Academy of Performing Arts in Prague

Breeding approaches for improving heavy metal stress tolerance in legume crops have become increasingly important in response to the rising contamination of agricultural soils with toxic metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, nickel, and aluminum. Conventional breeding has laid the foundation by exploiting natural genetic variation for traits related to metal exclusion, sequestration, and tolerance; however, its effectiveness is often limited by the complex, quantitative inheritance and strong environmental influence of heavy metal stress responses. To overcome these constraints, modern breeding strategies now integrate marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, QTL mapping, and candidate gene-based approaches to enhance selection precision and accelerate genetic gains. In parallel, transgenic and genome-editing approaches enable functional validation and targeted manipulation of key genes involved in metal transport, chelation, antioxidant defense, and stress signaling pathways. Moreover, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical post-transcriptional regulators that modulate the expression of multiple stress-responsive genes under heavy metal stress. Plastid transformation is a powerful transgenic approach for homologous recombination, site-specific integration of foreign genes into the plastid genome and stable expression of traits related to metal tolerance. Phytoremediation strategies using transgenic legumes further present eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions for the extraction, sequestration, or stabilization of heavy metals from contaminated soils. The combined application of these breeding approaches allows the development of legume cultivars with improved productivity, reduced metal accumulation in edible parts, and enhanced adaptability to contaminated soils. This review focusing on integrated breeding strategies to provide a robust and forward-looking framework for sustaining legume production, food quality, and supporting environmental remediation under heavy metal stress conditions.

A new third order quadrature oscillator employing a single extra-X current conveyor with buffered outputs and passive components is proposed. The novel circuit uses all grounded capacitors and generates four voltage outputs. Other features include a compact topology providing a decent frequency range, favourable performance in terms of high selectivity of oscillation frequency, stability, low phase noise, low distortions, relative insensitivity to non-ideal and parasitic effects. The features are well supported by theoretical and simulation studies. CMOS based designs with ± 1.25 V supply voltage and 0.18 µm process parameters are given for verification. Experimental support using commercial ICs is also provided. All the outcomes do assert the new proposed advance on realizations and design of oscillators using current-mode techniques.

Lateral weirs, also known as side weirs, are significant hydraulic structures used to regulate and divert flow from primary channels. These structures are essential in managing water distribution in irrigation networks, canal systems, and urban drainage infrastructures. Previous studies have primarily focused on conventional trapezoidal, triangular, and arced labyrinth configurations, limited research is available on rectangular labyrinth side weirs; hence, this study investigates the hydraulic behaviour of a two-cycle rectangular labyrinth side weir. Accurately predicting the discharge coefficient is key to determining the outflow characteristics of such structures. A detailed experimental investigation was conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the discharge behaviour. The resulting data were used to develop predictive models employing non-linear regression and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques. Comparative analysis using statistical performance indicators reveals that the ANN model exhibits strong predictive performance, as indicated by a highcoefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.9586 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0186. Sensitivity analysis further identifies tamong the parameters considered, the Froude number (Fr) had the greatest impact on predicting the discharge coefficient.. This study presents comprehensive experimental datasets and ANN-based prediction frameworks for the discharge coefficient of a two-cycle rectangular labyrinth side weir, a geometry that has received limited attention in previous research. The results extend the applicability of data-driven modelling technique to rectangular labyrinth configurations and provide a reliable basis for their hydraulic design.

This study presents a facile route for the fabrication of CuO/rGO-based photocatalysts for rapid degradation of dyes under natural sunlight. Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized using a modified Hummers' method, and subsequently thermally reduced to obtain reduced grapheme oxide (rGO). CuO NPs were synthesized via a green route using Psidium guajava leaf extract, and CuO/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized through an ultrasonication-assisted method. XRD analysis revealed characteristic peaks corresponding to CuO NPs and rGO, confirming the formation and crystalline phase purity of CuO/rGO nanocomposite without detectable secondary crystalline phases. The crystallite size of pristine CuO NPs was 16 nm, which decreased to 8.3 nm in CuO/rGO nanocomposite. Rietveld refinement was performed to examine detailed structural parameters of CuO NPs. Raman and FTIR analyses further corroborated the successful formation of CuO/rGO nanocomposite by identifying characteristic vibrational modes of CuO NPs and rGO. Morphological investigations using SEM and TEM confirmed the uniform dispersion of CuO NPs over rGO sheets. UV-DRS analysis revealed optical band gap energies of 2.77 eV for CuO NPs and 1.6 eV for CuO/rGO nanocomposite. Photocatalytic studies demonstrated efficient degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Reactive Red 141 (RR 141) under natural sunlight irradiation, achieving 92% (CuO NPs) and 97% (CuO/rGO nanocomposite) degradation for MB, and 91% (CuO NPs) and94% (CuO/rGO for RR141 within 60 min. Furthermore, the anticancer activity of pristine CuO NPs was evaluated against A549 human lung cancer cells, indicating their potential biomedical applicability.

Background: Pregnancy involves significant hormonal changes, and thyroid dysfunction is acommon complication affecting approximately 8.25% of women in India. Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase (Anti-TPO) antibodies are markers of autoimmune thyroid disease and may be associated with adverse outcomes even in euthyroid women. Methods: A prospective observational study of 219 pregnant women was conducted at JNMC, AMU, Aligarh. Subjects were screened for serum TSH and Anti-TPO antibodies. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared between Anti-TPO positive (n=20) and negative (n=199) groups. Results: The prevalence of Anti-TPO antibodies was 9.1%. Anti-TPO positivity was strongly associated with a 15-fold higher risk of miscarriage (15.0% vs. 1.0%, p<0.001) and elevated TSH levels (15.0% vs. 1.5%, p<0.001). Composite adverse outcomes were significantly higher in the positive group (35.0% vs. 18.6%, p=0.031). Conclusion: Anti-TPO antibodies are a critical biomarker for early pregnancy loss and thyroid dysfunction progression.