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Extreme precipitation is typical in the Indian subcontinent, and these occurrences might cause human fatalities, property damage, and the environment. Understanding regional extreme precipitation in the global Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models is challenging. The present study evaluates the performance of 20 CMIP6 models for daily precipitation across India from 1980 to 2014 (35 years) during the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) season (June-July–August-September (JJAS)) and ranked 20 models based on four metrics. In this analysis, the extreme precipitation over India is determined by using Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The observation data is collected from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) over India during JJAS. The performance of CMIP6 models is determined by using four different model evaluation metrics as root mean square error (RMSE), standard deviation (SD), correlation coefficient (CC), and interannual variability score (IVS). A total rank is estimated based on the four skill metrics and the resulting top ten models, i.e., AWI-ESM-1–1-LR, BCC-ESM1, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MPI-ESM1-1–2-HAM, EC-Earth3-Veg, IITM-ESM, INM-CM4-8, GISS-E2-1-G, MIROC6, and NESM3 are found for mean precipitation. In extreme precipitation, the ten best-performing models are given as MIROC6, EC-Earth3-CC, CMCC-CM2-SR5, EC-Earth3-Veg, CMCC-CM2-HR4, BCC-ESM1, FGOALS-g3, INM-CM5-0, CanESM5, and INM-CM4-8. However, a strong uncertainty in CMIP6 models has been observed for extreme precipitation as compared to mean patterns over India. Overall, CMIP6 models perform well for mean precipitation and have a strong bias for extreme precipitation obtained from GEV over India during the ISM season.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition phase of the Indian summer monsoon has always remained crucial for the agricultural, societal, and economic conditions of India. The present study addresses the role of South Asian High (SAH) and subtropical westerly jet (STJ) on the transition period (onset and withdrawal) of the Indian summer monsoon. For this purpose, we have utilized the outputs of Regional Climate Model (RegCM v4.6) and reanalysis ERA5 pressure level data for 24 years (1982–2005) of study. We begin our analysis with the evaluation of Tibetan Plateau (TP) heating, and its relationship with Sub-Tropical Jet (STJ). We further peruse its connection with different atmospheric factors during the seasonal transition of the monsoon. We have also tried to decipher the link between SAH and inter-annual variability of monsoon. Our analysis shows the efficiency of the model in simulating inter-annual variability of onset and withdrawal features during the monsoon period. The days of onset and withdrawal period simulated by the model have a similar mid-latitude connection when compared with the reanalysis data. The vertical structure of the Hadley cell and horizontal position of SAH have been produced realistically during the transition of the monsoon. We found that the change in meridional position of STJ has a significant impact on the arrival and departure dates of the monsoon. This repositioning of STJ in the meridional direction is strongly correlated to the upper-level high developed over the eastern periphery of the western pacific, which is an important component of the monsoon flow over Bay of Bengal. Thus, the zonal position of SAH is observed to have direct implications on the onset and withdrawal dates of India. Its consideration in future studies can potentially enhance the predictability of the monsoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The dermatological condition accounts for an important public health problem of the global load of disease in low and middle-income countries and places significant pressure on primary healthcare centers. There is heterogeneity in the frequency of diverse skin conditions between different areas (1). Most of the knowledge presently available about various aspects of skin diseases is based on observations made and data collected from secondary and tertiary level hospitals (2). Information on community-based prevalence and pattern of skin diseases would be a better measure of burden due to skin diseases in general population in order to assist in the planning of possible intervention strategies (3). Aims & Objectives: To find out the prevalence, distribution, and determinants of various dermatological manifestations at the community level in Doiwala block of district Dehradun. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 12 months, the study subjects comprised of individuals of all age groups. A sample size of 834 (416 males & 418 females) was calculated by using current prevalence of skin diseases (43.7% in males & 44.7% in females) in Uttarakhand (1). Results: Nearly half of the studied population (45.8%) had some type of dermatological manifestations. It was slightly higher in females (47.1%) than males (44.5%). Out of 382 symptomatic respondents, 247 (64.7) had infective dermatoses followed by 124 (32.5%) non-infective, 6 (1.5%) others and 5 (1.3%) nutritional deficiency dermatoses. The gender-wise distribution of various types of dermatoses was found to be statistically significant (χ²-15.225, df-3, p-0.002). Conclusions: The prevalence of dermatological conditions in district Dehradun is fairly high with increased prevalence in the younger age group that might be an indicator to the fact that the burden of skin diseases may go to rise in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A deficient data is among the biggest obstacle facing planners and policy makers. Health data collection in the developing world is often hampered by the high costs and inefficiencies of traditional large-scale paper-based surveys. mHealth using Epi-Info is most appropriate tool to create, share, deploy health surveys and for strengthening of health systems. The program runs on free and open software, is easy to use, and can be downloaded to handheld devices to be used by workers in the field. Objectives: To find out the usefulness and limitations of data collection for mHealth by use of Epi Info™ software. Material and Methods: The devices used Epi Info 7.1.5 (Android version), which has been modeled as a database with variables of the traditional form. A cross sectional survey among adolescents regarding their health needs was carried out in a sample of 200 adolescents (purposive sampling) of rural hilly (Jaunpur block of Tehri Garhwal district) and plain (Doiwala block of Dehradun district) areas of Uttarakhand by the use of Android tablets with Epi Info™. Results: It was found that adolescent questionnaire tool developed in Epi Info™ android tablet application is a powerful tool for data collection having numerable practical advantages like: Interview Time Tracking (ITT) that gives the reality check in field studies along with cases Geographical presentation by GIS mapping. In addition to this complete filling of data in field so no left over or guessing for data entry operator, paperless, bio-friendly. Despite of Tablet cost, it is cost effective as tablet can be repeatedly used for other surveys. Conclusions: Epi Info™ is a developing open access software for primary data collection and analyzing data from the field, with advantageous benefits of epidemiological surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]