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Montane systems, formed by a series of climatic oscillations and temporal topographic metamorphoses, have broken up the contiguous distribution of widespread species and accelerated allopatric speciation. We used a partial fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene to address speciation across the entire range of the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica. We demonstrated that the Siberian ibex is a polytypic species, plausibly formed by a combination of at least 2 species and/or 3 to 4 sub-species. Bayesian phylogeny showed that the Indian-Tajikistan (I-T) clade is adequately diverged from the other clades based on the mean intra-specific distance criterion, and warrants recognition as a distinct species. We provide pragmatic evidence for the endorsement of the I-T clade as a distinct species of Siberian ibex and urge prioritization of the conservation of this species at global and regional scales.

The utilization of satellite images in conservation research is becoming more prevalent due to advancements in remote sensing technologies. To achieve accurate classification of wildlife habitats, it is important to consider the different capabilities of spectral and spatial resolution. Our study aimed to develop a method for accurately classifying habitat types of the Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) using satellite data. We used LISS IV and Sentinel 2A data to address both spectral and spatial issues. Furthermore, we integrated the LISS IV data with the Sentinel 2A data, considering their individual geometric information. The Random Forest approach outperformed other algorithms in supervised classification techniques. The integrated image had the highest level of accuracy, with an overall accuracy of 86.17% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.84. Furthermore, to delineate the suitable habitat for the Himalayan ibex, we employed ensemble modelling techniques that incorporated Land Cover Land Use data from LISS IV, Sentinel 2A, and Integrated image, separately. Additionally, we incorporated other predictors including topographical features, soil and water radiometric indices. The integrated image demonstrated superior accuracy in predicting the suitable habitat for the species. The identification of suitable habitats was found to be contingent upon the consideration of two key factors: the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index and elevation. The study findings are important for advancing conservation measures. Using accurate classification methods helps identify important landscape components. This study offers a novel and important approach to conservation planning by accurately categorising Land Cover Land Use and identifying critical habitats for the species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Dutta et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Skin conditions form a major bulk of diseases in the community. With a disproportionately low number of dermatologists in the country, and a greatly unequal distribution between urban versus rural areas, ineffective treatment and mismanagement of skin conditions are, however, commonplace., Objective: To develop standard treatment workflows (STWs) for certain skin diseases for use by clinicians at primary, secondary, and tertiary care centers., Methodology: Seven members, from various academic institutes across the country, were selected for formulation of the STWs. They were provided logistic and technical support by the ICMR, Department of Health Research (DHR), and WHO India office. Multiple rounds of online and physical discussions were performed to identify topics that would be most useful in the management of skin diseases for the health care personnel (HCP) and subsequently to frame the STW content., Results: The selected diseases included acne and rosacea, alopecia, bacterial skin infections, cutaneous adverse drug reactions, dermatophytosis, eczema/dermatitis, immunobullous dermatoses, psoriasis, scabies, varicella and herpes, vitiligo, and urticaria. There was one separate module on rational use of topical corticosteroids. The STWs for these conditions have been finalised and are available as physical posters in health centers and can also be accessed online and through mobile applications., Conclusion: Thirteen STW modules have been prepared with a view to optimize management of skin diseases at various levels of health care system of the country., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Indian Dermatology Online Journal.)

Aim  This article determines the compliance rates with low-dose aspirin (LDA) and outcomes in a group of pregnant women identified at high risk for preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) at 11 to 14 gestational weeks (GWs) in a rural district of central India. Methods  A single, experienced fetal radiologist assessed all enrolled pregnant women using trimester-specific antenatal screening protocols that included mean arterial blood pressure assessment, and fetal ultrasound and Doppler studies. A trimester-specific individualized risk for preterm PE and FGR was estimated for each woman. Pregnant women categorized as high risk for preterm PE or FGR based on a 1 in 150 criteria at 11 to 14 GW were recommended LDA 150 mg once daily at bedtime. Outcome measures included compliance with LDA assessed, incidence of PE and FGR, preterm delivery (<37 GW), birth weight, stillbirths, and perinatal mortality. Results  The data of 488 pregnant women with longitudinal trimester-specific assessments from 11 to 14 GW till childbirth was analyzed. At the third trimester assessment, 215 (80.83%) of the high-risk women were compliant with LDA. The incidence of PE, FGR, and preterm births was significantly higher in LDA noncompliant women, and the mean birth weight was significantly higher in LDA-compliant high-risk women. Conclusion  Good compliance for LDA is possible in rural populations with adequate counseling. Starting LDA at 11 to 14 GW for high-risk pregnant women lowered the incidence of PE, FGR, and preterm birth rates and improved birth weight in the study population., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Objectives: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women. An Estrogen Receptor (ER) antagonist called tamoxifen is used as an adjuvant therapy for ER-positive breast cancers. Approximately 40% of patients develop tamoxifen resistance (TAMR) while receiving treatment. Cancer cells can rewire their metabolism to develop resistant phenotypes, and their metabolic state determines how receptive they are to chemotherapy., Methods: Metabolite extraction from human MCF-7 and MCF-7/TAMR cells was done using the methanol-methanol-water extraction method. After treating the dried samples with methoxamine hydrochloride in pyridine, the samples were derivatized with 2,2,2-Trifluoro-N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-acetamide, and Chlorotrimethylsilane (MSTFA + 1% TMCS). The Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) raw data were processed using MSdial and Metaboanalyst for analysis., Results: Univariate analysis revealed that 35 metabolites were elevated in TAMR cells whereas 25 metabolites were downregulated. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, lysine, uracil, tyrosine, alanine, and o-phosphoserine were upregulated in TAMR cells, while hydroxyproline, glutamine, N-acetyl-L-aspartic acid, threonic acid, pyroglutamic acid, glutamine, o-phosphoethanolamine, oxoglutaric acid, and myoinositol were found to be downregulated. Multivariate analysis revealed a distinct separation between the two cell lines, as evidenced by their metabolite levels. The enriched pathways of deregulated metabolites included valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, Citric Acid Cycle, Warburg effect, Malate-Aspartate shuttle, glucose-alanine cycle, propanoate metabolism, and Phospholipid biosynthesis., Conclusion: This study revealed dysregulation of various metabolic processes in TAMR cells, which may be crucial in elucidating the molecular basis of the mechanisms underlying acquired tamoxifen resistance., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2024.)

Introduction: The TOAST (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) is the most commonly used ischemic stroke subtype classification system worldwide and a required field in the US National Get With The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) registry. However, stroke diagnostics have advanced substantially since the TOAST classification was designed 30 years ago, potentially making it difficult to apply reliably., Methods: In this prospective diagnostic accuracy study, we analyzed consecutive ischemic stroke patients admitted to a Comprehensive Stroke Center between July-October 2021. Clinical practice TOAST classification diagnoses rendered by the stroke team in the electronic medical record (EMR) at discharge were retrieved from GWTG-Stroke registry and compared to a reference ("gold") standard diagnosis derived from agreement between two expert raters after review of the EMR and patient imaging., Results: Among 49 patients; age was 72.3 years (±12.1), 53% female, and presenting NIHSS median 3 (IQR 1-11). Work-up included: brain imaging in 100%; cardiac rhythm assessment in 100%; cervical/cerebral vessel imaging in 98%; TTE ± TEE in 92%; and TCD emboli evaluation in 51%. Reference standard diagnoses were: LAA-6%, SVD-14%, CE-39%, OTH-10%, UND-M (more than one cause)-20%, and UND-C (cryptogenic)-10%. GWTG-Stroke TOAST diagnoses agreed with reference standard diagnoses in 30/49 (61%). Among the 6 subtype diagnoses, specificity was generally high (84.8%-97.7%), but sensitivity suboptimal for LAA (33%), OTH (60%), UND-M (10%), and UND-C (20%). Positive predictive value was suboptimal for 5 of the 6 subtypes: LAA (13%), SVD (58%), OTH (75%), UND-M (50%), and UND-C (50%)., Discussion: Clinical practice TOAST classification subtype diagnoses entered into the GWTG-Stroke registry were accurate in only 61% of patients, a performance rate that, if similarly present at other centers, would hamper the ability of the national registry to provide dependable insights into subtype-related care. Development of an updated ischemic stroke subtype classification system, with algorithmic logic embedded in electronic medical records, is desirable., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Rathburn, Mun, Sharma and Saver.)

Background: Increased mitochondrial activities contributing to cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis have been reported in different cancers; however, studies on the therapeutic targeting of mitochondria in regulating cell proliferation and invasiveness are limited. Because mitochondria are believed to have evolved through bacterial invasion in mammalian cells, antibiotics could provide an alternative approach to target mitochondria, especially in cancers with increased mitochondrial activities. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of bacteriostatic antibiotics in regulating the growth potential of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, which differ in their metastatic potential and mitochondrial functions., Methods: A combination of viability, cell migration, and spheroid formation assays was used to measure the effect on metastatic potential. The effect on mitochondrial mechanisms was investigated by measuring mitochondrial DNA copy number by qPCR, biogenesis (by qPCR and immunoblotting), and functions by measuring reactive oxygen species, membrane potential, and ATP using standard methods. In addition, the effect on assembly and activities of respiratory chain (RC) complexes was determined using blue native gel electrophoresis and in-gel assays, respectively). Changes in metastatic and cell death signaling were measured by immunoblotting with specific marker proteins and compared between CRC cells., Results: Both tigecycline and tetracycline effectively reduced the viability, migration, and spheroid-forming capacity of highly metastatic CRC cells. This increased sensitivity was attributed to reduced mtDNA content, mitochondrial biogenesis, ATP content, membrane potential, and increased oxidative stress. Specifically, complex I assembly and activity were significantly inhibited by these antibiotics in high-metastatic cells. Significant down-regulation in the expression of mitochondrial-mediated survival pathways, such as phospho-AKT, cMYC, phospho-SRC, and phospho-FAK, and upregulation in cell death (apoptosis and autophagy) were observed, which contributed to the enhanced sensitivity of highly metastatic CRC cells toward these antibiotics. In addition, the combined treatment of the CRC chemotherapeutic agent oxaliplatin with tigecycline/tetracycline at physiological concentrations effectively sensitized these cells at early time points., Conclusion: Altogether, our study reports that bacterial antibiotics, such as tigecycline and tetracycline, target mitochondrial functions specifically mitochondrial complex I architecture and activity and would be useful in combination with cancer chemotherapeutics for high metastatic conditions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Tumors are composed of heterogeneous populations of dysregulated cells that grow in specialized niches that support their growth and maintain their properties. Tumor heterogeneity and metastasis are among the major hindrances that exist while treating cancer patients, leading to poor clinical outcomes. Although the factors that determine tumor complexity remain largely unknown, several genotypic and phenotypic changes, including DNA mutations and metabolic reprograming provide cancer cells with a survival advantage over host cells and resistance to therapeutics. Furthermore, the presence of a specific population of cells within the tumor mass, commonly known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), is thought to initiate tumor formation, maintenance, resistance, and recurrence. Therefore, these CSCs have been investigated in detail recently as potential targets to treat cancer and prevent recurrence. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in CSC proliferation, self-renewal, and dormancy may provide important clues for developing effective therapeutic strategies. Autophagy, a catabolic process, has long been recognized to regulate various physiological and pathological processes. In addition to regulating cancer cells, recent studies have identified a critical role for autophagy in regulating CSC functions. Autophagy is activated under various adverse conditions and promotes cellular maintenance, survival, and even cell death. Thus, it is intriguing to address whether autophagy promotes or inhibits CSC functions and whether autophagy modulation can be used to regulate CSC functions, either alone or in combination. This review describes the roles of autophagy in the regulation of metabolic functions, proliferation and quiescence of CSCs, and its role during therapeutic stress. The review further highlights the autophagy-associated pathways that could be used to regulate CSCs. Overall, the present review will help to rationalize various translational approaches that involve autophagy-mediated modulation of CSCs in controlling cancer progression, metastasis, and recurrence.

Macroenzymes, formed by polymerization of physiological enzymes with immunoglobulins, have slower renal clearance rates due to their higher molecular mass. They are usually incidentally detected, have no pathophysiological importance, and can potentially lead to over-treatment and iatrogenic morbidity. We present, possibly for the first time, a macro-lipasemia variant of macroenzyme, detected in a 14-year-old girl with type-1 diabetes admitted with severe hyperglycaemia and pain abdomen. Raised lipase levels (414 U/L), initially raised the suspicion of underlying pancreatitis, which was ruled out by the clinical symptoms and normal ultrasound and CT imaging of the pancreas. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed pangastritis, which could explain the mild upper abdominal pain in the child. She improved with proton pump inhibitor therapy and was discharged after 5 days of hospital admission after good glycaemic control using multiple subcutaneous injections of insulin. Post-polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, the recovery of lipase activity in PEG treated serum sample was 30.6% (127 U/L), which confirmed the presence of macrolipase. An increased clinical suspicion and performing a cheap reliable test (PEG precipitation), whenever there is clinical biochemical discordance can help us in diagnosing more patients with macroenzymes and macrolipasemia.

Land degradation has become a key concern worldwide due to changes in meteorological variables and human-caused activities. This study primarily focuses on the rate, impact, and pattern of land degradation in western India. In this instance, we evaluated the effectiveness of land degradation neutrality (LDN) between 2000 and 2020 using an integrative approach based on a PSR (pressure-state-response) model developed by the OECD-UNEP under the UNCCD framework. Here, we mainly used MODIS products (e.g., NDVI, PET, LULC, and NPP). Also, soil organic carbon (SOC) and climatic variables (e.g. precipitation, aridity index and soil moisture) were taken into account. These indicators were analysed using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) code editor platform, and post-processing was done through Q-GIS software. The analysed parameters indicate that the NDVI and NPP values are + 0.20 to + 0.3 and 4.27 × 10 9 to 7.74 × 10 9 kg Cm -2 , respectively. However, overall precipitation and soil moisture depicted a positive trend, and the aridity index adeptly followed a negative trend. Hence, the land degradation rate has increased in the north-western region besides the Aravalli range and neutrality work in the southwest part of the study area. The overall land degradation trend is negative over the last two decades. Therefore, this study anticipates the policymakers and government bodies to understand about land degradation of western India., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

It is becoming more widely recognised that free-ranging dogs, which have a nearly global distribution, threatening native wildlife. Their increasing population and spread to new areas is of growing concern for the long-term viability of wildlife species. Hence, it is imperative to understand the factors responsible for their infestation and map areas where native species are most vulnerable. Using the random forests algorithm, we modelled the free-ranging dog infestation in the Trans-Himalayan region to pinpoint the high-risk areas where free-ranging dogs are threatening the native wildlife species. We found that the likelihood of free-ranging dog occurrence is most in valley regions and up to 4000 m, often in proximity to roads. Our results also indicated that free-ranging dog prefers areas with wildlife near to protected areas. The predictor variables, such as potential evapotranspiration of the coldest quarter, distance to protected areas, elevation, distance to roads, and potential evapotranspiration of the driest quarter, significantly influence the distribution of the free-ranging dogs. We found that within the Ladakh region of the Trans-Himalayan area, the high-risk zones for free-ranging dogs are located in and around Hemis National Park, Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. While, in the Lahaul and Spiti region the high-risk areas encompass Pin Valley National Park, Inderkilla National Park, Khirganga National Park, Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary, and several other protected areas. We identified the potentially high-risk areas for implementing strategies to mitigate the possible impact of free-ranging dogs on native wildlife of the Himalayas. Hence, the identified high priority areas can be used for implementing actions for controlling the population growth and further preventing the infestation of the free-ranging dogs into the new areas., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The trans-Himalayan region of India, although have xeric features, still supports a unique assemblage of biodiversity, including some of the charismatic and endemic species. In the present study, we studied blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) across the distribution range in the Western trans Himalayas of India and found about 18,775 km 2 area suitable for blue sheep. The explicit Bayesian based spatial and non-spatial population structure analysis assigned blue sheep into two genetic populations, i.e., Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti. We found relatively high genetic divergence in blue sheep which is also supported by the low current flow in Circuitscape model. With the multiple evidences, we explain landscape resistance facilitated by the landscape heterogeneity, and large patches of unsuitable habitats forced population divergence and poor functional connectivity. We found that blue sheep population has been demographically stable in the past, but showed a slight decline within the last few decades. This study is the first range-wide attempt to exhibit landscape features in shaping the spatial distribution, genetic structure and demography patterns of blue sheep in Western Himalayas, and will be of use in the conservation and management planning of blue sheep., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Both epigenetic and genetic changes in the cancer genome act simultaneously to promote tumor development and metastasis. Aberrant DNA methylation, a prime epigenetic event, is often observed in various cancer types. The elevated DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) enzyme creates DNA hypermethylation at CpG islands to drive oncogenic potential. This study emphasized to decipher the molecular mechanism of endogenous regulation of DNMT1 expression for finding upstream signaling molecules. Cancer database analyses found an upregulated DNMT1 expression in most cancer types including breast cancer. Overexpression of DNMT1 showed an increased cell migration, invasion, and stemness potential whereas 5-azacytidine (DNMT1 inhibitor) and siRNA mediated knockdown of DNMT1 exhibited inhibition of such cancer activities in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. Infact, cancer database analyses further found a positive correlation of DNMT1 transcript with both cholesterol pathway regulatory genes and BMP signaling molecules. Experimental observations documented that the cholesterol-lowering drug, simvastatin decreased DNMT1 transcript as well as protein, whereas BMP-2 treatment increased DNMT1 expression in breast cancer cells. In addition, expression of various key cholesterol regulatory genes was found to be upregulated in response to BMP-2 treatment. Moreover, simvastatin inhibited BMP-2 induced DNMT1 expression in breast cancer cells. Thus, this study for the first time reveals that both BMP-2 signaling and cholesterol pathways could regulate endogenous DNMT1 expression in cancer cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest 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., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Spinal cord injury usually results in disabling conditions. The incidence of spinal trauma is region-specific due to unique geography and demography. The epidemiology of spinal trauma changes with economic and social factors even in different periods. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of traumatic spinal cord injury among patients admitted to the Spine Unit in a tertiary care centre., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in a tertiary care centre among patients admitted to the Spine Unit from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. Demographic details, mode of injury, level of injuries, neurological grading at the time of admission using American Spinal Injury Association grading, management methods, and complication if any were recorded. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval., Results: Out of 465 patients, the prevalence of traumatic spinal cord injury was 316 (67.95%) (63.72-72.20, 95% Confidence Interval). A total of 243 (76.89%) cases were due to falls. The mean age of patients was 43.13±16.55 years., Conclusions: The prevalence of traumatic spinal cord injury patients was lower than the other studies done in similar settings., Keywords: falls; prevalence; spinal cord injuries.

Introduction: The effects of COVID-19 infection persist beyond the active phase. Comprehensive description and analysis of the post COVID sequelae in various population groups are critical to minimise the long-term morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. This analysis was conducted with an objective to estimate the frequency of post COVID sequelae and subsequently, design a framework for holistic management of post COVID morbidities., Methods: Follow-up data collected as part of a registry-based observational study in 31 hospitals across India since September 2020-October 2022 were used for analysis. All consenting hospitalised patients with COVID-19 are telephonically followed up for up to 1 year post-discharge, using a prestructured form focused on symptom reporting., Results: Dyspnoea, fatigue and mental health issues were reported among 18.6%, 10.5% and 9.3% of the 8042 participants at first follow-up of 30-60 days post-discharge, respectively, which reduced to 11.9%, 6.6% and 9%, respectively, at 1-year follow-up in 2192 participants. Patients who died within 90 days post-discharge were significantly older (adjusted OR (aOR): 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.03), with at least one comorbidity (aOR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.31, 2.35), and a higher proportion had required intensive care unit admission during the initial hospitalisation due to COVID-19 (aOR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.06) and were discharged at WHO ordinal scale 6-7 (aOR: 49.13 95% CI: 25.43, 94.92). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (at least one dose) was protective against such post-discharge mortality (aOR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03)., Conclusion: Hospitalised patients with COVID-19 experience a variety of long-term sequelae after discharge from hospitals which persists although in reduced proportions until 12 months post-discharge. Developing a holistic management framework with engagement of care outreach workers as well as teleconsultation is a way forward in effective management of post COVID morbidities as well as reducing mortality., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Primary healthcare caters to nearly 70% of the population in India and provides treatment for approximately 80-90% of common conditions. To achieve universal health coverage (UHC), the Indian healthcare system is gearing up by initiating several schemes such as National Health Protection Scheme, Ayushman Bharat, Nutrition Supplementation Schemes, and Inderdhanush Schemes. The healthcare delivery system is facing challenges such as irrational use of medicines, over- and under-diagnosis, high out-of-pocket expenditure, lack of targeted attention to preventive and promotive health services, and poor referral mechanisms. Healthcare providers are unable to keep pace with the volume of growing new scientific evidence and rising healthcare costs as the literature is not published at the same pace. In addition, there is a lack of common standard treatment guidelines, workflows, and reference manuals from the Government of India. Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with the National Health Authority, Govt. of India, and the WHO India country office has developed Standard Treatment Workflows (STWs) with the objective to be utilized at various levels of healthcare starting from primary to tertiary level care. A systematic approach was adopted to formulate the STWs. An advisory committee was constituted for planning and oversight of the process. Specialty experts' group for each specialty comprised of clinicians working at government and private medical colleges and hospitals. The expert groups prioritized the topics through extensive literature searches and meeting with different stakeholders. Then, the contents of each STW were finalized in the form of single-pager infographics. These STWs were further reviewed by an editorial committee before publication. Presently, 125 STWs pertaining to 23 specialties have been developed. It needs to be ensured that STWs are implemented effectively at all levels and ensure quality healthcare at an affordable cost as part of UHC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Grover, Bhargava, Srivastava, Sharma, Cherian, Tandon, Chandershekhar, Ofrin, Bekedam, Pandhi, Mukherjee, Dhaliwal, Singh, Rajshekhar, Roy, Rasaily, Saraf, Kumar, Parmar, Kabra, Chaudhry, Deorari, Tandon, Singh, Khaitan, Agrawala, Gupta, Goel, Bhansali, Dutta, Seth, Singh, Awasthi, Seth, Pandian, Jha, Dwivedi, Tripathi, Thakar, Jindal, Gangadhar, Bajaj, Kant and Chatterjee.)

Pleistocene glaciations had profound impact on the spatial distribution and genetic makeup of species in temperate ecosystems. While the glacial period trapped several species into glacial refugia and caused abrupt decline in large populations, the interglacial period facilitated population growth and range expansion leading to allopatric speciation. Here, we analyzed 40 genomes of four species of ibex and found that Himalayan ibex in the Pamir Mountains evolved independently after splitting from its main range about 0.1 mya following the Pleistocene species pump concept. Demographic trajectories showed Himalayan ibex experienced two historic bottlenecks, one each c. 0.8-0.5 mya and c. 50-30 kya, with an intermediate large population expansion c. 0.2-0.16 mya coinciding with Mid-Pleistocene Transitions. We substantiate with multi-dimensional evidence that Himalayan ibex is an evolutionary distinct phylogenetic species of Siberian ibex which need to be prioritized as Capra himalayensis for taxonomic revision and conservation planning at a regional and global scale.

Background: Gonadal sex hormone dysfunction is frequently reported in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The relationship of these hormones with disease activity is still not clear and whether the hormone imbalance leads to increased severity of RA is not well studied in this part of the world. The present study aimed to elucidate this fact., Methods: It was a cross-sectional observational study performed in 80 premenopausal females with definite RA at a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India over one year. Patients were subjected to investigations as per the protocol and a fasting venous blood sample for hormone levels was collected in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle., Results: A statistically significant correlation by linear logistic regression analysis was found between disease activity (as measured by DAS28) and serum progesterone, FSH, and prolactin, while serum testosterone and DHEAS showed an inverse relationship with disease activity. Low s. prolactin, and s. FSH as well as high s. testosterone and s. DHEAS were found to be associated with target clinical goals in RA (ie, remission and low disease activity). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, serum prolactin showed a direct association. (p=0.016, OR= 1.009. C.I.= 1.0021.017) and serum testosterone were found to have an inverse relationship (p=0.002, OR= 0.017, C.I.=0.001-0.237) with disease activity in this group of individuals., Conclusion: Serum levels of sex hormones may be helpful in predicting disease activity among patients with RA, and in future, may be used to guide treatment of severe refractory disease, unresponsive to conventional treatment with DMARDs, especially in resource-poor settings., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

Objectives: To highlight and assess the impact of intervention tools used by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) against COVID19 associated infodemic in the world's largest democratic country, India., Study Design: It is a retrospective cross sectional study. The impact of ICMR's multi-pronged strategy to address the infodemic during pandemic has been assessed through analysis of print media reportage and social media engagements., Methods: The impact of the interventions was assessed using cloud media mappers like MediaCloud and Meltwater using keywords. The data was analysed in terms of reportage, theme of reportage. A sub-section of media reportage (Feb 2020-June 2020) was analysed in details from 4 major dailies to understand the coverage and tonality of media reports. The data on COVID 19 related tweets, posts and uploads were taken from social media platforms of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) particularly twitter, instagram, facebook and youtube and estimate of pre and post pandemic changes in followers or users were collected for analysis. The data was curated and analysed using MS excel., Results: There was a surge of 3800% reportage in media during pandemic as compared to same time frame in pre-pandemic times. A surge of followers on twitter from 26,823 on Feb 2020 (before pandemic) to 3,36,098 at March 2022 (after pandemic) was observed. A drastic increase in monthly followers was observed after start of Pandemic (after Feb 2020) in comparison to before pandemic (Before Feb 2020). Similar trends were observed on other social media platforms of ICMR., Conclusions: The Communications Unit at ICMR geared up with more robust plans and designed several interventions to mitigate the infodemic which helped in evidence based decision making towards outbreak response and action. This highlights the importance of evidence based, crisp, timely and effective communication during the epidemics/pandemics to buid trust and confidence in the community., 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., (© 2023 Indian Council of Medical Research.)

Insufficient research has been conducted on musk deer species across their distribution range, primarily because of their elusive behaviour and the fact they occupy remote high-altitude habitats in the Himalayas above 2500 m. The available distribution records, primarily derived from ecological studies with limited photographic and indirect evidence, fail to provide comprehensive information on the species distribution. Consequently, uncertainties arise when attempting to determine the presence of specific taxonomic units of musk deer in the Western Himalayas. This lack of knowledge hampers species-oriented conservation efforts, as there need to be more species-specific initiatives focused on monitoring, protecting, and combatting the illegal poaching of musk deer for their valuable musk pods. We used transect surveys (220 trails), camera traps (255 cameras), non-invasive DNA sampling (40 samples), and geospatial modelling (279 occurrence records) to resolve the taxonomic ambiguity, and identify the suitable habitat of musk deer ( Moschus spp.) in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand and the Lahaul-Pangi landscape of Himachal Pradesh. All the captured images and DNA-based identification results confirmed the presence of only Kashmir musk deer (KDM) ( Moschus cupreus ) in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The results suggest that KMD inhabit a narrow range of suitable habitats (6.9%) of the entire Western Himalayas. Since all evidence indicates that only KMD are present in the Western Himalayas, we suggest that the presence of other species of musk deer (Alpine musk deer and Himalayan musk deer) was wrongly reported. Therefore, future conservation plans and management strategies must focus only on KMD in the Western Himalayas., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Wildlife corridors that connect mosaic habitats in heterogeneous mountainous landscapes can be of high significance as they facilitate the genetic and demographic stability of free-ranging populations. Peripheral populations of widespread species are usually ignored in conservation planning. However, these populations retain locally common alleles and are genetic reservoir under the changing climatic conditions. Capra sibirica has widespread distribution, and its southern peripheral population is distributed in the Indian trans-Himalayan region (ITR). In the present study, we studied the spatial distribution and genetic make-up of Himalayan ibex from the ITR following the landscape genetics approach. We obtained 16 haplotypes at the mitochondrial d-loop region and found a stable demography in the past with a recent decline. With 10 nuclear microsatellites, we ascertained 111 unique individuals assigned into two clusters following Bayesian and non-Bayesian clustering analysis with several admixed individuals. We also recorded 25 first-generation migrants that reflected relatively high dispersal and gene-flow across the range. We identified a 19,835 sq.km suitable area with 13,311 sq.km in Ladakh and 6524 sq.km in Lahaul-Spiti. We identified a novel movement corridor for Himalayan ibex across the Lahaul-Zanskar-Sham valley (L-Z-SV) that displayed a fairly good conductance with low genetic divergence among the samples collected on the L-Z-SV corridor. We propose declaring a protected area in the Lahaul and Kargil districts to prioritize dedicated conservation efforts for the Himalayan ibex and other sympatric ungulates that impart a major role in the diet of large carnivore and balancing ecosystem services in the trans-Himalayan region.

Aim  The aim of this study was to determine the changes in the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and mean uterine artery (UtA) pulsatility index (PI) from 11-14 to 19-24 + 6 gestation weeks in Asian Indian pregnant women. Methods  Clinical and demographic details, MAP, and mean UtA PI measures were ascertained for pregnant women at 11 to 14 gestation weeks and 19-24 + 6 gestation weeks. Women were categorized as a high-or-low risk for preterm preeclampsia using the Fetal Medicine Foundation algorithm and 1 in 150 cutoff. High-risk pregnant women were recommended low-dose aspirin 150 mg daily at bedtime. Changes in MAP and mean UtA PI were compared for gestational age intervals and high-and-low risk women using nonparametric tests. Results  The study analyzed the results of 1,163 pregnant women. Both MAP (mean difference: 5.14, p  < 0.001) and mean UtA PI (mean difference: 0.14, p  < 0.001) remained significantly higher at the second-trimester assessment in high-risk pregnant women compared to low-risk pregnant women. Seventy-seven (35.16%) of the 219 pregnant women with abnormal mean UtA PI in the first trimester had an abnormal mean UtA PI in the second-trimester assessment. One hundred (10.59%) of the 944 pregnant women with normal mean UtA PI in the first trimester had an abnormal mean UtA PI in the 19-24 + 6 weeks assessment. Seventy-seven pregnant women (6.62% of 1,163 women, 95% confidence interval: 5.33, 8.20) had an abnormal mean UtA PI at both gestation age intervals. High-risk pregnant women taking low-dose aspirin daily showed a larger reduction in mean UtA PI compared to high-risk pregnant women that did not report the use of low-dose aspirin (0.89 vs. 0.62, p <0.001) Conclusion  MAP and mean UtA PI decreased significantly from the first to the second trimester of pregnancy. Sequential assessment of the MAP and mean UtA PI in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy will be useful for fetal radiologists in India to identify a subgroup of women with abnormal mean UtA PI at both trimesters that may need more intense surveillance and follow-up till childbirth., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) assessment report released in 2021, South Asian countries were among the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change on future generations. Hence it is become crucial to assess how resilient the ecosystems are to these changes. The current study incorporated a novel approach, the Combined Ecological Resiliency Indices Approach (CERIA), to assess ecological resiliency status at various scales during hydroclimatic disturbances. Water and carbon use efficiency (WUE and CUE, respectively) were used as indicators for the examination of ecological resilience. The standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was adopted to assess the initial stage of hydroclimatic disturbances (meteorological drought). A resiliency analysis based on combined R d and R d ' indices (derived from WUE and CUE, respectively) revealed that just 1.87% land cover area of the entire SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region's total 17 land cover classes was resilient to meteorological drought. At the river basin scale, only 16.58% of the total 62 river basins were found resilient. Only 11 (27.46%) of the 21 climate classes on the Koppen climate classification scale were resilient to the hydro-climatic disturbance period. To achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs goal-2 and goal-13) of 'No Hunger' and 'Protect the Planet', the Joint Ecosystem Resiliency Enhancement Programme (JEREP) should be adopted in land cover, river basins, or climatic classes of the SAARC region that were highly affected., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest 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., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim  To determine the effectiveness of the first trimester Samrakshan protocol for the identification of pregnant women at high risk for preterm pre-eclampsia (PE). Methods  Samrakshan uses a protocol that integrates routine first-trimester ultrasound assessment at 11 to 14 gestation weeks with the measurement of mean arterial blood pressure and mean uterine artery pulsatility index assessment to determine a customized risk for preterm PE and fetal growth restriction. Based on the risk assessment, pregnant women are classified as high or low risk. Results  The protocol had a high specificity (90.4%, 95% CI: 89.4%, 91.2%) and negative predictive value (98.1%, 95% CI: 97.6%, 99%) for preterm PE. The odds ratio and positive likelihood ratio for preterm PE were 16.7 (95% CI: 12.3, 22.6) and 6.64 (95% CI: 5.77, 7.63), respectively. Conclusions  The positive likelihood ratio and odds ratios indicate that pregnant women identified as high risk for preterm PE using the first-trimester protocol of Samrakshan are significantly more likely to develop preterm PE than low-risk women., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Aim  To determine the trends in preterm birth (PTB) rates in Samrakshan after initiating a third-trimester screening protocol. Methods  The Samrakshan program of IRIA focused on clinical stage-based management of fetal growth restriction (FGR) in the third trimester integrating fetal Doppler studies with routine trimester-specific antenatal scans. Mean uterine artery pulsatility index (PI), umbilical artery PI, middle cerebral artery PI, and cerebroplacental ratio were assessed for all third-trimester pregnant women in the program. Results  From 2019 to 2022, 249 (18.33%, 95% CI: 16.34, 20.54) women had PTB with 221 (16.67%, 95% CI: 14.73, 18.75) PTBs between 34 and 37 gestation weeks and 22 (1.66%, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.50) PTBs at gestation < 34 weeks. The overall preterm birth rates showed a significant (chi-square p  < 0.001) declining trend each year from 23.18% ( n  = 121) in 2019-2020 to 16.81% ( n  = 99) in 2020-2021 and 10.75% ( n  = 23) in 2021-2022. Conclusion  The declining trend of PTB rates in the Samrakshan program shows that the reduction of PTB is an added benefit of the integration of fetal Doppler studies in the third trimester of pregnancy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Aim  The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the community-integrated Samrakshan model on perinatal mortality and morbidity in the Guna district of Central India Methods  The trimester-specific Samrakshan protocols were used to screen pregnant women in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy and to stratify risk for preterm preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) in the screened population. Low-dose aspirin was recommended for women identified at high risk in the first trimester screening. Fifty training programs were conducted over the duration of the program for district health workers including Anganwadi workers, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) personnel, and women and child health staff. Data on the development of PE, stages of FGR, preterm births (PTBs), birthweight, neonatal mortality, and perinatal mortality were collected and compared with the baseline year to assess trends. Results  The program covered 168 Anganwadi centers and screened 1,021 women in the first trimester, 870 women in the second trimester, and 811 women in the third trimester of pregnancy from 2019 to 2022 and obtained details on childbirth outcomes from 1,219 women. PE did not occur in 71.58% of pregnant women identified at high risk for PE and occurred in only 2.37% of pregnant women identified at low risk for PE. The incidence of PE reduced from 9.36 to 1.61%, stage 1 FGR from 18.71 to 11.83%, PTB from 19.49 to 11.25%, and birthweight less than 2,500 g from 33.66 to 21.46% from 2019 to 2022. The neonatal mortality rate reduced from 26 to 7.47/1,000 live births from 2019 to 2022 and the perinatal mortality rate reduced from 33.90 to 18.87/1,000 childbirths from 2019 to 2022 in the Samrakshan program area at Guna. Conclusion  The community-integrated model of Samrakshan in the Guna district has led to a significant reduction in perinatal morbidity and mortality in the program area., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Aim  To compare the magnitude of fetuses with congenital anomalies, pregnant women identified at high risk for preterm pre-eclampsia (PE) or with preterm PE, and with early fetal growth restriction (FGR) or high risk for FGR at the second trimester assessment at 20 to 24 weeks of gestation. Methods  A standardized trimester-specific protocol that included clinical and demographic details, fetal biometry, estimated fetal weight (EFW), fetal abdominal circumference (FAC), mean arterial blood pressure and fetal Doppler studies was used to identify high risk for preterm PE and FGR. The Targeted Imaging for Fetal Anomalies (TIFFA) scan was used to identify congenital anomalies. In addition, 95% confidence intervals of the point estimates were derived, and the p -value was estimated to assess the statistical significance of the difference in proportions. Results  Analysis of the data of 4,572 pregnant women screened between 20 and 24 gestation weeks showed a significantly lower prevalence ( p  < 0.001) of congenital abnormalities (3.81%) compared to women diagnosed with early PE (2.71%) or with a high risk for PE (4.00%) and women (6.80%) with early FGR or at higher risk for fetal growth restriction with both EFW and FAC < 10th percentile. Conclusion  The data on prevalence from Samrakshan show that the second-trimester assessment of pregnant women in India must expand its scope from the TIFFA scan to also focus on screening to identify women at high risk for preterm PE and FGR., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Aim  To determine the diagnostic effectiveness of third-trimester fetal Doppler studies in pregnancy for stillbirths and neonatal mortality in the Samrakshan program of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA). Methods  The mean uterine artery (UtA) pulsatility index (PI) > 95th percentile, umbilical artery PI > 95th percentile, middle cerebral artery (MCA) PI < 5th percentile, and/or cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) < 5th percentile in the third trimester fetal Doppler study was considered as abnormal. The results of the fetal Doppler study closest to childbirth were considered for analysis. Late stillbirth (SB) was defined as a fetal loss between 28 and 36 gestation weeks and the term SB was defined as a fetal loss at ≥ 37 gestation weeks. Neonatal death was defined as the demise of a live-born baby within the first 28 days of life. Parameters of diagnostic effectiveness such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and likelihood ratios, diagnostic odds ratio, and the area under receiver operator characteristic (AUROC) curve were assessed. Results  Screening of 1,326 pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy between September 2019 and February 2022, identified 308 (23.23%) abnormal Doppler studies, 11 (0.83%) SB, and 11 (0.84%) neonatal deaths. An abnormal Doppler study was significantly associated with late stillbirths (OR 37.2, 95% CI: 2.05, 674) but not with term SB (OR: 3.38, 95% CI: 0.76, 15) or neonatal deaths (OR 1.39, 95% CI: 0.40, 4.87). Mean UtA PI, umbilical artery PI, MCA PI, and CPR were significantly associated with late SB and not term SB. The AUROC of Doppler measures was excellent for late SB but did not show discriminatory ability for term SB or neonatal deaths. Conclusion  Integration of fetal Doppler with routine third-trimester antenatal scans can help identify pregnant women at high risk for late SB. The effectiveness of fetal Doppler to identify pregnant women at high risk for term SB and neonatal deaths needs further study on a larger sample size., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared.

Background: During October 2020, Delta variant was detected for the first time in India and rampantly spread across the globe. It also led to second wave of pandemic in India which affected millions of people. However, there is limited information pertaining to the SARS-CoV-2 strain infecting the children in India., Methods: Here, we assessed the SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in the pediatric population of India during the second wave of the pandemic. Clinical and demographic details linked with the nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs (NPS/OPS) collected from SARS-CoV-2 cases (n = 583) aged 0-18 year and tested positive by real-time RT-PCR were retrieved from March to June 2021., Results: Symptoms were reported among 37.2% of patients and 14.8% reported to be hospitalized. The E gene CT value had significant statistical difference at the point of sample collection when compared to that observed in the sequencing laboratory. Out of these 512 sequences 372 were VOCs, 51 were VOIs. Most common lineages observed were Delta, followed by Kappa, Alpha and B.1.36, seen in 65.82%, 9.96%, 6.83% and 4.68%, respectively in the study population., Conclusion: Overall, it was observed that Delta strain was the leading cause of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Indian children during the second wave of the pandemic. We emphasize on the need of continuous genomic surveillance in SARS-CoV-2 infection even amongst children., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Alterations in mitochondrial signatures such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in maternal blood have been linked to pregnancy-related complications. However, changes in maternal mtDNA content, their distribution and associated signaling during normal pregnancies are not clear; which could suggest their physiological role in maternal adaptation to pregnancy related changes and a reference threshold., The Aim of This Study: to assess the distribution of mtDNA in peripheral blood and their association with circulatory ROS levels across different trimesters of healthy pregnancy., Methods: In this pilot cross sectional study, blood samples of normal pregnant women from each trimester (total = 60) and age-matched non-pregnant (NP) women as control group (n = 20) were analyzed for a) the relative distribution of mtDNA content in cellular and cell free (plasma) fractions using relative quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and b) the levels of circulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) by measurement of plasma H 2 O 2 . The results were compared between pregnant and NP groups and within trimesters for significant differences, and were also analyzed for their correlation between groups using statistical methods., Results: While, we observed a significant decline in cellular mtDNA; plasma mtDNA was significant increased across all trimesters compared to NP. However, from comparisons within trimesters; only cellular mtDNA content in 3rd trimester was significantly reduced compared to 1st trimester, and plasma mtDNA did not differ significantly among different trimesters. A significantly higher level of plasma H 2 O 2 was also observed during 3rd trimester compared to NP and to 1st trimester. Correlation analysis showed that, while cellular mtDNA content was negatively correlated to plasma mtDNA and to plasma H 2 O 2 levels; plasma mtDNA was positively correlated with plasma H 2 O 2 content., Conclusions: This study suggested that normal pregnancy is associated with an opposing trend of reduced cellular mtDNA with increased circulatory mtDNA and H 2 O 2 levels, which may contribute to maternal adaptation, required during different stages of pregnancy. Estimation of mtDNA distribution and ROS level in maternal blood could show mitochondrial functionality during normal pregnancy, and could be exploited to identify their prognostic/ diagnostic potential in pregnancy complications., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Species with sympatric distribution influence ecosystem dynamics and are impacted by the presence of other co-existing species. Assessing the coexistence and the role of interspecific interactions with the landscape variables is necessary to know the species co-occurrence in space. In the Indian Himalayan region, such studies are completely lacking due to limited efforts being made, mainly because of complex terrains and inaccessible landscape features. We used camera trapping and sign survey in a multi-species occupancy framework to understand the influence of environmental variables on occupancy and detection probability of species-specific and pair-wise interaction of the three ungulates in Uttarkashi. Our results concluded that individual species' occupancy probabilities were related both to the environmental variables and the presence or absence of other interacting species. Our top model showed evidence of interspecific interaction among species pairs, and the occupancy probability of species one varied in the presence or absence of another species. The overall activity patterns were similar among all the three species and were found active throughout the day. The activity overlap between sambar-barking deer (Dhat1 value = 0.85) was considerably higher than barking deer-goral (Dhat1 value = 0.78). The findings of the present study will be useful for the conservation and management of ungulates in the Indian Himalayan and adjoining regions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are relevant therapeutic targets in the treatment of lung cancer. Germline susceptibility variants that influence these RTKs may provide new insights into their regulation.  rs9387478 is located in the genomic interval between two RTK-genes ROS1/DCBLD1, of which ROS1 alterations are implicated in lung carcinogenesis and treatment response while the latter remains poorly understood., Materials and Methods: Venous blood was drawn from 100 control and 231 case subjects. Genotype was scored by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), PCR amplification followed by HindIII digestion. Logistic regression was applied to compare the association between variables. Survival curve was plotted to draw a correlation between the genotype and overall survival. Also, eQTL and chromatin state changes were analyzed and correlated with the survival of patients using available datasets., Results: In our population smoking correlated significantly with lung cancer [OR= 2.607] with the presence of the minor allele 'A' enhancing the nicotine dependence [CA (OR=3.23)]. Individuals with homozygous risk allele 'A' had a higher chance of developing lung cancer [OR=2.65] than individuals with CA/CC implying a recessive model of association. Patients with CC/CA genotype had better overall survival than patients with AA genotype [161 days/142 days vs 54 days, p=0.005]. The homozygous risk allele was significantly associated with increased DCBLD1 and ROS1 expression in lung cancer, with enriched active histone marks due to the polymorphism. Interestingly, increased DCBLD1 expression was associated with poor outcomes in lung cancer., Conclusion: Overall, our study provides strong evidence that rs9387478 is significantly associated with both nicotine dependence and lung cancer in our North Indian cohort. The association of the SNP with prognostic genes, DCBLD1 and ROS1 make rs9387478 a promising prognostic marker in the North Indian population. The results obtained are significant, however, the study needs to be performed in a larger sample size.

Purpose: Preeclampsia (PE) affects 5-7% of the pregnancies worldwide, and is one of the most dreaded disorders of pregnancy contributing to maternal and neonatal mortality. PE is mostly presented in the third trimester of pregnancy. Here, we used serum placental growth factor (PIGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) to develop a model for predicting PE in Indian women in early second trimester., Methods: In this case-control study, a total 1452 healthy pregnant women were recruited. Blood samples were collected at the following gestational weeks (GWs), 12-20 (GW1), 21-28 (GW2) and 29-term (GW3), and post-delivery. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated by anthropometric measurements. Serum sFlt-1, PIGF and VEGF were analyzed by ELISA. A predictive model for PE was developed using multivariable logistic regression analysis., Results: In PE cases, serum PlGF and VEGF levels were significantly lower at each GW, while serum sFlt-1 was lower only at GW1, relative to age-matched controls, ( n  = 132/group). Age-matched comparison between PE cases and controls indicated that sFlt-1 was associated with decreased PE outcome (Odds ratio. OR = 0.988, CI = 0.982-0.993), whereas sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (OR = 1.577, CI = 1.344-1.920) and BMI (OR = 1.334, CI = 1.187-1.520) were associated with increased PE outcome. Logistic regression was used to develop a predictive model for PE at GW1. Using testing dataset, model was externally validated which resulted in 88% accuracy in predicting PE cases at 0.5 probability cutoff., Conclusion: Prediction model using sFlt-1, sFlt-1/PlGF ratio and BMI may be useful to predict PE as early as 12-20 weeks in women with optimal sensitivity and specificity., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAuthors declare that there are no conflicts of interest with regard to this manuscript., (© Federation of Obstetric & Gynecological Societies of India 2021.)

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the high mountain ecosystem by regulating prey populations and maintaining plant community structure. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the role of the snow leopard and its interaction with prey species. Further, elucidating landscape use and co-occurrence of snow leopard and its prey species can be used to assess the differential use of habitat, allowing them to coexist. We used camera trapping and sign survey to study the interactions of snow leopard and its prey species (Siberian Ibex- Capra sibrica and Blue sheep-Pseudois nayaur) in the Spiti valley Himachal Pradesh. Using the occupancy modelling, we examined whether these prey and predator species occur together more or less frequently than would be expected by chance. To understand this, we have used ten covariates considering the ecology of the studied species. Our results suggest habitat covariates, such as LULC16 (barren area), LULC10 (grassland), ASP (aspect), SLP (slope) and DW (distance to water), are important drivers of habitat use for the snow leopard as well as its prey species. Furthermore, we found that the snow leopard detection probability was high if the site was used by its prey species, i.e., ibex and blue sheep. Whereas, in the case of the prey species, the probability of detection was low when the predator (snow leopard) was present and detected. Besides this, our results suggested that both species were less likely to detect together than expected if they were independent (Snow leopard-Ibex, Delta = 0.29, and snow leopard-blue sheep, Delta = 0.28, both the values are <1, i.e., avoidance). Moreover, despite the predation pressure, the differential anti-predation habitat selection and restriction of temporal activities by the prey species when snow leopard is present allows them to co-exist. Therefore, considering the strong link between the habitat use by the snow leopard and its prey species, it is imperative to generate quantitative long-term data on predator-prey densities and the population dynamics of its prey species in the landscape., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Brown bear-mediated conflicts have caused immense economic loss to the local people living across the distribution range. In India, limited knowledge is available on the Himalayan brown bear (HBB), making human-brown bear conflict (HBC) mitigation more challenging. In this study, we studied HBC in the Lahaul valley using a semi-structured questionnaire survey by interviewing 398 respondents from 37 villages. About 64.8% of respondents reported conflict in two major groups-crop damage (30.6%) and livestock depredations (6.2%), while 28% reported both. Conflict incidences were relatively high in summer and frequently occurred in areas closer to the forest (<500 m) and between the elevations range of 2700 m to 3000 m above sea level (asl). The dependency of locals on forest resources (70%) for their livelihood makes them vulnerable to HBC. The "upper lower" class respondents were most impacted among the various socioeconomic classes. Two of the four clusters were identified as HBC hot spots in Lahaul valley using SaTscan analysis. We also obtained high HBC in cluster II with a 14.35 km radius. We found that anthropogenic food provisioning for HBB, livestock grazing in bear habitats, and poor knowledge of animal behavior among the communities were the major causes of HBC. We suggest horticulture crop waste management, controlled and supervised grazing, ecotourism, the constitution of community watch groups, and others to mitigate HBC. We also recommend notifying a few HBB abundant sites in the valley as protected areas for the long-term viability of the HBB in the landscape., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interests., (© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The potential heterogeneity in occlusive thrombi caused by in situ propagation by secondary thrombosis after embolic occlusion could obscure the characteristics of original thrombi, preventing the clarification of a specific thrombus signature for the etiology of ischemic stroke. We aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of occlusive thrombi by pretreatment imaging., Methods: Among consecutive stroke patients with acute embolic anterior circulation large vessel occlusion treated with thrombectomy, we retrospectively reviewed 104 patients with visible occlusive thrombi on pretreatment non-contrast computed tomography admitted from January 2015 to December 2018. A region of interest was set on the whole thrombus on non-contrast computed tomography under the guidance of computed tomography angiography. The region of interest was divided equally into the proximal and distal segments and the difference in Hounsfield unit densities between the two segments was calculated., Results: Hounsfield unit density in the proximal segment was higher than that in the distal segment (mean difference 4.45; p  < 0.001), regardless of stroke subtypes. On multivariate analysis, thrombus length was positively correlated (β = 0.25; p  < 0.001) and time from last-known-well to imaging was inversely correlated (β = -0.0041; p  = 0.002) with the difference in Hounsfield unit densities between the proximal and distal segments., Conclusions: The difference in density between the proximal and distal segments increased as thrombi became longer and decreased as thrombi became older after embolic occlusion. This time/length-dependent thrombus heterogeneity between the two segments is suggestive of secondary thrombosis initially occurring on the proximal side of the occlusion.

Aim  The aim of the study is to determine improvements in perinatal mortality at the end of the first 2 years from the initiation of the Samrakshan program of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association. Methods  Samrakshan is a screening program of pregnant women that uses trimester-specific risk assessment protocols including maternal demographics, mean arterial pressure, and fetal Doppler studies to classify women as high risk or low risk for preterm preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Low dose aspirin 150 mg daily once at bedtime was started for pregnant women identified as high risk in the 11-13 6/7 weeks screening. The third-trimester screening focused on the staging of FGR and protocol-based management for childbirth and risk assessment for PE. Outcomes of childbirth including gestational age at delivery, development of PE, and perinatal mortality outcomes were collected. Results  Radiologists from 38 districts of 16 states of India participated in the Samrakshan program that screened 2,816 first trimester, 3,267 second trimester, and 3,272 third trimester pregnant women, respectively. At 2 years, preterm PE was identified in 2.76%, preterm births in 19.28%, abnormal Doppler study in 25.76% of third trimester pregnancies, and 75.32% of stage 1 FGR delivered at term. The neonatal mortality rate was 9.86/1,000 live births, perinatal mortality rate was 18.97/1,000 childbirths, and maternal mortality was 58/100,000 live births compared with 29.5, 36, and 113, respectively in 2016. Conclusion  Fetal Doppler integrated antenatal ultrasound studies in Samrakshan led to a significant reduction in preterm PE rates, preterm birth rates, and a significant improvement in mean birth weights. Perinatal, neonatal, and maternal mortality rates are significantly better than the targets for 2030 set by the Sustainable Development Goals-3., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

Objective: High burden of anaemia exists amongst rural adolescent girls in India. The objective of this study was to characterise anaemia in school going adolescent girls in rural Haryana, India., Design: Linear and multiple logistic regression analysis of data collected prior to an intervention trial was conducted. Participants were classified into anaemic (haemoglobin <12 g/dl) and non-anaemic group and were further classified into deficiencies of Fe, folate or vitamin B12, mixed, anaemia of other causes and inflammation., Setting: Three schools in Ballabgarh block of Faridabad District, Haryana, India., Participants: One hundered and ninety-eight non-anaemic and 202 anaemic adolescent girls (12-19 years)., Results: Anaemic girls had 29·6 % Fe deficiency, 28·1 % folate or vitamin B12 deficiency, 15·8 % mixed deficiency and 9·7 % acute inflammation. Anaemia of other causes was found in 16·8 % of the anaemic participants. Girls with Fe and isolated folate deficiency had 2·5 times and four times higher odds of developing anaemia, respectively, as compared with non-anaemic girls. Fe deficiency with no anaemia was found amongst 11 % non-anaemic girls. Non-anaemic girls had a high prevalence of combined deficiency of folate or vitamin B12 (29·5 %) and acute inflammation (14·4 %)., Conclusions: The current strategy of Fe and folic acid supplementation alone will not suffice for achieving the desired reduction in the prevalence of anaemia as unknown causes and anaemia of inflammation contribute to a substantial proportion of anaemia. Integrating other nutrition-specific components like improving water, sanitation and hygiene practices with the ongoing micronutrient supplementation program will comprehensively tackle anaemia. Unknown causes of anaemia warrant further research.

Introduction: The ongoing spread of pandemic coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of growing concern. Rapid diagnosis and management of SARS-CoV-2 are crucial for controlling the outbreak in the community. Here, we report the development of a first rapid-colorimetric assay capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 in the human nasopharyngeal RNA sample in less than 30 min., Method: We utilized a nanomaterial-based optical sensing platform to detect RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene of SARS-CoV-2, where the formation of oligo probe-target hybrid led to salt-induced aggregation and change in gold-colloid color from pink to blue visibility range. Accordingly, we found a change in colloid color from pink to blue in assay containing nasopharyngeal RNA sample from the subject with clinically diagnosed COVID-19. The colloid retained pink color when the test includes samples from COVID-19 negative subjects or human papillomavirus-infected women., Results: The results were validated using nasopharyngeal RNA samples from positive COVID-19 subjects (n = 136). Using real-time polymerase chain reaction as gold standard, the assay was found to have 85.29% sensitivity and 94.12% specificity. The optimized method has detection limit as little as 0.5 ng of SARS-CoV-2 RNA., Conclusion: We found that the developed assay rapidly detects SARS-CoV-2 RNA in clinical samples in a cost-effective manner and would be useful in pandemic management by facilitating mass screening., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)