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To achieve global biodiversity targets, expanding protected area (PA) networks has been regarded as a major strategy in international commitments. However, the PA strategy often fails to achieve its objective - preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services. In addition, the expansion of PA areas could replicate and amplify historical injustices such as forced evictions, state-led physical violence, assimilation of culture and loss of traditional ecological knowledge, affecting communities' livelihood, quality of life and rights. There is an increasing consensus that the post-2020 biodiversity conservation framework should be rights-based and sensitive to the role and contributions of local communities towards achieving the PAs' targets. India's Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 may be considered a useful framework for biodiversity conservation in the context of this new conservation vision. It puts local people at the centre stage, making them active participants in designing and managing conservation. PAs following 'fortress conservation' approach were based on the flawed idea that human interference endangers biodiversity and therefore habitats should be preserved by force if required. Such an idea contradicts the recent understanding that ecosystems once perceived as 'wilderness', have been transformed by people. PAs undermine the intricate and intertwined relationship of humans with their immediate ecosystem. The conservation model proposed by FRA 2006, on the other hand, recognises local communities as an integral part of ecosystem and thereby acknowledges people's rights and agency in conservation. It ensures locals' equitable benefits from economic activities, and provides equitable opportunities to participate in decision-making. Though various provisions under FRA empowered local people in conservation, it faces various challenges during the implementation on the ground. It is argued that a clear and appropriate institutional arrangement specifying various stakeholders' power, roles and responsibilities in the conservation and management of bioresources (including the protection of endangered species) should be developed for transformative change in biodiversity conservation., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Three instances of fast moving haemoglobins in heterozygous form have been found in Indian soldiers of Nepali Gorkha, during a routine screening for abnormal haemoglobins. The affected individuals were not related and seemed clinically well.

Changing climate exerts significant pressure on coastal wetland fishery, ecosystems and livelihood at the eco-regional level. In the present study, an indicator and scoring-based vulnerability assessment framework was developed to assess climate change-induced potential impacts and vulnerability of the coastal wetlands through stakeholder perception and primary data collection on ecology and fisheries. The study was conducted in 12 coastal wetlands in the Gangetic estuarine regions of eastern India. Analysis of rainfall, temperature and extreme climatic events was also carried out. The climate variability in the region was analysed and discussed in the context of ecosystem health and sustainability indicators. The results indicated that anthropogenic stress has a greater influence on ecosystem services than climatic stress. However, the nature and degree of vulnerability of fishers to climate change vary with their capacity to adapt to such changes and alternate sources of livelihood. Altogether, 34 fish species were documented, belonging to 11 taxonomic orders, and categorized as per intensity of resilience using selected criteria. Perception-based climate-resilient adaptation strategies have also been discussed. Developing appropriate adaptation policies and implementing climate-resilient practices and management can minimize vulnerability and increase the adaptive capacity of fishers ensuring sustainable livelihood options., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

India is a global hotspot for irrigation-induced groundwater withdrawal, leading to widespread lowering of water levels, in turn resulting in disproportionate access to irrigation supplies among farming communities. Efforts to mitigate the situation, however, have fallen short, largely due to technocentric vision (e.g. microirrigation adoption) of the regulatory authorities (RAs), which does little to integrate the vast groundwater-dependent socioecologies with the decision making system. In view of that, we invite the RAs to deliberate upon a cap-and-trade mechanism that proposes to mobilize the farmers at every aspect of planning and execution, while to tackling multiple challenges simultaneously: (a) restrict groundwater pumping to a pre-defined safe level (cap), (b) creating a shared space/quotas for all to pump (allocation); and (c) making provisions for trade of allocations. The latter further augments farmers' access to groundwater (and irrigation). Using a systematic bibliometric analysis of relevant world literature and contextual appraisal of groundwater-irrigation landscape in India, we develop a conceptual framework of cap-and-trade in three parts. In the first Pre-implementation stage, we emphasize a reality check study to assess ground conditions, if favorable for a cap-and-trade approach (existing social, economic, institutional circumstances). Next, in the Implementation stage, (1) we recommend an integrated hydrogeological-hydrometeorological modeling to determine flexible capping arrangements, with the possibility of delineating certain priority regions (coastal ecosystems); (2) for allocations, a reasonable fraction of the cap over a defined period; we envision a thoroughly participatory arrangement, centering on four action areas: identifying, informing, consulting, and involving the farmers, alongside all stakeholders engaged in the groundwater-irrigation decision making; (3) for trade, we urge the RAs to create win-win situations for both the sellers and buyers; develop the transaction protocols on certain foundational principles (e.g. simplicity, transparency and consistency); strengthening of local institutions, and development of targeted financial support schemes. We consider the third part of the narrative, Post-implementation stage, as a real game changer, comprising of a monitoring, auditing (performance benchmarking) component coupled with multitiered outreach-mentoring drives that demonstrate to the farmers the benefits of becoming part of the cap-and-trade program. Overall, a main motivation to present this research is to shatter the age-old socio-cognitive beliefs/taboos around groundwater pumping (My land, My Water), breaking the hegemony of the water sellers (rich/wealthy large landholder clans), to potentially, create a social norm whereby the farmers realize the value of restricting groundwater pumping and sharing for mutual prosperity., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The rapidly changing climatic conditions are adversely impacting the Indian agricultural sector. Farmers are frequently seen adopting several adaptation measures, which are neither equally efficient nor mutually exclusive. Based on the primary data collected from 300 farming households of the Indian Eastern Himalayan foothills, the present study attempts to examine the efficiency of local farmers' adaptation by developing indices combining the feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of the adaptation measures with the scale of actual adoption. Further, by employing multiple linear regression, the study analyzes the internal (psychological) and external (physical and socio-economic) factors influencing higher scores of these indices. Results show that local farmers are well aware of climate change and are responding through implementing at least one and up to seven adaptation measures. Farmers preferred agroforestry, a shift from cereals to low water-intensive commercials, irrigation, and intensification of winter crops as the most efficient. There was, however, a misalignment between the perceived efficiency of adaptation measures and their scale of adoption. Farmers' perceptions of pest infestation, satisfaction with farming, soil characteristics, farm size, remittances, and access to credit were found to be positively and significantly influencing the adaptation indices, while open-mindedness toward changing farming practices and crop-raiding by elephants were found to be negatively and significantly associated with adaptation indices. Lastly, the study made relevant recommendations for improving farmers' efficiency in adopting appropriate adaptation measures and strengthening the "State Action Plan on Climate Change"., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Bioavailability, enrichment, and risk of phosphorus (P) and its fraction composition were monitored in the paddy soils of Kunnukara during the pre-cultivation and post-harvest periods in the years 2020 and 2021. Iron-bound P (≥ 105.56 ± 0.05 mg/kg) was found highest among the P fractions. The bioavailability of P was recorded at peak value during the post-harvest period, contributed by organic P, Iron bound P, and loosely bound P. Principal component analysis inferred that loosely bound P was pH-dependent and significantly influenced by cation exchange, particle density, soil aggregate stability, and total organic carbon (TOC) in the post-harvest soil, whereas TOC, aluminium-bound P, and calcium-bound P in the pre-cultivation soils. Additionally, physico-chemical parameters like electrical conductivity, bulk density, specific gravity, TOC, and soil aggregate stability have a significant impact on the composition of P fractions in the soil. Bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) ranged from 642.78 ± 0.49 to 594.20 ± 1.23 mg/kg during the post-harvest period. Moreover, the contribution of BAP to total P ranged from 99.45 to 99.54%, indicating the fact that soil is sufficient in BAP. Pollution indices revealed that the paddy soils are at risk of eutrophication. Phosphorus Pollution Index (PPI) > 1 exhibited moderate pollution (1.06 to 1.07) at the topsoil (0-15 cm) and PPI < 1, mild pollution (0.92 to 0.99) at 15-30 cm depths. The organic nitrogen index ≥ 0.133 indicates severe soil pollution in the study site. An extended fertilizer application in the field contributes to nutrient enrichment and warrants the risk of contamination in nearby riverine systems (River Periyar and River Chalakkudy)., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Bioculturally significant plants, which have played a key role in sustaining the livelihoods of tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh, India, are facing threats from changing land use patterns, climatic aberrations and socioeconomic stressors. This study highlights two unique grassroots approaches to conserving these species and their associated cultural knowledge within the traditional land use systems of Arunachal Pradesh: Community Knowledge Gardens (CKGs) and Clan Reserve Forests (CRFs). Four CKGs and one CRF, transformed from existing traditional land use systems, were investigated in three socio-ecologically diverse landscapes of Nyishi, Adi and Monpa communities. Study participants, including both men and women, played an active role in devising locally compatible criteria and protocols for strengthening the conservation of key plant species within their traditional land use systems, through CKG and CRF approaches. A total of 86 plant species, conserved through the CKGs and 44 from the Adi CRF, were identified as having high food, ethnomedicinal and cultural values. The Shannon-Weaver index of richness of plant species conserved was highest in the Nyishi CKG, with a value of 38; while for Adi and Monpa it was 30 and 18, respectively. The pattern of Shannon-Weaver diversity index was in the order of 2.91, 2.64 and 2.63, respectively for the CKGs of these three communities. In comparison to individual CKGs, relatively higher species diversity (3.18) was found in the Adi CRF. Increased sharing of traditional knowledge among the community members, regular incomes and equitable sharing of the tangible and intangible benefits of using plant species were identified as important success indicators of the CKGs and CRF. In addition to providing valuable insights on biocultural knowledge and enabling the participants to strengthen their existing local land use practices for conserving valued plant biodiversity, the study outcomes have the potential to inform and strengthen the policies on environmental sustainability.

Despite a significant increasing trend in historical food grain production (FGP) in India, deficient Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) often causes a reduction in FGP. The present study was carried out to understand temporal and spatial variations in deficient rainfall (drought) and their impact on national and regional FGP of India. Long-term (1901-2020) percentage departure in rainfall and drought areas over the country showed nonsignificant and significant trends, respectively. Subdivisional rainfall showed significant decreasing and increasing trends in 4 and 5 subdivisions, respectively. Drought years of high frequency (once in 3-4 years) and 4 to 5 consecutive drought years (once in 120 years) occurred in northwest and western subdivisions of India. Departure in de-trended production of All India Kharif food grains from its normal (DDP) showed significant quadratic relationship with departure in ISMR from its normal (DRF). Besides the quadratic equation, another multiple regression model taking de-trended crop area, DRF, and drought area as predictor variables was developed for predicting DDP. Both these models, with high R 2 (0.8-0.88) between observed and predicted data and low RMSE (2.6-2.7%), can be employed for advanced estimation of DDP of the country and for taking country-level policy decisions by the Indian Government. For the first time, models were formulated to estimate state-wise departure in FGP (DP). In these models, novel indices viz., (i) rainfall departure and irrigation index (RDII) and (ii) physical and socio-economic index (PSEI), were used as predictor variables. These models, with R 2 (0.71-0.75) and RMSE of 11.8-14.2(< SD of observed data), hold promise for advance estimation of production loss in states, useful for regional-level planning by the Government of India, and testing them in other countries., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

Co-management is increasingly seen as a way forward in natural resource management and collective goods provisioning, especially in the management of urban commons. Co-management entails sharing of power between actors, including elements such as exchange of information and resources as well as changes in regulations favouring the development of common goals among actors. In this paper, we try to understand if and how preconditions of legitimacy, shared understanding and exchange of resources combine to facilitate the co-management of lakes in Greater Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (GBMR), India. To understand these issues, we undertook an exploratory, qualitative analysis of the governance of three lakes located within a single watershed placed along an urban-rural gradient. We provide an exploratory assessment of co-management across the cases situated in diverse contexts, highlighting the importance of heterogeneity of socio-economic settings for co-management of lakes. Community involvement in co-management varies with heterogeneity, correspondingly increasing transaction costs. In urbanising contexts, state actors have started to recognise the political efficacy of non-state actors mobilising knowledge and financial resources for lake management. Involvement of the state custodian and third-sector organisations (NGOs) was found to be crucial in developing and facilitating shared understanding. Deliberation between mutually dependent state and non-state actors was key to overcoming scepticism in order to realign actor perspectives. We highlight that increased acceptance of community participation based on the development of a collective identity and understanding of mutual dependence observed in our urban and rural cases reduced transaction costs and thus enabled co-management., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Indian orthopedists have a legacy dating back more than 4000 years. Starting with the Harappan civilization, ancient orthopaedic surgeons reduced fractures and conducted therapeutic trepanations. Since then, Indian physicians have pioneered many of the orthopaedic techniques still used today - including the use of prosthetics, fracture tables, and rehabilitative physical therapy. Today, orthopaedic surgeons coexist with traditional Indian bonesetters. Although bonesetting practices can have complication rates as high as 40%, bonesetters still handle a majority of fractures in India and are often culturally preferred. Importantly though, bonesetters are often the only expedient option available in both rural and urban settings., (© 2021. SICOT aisbl.)

Purpose: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has increased during the course of the pandemic. As uncertainty existed regarding patient's outcomes, early guidelines recommended against establishing new ECMO centers. We aimed to explore the epidemiology and outcomes of ECMO for COVID-19 related cardiopulmonary failure in five countries in the Middle East and India and to evaluate the results of ECMO in 5 new centers., Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter international, observational study conducted in 19 ECMO centers in five countries in the Middle East and India from March 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020. We included patients with COVID-19 who received ECMO for refractory hypoxemia and severe respiratory acidosis with or without circulatory failure. Data collection included demographic data, ECMO-related specific data, pre-ECMO patient condition, 24 h post-ECMO initiation data, and outcome. The primary outcome was survival to home discharge. Secondary outcomes included mortality during ECMO, survival to decannulation, and outcomes stratified by center type., Results: Three hundred and seven COVID-19 patients received ECMO support during the study period, of whom 78 (25%) were treated in the new ECMO centers. The median age was 45 years (interquartile range IQR 37-52), and 81% were men. New center patients were younger, were less frequently male, had received higher PEEP, more frequently inotropes and prone positioning before ECMO and were less frequently retrieved from a peripheral center on ECMO. Survival to home discharge was 45%. In patients treated in new and established centers, survival was 55 and 41% (p = 0.03), respectively. Multivariable analysis retained only a SOFA score < 12 at ECMO initiation as associated with survival (odds ratio, OR 1.93 (95% CI 1.05-3.58), p = 0.034), but not treatment in a new center (OR 1.65 (95% CI 0.75-3.67))., Conclusions: During pandemics, ECMO may provide favorable outcomes in highly selected patients as resources allow. Newly formed ECMO centers with appropriate supervision of regional experts may have satisfactory results., (© 2021. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Globally, heavy metal contamination of natural waterways and surrounding environments due to anthropogenic activities has become a grave cause of concern. Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyze the ecological risk posed by heavy metals in sediment samples (N = 24) collected from different depths of Budha Nalah drain located in Ludhiana (Punjab, India). The concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were found to be above the maximum permissible limits for metals in soils and sediments, which was attributed to anthropogenic activities (industrialization, urbanization and agriculture). The values observed for Contamination Factor, Enrichment Factor and Pollution Load Index revealed that sediment samples were highly contaminated by As, Cd, Cr and Pb. The ecological Risk Index (range: 212-1566) and Modified Risk Index (range: 2793-12,182) values indicated that high concentrations of metals (especially As, Cd, Cr and Pb) posed severe ecological risks in the areas around the drain.

The spawning and well-being of fish in an ecosystem are closely linked to climatic cues, viz., temperature and rainfall. Reduced fitness can affect the reproductive performance and lead to skipped spawning. Benchmarking the threshold fitness required for a fish population to achieve readiness for spawning, and understanding how climatic parameters influence the fitness will aid in predicting the fate of its reproductive success in future climatic conditions. This study determined the threshold condition factor pre-spawning fitness (K spawn50 ) at which 50% of the female Channa punctata population can be deemed fit for spawning. The optimal climate within which pre-spawning fitness is attained by this species under Indian climatic conditions was also identified. The study was conducted from June 2015 to September 2016, covering two spawning seasons (June-August) in a Gangetic floodplain wetland of West Bengal, India. The non-parametric Kaplan-Meier method (survival fit) was used for estimation of pre-spawning fitness. "Ready to spawn" females were classified based on binary coding of the gonadal maturity stages. The thermal and precipitation range within which spawning fitness is achieved was identified by using the locally weighted smoothing technique. Female C. punctata pre-spawning fitness (K spawn50 ) ranged from 1.26 to 1.39 with an estimated median of 1.29 units. Temperatures between 29 and 32 °C and rainfall above 100 mm were conducive to attaining the requisite pre-spawning fitness in C. punctata. This is the first study benchmarking the pre-spawning fitness and optimal climate for C. punctata. Understanding spawning requirements can inform the climate change-induced impacts on reproductive plasticity and evolutionary adaptations of snakeheads in the Ganga river basin.

The impact of declined natural greenery and increased built surfaces exacerbates heat stress in urban areas causing limited usage of outdoor spaces. Greenery strategies such as trees are capable of mitigating outdoor thermal stress gain because of their phytological properties. While urban greenery guidelines have suggested the ad-hoc procedure of tree planting-schemes based on aesthetic-value, soil-water preservation etc., understanding of their morphological character help in regulating extreme thermal condition. Hence, this study aims to investigate the most efficient planting pattern based on canopies densities and trees clusters for reducing the outdoor thermal stress from bio-meteorological perspective.It initiates with the measurement of the site's morphological and meteorological attributes in existing commercial market of Bhopal City which has a humid sub-tropical climate (Aw, Koppen climate categorization). Furthermore, it leads to the development of 4-different iterated clusters incorporating moderate to high-density canopies and their overlaps pattern to estimate reduction potential in outdoors using field surveys and validated simulation model. The reduction potential in terms of magnitude and duration of thermal stress is quantified across 3-thermal variables i.e., air temperature, mean radiant temperature and universal thermal climate index. Results indicate highly-dense canopies are more effective in reducing greater magnitude of thermal stress along longer duration. Also overlapped planting pattern within the same canopy density does not make significant difference in stress reduction as compared to the changing the densities. This study will help planners and landscape architects to adopt evidence-based planting-pattern strategies for improving outdoor microclimate., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC predicts that hot seasons will get even hotter due to global climate change. There exists a critical dependence of human metabolic processes on temperature. Changes in thermal balance therefore, have an adverse effect on health because they raise body temperature, cause excessive sweating, and accelerate the rate of dehydration. Different nations and professional groups use different techniques to measure heat strain. This paper aims to review previous research conducted in the area of heat strain due to heat exposure among workers in Southeast Asia and also to profile mitigation strategies in North East India. Studies conducted between the years 2011 to 2023 in the evaluation of the health impacts of occupational heat stress were searched systematically using several sources of databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, etc. It was noted that a greater proportion of previous research on evaluating physiological effects was carried out in controlled environments as opposed to real-world field settings. While such studies give us valuable insights into the relationship, applying the same methodology in the workplace may not be feasible. In India, very few research has been carried out on workplace heat stress, and even fewer have been done in North East India using physiological indicators. North East India is also affected by global climate change leading top more hotter days than before. The region of Northeast India, particularly Guwahati (Assam), has recently seen extreme heat waves during the sweltering summer months. With less literature available in this geographical location, studies with actual field-based settings are much needed to understand the occupational health impacts in this region. This review can formulate a suitable methodology for assessing the health impacts in working environment. This can also help the local health professionals to recognize the heat strain parameters that are acceptable worldwide, and use as pertinent indicators to scrutinize worker's health and develop preventive agendas as climate change advances., Competing Interests: Declarations. Institution and Ethics approval and informed consent: The review was given approved by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Guwahati, institutional ethics council in accordance with ethical norms. Conflict of interest: The writers declare that they have no conflicts of interest that might compromise this review's objectivity., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

Globally, shifting cultivation is known to be an important driver of tropical deforestation. However, in this paper, we argue that it can be sustainably managed if the environmental boundary conditions, laid by the traditional customs and practices, are fully respected. We narrate an empirical study from the Zunheboto district of Nagaland, India, where we deployed a mixed research method to explore the Indigenous and Local Knowledge and Practices (ILKPs) associated with shifting cultivation (aka Jhum), particularly concerning farm-level practices, forest and biodiversity conservation, and disaster risk reduction measures. The research method included analysis of primary data obtained through Focus Group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (n = 21), and a questionnaire survey (n = 153) with Jhum farmers from two different age groups, i.e., below 50 years (middle-aged farmers) and above 50 years (older farmers). From the qualitative inquiry, we identified 15 ILKPs, which were then validated from survey responses. We used the Mann-Whitney U test to examine differences in agreement between two groups of framers. Based on this analysis, we conclude that upholding of the ILKPs holds strong potential for the local implementation of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, SDG-1(No poverty), SDG-2 (Zero hunger), and SDG-15 (Life on land). However, eight of the identified ILKPs showed a statistically significant difference between older and middle-aged farmers, underlining a declining trend. Finally, we suggest suitable policy measures to mainstream ILKPs to balance the trade-offs in food production and biodiversity conservation, and to ensure the future sustainability of Jhum cultivation in the region and beyond., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper aims to illustrate the crucial role of preserving, protecting and managing the environment by Indigenous Peoples in Japan and India. Traditional Knowledge has provided the ability to detect, understand and respond to environmental changes. However, modern science and applied technology often fall short of sustainable practices, acquired through 'centuries of local observation'. Our consumer-centric world has unravelled a sad situation that has contributed to an irretrievable climate crisis. Multilateral instruments, however, have come to the rescue. In this journey, Japan and India have shown the world some constructive initiatives with positive outcomes which could go a long way in achieving the UN-SDGs., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Integrating an early childhood development (ECD) intervention within routine healthcare visits offers an important opportunity for a population-level approach to support ECD in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where 250 million children under the age of 5 years fail to reach their full developmental potential. This paper reports on the feasibility of integrating an adapted healthcare-based ECD intervention (Sit Down and Play) in primary health centers (PHCs) serving low-income rural communities in Karnataka, India, and its potential to support research-informed components needed to improve ECD (e.g., opportunities for learning). Using a prospective cluster nonrandomized pilot and feasibility trial, caregivers with infants 6-10 weeks of age were recruited from 2 PHCs: one which delivered the intervention at two subsequent immunization visits (n = 25) and the other as care as usual (n = 28). Feasibility was assessed using the following indicators: implementation, practicality, acceptability, demand, and limited efficacy. Quality of home stimulation and opportunities for learning were explored with key items from the UNICEF Multiple Cluster Index Surveys with generalized estimating equation models. While outcome measures were to be obtained from all participants 3-month post-enrollment, due to COVID19 restrictions, there was variability in timing of follow-up interviews; however, outcome data from all participants were obtained and no significant group differences existed in contact time. Results suggest the feasibility of delivery of SDP during routine immunization visits, high satisfaction with adapted content, and utility of developed training and fidelity measures. Though not powered for hypothesis testing, our exploratory analyses reveal the intervention group demonstrated greater improvements on quality of home stimulation over time than the control group., Conclusion: Our findings suggest integrating an ECD intervention with routine healthcare visits is a feasible and promising strategy for supporting ECD in India. Further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of SDP on children's development., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04167254., What Is Known: • Interventions are increasingly being developed to target responsive caregiving and opportunities for learning because of their potential to support early childhood development (ECD) in low- and middle-income countries where 250 million children under the age of 5 years fail to reach their full developmental potential. • A critical issue in ECD intervention research is the gap between what is known to be effective treatment to protect healthy brain development and what is provided to millions of caregivers during routine care who live in low-income communities., What Is New: • We adapted a brief, ECD intervention for use with routine healthcare visits in India as a population-level strategy to support ECD in LMICs. • Our results demonstrate feasibility, acceptability, and improvements in key parenting behaviors that promote ECD., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The Mandya district of Karnataka, India, houses a unique Jain settlement constructed about 1000 years ago. Recent excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) indicate a high degree of engineering skills among the builders of this settlement. Adapting to heat-stresses in a region where the Monsoons often failed was and is still a matter of concern. Ingenious methods were adopted to modulate bioclimatic responses to maintain thermal comfort indices. The Aretippurians used composite building fabrics which modulated heat transfer to the interiors. Indeed, the thermal transmittances for these composite fabrics were low to moderate for both the temple complexes as well as the dormitories; these were 0.27 Wm -1 K -1 and 0.23 Wm -1 K -1 , respectively. A site visit revealed that a unique and engineered micro-climate was also made to prevail on this hilltop settlement housing several hundred Jain settlers. A granite skirted reservoir was indeed the pièce-de-résistance promoting hydraulic air-conditioning for eight months of the year around the premises with copious winds blowing over a large and exposed rain-fed reservoir. This fanned chilled air across the open plan temples, courtyards, and lived-in areas. This paper explores bioclimatic responses for around 120 residents to the prevailing indoor settings modulated by an engineered microclimate. This was possible because of the staggered layout, unique building forms, use of mixed building fabric, and carefully chosen glazing ratios which yielded salubrious settings. Clearly, this entailed a complex interplay between the intercepted solar insolation, structure-driven turbulence, and the transfer of heat across the original composite walls within and around the complex, requiring a systematic experimental as well as modelling study. The experimental part of the project involved the calculation of the thermal transmittivity across the walls made up of fired bricks, granite, and limestone, and the theoretical part involved the use of appropriate software to reconstruct air flow and heat distribution across floors, walls, and ceilings to proxy the original flow pattern yielding the comfortable PMV (predicted mean vote) and PET (physiological equivalent temperature) values within these premises. This exercise may well lead to further explorations on indoor comfort adaptations in tropical settings with the use of many edifying vernacular idioms in ancient settlements which prevail even in modern layouts., (© 2021. ISB.)

Since the late 1970s, East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) has shown a significant weakening trend, and sustained drought has occurred across North China. Placing recent climate changes in the paleoclimatic context can better understand the EASM variations. Four δ 18 O sequences based on tree-ring cellulose of Chinese pine were developed from Mt. Beiwudang, North China, covering a period from 1700 to 2013. Based on a climatic response analysis, a transfer function was designed to reconstruct the relative humidity from July to August (RH JA hereafter). The RH JA spans from 1765 to 2013 and explains 49% (R 2 adj = 48%) of the instrumental variance during the calibration period (1961-2013, r = - 0.70, p < 0.0001). The RH JA is mainly influenced by precipitation in the summer rainy season and reflect EASM variations. Spatial representation analysis indicates that RH JA represents the dry/wet variations across North China. At the interannual scale, RH JA records many extreme dry/wet events, among which the events in 1876-1878, 1900, and the 1920s are extensive droughts. Those events correspond well to ENSO events, plus further correlation and periodicity analysis indicate that RH JA shows a decreasing trend and unprecedented low values from 1981 to 2013, suggesting that the weakening of EASM since the late 1970s is unprecedented in the past 249 years. Similarly, the significantly correlating region in the spatial correlation analysis, covering the Meiyu/Baiu/Changma rainfall belt and India, have also undergone a climatic shift since the late 1970s according to previous papers.JA shows a decreasing trend and unprecedented low values from 1981 to 2013, suggesting that the weakening of EASM since the late 1970s is unprecedented in the past 249 years. Similarly, the significantly correlating region in the spatial correlation analysis, covering the Meiyu/Baiu/Changma rainfall belt and India, have also undergone a climatic shift since the late 1970s according to previous papers.

Religious spaces are an integral part of Indian cities. Unique in their spatiality, they function as socio-cultural hubs drawing users from varied economic and social hierarchies. This study deals with physical and perceptional assessments of micrometeorological conditions in two religious squares namely Hanuman Mandir Square (HMS) and Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Square (GBS) located in New Delhi (28.6° N; 77.2° E), India. The study involved real-time physical measurement of environmental variables such as dry-bulb temperature (T a , °C), globe temperature (T g , °C), relative humidity (RH), and air velocity (V a ). Variables such as physiological effective temperature (PET), universal thermal comfort index (UTCI), and mean radiant temperature (T mrt , °C) were computed from measured variables. Concurrent thermal comfort surveys were carried out with 353 respondents in both the squares. The paper describes the thermal characteristics of the studied squares and presents the associated subjective thermal response and preferences of the users. PET was found to correlate well with the subjective responses. The neutral value of PET is found to be 24.7 °C. The neutral PET value of respondents visiting for non-worship purposes was found to be 2.7 °C lesser than those visiting for worship purposes. People visiting the squares for non-worship purpose however were found to be more tolerant of higher PET conditions as compared to others. Factors such as intent of visit, solar exposure, thermal history, and landscape elements were found to have a statistically significant influence on the thermal perception. The paper further summarizes the adaptive opportunities preferred by the users in order to improve thermal comfort in the studied squares. A weighted ranking of adaptive preferences reported by the respondents has also been presented.

Changes in the pattern of electric power consumption in India have influenced energy utilization processes and socio-economic development to greater extent during the last few decades. Assessment of spatial distribution of electricity consumption is, thus, essential for projecting availability of energy resource and planning its infrastructure. This paper makes an attempt to model the future electricity demand for sustainable energy and its management in India. The nighttime light database provides a good approximation of availability of energy. We utilized defense meteorological satellite program-operational line-scan system (DMSP-OLS) nighttime satellite data, electricity consumption (1993-2013), gross domestic product (GDP) and population growth to construct the model. We also attempted to examine the sensitiveness of electricity consumption to GDP and population growth. The results revealed that the calibrated DMSP and model has provided realistic information on the electric demand with respect to GDP and population, with a better accuracy of r 2  = 0.91. The electric demand was found to be more sensitive to GDP (r = 0.96) than population growth (r = 0.76) as envisaged through correlation analysis. Hence, the model proved to be useful tool in predicting electric demand for its sustainable use and management.

Once the privilege of few clinical scholars in the field of orthopaedics, medical writing has become a must for career advancement. The number of papers submitted and published yearly has increased steadily, and with the development of the Internet, manuscript and journals have become easily accessible. Medical writing has risen to become a discipline in itself, with rules and standards. However, heterogeneity in the quality of papers submitted still prevails, with large variations in both form and content. With countries such as China and India submitting an exponential number of manuscripts, it is important and helpful that standards of medical writing be emphasised to help writers who do not always have the required support to produce an outstanding manuscript. In this paper, we summarise what may become standards for medical writing in the field of orthopaedics.

Aerosol samples of PM(10) and PM(2.5) were collected from 38 sampling locations in and around the industrial area. The 24 h average mass concentration of PM(10) and PM(2.5) was 137.5 and 61.5 μg/m(3) respectively during summer, 122 and 97.5 μg/m(3) respectively in winter and 70 and 54 μg/m(3) respectively during post monsoon season. The relative contribution of coarse, fine and ultrafine particle to ambient air was analyzed for its temporal and seasonal variability in an industrialized area. This paper aims to establish baseline between PM(10) and PM(2.5) mass concentration levels.

The figure showing how the model of Kermack and McKendrick fits the data from the 1906 plague epidemic in Bombay is the most reproduced figure in books discussing mathematical epidemiology. In this paper we show that the assumption of constant parameters in the model leads to quite unrealistic numerical values for these parameters. Moreover the reports published at the time show that plague epidemics in Bombay occurred in fact with a remarkable seasonal pattern every year since 1897 and at least until 1911. So the 1906 epidemic is clearly not a good example of epidemic stopping because the number of susceptible humans has decreased under a threshold, as suggested by Kermack and McKendrick, but an example of epidemic driven by seasonality. We present a seasonal model for the plague in Bombay and compute the type reproduction numbers associated with rats and fleas, thereby extending to periodic models the notion introduced by Roberts and Heesterbeek.

High densities of people living around protected areas (PAs) in South Asia require management strategies to balance conservation goals and livelihood needs. Based on a survey of 777 households around five PAs in India and Nepal, this paper provides a comparative perspective of Indian and Nepali households' views of protected area benefits and costs, their attitude toward conservation in general, and attitude toward protected area staff. Results indicate mixed responses towards tourism, varying from very favorable in Nepal to less favorable in India. The majority (81%) held positive attitudes towards the existence and importance of PAs but had negative perceptions of PA staff (69%). Most residents perceived benefits from access to fuel wood, fodder and other PA resources including benefits from tourism, while crop and livestock losses from wildlife were the main costs. Households overall positive attitudes towards the PAs and conservation despite high losses from living around PAs suggests that local residents may support conservation if their livelihood needs are met. Comparisons of household attitudes and perceptions suggest that locally based strategies rather than top-down approaches are likely to be more effective. Extending PA benefits to smaller landholders, households that are highly resource-dependent or experiencing higher income losses from human-wildlife conflicts, and less educated residents are particularly important to balance costs and losses from living around protected areas.

Agroforestry systems are fundamental features of the rural landscape of the Indian state of Kerala. Yet these mixed species systems are increasingly being replaced by monocultures. This paper explores how public policies on land tenure, agriculture, forestry and tree growing on private lands have interacted with farmer preferences in shaping land use dynamics and agroforestry practices. It argues that not only is there no specific policy for agroforestry in Kerala, but also that the existing sectoral policies of land tenure, agriculture, and forestry contributed to promoting plantation crops, even among marginal farmers. Forest policies, which impose restrictions on timber extraction from farmers' fields under the garb of protecting natural forests, have often acted as a disincentive to maintaining tree-based mixed production systems on farmlands. The paper argues that public policies interact with farmers' preferences in determining land use practices.

Objective: This paper illustrates a retrospective study of the outcome of those pregnancies that continued from an initial episode of bleeding in first trimester., Methods: Neural networks is used for the prediction of preterm delivery, using various inputs such as the age of women, gestational age when the bleeding occurred, duration of the bleeding days, amount of bleeding, number of episodes, presence or absence of hematoma and placentation position., Results: The success rate of prediction obtained using the feed forward backpropogation network is 70%. Hence, this model can be used to identify women at the risk of premature delivery for planning antenatal care and clinical interventions in pregnancy.

Cadmium contamination of the soil is a common cause of environmental concern in the suburban areas of developing cities in India The present research paper describes the changes in physiological, biochemical, growth and yield characteristics, and bioaccumulation potential of lady's finger (Abelmoschus esculentus L.), an important vegetable crop at different levels of Cd in the soil. Cadmium accumulation was maximum in roots followed by stems, leaves and fruits at 100 mg Cd kg(-1) in the soil. Cd accumulation in lady's finger negatively affected the physiological and biochemical characteristics, growth and yield. The magnitude of negative effect enhanced with increasing Cd concentration. The study suggests that due to higher potential of bioaccumulation of Cd in lady's finger and consequent reductions in growth and yield, this plant may not be a suitable option for cultivation in Cd contaminated soil.

Coral samples were collected from Kurusadi, Shingle and Appa islands of Gulf of Mannar for analyzing the trace elements. The mean concentrations in the coral reef skeleton ranges from 0.19 to 0.62 microg g(-1) for Fe, from 6.71 to 15.6 microg g(-1) for As, from 0.28 to 1.31 microg g(-1) for Cd, from 0.56 to 5.29 microg g(-1) for Co, from 7.25 to 22.34 microg g(-1) for Cr, from 0.63 to 5.08 microg g(-1) for Cu, from 98.38 to 138 microg g(-1) for Mn, from 0.18 to 2.53 microg g(-1) for Ni, from 0.18 to 4.56 microg g(-1) for Pb and from 44 to 135.25 microg g(-1) for Zn. The factor analysis revealed the source of trace elements accumulation in the coral skeleton particularly Mn from detrital inputs and Cd from anthropogenic sources. This paper also highlights the nature of trace elements available in coral skeleton.

The geographic origin of bats is still unknown, and fossils of earliest bats are rare and poorly diversified, with, maybe, the exception of Europe. The earliest bats are recorded from the Early Eocene of North America, Europe, North Africa and Australia where they seem to appear suddenly and simultaneously. Until now, the oldest record in Asia was from the Middle Eocene. In this paper, we report the discovery of the oldest bat fauna of Asia dating from the Early Eocene of the Cambay Formation at Vastan Lignite Mine in Western India. The fossil taxa are described on the basis of well-preserved fragments of dentaries and lower teeth. The fauna is highly diversified and is represented by seven species belonging to seven genera and at least four families. Two genera and five species are new. Three species exhibit very primitive dental characters, whereas four others indicate more advanced states. Unexpectedly, this fauna presents strong affinities with the European faunas from the French Paris Basin and the German Messel locality. This could result from the limited fossil record of bats in Asia, but could also suggest new palaeobiogeographic scenarios involving the relative position of India during the Early Eocene.

This paper emphasizes on mathematical and field work approach to diagnosing the environmental pollution for Indore, India. These applications are based on the time-series statistics and for three semi-industrial as well as residential areas. The generalized additive models finds as a best fit-model in terms of autocorrelation and reduction of over-dispersion. The interdisciplinary study works on the principal of pollutant source, meteorological parameters, pollutant types, emission rates and various chemical processes. Several chemical or industrial processes like iron and steel production, combustion of fossil fuels, biomass burning, thermal power plants are major polluter in most of the mega cities.

Background: Up to two-thirds of individuals acquire herpes asymptomatically and most infected persons shed the virus during latency periods. Genital infection is frequently associated with the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases. The objective of this paper was to assess the seroprevalence of HSV-2 in a low risk population and to validate the use of reported symptoms and clinical signs as a possible diagnostic tool to screen for HSV-2., Methods: One hundred and fifty consecutive women presenting for the first time to the Gynecology outpatient clinic with complaints of vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain, genital warts or ulcers were enrolled over a period of 4 months. Samples were taken and laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the presence of common reproductive tract infections including HSV-2., Results: In this study, using a validated type specific assay, we found an unexpected high prevalence of HSV-2 (35 subjects, 23.3%). Of the 147 women who presented with the symptom of vaginal discharge, 34 (23.1%) tested positive for HSV-2. On examination cervical erosion and tenderness was noted in 50 women, in 23 (46%) of whom HSV-2 tested positive. On univariate analysis, no significant association was found between selected demographic factors, STIs and NSTIs and HSV-2. The association between previous abortion and HSV-2 was however, statistically significant. Also, none of the women who had HSV-2 positivity tested positive for HIV., Conclusion: The high HSV-2 seroprevalence in this low risk population may indicate a high risk for future acquisition of HIV in this population. Cervical erosion and hypertrophy as a possible clinical marker for HSV-2 has low positive predictive value and cannot be recommended as a possible diagnostic tool to screen for HSV-2 in resource poor settings.

Introduction: Endoprosthetic replacement is a popular method of treatment for fracture neck of femur in the elderly. Unipolar, bipolar and total hip endoprosthesis are all used. The aim of this paper is to compare the functional results of bipolar arthroplasty with that of total hip arthroplasty in a South Asian population., Materials and Methods: Sixty-one patients who underwent prosthetic replacement for fracture neck of femur between May 1997 and Dec 2002 were followed-up prospectively. Twenty-nine patients were treated with total hip replacement and thirty-two were treated with bipolar arthroplasty. At the time of the last follow-up, twenty-four patients had expired and seventeen could not be traced. The results in the remaining twenty are presented., Results: The period of follow up ranged from 24 months to 90 months, with a mean of 58.5 months. The mean Harris Hip Score for the bipolar group was 86.93, and for the total hip group was 83.82. More than a third of our patient population died within 5 years of endoprosthetic replacement., Conclusion: The functional outcome is equally good whether bipolar or total hip replacement is used, in the elderly, in a South Asian population. More than a third of our patient population expired within 5 years of prosthetic replacement; therefore it may be wise to choose the less expensive treatment modality in resource poor countries.

Indian population, comprising of more than a billion people, consists of 4693 communities with several thousands of endogamous groups, 325 functioning languages and 25 scripts. To address the questions related to ethnic diversity, migrations, founder populations, predisposition to complex disorders or pharmacogenomics, one needs to understand the diversity and relatedness at the genetic level in such a diverse population. In this backdrop, six constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with funding from the Government of India, initiated a network program on predictive medicine using repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms. The Indian Genome Variation (IGV) consortium aims to provide data on validated SNPs and repeats, both novel and reported, along with gene duplications, in over a thousand genes, in 15,000 individuals drawn from Indian subpopulations. These genes have been selected on the basis of their relevance as functional and positional candidates in many common diseases including genes relevant to pharmacogenomics. This is the first large-scale comprehensive study of the structure of the Indian population with wide-reaching implications. A comprehensive platform for Indian Genome Variation (IGV) data management, analysis and creation of IGVdb portal has also been developed. The samples are being collected following ethical guidelines of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India. This paper reveals the structure of the IGV project highlighting its various aspects like genesis, objectives, strategies for selection of genes, identification of the Indian subpopulations, collection of samples and discovery and validation of genetic markers, data analysis and monitoring as well as the project's data release policy.

This paper discusses the integration of soft systems methodology (SSM) within an ecosystem approach in research to support rehabilitation and management of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai, India. The Cooum is an extremely polluted urban stream. Its management is complicated by high rates of population growth, poverty, uncontrolled urban development, jurisdictional conflicts, institutional culture, flat topography, tidal action, blockage of the river mouth, and monsoon flooding. The situation is characterized by basic uncertainty about main processes and activities, and the nature of relationships among actors and elements in the system.SSM is an approach for dealing with messy or ill-structured problematic situations involving human activity. In this work SSM contributed techniques (such as "rich picture" and "CATWOE" tools) to description of the Cooum situation as a socioecological system and informed the approach itself at a theoretical level. Application of three general phases in SSM is discussed in the context of the Cooum River research: (1) problem definition and exploration of the problem situation, (2) development of conceptual models of relevant systems, and (3) the use of these to generate insight and stimulate debate about desirable and feasible change. Its use here gives weight to the statement by others that SSM would be a particularly appropriate methodology to operate the ecosystem approach. As well as informing efforts at management of the Cooum system, this work led the way to explore an adaptive ecosystem approach more broadly to management of the urban environment for human health in Chennai.

This paper describes six Indian families in which silent-gene beta-thalassemia was encountered by us in the past 2 years. This stresses the importance of globin-chain synthesis in the diagnosis of beta-thalassemia. Of these six cases, five were diagnosed retrospectively when they had a homozygous beta-thalassemia offspring. The beta/alpha synthetic ratios ranged from 0.45 to 0.60. Four belong to group-I silent beta-thalassemia and two cases to group II. The severity of thalassemia major in the offspring of these silent carriers cannot be predicted.

Traumatic dislocation of the hip often remains untreated in developing countries. This paper reports the outcome of twenty nine patients with neglected dislocations (3 anterior and 26 posterior). We have outlined the indications for five different methods of treatment. An attempt has been made to explain the causes of poor results.

The Kota of Nilgiri Hills, Tamilnadu, are an isolated tribal population and occupy the lowest stratum in the local social hierarchy. They have developed an economic symbiotic relationship with other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills (e.g., Toda, Kurumba, Badaga), but have almost no social relationship with other communities, such as the Hindu and Muslim, communities, etc. The total population of the Kota is about 1200. Consanguineous marriages are highly favoured in this group. This paper presents data on prenatal, infant and adolescent mortality in relation to the degree of inbreeding. No perceptible difference has been found in mortality figures between consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages. This may be due to the long history of inbreeding among the Kota. No case of visible congenital malformation has been noticed. The estimates of genetic load as revealed by inbreeding data indicate that genetic load in the Kota is low (perhaps about 1 lethal equivalent per gamete); it is also low in comparison with that in other Indian populations.

A Cellogel procedure for screening the electrophoretic variants of the human red cell glutathione peroxidase ( GPX1 ) was described. Three hundred and ninety eight Dutch persons living in various parts of The Netherlands, 385 individuals born in various states of India, and 72 Jamaicans of African origin living in Birmingham, UK, were screened for GPX1 variants. The Dutch were monomorphic, while one Afro-Jamaican female and two males and one female of the 116 Punjabis were found to be variants indistinguishable from each other in their pattern of electrophoresis. The clear five banded pattern of the variant indicated that the subunit structure of the human red cell glutathione peroxidase is most probably a tetramer and suggested that the variant is the expression of a heterozygote due to alleles at an autosomal locus. The corresponding phenotype was designated tentatively as GPX1 2-1 and the alleles as GPX1 *1 and GPX1 *2 respectively. The variant 2-1 was found to be identical to the "Thomas" variant described by Beutler and West (1974). Thus so far, in addition to the Afro-Americans and Ashkenazi Jews (Beutler et al. 1974), the Punjabis of the Indian subcontinent (this report) were found to exhibit the GPX1 polymorphism due to the GPX1 *2 allele. The data discussed in this paper (which included unpublished observations on several African and non-African populations) suggest that the GPX1 *2 allele is originally an African variant and hint that the present day Punjabis of Indian subcontinent, like Ashkenazi Jews, are "predominantly of Mediterranean origin with some proportion of African ancestry" ( Mourant et al. 1976).