flavor physics observables. We also investigate possible deviations in the standard model Wtb couplings and bottom quark coupling to Higgs boson. We find that these deviations are less than a percent level which is too small to be observed at the LHC with current precision.

In the time evolution of neutral meson systems, a perfect quantum coherence is usually assumed. The important quantities of the Bd0 system, such as sin⁡2β and Δmd, are determined under this assumption. However, the meson system interacts with its environment. This interaction can lead to decoherence in the mesons even before they decay. In our formalism this decoherence is modelled by a single parameter λ. It is desirable to re-examine the procedures of determination of sin⁡2β and Δmd in meson systems with decoherence. We find that the present values of these two quantities are modulated by λ. Re-analysis of Bd0 data from B-factories and LHCb can lead to a clean determination of λ, sin⁡2β and Δmd.

The study was carried out to study the nutritional status, develop a product incorporating seaweed and assess its impact on anemic adolescent girls. Five hundred adolescent girls in the age group of 15–18 years were selected from a women's college at Kilakarai, Tamil Nadu, India as the target group to find the prevalence of anemia. Among the 500 subjects 100 with a hemoglobin level of 7–9 g/dL (moderate anemia) were selected by purposive sampling technique for supplementation. Seaweed incorporated chocolate was formulated, standardized, tested for consumer acceptability and in vitro iron bioavailability and supplemented to the selected subjects. The result of the study indicates that seaweed chocolate developed obtained the highest score for overall acceptability, 56 mg of iron/100 g and 11.80 mg of bioavailable iron. The results were found to be promising as there was a significant increase in hemoglobin, TIBC, MCH, MCV, serum iron and serum ferritin levels in the selected subjects. Seaweeds are a less consumed natural resource but abundantly available in the coastal areas of India as they are rich source of nutrients and can be used as an effective therapeutic and nutrient adjunct.